I am going to give you the best Beatles autograph story ever, and one of the worst. First, I’ll start with the best. Years ago, I met a guy at a party at a fancy mansion in L.A. He was one of those old dudes, that had all white hair, in a long ponytail. You know the type. But he was really interesting, and a great storyteller. And he was the kind of storyteller where you believed what he was saying, because the stories weren’t over-the-top. We talked for a…

Ten years ago, Van Halen released A Different Kind of Truth, their first studio album with lead singer David Lee Roth since 1984.  That year, I befriended a coworker who was as much a fan of the band as I was.  His name was Nick, and he had been touring with the band for many years.  Prior to his trip to Louisville, Kentucky, for the first concert of the tour, I asked him if he would be willing to have Eddie Van Halen autograph a photo for me.  Nick was an autograph…

Being an active collector of autographs and in the archival framing industry since the 1980s, it amazes me what I see when I remove autographs from most frames.  It is very common to find household (acidic) tape and regular non UV glass contained inside frames. ANd, I have never seen 4 ply museum grade cotton rag for matting AND backing on these important autographs - NEVER!

Framers should know better when framing original autographs and documents.  After all, these items are…

There's nothing worse then coming home from having a cigar with my buddies, and listening to my wife complain that I smell like smoke. I'm told to take my clothes off and...throw them in the backyard and light them on fire because they stink. I feel like Sissy Spacek in Silkwood, being checked for radiation poisoning and being banished to the shower.

What makes it worse is when she has the show Jeopardy! on. That's because she knows about 80% of the answers. I know about 10%. Even…

    Many autograph and book collectors love to sift through the shelves at used bookstores or thrift stores for signed copies that go unnoticed. Books signed by athletes, celebrities, and even Presidents have been found for less than $1. Others have found a signed photo, hat, or even a poster on a random shelf. 

    Yesterday, a user that goes by Straydowg on…

Whenever I am asked to name my favorite autograph in my autograph collection, I always answer that it is my Alfred Hitchcock autograph.  That has been my standard answer for many years.  There are, however, autographs in my autograph collection that I consider to be personal favorites, even though many autograph collectors may consider them to be unremarkable.  Regardless, I would never want to be without them.

The best example of an autograph in my autograph collection that is a…

TMZ reported tonight that an autograph seeker kept asking Kanye (or "Ye" as his friends call him) for his autograph. West punch the man twice, and he hit the ground. Cameras were only turned on once the guy was on the ground, so no word on if he was flopping, or he really got knocked down. Either way, cops were called.

And, this guy (who was probably an autograph dealer, not a fan), is probably now looking at a big payday.

This was taken from People.com.

It's a great read.

Like many of us, I do some selling on eBay (mostly to help finance my own collecting).  This was the question I was asked  by a member this morning who says they are interested in one of my offerings:

"Does It Have Authentication?"

This particular piece has no third party authentication but I have no doubt whatsoever that it's real after study and comparison to exemplars as well as running it past a dealer friend.

How do you (or would you) answer this…

   I'd enjoy hearing feedback on this topic.  Let's say it's a very rare signer whom you've searched far and wide for.  You find them....and the piece is laminated (could be an album page, a handwritten letter, etc.). 

   What would you do?  Buy it for it's significance and your desire to have something from them?  Pass on it because of the lamination?  Offer less than what an unlaminated piece might be worth?

    Also, I'm wondering if the laminate affects the ability to…

It was all over the news that an actor in the movie Home Alone (I believe he played the brother), was arrested for strangling and hitting his girlfriend. Of course, alcohol was involved (he had consumed a bottle of wine and 10 shots). But what most people don't know was involved was -- an autograph!

Two women had approached him at the bar asking for his autograph. The girlfriend had the signatures in her purse (I think on 8x10 photos, but I'm not positive). She gave one away, and that…

After speaking with several experienced collectors and telling me it’s forgery signature and sending my Kobe autograph jersey for a Beckett signature review the autograph came back “unlikely to pass fully authentication. The original “Authenticators” is a group called VSA . I bought this jersey almost 2 years from a store as a rookie mistake not knowing what PSA,Beckett,JSA,etc were . The Authenticators website is so sketchy compared to big name Authenticators websites. This is the…

Forger Brian Burkel is no longer accepting credit cards as he has been expelled by visa , mastercard, american express and paypal. He now only accepts echecks:

We Accept

Here are a few of his many url's:

https://m46cloud3at.com/

Collectible Gifts – Autographed…

Two years ago, I met Dominic Chianese at Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York.  My wife and I gave him a box of Italian pastries from Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. He was very appreciative and kind.  While he was enjoying his sfogliatella, I noticed some of the items that he was autographing.  Photographs of Johnny Ola and Uncle Junior.  He was also autographing sheets of small stickers.  I realized that the autographed stickers would one day appear on trading…

Many years ago, autograph collectors were content to carry an autograph book to events with the hope that they would encounter their favorite celebrities.  Many of those autograph books were filled with some of Hollywood’s greatest personalities.  They have since been torn apart and sold as individual items.

Years later, autograph books were replaced with index cards.  Autograph collectors would carry a certain quantity of index cards with the same hope.  That they would encounter…

This blog is dedicated to showing examples of "500 Homerun Club" forgeries on a baseballs, photos, etc.

I will continue to add to this blog as I observe more.

First, below is a link to my blog titled "COA Guaranteed Forensic Authenticators Forged Signed 500 Homerun Club.…

Immediately below is a link to a previous blog on Ebay seller Fursafe55.

https://live.autographmagazine.com/profiles/blogs/ebay-seller-fursafe55-lists-forged-counterfeit-sandy-koufax-2000-

Let's check out the below forged…

Before I continue, below are links showing hundreds of examples of forged Mickey Mantle baseballs, photos, etc. found on Ebay (the most dangerous place to buy autographs if you're a casual collector or impulse buyer).…