Authenticity is Everything
Van Halen Signed LP Forger Busted
Just wanted to share:
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/van-halen-forger-pleads-guilty/
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Stephen Duncan on
-
What a scum.
-
-
Thanks, Jim.
But the most salient part of this story is omitted.
According to the account in the Joplin Globe, the investigation into this crook took 4 YEARS!
http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x597291837/Carl-Junction-man-admit...
This shows you why forgers and fraud can flourish. It is enormously costly in terms of resources, manpower and time to make these cases. The fact that it took 4 years to bring one guy to justice demonstrates why it's taking so long to see the results of the feds' broad probe into the industry. That's been ongoing for more than 3 years.
-
Permalink Reply by Jim McFiver To Sidney Fields on
-
Sidney, you are so correct. And that's the reason I posted it here. Autograph Magazine articles are immediate and require nothing more than a few minutes of online searching to assist any fan with authenticity concerns.
The cynical part of me understands that forgery is not only easy money for the forgers, but also the associated institutions. eBay racked up some wonderful fees on this garbage, as did PayPal, credit card companies, banks, etc. Ironically, law enforcement can't be bothered because they don't make enough to justify the costs! Maddening.
Ultimately, however, the buyer must bear the final responsibility in vetting both the seller and item. And that's why I'm so appreciative of everything Steve Cyrkin has done here, turning this web site into another weapon fighting autograph fraud, 24 hours a day.
-
-
Absolutely right, Jim.
This website is an important clearinghouse for information about demonstrable and probable fraud. There's really nowhere else for people seeking that information to turn and find it as broadly and easily as its available here.
I've said it before. Steve deserves enornmous credit for standing up to and exposing the scammers, often at great personal expense.
-
-
It feels odd to bump a thread from like 14 years ago.
I posted a signed VH on the RACC Facebook page for opinions and someone commented that it appears to have been signed by a prominent forger out of Illinois... the only VH forger I could find out anything about was this guy... and here is the long shot part - does anyone have examples of what he was selling? He was going for a while and I'm willing to hazard a guess that some are still floating around.
thanks!
-
Permalink Reply by Jason H To William Fremmerlid on
-
No need to apologize for bumping an old thread. Information is still relevant and useful. I hate how people complain about doing such things like old info is always garbage. Thats almost never the case especially when it comes to autographs.
Could you post a link to the one you need opinions for?
I don't have much info on examples you are asking for but I can show you one that I wish was real but have no faith in. I always take a look at the sellers items but I never base my opinions solely on that. This guy has some questionable stuff for sure in his inventory but you never know how people acquired their collection. They could have a mix of real and fake because of bad purchase decisions in the past. So i always look at items individually but use what else they sell as a guide. That said, here is the item I do not like for many reasons but keep going back to based on a few aspects that seem good to see if my overall opinion has changed at all
And here are real signatures from 2004 I picked up a while ago which the seller provided pictures of Eddie and Sammy with this exact item so there is no doubt.
-
-
Hey, sure - this is the one... I've posted it to a couple of groups and get probably 75% buy in from people that see it... I've seen this version of Eddie on JSA approved pieces and the whole thing is making me a little crazy
-
-
I can see why it would make you crazy. Here's an Eddie I picked up from Australia on ebay. Took a chance on international and it worked out. I researched this like mad before buying and after.. I honestly wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't for the V.H. 98 inscription as something else to go by. Eddie can be tough to authenticate at times and this style without an inscription is one of the toughest I think. (I'll post the pic at the bottom of this post) for your Eddie, if you covered up the bottom of the E (the hump) the rest looks great.. Eddie could definitely be inconsistent and a bit sloppy with his signature. Do you know what year or era this was signed in?
Third party authenticators can't be trusted with Eddie at all in my opinion. Ive seen some head scratchers for sure including from Epperson. I believe this will pass their assessment based just on Eddie but that wouldn't give me one bit of confidence other than knowing it has value to authenticator fanboy buyers. Michael and Alex look good as well by themselves.
I feel you should focus on Roth. Granted I was born in 79 and grew up with Hagar so those are the sets I've always researched but I still put a bit of time in researching Roth because I would love to add him one day. I haven't pulled the trigger for one - just not confident enough yet. That said, Im not sure if I like "Roth" someone please correct me if im wrong but I've never seen a Roth where the R was followed through at the bottom, creating a full R, and then he still added the extra single line like in other styles of his signature how he completes his R.. If you can tear down just one signature, id feel the entire peice would lose integrity which is why id focus on Roth. There just something about "Roth" that keeps grabbing my attention.
Here's my Australian pick up a bit similar to your style Eddie
-
-
Ha! you're the one that sniped me on that Eddie :) Good find - that one is the more classic style of his signature in my opinion.
I don't know about mine... My personal feeling is the best opinion that can be rendered is inconclusive without connecting someone to the signatures... and where there's an inconclusive there is a fail. I mean I can tell if it's great or terrible... it's the ones in between.. and there are probably a bunch that fall into that category and in there lies a mix of good and bad.
I saw that Twister one on eBay and avoided it - there was too much wrong with it in my opinion, but I could see why you would take a chance if it was cheap enough.
-
-
Lol damn. Sorry about that. Its one that popped up and I pretty much had to have no matter the cost. Spent all week biting my nails. I would have spent a ridiculous amount and am happy you didn't bid more than you did.
I get what you're saying and agree. I'd never be completely confident in yours and would always be looking back at it questioning. If it is a fake, its done very well. Hopefully someone else will comment about this set. Could you make a separate post asking the community on this forum. Im not sure how many others would see it while connected to this thread and you might get a bit more help from others. I'd actually love to hear what others think about that Roth in particular
Yeah the twister one I have no faith in but its a good attempt and items like that keep me on my toes. I absolutely love the Twister movie and soundtrack and its why I wish it was real which is why I keep looking at it. Its basically where van halen ended for me. Like many, im not a fan of the cherone era at all.
-
-
haha no worries - I'm glad you got it then. just for reference here are the 2 VH on eBay BOTH with JSA certs.
© 2025 Created by Steve Cyrkin, Admin.
Powered by
Badges | Report an Issue | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
