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Opinions on UACC Auctions linked through Autograph World??

Hello everyone,

I have been questioning a Chris Rea autograph that i purchased from one of the UACC auction dealers that is linked too from autographworld. Although this purchase is several years old, i thought i would put it up for opinions. At best i think it is very questionable. I originally found these sellers from the link to the UACC Auction at Autographworld. And afterwards bought numerous items from the sellers listed through autographworld. And several of these items i purchased, in my opinion are questionable. However, i also purchased an equal number that were no doubt good.

Upon checking back in their, I see several items throughout the auctions that are questionable to me. Their are several their that i didnt like just through clicking on a few. The first is a Bruce Springsteen that looks bad. The Van Halen item also looks very suspicious. The Axl Rose, Peter Buck, Cher, and the Paul McCartney also look questionable. But the items are mostly good in my opinion.

I am curious to know what others think of the auctions, Here is the link:

http://www.uaccauction.com/auction/listings2.asp?cat=2

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on February 26, 2013 at 12:16am

John,

Thank you for joining the conversation here. I went over your eBay listings and I liked most of the autographs I knew. Your inventory looks better to me than probably 90% of the dealers out there that sell modern music and entertainment.

I like your attitude and the way you're handing this. Collectors on this site and others like it are often more aware of forgeries than the dealers they buy from. I agree with them on your Van Halen and I'm glad that you removed it.

I find that many dealers don't realize how treacherous entertainment and music autographs can be. They may not realize that their long-time sources aren't as reliable as they thought. Please feel free to use this site to get opinions on autographs you're not sure of. Most of us aren't experts, but there are a lot of sharp collectors here who scour the web looking for what they want, and they often share their finds with other members here...good, bad and ugly.

Since someone's bound to ask me what I found that I didn't care for, here are the three that I know pretty well that caught my attention most: the Princess Grace, Roger Waters and Simon and Garfunkel. I could be wrong, but you may want to get them checked out.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Shinn on February 26, 2013 at 9:26am

Steve

John is a top-notch dealer who cares very much about authenticity issues.

I have bought many items from him over the years and never was disapointed.

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Permalink Reply by John T. Smith on February 26, 2013 at 1:21pm

Thank you Bob. It has been a pleasure doing business with you over the years.

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Permalink Reply by John T. Smith on February 26, 2013 at 1:20pm

Hello Steve,

Thank you for your post. I appreciate your taking the time to view my eBay listings and offering your opinion on the Princess Grace, Roger Waters and Simon and Garfunkel items. I have removed these pending further study.

I had previously received a question regarding the authenticity of the Princess Grace autograph at which time I removed the listing and sought the independent opinion of an expert with

over 30 years of experience in appraising and authenticating autographs whom gave it the thumbs-up, this, together with the fact that it matches known authentic exemplars I have on file and the autograph came from a very reliable source, I was as confident as I could be (without being present when it was singed) of it's authenticity and, therefore, relisted it for sale. (I do not like to name names in public forums for fear of starting a witch-hunt or creating a conflict of interest in the case of naming other dealers, but if you would care to e-mail me privately I will be happy to provide you with these names.)

I would also be very interested and most appreciative for any details you could provide regarding the opinion you have reached in referance the authenticity of these signatures.

Best regards,

John T. Smith

Exczecher Memorabilia

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on February 26, 2013 at 10:08pm

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply. It would be great to get to know you better by email, but you don't have to share any info with me. I have my opinions and you have yours, and sometimes they honestly differ. If what I said sounds like The Inquisition, I'm sorry.

As I often say, I'm not an expert. If you're comfortable with the authenticity of your Princess Grace, then please leave it up. What concerned me most about yours was that Grace Kelly's looped letters, like her small e's, l's and t's, usually are straight on the left and curved on the right. As I recall, the looped letter of the Grace you had on eBay were curved on both sides. You said you removed it, so I didn't check, but if you want to post it for comparison, please do. Or message it to me here and I'll post it.

Here's a note R&R sold last year that I think will show you what I mean:

What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by John T. Smith on March 2, 2013 at 3:22pm

Hello Steve,

Thank you for your prompt response, I apologize for my delayed one – been entertaining out-of-town visitors for the past few days.

Below I have posted a scan of the Princess Grace autograph I had listed signed on blue card stock together with 4 of the known authentic examples from the same period (early in her reign) I have used for comparison purposes. To my eye, the characteristics you have noted are visible in my example with, to some extent, the “e” in “Grace” which appears to be more rounded in all four examples, and the “e” in “de” which appears straight on the left in my example and example 2 and 3. I have also taken note of the flourish of the “G” (which changed in later years to loop back on itself as shown in the 2^nd 3 examples posted below), the formation of the “r” the open topped “d” and “o’s” and the looped “co” in “Monaco”.

Let me know what you think, but based on these examples, I believe mine to be original and authentic.

Attachments: No photo uploads here

1graceDe1.jpg, 142 KB
1GraceDe2.jpg, 144 KB

Permalink Reply by Rich on February 26, 2013 at 11:25am

John, since this thread has already digressed, let me backpedal and apologize for my part in this thread, as I understand you're working on running a legit business. From the sound of it, you are focusing on doing the right thing and continuing to improve the quality of your products.

Even those of use with the best intentions on this thread are sometimes prone to going into witchhunt mode (myself included). Keep in mind, our efforts are often focused on spotting forgeries. When we see items that are either blatant forgeries or even moderately questionable, a snowball-like effect can ensue and the thread can turn ugly in a hurry.