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Signed Bob Marley bought from ARA! Real or Fake?

Hello!

I bought this piece from ARA on a holyday to Key West back in 2008. And i have loved it, until i saw this webpage. Now i feel stupid, and have a bad taste in my mouth. If what I have read is true, that almost all items authenticated by Christopher Morales are fake, then this also propably is fake too. I live in Norway, and it's not many, if none, who can examine this here. Thats why I'm hoping to get help from someone here at this forum. Thanks.

Regards

Hans Petter Solberg

Norway

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on February 23, 2011 at 5:41pm

Hans,

While you're waiting for folks to chime in with their opinions, here are some discussions about Bob Marley autographs:

http://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/bob-marley-signed-al...

http://live.autographmagazine.com/profiles/blogs/bob-marley-amp-aut...

Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on February 24, 2011 at 2:30am

Hans,

I'm not an expert, so don't rely on me alone, but I strongly believe that your Bob Marley autograph is a forgery. Sorry for the bad news. See how similar the signature is to the ones on these signed albums from Autographcentral.net supposedly signed by Bob Marley? Autograph Central is a supplier to American Royal Arts:

http://live.autographmagazine.com/profiles/blogs/bob-marley-amp-aut...

If it turns out I'm right, I'll tell you who to contact to file a claim against ARA...although you may be too late. And I'll connect you with the FBI agent investigating ARA president Jerry Gladstone and Christopher Morales. That you're not too late for.

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Permalink Reply by Hans Petter Solberg on February 24, 2011 at 3:07am

Hi Steve!

Thanks for the work you put into helping me.

I was 90% sure yesterdag that the autograph is a forgery, now im close to 100% sure. I consider my money lost, but i will be happy to help FBI with their case.

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Permalink Reply by roger epperson on February 24, 2011 at 4:36am

In my expert opinion I do not believe that this is authentic. Sorry

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Permalink Reply by Hans Petter Solberg on February 24, 2011 at 4:46am

Hi Roger!

Your opinion is highly appreciated, thank you. Not good news, but still helpful.

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on February 24, 2011 at 7:16am

I cringe when I read stories like this. It has always puzzled me why people buy items like this before doing any sort of research. I don't mean for my comments to be incendiary (Steve's word for me and rightfully so) but no matter who certs a particular autograph you not only have to research it but research the person behind the cert. This is one of the main reasons why the autograph hobby is such a mess and why my comments both in writing and on video are incendiary. Do people who buy a signed Beatles album for $934.00 really think they have authentic autographs of all four Beatles. If Hans doesn't mind I'd like to ask him "What convinced you to purchase that particular Bob Marley autographed album cover?" Thank you.

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Permalink Reply by Hans Petter Solberg on February 24, 2011 at 8:20am

Hi Christopher!

I`m not a collector, and this is the only signed piece i have bought.

I did look up ARA on the internet before buying. But back then (early 2008), i didnt find any negative about them (maybe i didnt look close enough?).

Infact, there were many happy customers, and ARA seemed like a serious business. Offcourse i thought the autograph was real.

It was the only Bob Marley piece they had there at the time, thats why i bought this one.

But to answer your question, asked between the lines: Yes, i feel like i jerk for buying this, and for not investigate more beforehand.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on February 24, 2011 at 10:05am

Hans,

You were not a jerk, fool or to blame at all. You were cheated, scammed, robbed.

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Permalink Reply by Brandon Mysinger on February 24, 2011 at 10:34am

Amen Steve! It's very important that all of the victims understand this. Good Stuff!

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on February 24, 2011 at 10:45am

Ditto, Steve.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on February 24, 2011 at 8:24am

Chris,

I can tell you why they buy. Consumers who know little or nothing about autographs go to tourist spots and see galleries that look very respectable. They claim to have associations with the Elvis Presley estate, Frank Sinatra estate, Beatles. How could they sell forgeries and not be arrested? They're not selling anonymously on eBay.

Then they have authentication by COURT APPROVED FORENSIC DOCUMENT EXAMINERS!!! What more could you ask for? When I first went to American Royal Arts' Web site, I read about that, and Christopher Morales, and even I was impressed.

I couldn't figure out how someone approved by the courts could be anything but trustworthy. But at the same time, I had heard that they were major sellers of forgeries—that's how I found out about them in the first place.

Chris, that was less than three years ago—and I've owned Autograph magazine since 2004!

If they looked beyond reproach to me on their face, imagine how they'd look to the typical consumer?

The sellers of forgeries do everything they can to look perfectly respectable to consumers...to make them think they're beyond reproach. I don't blame the collectors from getting caught in the scam.

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on February 24, 2011 at 8:50am

Steve, I, of course, echo your comments. That's exactly why. I was just curious why Mr. Solberg purchased that item and I appreciate your reply and honesty, Mr. Solberg. I will tell you how I discovered Morales. There was a seller on Ebay (many years ago) who was selling Jeter autographs with a Morales COA. They were ugly forgeries. I then discovered the aforementioned seller's website who was selling a ton of autographs with a Morales COA. That seller was eventually barred from selling autographs on Ebay but his website is still active. When I discovered that website my first thought was "How could this person (Morales) have the title of Forensic Examiner?" That's when my research on Morales started. During the years of doing videos on forgeries I always invited the buyers of forgeries to explain why they purchased the forgeries I exposed. Unfortunately, I believe only one or two buyers explained why they made those purchases. The main reason being they could not believe that Ebay allowed those items to be listed. In other words, echoing Steve's comments, those people rely heavily on other entities (Ebay, authenticators, etc) making sure that what they purchase is authentic. That still puzzles me. You don't have to be an expert to know autographs, but a little research and common sense goes a long way. Mr. Solberg, I hope you can recover all or some of your monies. It's a shame that we have to spend so much of our time, energy, monies, etc., to battle the bad guys on a daily basis.