Dale Earnhardt Sr. Autographs: What's Real? What's Fake?

Hello All,

New to the site and collecting NASCAR Auto'ed memorabilia... I could use some input on these Dale Sr. Auto's I purchased off ebay. I now believe the ebay seller I bought these from is selling Dale Sr Auto'ed items on ebay under 3 different user ID's so I suspect these might be fakes...

I hope I am wrong but as I put everything together, the nearly identical listings, the identical patterns of feedback left for buyers, and the same last name on 2 sellers Id's I know for sure I have purchased from 2 of the 3 ID's!

I would like a professional opinion before I start calling out any ebay seller, ers...

Thank You!!!

Mike.

Tags: authentic, autographs, dale, earnhardt, fake, forged, real, signed, sr.

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brandon Mysinger on October 29, 2011 at 10:28pm

They are indeed not real in my opinion. As the NASCAR authenticator that works close with ebay, private message me the user id's and I will ask the fraud division to look into it. I will also look at their other items.

I wrote a Dale Earnhardt signature study that is on the internet. I also listed several of his authentic variations here as well. Also, feel free to ask my opinion before you bid on anything if you wish. Those forgeries have been around for quite a while. They pop up on ebay from time to time. Chances are the seller had them in their collection and are dumping them now. We see that quite often.

Brandon Mysinger
NASCAR Autograph Authenticator

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael R Stranak on October 29, 2011 at 11:24pm

Hey Brandon,

Thank you for the fast response!!! After I linked the 3rd ID to the mix I knew it wasn't going to be good news, I'm glad I ran across one of your listings on ebay to learn of this place...

I'm new to the site and I can't find a link to IM you, I did find the IM link on the NASCAR Autograph groups page but I can't IM until you accept the invite. Please let me know on the IM link and I'll forward the info, maybe we can help a few other ebayers.

Thank you again for the fast response and the offer to of your opinion in the future purchases, I'm going to look for your article on the Dale Sr. signature study.

Take Care,

Mike.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by DB on October 31, 2011 at 11:12am

if you have the need to sell any unique items, such as:
Thingamajigs...Doodads...Whatchamacallits...Dohickeys...Gizmos...Contraptions, Kit and Caboodles...Whole Shebangs... should be the new caption of a number of auction house and ebay sellers!

howabout this one?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brandon Mysinger on October 31, 2011 at 11:27am

@DB: This Earnhardt isn't authentic. There used to be several of these floating around in the market. Sadly, it's one of the closer forgeries. The signer just didn't keep up with the times though in regard's to Dale's signature evolution.

@Michael: Thanks for the info, I will keep in contact with you over the next few days regarding your situation.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael R Stranak on October 31, 2011 at 3:09pm

Man my Dale Sr. collection is going down fast, I think I have one of those signed Daytona photo's also... Brandon, I Thank You again for your help!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael R Stranak on October 31, 2011 at 6:46pm

Here is the 88 Daytona I have! I also added a older photo that I recieved in a Earnhardt diecast lot I purchased off ebay a few years ago, the only mention of the photo in the listing was "a nice Dale Earnhardt photo included"...

Well thanks again and I look forward to what ya think of these, looks like my Dale Sr. collection is going down in flames...;0)

> Photobucket

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by DB on November 3, 2011 at 1:14am

Looks like Mike got most, if not all, from ebay sellers. Are there any known secretarials as I'd like to add them to my secretarial thread. By the way, the claim on the above one I posted is that it is an "inperson" from the Jim Wiggins Collection. How can a non-authentic item be listed as an In-person ?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin on November 3, 2011 at 7:34am

Strange. Jim Wiggins has published one of the top celebrity address books for decades. If HE told you directly he got an autograph in-person, I'd be shocked for it to be a forgery. But the vast majority of his autographs were collected through the mail so you need to check for secretarials and autopens.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brandon Mysinger on November 3, 2011 at 8:16am

Yes, the Dale Sr. shown here ( If it did originate from Wiggens ) was not signed by Dale Earnhardt Sr.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin on November 3, 2011 at 9:56am

Did Dale Sr. send secretarials, and if so, could this be one? It sounds like you think this is a garden variety forgery.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brandon Mysinger on November 3, 2011 at 11:37am

There are some thoughts that he did. However, there is nothing to fully back it up. Unless we knew for sure that this came from one of his addresses, We can't know. The theory is that some family members signed for him. However, never on people's items that were sent in. If it did occur ( I tend to think it did for a short period), it was only for those people that simply requested a signed hero card. It's very hard to track down because Dale did sign items that were sent in.

Therefore, I can only remark that the above item wasn't signed by Dale Sr.

Darrell Waltrip also used a secretarial around the same time frame ( early to mid 90's ).

Every item I have seen that was sent in to Dale to sign was 100% authentic. He was VERY passionate about taking care of his fan's items.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by DB on November 3, 2011 at 11:34am

came to that same conclusion. The #3 pics have some very close similarities especially the other 2 posted by Mike. Perhaps a secretarial and two forgeries.