Authenticity is Everything

Billie Holiday Autograph

I purchased this 78 vinyl record purportedly signed by Billie Holiday from an RACC trusted seller. I recently submitted the item to JSA for authentication, and unfortunately it did not pass.

I originally submitted it in person at a show here in CA a few weeks ago, and I was disappointed by how carelessly the item was handled during intake. When I received it back, there were fingerprints all over it. I contacted JSA immediately to report the condition, and they did expedite the review process.

Yesterday I received their letter confirming that the autograph did not pass authentication. I’m extremely disappointed and unsure what my next step should be, or if anyone here might be able to offer advice.

Prior to purchasing the item, I did my research and examined the signature characteristics—such as the looping of “Billie” and the shape of the “H” in “Holiday.” However, upon further inspection, the signature appears to have been written in ballpoint pen. Additionally, the Blue Ace label is known to be a bootleg label, and this particular pressing seems to have been released slightly before the time of her passing.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo 5 hours ago

If you are in a reading mood this might be of interest.

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Permalink Reply by a pug called eva 4 hours ago

It may or may not be of interest to note that none of the Billie's sold at RR Auction over the last five years or so have had a pre-cert from Roger (REAL). The last one that he certified or pre-certified was sold in June 2021.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin 46 minutes ago

Pug,

I've noticed that RR consistently uses the same TPA to precertify autographs of the same person, with rare exception. Among other things, that shows they aren't showing autographs from TPA to TPA until they find one who will call it real.

It sounds like in 2021, RR started using PSA/DNA for Billie instead of Roger. Why? I don't know. It could have been Roger's decision or RR's.

Whatever the reason, they'll use that TPA for Billie's autograph until they need to change.

Roger has been RR's main music authenticator for more than a decade. He precertified 11 of the 13 Beatles autographs they sold in March alone: $90,926 of the $92,519 sold

The only 2 they didn't use him for were a $614 Ringo with a PSA COA, and a $979 George precertified by PSA—probably because they previously sold it years ago with it.

If RR didn't have high confidence in Roger, why would they use him almost exclusively for music?