Authenticity is Everything

Kobe real or fake?

New here, saw this on an auction, trying to determine if this is authentic or not. It’s on a Mitchell ness hardwoods classic jersey and has a fanatics hologram. It does not appear to be an autopen to me, but I’m also new to this. Anyone out there with information on this autograph by chance?

Tags: Bryant, Fanatics, Kobe

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Permalink Reply by AustinCollector on July 20, 2025 at 4:19pm

Fanatics forgeries are being churned out in very high quality these days. From your photos it's hard to tell much. I also highly recommend considering the dealer/seller. Buying from highly reputable and trusted sellers really helps mitigate the risk of these things. eBay and other auction sites are now a cesspool of forgeries with the exception of a few trusted sellers. But even dealers are having a hard time keeping up.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Mowick on July 20, 2025 at 10:57pm

Do you need to see more pictures or is it too hard to tell from photo? It’s a reputable dealer that’s selling it. Just extra careful with all the fanatics fake hologram talk.

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Permalink Reply by AustinCollector on July 21, 2025 at 10:37am

Honestly I'm not very good with Kobe signatures and totally untrained at spotting fake Fanatics COAs.

If it meets these three criteria, you're probably safe.

1. Reputable dealer

2. The COA serial shows up in the online database

3. The price is not too good to be true and in line with fair market value

You can also spend a few dollars for a PSA/DNA Quick Opinion for an added layer of certainty. They'll give it a casual glance, at lease.

Hope this helps.

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Permalink Reply by Doug S on July 21, 2025 at 12:18pm

Hi. After zooming in on the fanatics sticker, the black ink and security features look quite faded. That doesn't look right to me. Even with age I would expect that to hold up. That would scare me off all by itself at those prices.