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Muhammad Ali Autographs !!

Any thoughts if these are real ??? Thanks !

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Carlos on February 11, 2014 at 5:09pm

I'm saying don't be so quick to disregard an Ali auto. There are so many legit examples out there that are disregarded that are real.I'm not saying they are real but they do resemble Ali's auto.
Example - Would you believe these are both his autos?

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Permalink Reply by Mike P on February 11, 2014 at 5:44pm

First one is absolutely not authentic. I have tried studying Ali for the past year or so, and I can assure you the first is totally bad.

Now the second one looks like some of the [forged] signatures you would find on cruise ships a couple of years ago (they now sell the ones that resemble his modern/ very shaky signature but still are all fake). If the seller gives you an era he/she suggests they were "signed," it will be much easier to get an opinion. Ali's signature can be identified fairly easily given time periods since they have distinct characteristics throughout the years; you could catch a seller in a lie as well.

I'd personally stay away from these two and try finding a better example.

I use this website a lot when comparing for exemplar purposes: http://www.aliautos.net/examples.html

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Permalink Reply by DonBlaze on February 12, 2014 at 2:43am

Thanks Mike P for the advice. I agree with you in that not only is it about the autograph but also the lie behind the story.That is why I like to hear the story behind the autograph from the seller.As I said before Ali 's signature is tough at times to authenicate and hearing the story about the autograph fom the seller can be a big help. The story behind these 2 is one of the best I ever heard.It is amazing what people will think up to decieve you out of your money.

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Permalink Reply by michelle on February 13, 2014 at 4:09am

Hi . I have been following this as someone I know is a hugh Ali fan and I want to get a signed photo for him. Have I missed a thread? Perhaps someone could be kind enough to tell me what the story the fake seller was telling to make you think the Alis' were genuine in the first place. regards

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Permalink Reply by DonBlaze on February 13, 2014 at 4:29am

Hi Michelle, Even though Muhammad Ali is a willing signer and really his "authentic" autograph shouldn't be too hard to get. Due to his popularity, people have discovered forging his signature is profitable.

Now to the stories, First I suggest you google "Operation Bullpen" if you are not familiar with this major fraud which will scar Ali collectors for years to come. The forger was John Olsen also know as John Grim now. He forged thousands of autographs and it was easy for him to peddle them because former heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner was in on it too.Even though they got caught and some went to prison (The Marino's) Olsen is back. To push his garbage he has to convince you with his story and has pictures to back him up. Believe me ,the story works as he fooled many people to buy his junk. These are not 'stupid" people or morons as some would refer here to be. Olsen and the rest were good and there are people who would hate to admit that.

Olsen is not alone , you will find others and they all have interesting stories to tell you. Some have pictures of either them or family members with Ali, which really isn't a rarity as Ali was accessible to many during his time.The stories work because people out there are still buying this "stuff" and again these people aren't "stupid" ,it is just Olsen and the rest are good at what they do,

This is why I feel that sites like this will prevent something like "Operation Bullpen" never to happen again. Steve C, will tell you 30 years ago we only had Sports Collectors Digest ,for collectors to communicate with each other.

As far as you looking for a legit Muhammad Ali ,it really shouldn't be too hard ,you just have to be careful.I hope this was of some help to answer your question, if not I would be happy to explain this further . Don

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Permalink Reply by michelle on February 13, 2014 at 9:12am

Thanks for that; that makes more sense. I looked at the examples of Ali's sig on one of the links & its a really good link with loads of clear examples. Are there any obvious red herrings I need to look out for ? kind regards

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Permalink Reply by DonBlaze on February 13, 2014 at 10:26am

Michelle , If I understand you right, I would say pictures of Ali signing or of the forger and Ali together to gain your confidence in what they have has to be "real "because as what they are showing you, that they know him or have direct contact with him. I think I know the site of examples of his signatures you referred to ,if you look at the many that are shown, you will see the different variations over the years. One thing IMO about a forger is that their "fake" signatures stays constant with other signatures they falsely produce.

The damage to me that forgers have done reading the comments here is that ,the trust of people buying Muhammad Ali autographs is extremely cautious who it is from.Again ,IMO Ali was a fairly prolific signer and there are many on the market that are good ,but the fear has kind of scared people off.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin R on February 12, 2014 at 6:23pm

Are these for sale in South New Jersey?

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Permalink Reply by DonBlaze on February 13, 2014 at 1:50am

Kevin , No they are not. I know that is where John Olsen does his listing from on Craigslist. I was in contact with him lately and once I realized who he was, I tried to find out why he restarted his fraud.Are you the person he ripped off and you met him near the airport ? If so, I read your story on the internet and relayed to Olsen that things are different today with the internet.

Right now on New York Craigslist (LI) somebody is selling Muhammad Ali's, Jeters, Willie Mays etc. They say they have a ton of them. The ones they show look "bad" So I emailed them for more pictures of Ali ,telling them I am interested in buying, After 2 emails to this person , I have not gotten a response. It can John Olsen and I am the last person he wants to hear from.

Kevin ,these 2 that are shown are from California and the kicker is the person says he is a good friend of the Ali family and showed mr pictures. This is a Olsen trick as you know.They goal is to convince you that they know the person they are selling and once they do,then they figure they can sell you anything.