Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by john reznikoff on October 9, 2009 at 3:19pm

If you call my office next week i can spend a few minutes giving you my opinions
thanks
john
203 454 0111

Permalink Reply by Louis Becerra on October 11, 2009 at 1:02pm

Thanks, John. Will do!

Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Hauser on October 17, 2009 at 5:54pm

I'm interested in opinions on Stephen Koschal, Frank P. Garo, PAAS and Verified Authographs as authenticators.
Like you, I have COA's from the mainstream groups, although I'm hesitant on GAI for certain subjects.

Permalink Reply by Louis Becerra on October 19, 2009 at 9:49am

Thanks, Jeffrey. I agree with you - GAI has the reputation, at least among most serious collectors I know, of authenticating everything put in front of them. I've seen a few items authenticated by JSA that I didn't think were good, but I think JSA overall is fairly reliable. I personally tend to stay with PSA/DNA since that's more widely accepted across the hobby as being reliable. They obviously have their flaws and have made mistakes in the past. But, with the items I have had signed in-person over the years, they have passed PSA/DNA authentication about 97 or 98% of the time, which leads me to believe that there is at least some objectivity in their authetication process. Other authenticators, such as invidivuals and companies like PAAS and Verified Autographs, etc. I have always stayed away from. If they are not well-known in the industry then their certs do virtually nothing to help my items gain or retain value. Just my two cents!

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on October 19, 2009 at 8:53pm

I don't know anyone that uses or accepts Koschal's at all, even though his website says every dealer and auction house accepts his worldwide. PAAS mostly seems to mostly get items that either don't pass or wouldn't pass PSA/DNA, JSA or respected specialists. Garo I hear is just another forensic document examiner, like Chris Morales--I hear that people who know him consider his COAs a sign of forgery, not authenticity. I know nothing about Verified Autographs.

GAI has had troubled times. It sounds like the new crew is OK, but the old stuff is known for lots of problems except for NASCAR that Brandon Mysinger authenticated.

What do you know?

Permalink Reply by roger epperson on October 19, 2009 at 4:19am

please call my office @ 832-473-3300 and i can fill you in all the scams that are going on right now. Two biggies that come to mind to stay away from is anybody that says they are a forensic document examiner like Christoper Morles and PAAS. These guys don't have a clue.

Permalink Reply by john reznikoff on October 19, 2009 at 6:05am

Roger makes agood point that there is a mine field out there now. I think it is important to note that there are many legitimate Forensic Document examiners out there- they just do not operate in our field-nor would they be effective. Gus Lesenivich is the forensic expert on the Astor case and he is a true pro but show him a real Beatles autograph versus fake and he might be lost. However, authenticators in our field are often very effective in modern forgery cases because they look at handwriting quite differently. I was recently an expert witness against the states head forensic expert in a contract dispute involving a forged signature. I massacred the other guy and if anyone wants to see the judges decision I think it would be very enlightening for them, I can email a PDF. thanks

Permalink Reply by Kim Green on January 27, 2010 at 5:18am

Hello, John,
I have a question as to why authenticators in this field would be effective in modern forgery cases. How is it that they look at handwriting differently? I would be very interested in your PDF if you would send it my way, cincerity@sbcglobal.net.
Thanks!

Permalink Reply by roger epperson on October 30, 2009 at 8:42am

Hey Aaron or Mike Frost or Steve Koschal or whoever you are. Things like "i have heard" is just a bunch of hear say. Pull out the facts and then we can disucss the truth. For the record I don't have ANY family members whatsoever that collect autographs and have NEVER authenticated anything for them. I have NEVER authenticated something that i didn't look at, EVER! The reason i can work for JSA, RR Auction and many other auction houses world wide is because I am the best at what i do, music autographs. Of course i authenticate everything I sell, who else could do it better? Have i made errors before, of course I am a human being. I just make VERY few. When you have an intellegent point to make then write in this blog, until then don't!

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on October 30, 2009 at 10:15am

I'm sure "Aaron" is Mike Frost. He's saying the same things he said before, plus there are couple of his typical punctuation errors—but he must be having someone proofread his work.

For those who don't know, Mike owns P.A.A.S. autograph authentication service, which is one of the authenticators for American Royal Arts, along with Christopher Morales and other forensic document examiners. Mike and people he works with are heart-set on destroying Roger, the magazine and legitimate autograph authenticators.

I'm not aware of any auction houses that refuse Roger's LOAs. "Aaron"—please give us a list.

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on October 30, 2009 at 8:19pm

Aaron,

Please use your real name and fill out a real profile. And please be civil or we'll have to delete your messages--or ban you.

But I do agree with you 100% that Roger has lots of enemies. The rock forgery industry hates him and is trying to destroy him. Now more than ever since he worked with us (Autograph magazine) to help a victim get $20,000+ credit card charge-back from Autographs America. And we're working on a $10,000+ one from another dealer.

The forgery dealers must be scared out of their wits.

Permalink Reply by Louis Becerra on November 10, 2009 at 4:46pm

Wow, it looks like I really opened up a can of worms here, but I do appreciate the candid responses. Thank you!

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