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Topic: Authenticating Compromised/"Smudged" Autographs

Hello everyone,

Recently someone addressed me about something in the autographs world that I had not previously considered: the authentication of compromised or "smudged" signatures. I was also curious and so I came here. I personally am not sure about it, so I'm wondering, can signatures that are even considerably smudged be eligible to be authenticated by one of the large TPA Sevices? I guess it could be case specific. I mean, more experienced collectors can often tell if a piece is real, even when it's blotted or what not. Just let me know what you think on this. Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Caleb H. on July 27, 2022 at 8:45am

I'm not entirely sure tbh. I think in large part it's case specific, like you said. For instance, if you have a very old (faded, worn, smudged, etc) autograph of someone that you know for certain is authentic because you were present at the signing, it still could come back to you as "likely not authentic" or "inconclusive." I'd say the same goes for something you're buying online. Although with that you don't know for certain aforehand whether it's authentic or not, so I see what you're saying.