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Fake Freddie Mercury Letter w/ Epperson LOA

So not only is this not Freddie Mercury's handwriting, but it is also packed full of incorrect information about Mercury. Whoever wrote this claims to be Freddie and claims to have gone to school in Switzerland? Mercury never attended school there. This can't be a genuine Epperson LOA right?

Update: The LOA was from Roger Epperson and the item was indeed fake (please see thread for proof and details). Both Epperson and Gold agreed the item was not genuine and buyer was refunded in a timely manner.

Tags: Freddie, Mercury, Queen

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Permalink Reply by Innuendo on September 14, 2016 at 10:07am

Glad you'll be able to get your money back, Jeff. And thanks, Jan. Take care, guys.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Meyer on September 14, 2016 at 3:31pm

Not easy to put yourself out there like that. Well done.

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Permalink Reply by A.B. on September 14, 2016 at 10:53am

Very classy way from everyone involved to handle this issue.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on September 14, 2016 at 12:58pm

Innuendo,

If you and members agree, what about writing a paragraph to go at the top of your original post that tells readers how the pros handled it and how it resolved? If you do, I'll go in afterwards and format it.

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Permalink Reply by Innuendo on September 14, 2016 at 2:18pm

I'll give that a try when I get home tonight, Steve

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Permalink Reply by Adam Halloran on September 14, 2016 at 1:10pm

I absolutely have great respect for people make mistakes and cand admit it. Also a great respect to members here and their knowledge! Good job!

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Permalink Reply by Paul on September 14, 2016 at 2:58pm

At least we can authenticate signatures and handwriting, but it goes to show that even if the item is from a solid source the item still may not be authentic, that's why I stay away from buying artist so called tambourines and wristbands because you have no chance except taking someone's word at it that there real. The ball was dropped big time here and after Jeff first replied , I thought here we go, saying what qualifications do you have (fair question, if you don't know innuendo) but the collectors picked it the ball for a great outcome.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on September 14, 2016 at 3:29pm

Yes, this was an excellent outcome. I watched until quite early this morning, well after Jeff's initial comment. The situation was handled wonderfully and quickly by all involved.

Paul, I'm curious. How (or why) is a signed tambourine different than say...a signed ticket or program?

Eric

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Permalink Reply by Paul on September 14, 2016 at 4:09pm

Im talking about a stage prop thats unsigned.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on September 14, 2016 at 4:21pm

Thanks Paul. That, to me, is such a different type of thing I did not think of it in the context of this thread.

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Permalink Reply by michael phillips on September 14, 2016 at 3:23pm

Excellent process of clarifying opinions and a great outcome, well done Innuendo and all involved.

Regards Mike

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Gold on September 14, 2016 at 3:41pm

In the case of this letter, the process worked perfectly. I was relying on two experts as I'm not a Freddie Mercury expert, people expressed doubts, I pulled it down, we did more homework, and in the space less than a day it was on it's way back to the original seller, who sincerely apologized to me.

This is outside the realm of this site, but since people have brought it up, here is my take on memorabilia. If you're buying something owned or used by an artist, like a tambourine, you must know exactly where it came from, and get a written lifetime guarantee. This year I sold a Prince stage-used tambourine that I got from a close friend of mine, who worked with Prince for years as his guitar tech. I worked with Prince while I was at an exec. at Warner Bros, and have known the seller since that time. Perfect provenance. But when people list "Prince owned tambourine" on Ebay, claiming to have caught it thrown from the stage at a show, I steer clear. It may be authentic, but unfortunately there is no way to prove it. I've got some great artist owned material in my personal collection, but if I'm not positive, I'm passing.