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No COA's! Should I just throw it all out???

My nephews have 30 autographed mini helmets. Most are stars on college helmets.

For example Jerry Rice on Mississippi Valley State, Heisman winners, etc.

There are also autographed pictures, baseballs, etc.

Their Dad died.

Of the 50+ items, only a few COA's could be found. Now my nephews are in college, and want to sell this stuff.

Some of the items were from companies which have stickers on them (off the top of my head 2 are eBay regulars). I managed to contact 1 of them, and they want $20 per for duplicate COA's. The other never responded.

There was one PSA/DNA, that was not in the database. When I contacted them, sent them pictures, they had it in the database within 48 hours. That still leaves me with 45 pieces.

I was looking for an auction house that might help. I found Pristine in Arizona. They suggested a minimul fee for their certification when you consign with them.

I then found negative comments on a similar blog to this from 2009 regarding Pristine Auctions.

On the plus side, I did not find any current complaints using different search engines.

The point is the kids need money for school, so paying over $1000 to have things certified is not practical.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. After reading a bunch of your comments, it looks like you all are well versed in this area.

Thanks,

Vince Salvitti

Tags: auctions, coa's, consignment, no

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Permalink Reply by Brandon Mysinger on April 28, 2011 at 12:12pm

COAs are a well over-used marketing tool ( and that may sound odd coming from me since I work with an authentication company ). They are useful too, especially in situations like the one you are in.

I offer all of my authentication opinions for free. I don't charge customers or the companies I work with a fee at all. Sadly, I ONLY authenticate NASCAR items. Other experts might give a few free opinions but mostly, they require payment for their time and services. That's very common.

I suggest you save the money and upload the photos here and I'm sure some well informed collectors will help you with authentication. Then, you can sell the items and as always, if they are authentic, the market will determine the value.

However, since there are certain items which sell at higher prices ( or at least are listed for sale at higher prices ) if they have a COA from a reputable company / expert. I understand the desire to submit them for a COA. Since you have a good number of items, I'm thinking you could ( should ) get a better per-signature rate.

There is no reason to throw them out though. Just make sure that you feel secure in their authenticity before you list them. If you go for a COA, make sure you get one from a WELL KNOWN expert or company. A COA from anything other than this is simply worthless.

Remember, an item may be worth $x amount based on a price guide. Sadly, those $x amount items may only sell for 1/2 that as the market sets the actual price. Contemporary football is a market which is saturated with authentic autographs ( and sadly, forgeries too ). So, you may have to adjust your asking prices in order to sway buyers to buy your items.

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Permalink Reply by Vince Salvitti on April 28, 2011 at 1:58pm

Thanks. In most cases I don't think these are fakes, as the total $ value per wouldn't be worth forging. (unlike a Mantle, Mays, etc). The question then is how would you sell them since most web sites require a COA?

I appreciate it.

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Permalink Reply by Rich on April 29, 2011 at 9:42am

Hard to tell. Having no certification (or very limited) is not great situation, but COA's definitely arent; the "magic wand" many novice collectors think they are. I don't think it would be wrong to say that most fake items on ebay come with a COA. If the signature is real, it's real. The piece of paper doesn't make it so.

That being said, there are many autographs - especially sports autographs - that I wouldn't buy without good certification. For instance, I would never buy an Aaron Rodgers autograph that didn't have Steiner, MM, UDA certification, or is documented to be from a private signing by a dealer who was in attendance.

Do you have any info on how they were obtained? If your nephews got any of them in person, then you can state as such when you sell them - offer your own personal guarantee. Did they keep any receipts for autographs they did not get themselves? Do you have a general idea of how they got them and when? I.e. if they got a Jerry Rice autograph off ebay within the last ten years with no certification from a random ebay seller, I would almost guarantee it's fake.

There are a few things you can do.

1) Put them on ebay and be entirely upfront that you do not have the certification - i.e. sell as is. List any info you do have on the item - how obtained, when purchased, etc. People may still bid on the basis of the signature itself, so make sure you post good photos.

2) Post photos on this website and ask for opinions. We might be able to help weed out the bad ones at least, if there are any.

3) Send to PSA/DNA or JSA. I'd get some opinions before you did this though.

Just a thought - Let's be pessimistic and say they're all fake. Even if that was the case, don't immediately throw them out! Inscriptions are fairly easy to remove on mini helmets, so they helmets themselves still have value. You could sell them as a lot to a dealer or collector.

Also -Pristine Auctions is a mess. Not as bad as Coach's Corner, but still not all that great.

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Permalink Reply by Vince Salvitti on April 29, 2011 at 10:35am

Thanks very much. I knew I finally found the right place and people by joining Autograph magazine.

Also, I found on this site a listing of Heisman winners & addresses (of the living).

Since many of the items are Heisman winners, I thought I could write the individuals to see if they could/ would authenticate their own stuff with a letter.

Also, I have been trying to find out how to get in touch with Jerry Rice, as I have 2 of these helmets and they have "Jerry Rice" numbered hologram labels, Schutt sports numbered labels, & RADTKE numbered labels on them. waiting to hear from RADTKE.

Thank you all again

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Permalink Reply by Rich on April 29, 2011 at 10:43am

I'd buy a Radtke item in a heartbeat, even without the paper COA. Excellent sports dealer who is on my short list of safe bets for sports autographs.

That Jerry Rice hologram speaks for itself! I think you would have little trouble selling it, even if the corresponding COA has been lost/discarded.

I was worried that your nephews bought from some shady sources, but it sounds like they knew their stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on April 29, 2011 at 11:07am

Vince, upload the images to this site, either this discussion or into a photo album. You'll find out what you've got and get ideas on what to do...and it won't cost you a cent.

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Permalink Reply by Vince Salvitti on April 29, 2011 at 11:09am

Thank you all. Time to take pictures

You all are great

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Permalink Reply by Vince Salvitti on April 30, 2011 at 12:59pm

I have added photos for the first 3 of my helmets. Jerry Rice as previously discussed, Billy Cannon?, & Pete Dawkins? The Billy Cannon has no labels on it at all. The Pete Dawkins has labels from dealbyauctins & CSA.

I understand the signature is everyone's interest here. I included the label photos (or lack of) in an effort to learn more about these companies. I know 1 company doesn't reply to emails and their phone hasn't worked, and the other is listed on dealer sites but I can't find anything about them otherwise.

Thanks in advance

http://live.autographmagazine.com/photo/albums/mini-helmets1

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on April 30, 2011 at 1:59pm

Vince,

I just got back and approved your pics, so everyonecan see them now.

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Permalink Reply by Vince Salvitti on April 30, 2011 at 2:07pm

Thanks. The anticipation is similar to waiting to get an autograph. Haha

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Permalink Reply by Rich on May 2, 2011 at 7:29am

I wish I had a better stranglehold on the signatures themeselves! If that's an authentic Collector's Showcase of America hologram, maybe they still have the number in the database. It was probably signed at one of their shows - perhaps you can even get info on the date and location signed.