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Is this JFK real? If so I got a deal for two bucks

Hi all. I am new to this site and this is the first post I am making. I was in a used bookstore today outside of Boston and found a book by John F. Kennedy called profiles in courage amongst a large amount of dusty old vintage used books for two bucks. I opened it up, and on the flyleaf there was an inscription and it was signed. It did not immediately look like it said "John Kennedy" so I grabbed my phone and did some quick google research and was shocked to find a number of similar books with writing and a signature that looks the same as this one. Needless to say I bought the book for two bucks. Is this real? Thank you everyone for any input you can give.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 11, 2017 at 12:51pm

Daniel, if you send it to an authenticator and they say it isn't real, there's nothing wrong with saying that. It's valuable information.

I wouldn't get it authenticated until you're ready to sell it, if you ever are. Knowledge increases over time, so current authentication is usually more valuable than the same authenticator's certification years earlier. Also, third-party authentication for historical autographs is nowhere near as popular as it is for sports,

Also, third-party authentication for historical autographs is nowhere near as popular as it is for sports, music and entertainment.

I'm not well-versed on books, but if the jacket is from the edition as your book, and they seem to fit together well, that should add to the value. I don't know how much though. In some cases it can be many times, but these books aren't super-rare.

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Permalink Reply by James on January 12, 2017 at 10:53am

Daniel, first off, I have no doubt PSA will pass this. If John Reznikoff, whom I believe is still associated with PSA, looks at this, he will know it's authentic. However, everyone on this forum knows that from time to time, PSA makes mistakes. More often than not, PSA gets it right. But they're not infallible. There are people on here that could easily work for PSA. Pete Chuka is a member here, and I would trust him more than PSA with modern celebrity autographs and other things as well. So keep in mind that PSA is not perfect.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 12, 2017 at 10:55am

+1 Pete is AMAZING on modern celebs.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Cushman on January 12, 2017 at 8:10am

Looks to be the real thing...what a great find!!!

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on January 12, 2017 at 3:23pm

I sent pictures to a reputable used and rare bookshop owner in Boston and he dismissed the signature as not real. I am kind of surprised the unanimous opinion of authenticity here. Pleasantly.

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Permalink Reply by JMS1223 on January 12, 2017 at 4:12pm

That's interesting. I hope you get it authenticated. I am very curious to hear the results.

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Permalink Reply by James on January 12, 2017 at 4:47pm

He probably is in denial that one of his contemporaries in his field could miss something like this.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on January 12, 2017 at 4:55pm

If it turns out to be real I am going to want to get a dust jacket for it. And I think I will send him a picture of the authentication and ask him if he has a standard copy of that printing that I could buy for the dust jacket Lol

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Permalink Reply by James on January 12, 2017 at 5:04pm

You should. And if you need a dust jacket, you can pick up an unsigned later printing with a jacket pretty cheap.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on January 12, 2017 at 5:06pm

I'm wondering if I need to get a particular jacket from the printing of the book I have. I know that some of these jackets are different sizes, some have price markings on them, some are bookclub editions, etc. etc.

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Permalink Reply by James on January 12, 2017 at 5:09pm

Yeah, you're probably right about that. I don't know the details though. You might also want to have a custom-made clam shell box to keep it in. I did that for my signed JFK Profiles book.