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Is this Mickey Mantle signed ball real?

Those who know me on here know I primarily collect entertainment and music autographs. But years ago, a family member gave me a Mickey Mantle signed ball for Christmas. This had to be during the early 90s. The ball was purchased from a large department store--maybe Macy's or JC Penny-- and I believe they also had signed balls from other athletes at the time too. It came in a holder with his name engraved on it, but that doesn't mean anything.

Now, I know nothing about his signature and I know there are many Mantle experts on this forum. Could somebody please help me out? I looked at Operation Bullpen forgery signatures and this doesn't seem to match them. One thing I'm wondering about is what appears to be stops in the second M. Is this signs of a problem, or is this just reflective of the health he was in at the time he did the signing for the department store?

So, what do you think?

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Permalink Reply by GraphingMlb on August 11, 2013 at 8:30am

During the mid 90's he was contracted exclusive through upper deck up until he died...HSN type shows bought a ton of fakes however but i do not remember large department stores selling mantles or him even signing for them.

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Permalink Reply by Fuddjcal on August 11, 2013 at 8:31am

nothing to do with health and everything to do with poorly constructed Shaky Shantle Fakey Fantle Forgery

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Permalink Reply by JXE on August 11, 2013 at 8:49am

I appreciate the quick response and the sweet rhymes. That's what I was thinking, and why I had the hunch to put it up here in the first place. I owned this way before I was seriously collecting autos and I just recently found it in storage. It just goes to show you how many people may be holding on to something like this, thinking it's real and not even questioning it.

I don't collect sports so I won't replace it for a real one, but I'll probably look for a cheaper item like a photo or piece of paper to have in my collection because he was a childhood hero.

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Permalink Reply by GraphingMlb on August 11, 2013 at 10:02am

If i were you i would scribble it out and play catch with it...

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Permalink Reply by JXE on August 11, 2013 at 11:23am

I'm gonna wipe it off with some hydrogen peroxide and then throw it out.

Now you guys need to help me find a good one that's on an inexpensive format! :D

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Permalink Reply by GraphingMlb on August 11, 2013 at 10:02am

good one will

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Permalink Reply by JXE on August 14, 2013 at 8:51pm

Okay, so I'm on the prowl to aquire a REAL one for my collection. While I don't really collect baseball, I feel like I owe it to my childhood-- holding on to that ball thinking it was real back then!

Could you please give your opinion on this ball? There are other signatures on it as well, but that doesn't bother me.