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Kobe Autograph

Hi - Any input on whether this Kobe autograph is authentic? My husband's parents bought this for him way back in 1996 or 1997. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Dan Morris on February 9, 2020 at 12:39am

No, this does not look authentic IMO

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Permalink Reply by Abbie Baylor on February 9, 2020 at 12:40am

That's kind of what we figured. Thanks

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Permalink Reply by James on February 9, 2020 at 2:28am

So this was about the time Kobe was a rookie. Around that time, Kobe was signing things in several different styles. I posted about this in another discussion. It’s not like this is something you just picked up off of eBay. I would say it’s possible this could be authentic. Maybe you could post another pic so we can see everything.

Kobe was only about 18 yo at this time. So one question I would ask is this: how many people were forging Kobe Bryant autographs when he wasn’t yet even a star player?

The K does look strange to me though even for the time period.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Morris on February 9, 2020 at 2:51am

I hear what you're saying but the K is terrible and very atypical the Bryant is also off by a distance.

I know of a few people who purchased Kobe and also Shaq items in auctions in the mid-late 90's only to find out later they were not authentic when they went onto became famous.

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Permalink Reply by James on February 9, 2020 at 3:01am

I’m sure you’re right about this, Dan. And Kobe wasn’t officially a star, but I remember around that time there was a great deal of hype about his star potential and his coming straight from high school to the pros. So I’m sure the forgers were aware there was a growing demand for Kobe autographs.

I also need to note that my Kobe autograph knowledge is very much a work-in-progress. I’m learning as I’m going. I’m light years away from any expertise on Kobe autographs.