Sunday, April 24, 2011

TTM # FAKE!!

Hey guys, Drew back here. I got a TTM back late last week, but as soon as I knew who the player was, I was immediately disappointed. I sent to him not knowing the legitimacy of the autographs, but shortly after I sent it off I realized there was no possible way it was real.
 

Sure appears to be anything but an actual Mike Schmidt autograph. Here's an example of a legitimate Schmidt autograph:

http://www.sportsblink.com/product_images/mike-schmidt-autographed-baseball-champs-inscription-3325560.jpg 


I sent the card to the Hall of Fame, where other collectors were receiving their cards from. Obviously this seems to be signed by a ghost signer, someone outside of the actual player. I would have honestly preferred to have received nothing back rather than something that wasn't even real. It was a waste of ink for me but taught a good lesson to myself and other TTM collectors. I hate to break it to you all, but some of the autographs you may receive through the mail can be phonies. These athletes/celebrities really tend to ruin all of the fun of the TTM hobby, which really sucks.

I'm planning on keeping the card most likely, just to show as an example, but just looking at it brings disappointment to my eyes. What do you think of the monstrosities that are fake autographs?

See Ya!

4 comments:

  1. Well, Im no handwriting expert or authenticator, but the signature on the card looks an awful lot like the one on the ball. I know you have heard about the ghost signer, but maybe, just maybe, it IS authentic? Only one way to find out, I guess...

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  2. Sweet custom card...

    Autographs are such a tricky issue... b/c unless you see the person sign it, you never know if it's real or not. And you're not there for TTM's, you can never be 100% sure.

    I buy a ton of stuff from Steiner and I used to purchase UDA stuff... but even those are not 100%... since you never know if someone is being shady.

    I'd like to know if card companies always send representatives to witness athletes signing their sticker sheets. If not... how do we know it's not the player's wife, mom, brother, grandpa, best friend, or some other random person.

    Of course, some people place all of their faith in PSA/DNA, GAI, JSA, or any of those 3rd party authentication companies... but once again... now you're trusting someone else (granted they're trained professionals) to tell you it's real.

    However... the fact is... you never can be 100% sure (unless you witness it).

    But at least you have a conversation piece (or at the very least a blog topic)... that may or may not be a real autograph.

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  3. I agree. There's definitely no way YOU can know for sure, regardless of who "authenticates" it, unless you witness it yourself. Sad, but true.

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  4. I have an interesting opinion on this one. I collect primarily sports, but a while ago I bought a pack of Americana cards and got a John Travolta card. I heard he signed TTM so I tried. 6 months later the autograph arrived. I was reading an article somewhere that his autograph was ghost signed by by his aunt June Travolta (who knows how true this story is?) but the article went on to say that June signs all of his documents, even contracts. John has legally given her his power of attorney and her signature is legally binding as his.

    I agree that the coolness of TTM autographs are that the signature shows that "so-and-so" actually touched this item. But if the signature on my card would be good enough to cash the guy's pay check. Who am I to thumb my nose at it. Just another perspective.

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