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Greetings from an old time picker

Hi Folks,

I enjoy reading the forum on daily basis. Some wonderful knowledge being passed on and very much appreciated. I have been picking paper for the last 20 years. Autographs, manuscripts, newspapers..anything that peaks my interest. If I have not seen it before I am more interested. I have over 5000 old auction catalogs and many older reference books. I use these, the web and good old intuition to verify authenticity. My main focus has always been historical, presidential, civil war, 1930-1960 Hollywood and science with interesting content. I try not to pick material thats common. I pick family estates for old paper and find some interesting material from time to time.

I get most of my enjoyment these days spotting fakes and contacting the seller to let them know someone is watching. What good it does..who knows? They dont seem to care they keep selling the junk, I actually used to contact bidders on ebay to let them know they were bidding on questionable material.

I do not pick sports. I am however educating myself further to start picking quality material. I want to dip into the classic material , Williams, Mantle, Ruth and Cobb. I am more interested in ALS or TLS material (hard to find), older balls (team)and some signed checks. I feel very uncomfortable buying balls, photos and other material with the massive amount of forged junk in the market. I do not think PSA or JSA should be relied on for much..just one mans opinion. I would not buy a Williams ball with a PSA or JSA, I look at the balls they are authenticating and its hit or miss for me. UDA seems to be a safe bet for new material or boxed Williams and Mantle balls/bats. There is provenance with this material. 

My question to anyone who cares to jump in...Do you think PSA..JSA are good for only resale? Would you purchase for your private collection? It looks as though buyers all all over the PSA material. Which as a picker works for resale. (Dont get me started on the GFA crap)

As a side note Profiles in History looks to be having a fantastic hollywood 3 day auction on deck. The lots look like some new to market material which PIH is always the best at getting to market.

Well thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe W. on June 4, 2016 at 5:49pm

I think TPA certs add credibility for less experienced collectors. If you sell on ebay or similar venues it will increase your chances of selling at a premium price quicker. Although, I believe if an autograph is genuine it will sell itself. There are enough serious collectors who know what they are doing and will pay good money for quality autographs. Others will probably have different opinions but that is my thoughts.

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on June 4, 2016 at 5:53pm

+1

Eric

Permalink Reply by Paul on June 4, 2016 at 6:15pm
These days you still have to sort out whats authentic even with certification.
Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on June 4, 2016 at 6:18pm

I take that as a given, and the fun, apart from finding stuff in the wilds.

Eric

Permalink Reply by Thomas William on June 4, 2016 at 6:44pm
Agree..The certifications hold little if any wieght when it comes to authenticating. I have never bought something based on a coa. I don't buy unless it passes my own test....reference, examples..my knowledge base. Early in the game This newbie was burned on steel stamp Andrew Johnson doc and that's all it took. I
educated myself. I have some great books from Charles Hamilton, Rendell and many others. I followed every auction from Alexander Autographs and many other large auction houses. The
monthly mailings from dealers collected over
the years are a vast repository of authentic
material I use all of the time. Knowledge is power in this game.
Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on June 4, 2016 at 8:02pm

Thomas,

Thanks for joining the conversation...and with such a great post! My feeling is that you should only buy something that's slam-dunk authentic, so if you know the autograph and have others who do that you can run it by, you may not need PSA/DNA or JSA. I'd get them on a Ruth ball or photo or other high-priced vintage material because they see a lot more of it and study it, in-person.

But PSA, JSA and the major licensed/private signing companies are so entrenched in the American sports market that they're pretty much a must if you want to get strong prices when you sell. It's questionable that paying $100 to get a Mantle SP certified by PSA is always worthwhile, though.

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on June 4, 2016 at 8:07pm

You're right about the Profiles in History Hollywood auction. There's some killer material, signed and unsigned. There are a lot of vintage unsigned photos that would frame up beautifully with autographs. So few autograph collectors ever consider buying original vintage prints to frame with their autographs. They're happy with reprints.

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