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Most Forged Signature or Autograph You Can Name

I would have to guess it would be one that commands the most money and therefore is worth attempting. It would have to be either somewhat rare or simply highly sought after. Remembering that some famous people do not always sign much, i.e. Steve Jobs or some died young. A few that come to mind under the category of "valuable" but not necessarily rare, might be:
++ Babe Ruth, all 4 Beatles at one time, John Wayne, Elvis Presley, JFK and Marilyn Monroe.
I've seen terrible examples of these signers yet they always tend to sell for big bucks. I'll let others continue this thread so now it's YOUR turn.

Tags: autograph, fake, forged, signature

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Duncan on March 19, 2011 at 7:09pm

In my opinion (which is R&R), Michael Jackson and without question, John/Paul/George and (then)Ringo. Hands down.....

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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Hauser on March 19, 2011 at 7:21pm

It seems like whenever a celebrity dies, that becomes the new latest and greatest autograph to forge. EBay must have tons of MJ's. Just wait until the next super-star passes away (Paul McCartney, Neil Armstrong, etc.) and their autographs will soar...along with the fakes.

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Permalink Reply by E.B.G. on March 20, 2011 at 5:04pm

I would say Mickey Mantle.

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Permalink Reply by DB on October 18, 2011 at 8:05am

Forged not "secretarial" or "clubhouse" but honestly somedays I think they are all related;

but if we look at PSA's perspective (and it would be nice if they fixed their own errors before someone chimes in on this) we have (several of which have already been mentioned) from their 2010 list;

According to PSA/DNA, these are the “ten most dangerous autographs” of sports figures with approximate values of genuine autographs in parenthesis

1. Babe Ruth ($3,000 for a signed cut to $50,000 or more for a choice, single-signed baseball). The King of Swing is the most sought-after autograph in the hobby and the PSA/DNA rejection rate is in the 60 percent range.

2. Lou Gehrig ($3,500 for a signed cut to $60,000 or more for a choice, single-signed baseball). There is very high demand for his signature and there’s a large volume of forgeries.

3. Mickey Mantle ($150 for a signed cut to $600 or more for a choice, single-signed baseball). Mantle remains one of the most desirable autographs in the hobby, and even though he signed an enormous amount of items until his death in 1995, the number of forgeries is greater than the amount of authentic examples available.

4. Michael Jordan ($175 for a signed cut to $600 or more for a single-signed basketball). Despite signing thousands upon thousands of autographs while under contract with Upper Deck Authenticated, the supply is not nearly enough to satisfy demand. Forgeries remain a major problem.

5. Muhammad Ali ($150 for a signed cut to $500 or more for a single-signed boxing glove). Even though Ali has been somewhat of a prolific signer in the past, the number of authentic Ali autographs fresh to the marketplace has decreased in recent times.

6. Lebron James ($125 for a signed cut to $450 or more for a single-signed basketball). James remains one of the most difficult in-person signatures to acquire, making the number of authentic example relatively low for an active superstar.

7. Ted Williams ($100 for a signed cut to $350 or more for a choice, single-signed baseball). While the demand for “Teddy Ballgame’s” signature has declined slightly over the past several years, the amount of Williams’ forgeries in the marketplace is staggering.

8.Tiger Woods ($250 for a signed cut to $1,500 or more for a single-signed golf flag). Even though Tiger’s popularity as an athlete and person has taken a serious hit in the last year, he remains on the list of the most dangerous autographs.

9. Kobe Bryant ($100 for a signed cut to $400 or more for a single-signed basketball). With five championships under his belt and perhaps more to come, Kobe has become a real target for forgers the last couple of years.

10. Albert Pujols ($100 for a signed cut to $300 or more for a choice, single-signed baseball). His consistency as a hitter, positive overall image and the lack of authentic autographs in the marketplace provide ample reason for forgers to target this perennial MVP contender.

These are the ten “most dangerous autographs” of historical and entertainment figures in 2010, according to PSA/DNA.

1. Elvis Presley ($1,500 for a signed cut to $35,000 or more for a signed contract or letter). Elvis’ popularity is global, and because he passed away at only 42 years of age in 1977 the amount of authentic autographs is extremely limited.

