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Real or Not Real

I purchased this Mickey Mantle ball right after his death. I was trying to sell it on eBay and a member sent me a message that it might be a forgery. I bought it from San Diego Sports Collectibles on August 17, 1995. Was it just a red flag from where I bought it or by the autograph itself? Please help me know if its authentic or not and why. I could not rotate the pic in the message. I have the pic also on my member profile.

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Permalink Reply by Big Bad John on June 23, 2013 at 8:41am

Sorry man.but that's a forgery.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Young on June 24, 2013 at 3:29am

Thank You!

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on June 23, 2013 at 8:50am

This is a common forgery style known as the bananaMantle. It is malformed in many ways, but the hallmark is the thin banana-like loop under the first M.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Young on June 24, 2013 at 3:31am

Thank You. Is there any market value to it as a forgery or should it just be used for batting practice?

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Permalink Reply by Rock G III on June 24, 2013 at 6:04am

How much is a ball with ink all over it worth? About 2 bucks

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on June 24, 2013 at 6:16am

BP....thats what I used to do with my forgeries

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on June 24, 2013 at 6:48am

The ball bag in my garage has a fake or two in it. However, I need to explain to my kids that they can only play with the signed baseballs daddy puts in the garage. They are NOT to play with any other signed balls they might find in the house!! LOL

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on June 24, 2013 at 7:09am

Sandlot!!!

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on June 24, 2013 at 8:24am

One good trick with fake signed balls you want kids to play with is just take a black marker and fill them in that way if they get lost on the field some other kid will not pick up and think he found a great signed ball! Also a your kids will know if there is a legible signature leave it alone lol.