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Authenticity is Everything
McCartney guitar in charity auction
A local church is having a charity auction this weekend. The big item up for grabs is a guitar signed Paul McCartney. After reading the thread about bad items ending up in charity auctions and knowing zero about Beatle related items, I humbly ask for opinions on this one.
If questionable, I'll email the church to find out who supplied the items and the COAs. Other items for auction are a Sly Stallone signed boxing glove, and signed photos of John Glen, Mickey Mantle, and Charlton Heston.
Thank you!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on
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Definitely not real, in my opinion.
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Please talk to the charity auction before taking to the media to give them a chance to show they're taking care of the problem. They are victims of fraud as much as the bidders would be.
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Permalink Reply by Sidney Fields on
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The point to hammer home to the church or whoever else is involved is that the providers will never be able to show any VERIFIABLE provenance for bogus items: where did they get them, where were they signed, what's the chain of custody?
They can give you a story.
They can't present proof.
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The church is very ethical. They are not going to auction anything we or our experts believe are forgeries. Roger Epperson called the McCartney a forgery. Space expert Steve Zarelli, our Mr Zipper, did not think the John Glenn was real. I posted the Mickey Mantle and Charlton Heston in the most active discussions, and so far no one thought they were genuine. The Sylvester Stallone boxing glove got nixed in this discussion.
I am sure the church will not offer these, and they are thankful that Brian brought this to everyone's attention.
BTW, they were basically told that the celebrities signed for CharityGrow because they wanted to support the charities they consigned the memorabilia to.
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They didn't put cash out upfront.
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Permalink Reply by Barry S on
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So these charities say the items are donated for free, how do they make their money? They get a percentage of the auction? Just curious how it works.
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Permalink Reply by Rock G III on
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Considering their cost apparently is just a marker, 8x10 and a forger if they start an item at say $500 and the church gets the rest its all profit, they pocket $500 and the church gets the rest.
They know most of the people they are selling to are older clientele who will not know how to spot a forgery. And after all what monster would ripoff a church or charity right??? Thats what these scam artists feed on. Whats scares me are the churches and charities that turn a blind eye just because its a source of income.
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I believe that the companies that run these auctions have a hidden reserve on all their items, and once that reserve is hit, the fundraisers would get most, if not all, of the profit after that reserve.
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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on
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I think all those signatures were fake. My credentials? Aside from being a collector for 35 years, I've been a columnist for Autograph Magazine for well over a decade.
And for the church or other charities that might be reading this thread, let me state something that the Grammy Foundation told me for their charity. When Bruce Springsteen sat down to sign 20 guitars for them...he signed, took a photo with EACH AND EVERY GUITAR, so that the person buying said guitar, had a certificate that was dated with the time and date of the signature, and the photo of him holding it.
ANY CHARITY dealing with signed memorabilia, should have photos. In this day and age, that is a must. As somebody pointed out, anybody can give you a story. Anybody can show you a picture of Springsteen signing for 50 people outside of Letterman. THAT IS NOT a photo showing him signing the guitar you're bidding on.
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That's exactly right, Josh.
The mantra with these characters should be: no verifiable provenance, no deal.
It really is inconceivable that any company specializing in obtaining and selling genuine autographed items wouldn't have (at the very least) a photograph of the item being signed and some kind of proof on the place, date and time.
As we've seen, the photographs alone may not be sufficient. They can be doctored and some have been.
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