2. The Beatles ($5,000 for a signed cut to $15,000 or more for a signed photo). They are, quite simply, the most heavily forged band in the autograph world.

3. John F. Kennedy ($1,750 for a signed cut to $25,000 or more for a Presidential letter or document). In addition to a large amounts of forgeries, non-malicious “Kennedy” forgeries were produced by secretaries and via autopen during his tenure in office.

4. Marilyn Monroe ($2,500 for a signed cut to $15,000 or more for a signed photo). Yet again, another celebrity who passed away at a very young age (36 in 1962) which resulted in a very limited number of authentic autographs for fans of the iconic actress.

5. Michael Jackson ($200 for a signed cut to $1,000 or more for a signed photo). With his recent passing in 2009 at the age of 50, Jackson forgeries flooded the marketplace in 2010.

6. Jim Morrison ($1,200 for a signed cut to $4,000 or more for a signed photo). The lead singer of The Doors died at age 27 in 1971. Most of the genuine Morrison autographs found today come in the form of check endorsements, but forgers target record album covers, photos and even simple slips of paper.

7. Neil Armstrong ($1,000 for a signed cut to $5,000 or more for a signed photo). Astronauts are one of the most popular autograph collecting themes, and over the past three decades the first man to set foot on the moon has had a virtual no-autograph policy making it even more difficult for collectors to obtain the genuine article.

8. Jimi Hendrix ($2,500 for a signed cut to $7,500 or more for a signed photo). The earliest known contract (1965) of the guitar legend sold for just over $200,000 at auction in 2009.

9. James Dean ($2,000 for a signed cut to $8,500 or more for a signed photo). Like Marilyn Monroe, forgers often target photos of Dean as the “canvas” for counterfeit autographs.

10. Walt Disney ($650 for a signed cut to $3,500 or more for a signed photo). His signature is one of the most unique and attractive autographs in any genre, which increases the demand.

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Permalink Reply by CEE GEE on October 18, 2011 at 9:14am

Heres my run down in no specific order....Babe Ruth...Lou Gehrig...Mickey Mantle...Michael Jordan...Tiger Woods...Derek Jeter...Joe Dimaggio... Mohamed Ali...Lebron James...Ted Williams...Albert Puljos...Mariano Rivera...Payton Manning...Tom Brady...

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Permalink Reply by DB on October 18, 2011 at 9:34am

Cee Gee - nice list... and the increase in Jeter & Rivera. Btw, if you see a Brady with his uniform number on it, walk away. While there will be exceptions the only time he put his jersey on his picture was his rookie year (I have one of those from their original trng camp in RI) when he was not well known and still playing behind bledsoe on the depth chart. There are other "signs" other than this as you well know. I suspect the Arron Rogers, from what I hear, is also on an uptick.

all one needs to do is go to the "auction sites" that generally sell the not authentic ones to see which ones are on this "weeks" list.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on October 18, 2011 at 11:24am

I don't recall any posts on Travolta secretarials. We should ask people who've gotten him through the mail to post their pieces. I'll put that on the wish list.

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Permalink Reply by EjsWurhl on October 18, 2011 at 11:33am

Mike, I could have picked up some really cheap Jacksons a month before he died but they were not desirable at the time. Collectors who were probably fans really cleaned up when he died because they were following him all the time getting things signed.

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Permalink Reply by CEE GEE on October 18, 2011 at 7:10pm

Not to get off the MJ subject...but I have seen a substantial anount of Jackie Robinson junk surfacing...

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on October 19, 2011 at 6:03pm

my vote is for Tom Brady. If you look at Ebay at any point in time, you will see that 95% of the autographs are fake, with most of them being absolutely brutal.

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Permalink Reply by Harry Blaisure on October 20, 2011 at 10:55am

here are two Travolta signatures I received through the mail (at the same time) I sent him the LP cover and it was returned along with a photo he provided.

what do you think?

Attachments: No photo uploads here

IMG_0113.JPG, 1.2 MB
IMG_0114.JPG, 1.3 MB

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Permalink Reply by DB on October 20, 2011 at 2:38pm

Harry, & Mike,,,, moved (copied) these responses over to my secretarials as they appear as TTM and thus fall nicely into that thread. If possible use the Secretarials Thread for added comments. thx in advance.

http://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/secretarials-in-gene...