Steve Cyrkin, Admin's Blog (41)

Authenticity Check: Rock Star Gallery Signed Movie Soundtracks and Photos

Rock Star Gallery always has lots signed rare and popular music and Hollywood memorabilia for sale.

Today I got an email from them saying "ROCK STAR GALLERY CELEBRATES FILM & TV" offering lots of signed soundtracks, photos, and sheet music priced at $750 and $1,200 each.

Each image below links to the listing on RockStarGallery.net.

Do all of the autographs on the ones you know…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on July 11, 2023 at 3:30pm — 7 Comments

Band-signed "Meet The Beatles!" album, one of 6 known, in auction ending Thursday. Once in Frank Caiazzo's personal collection.

An extremely rare Beatles-signed Meet The Beatles! album cover, one of only six known, is expected to sell for over $100,000 in RR Auction’s Marvels of Modern…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on December 7, 2019 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Which Mickey Mantle is Real? You Can Learn How to Tell!

No autograph is more popular than Mickey Mantle's. And no autograph is forged more.

Many Mantle forgeries are easy to identify, once you know what to look for. Telling a skilled forgery from a genuine Mantle takes a lot…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on March 22, 2017 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

Guitar Signed by The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Other Artists in the TCM-Bonhams March 27 Auction

Last I heard, there were no genuine, intact Beatles-signed guitars known. The only one was reportedly destroyed in a Malibu, Calif. landslide about 15 years ago.

RR Auction sold one a Beatles signed guitar around 2010, but the owner had tapped the autographs down with an awl to, um, "preserve them."…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on March 8, 2017 at 8:00am — 24 Comments

RR Auction Lawsuit: No Evidence of Shill Bidding

The judge rejected Michael Johnson's fourth attempt to add shill bidding allegations to his RR Auction lawsuit a few weeks ago. With his attempt to make it a class action lawsuit failing in March 2015 and his attempt to add shill bidding and another claim failing on August 12, Johnson's case heads to trial in January, apparently on his original claims only.…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on September 6, 2016 at 11:30am — 11 Comments

Rare Beatles-signed Sgt Pepper's Album to be auctioned June 29 at Bonhams

A Sgt Peppers album signed by all four Beatles is being auctioned by Bonhams in Knightsbridge, London on June 29. I haven't seen any news coverage on it, so I wanted to get the word out.…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on June 21, 2016 at 10:30pm — 109 Comments

John Lennon's Earliest Known Letter, from 1951, Expected to Bring at Least $43,000

A handwritten letter by an 11-year-old John Lennon, the oldest letter known, is the star of…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on March 7, 2016 at 2:00pm — 4 Comments

Rolling Stones Tour of Europe 1976 Poster signed

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on November 9, 2015 at 2:35am — 5 Comments

Your Thoughts: JustCollecting's 10 Most Expensive Celebrity Autographs of 2015

JustCollecting.com has released their index of the 10 Most Expensive Celebrity Autographs of 2015.

Compiled in conjuction with Paul Fraser Collectibles as part of their PFC40 Index, there are actually two lists: one with the most expensive autographs of living celebrities, and one with the most…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on October 16, 2015 at 1:30pm — 20 Comments

Arbitrator Rules Against Exclusive Rock and Roll Auction House in Claim Filed by Consignor

Law Firm of Gardner & Rosenberg P.C. Press Release, Sept. 15, 2015:

New York, NY ‐ A New York arbitrator this week slapped a high end Manhattan auction house with a judgment of more than $600,000 on a claim that it cheated a client out of the sale of two unique Michael Jackson items. The client alleged that Gotta Have Rock and Roll, a rock and roll…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on September 15, 2015 at 4:00pm — 22 Comments

Thank you, B.B. King! Share Your In-Person Autographs and Experiences

UPDATE: B.B. King passed peacefully yesterday, May 14.

I've been sad since hearing the news, that B.B. King is in hospice care. It was confirmed by a statement by King on his website, …

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on May 7, 2015 at 10:00am — 33 Comments

Authenticity Concerns Over Signed "Beatles '65" in Julien's Auctions May 17 Sale

Julien's Auctions is scheduled to auction Lot 685, a band-signed "Beatles '65" album at Saturday's…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on May 15, 2014 at 2:00pm — 66 Comments

Mass Resignations, Lives Threatened as AFTAL is Hijacked During Behind the Scenes Forgery Investigation

Formed with the stated goal of stamping out fake autographs, AFTAL, the Autograph Fair Trade Alliance, attracted many of UK's and Europe's most reputable dealers as members. But while the vast majority of AFTAL dealers lived its stated goal, including a recognized expert used by law enforcement to testify against the forgery industry, AFTAL's two primary founders, Dominic Manning and Marc Mclennan, used it as cover to sell and authenticate thousands of forgeries. Manning has seized control…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on February 4, 2013 at 6:00am — 204 Comments

History Detectives Jan 8: "The Star Spangled Banner" Manuscript Mystery

It's America's national anthem, and a historic mystery of the highest order:

Who wrote this manuscript of America's national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner? Not the poem that became the song; that was Francis Scott Key, of course. Who wrote this music manuscript of it; the musical…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 2, 2013 at 8:30pm — 2 Comments

NBC News Investigates Julien's Auction's Michael Jackson Autograph Scandal

NBC News Los Angeles aired an investigative report on Julien's Auction's Tompkins & Bush Michael Jackson sale on Tuesday, Dec. 18's 11:00 News. Watch the report and read the accompanying article on NBC Los…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on December 18, 2012 at 11:30pm — 72 Comments

Bill Mastro and Two Other Former Mastro Auctions Executives Indicted for Allegedly Defrauding Bidders

FBI Press Release, July 25, 2012:

WILLIAM MASTRO AND TWO OTHER EXECUTIVES OF FORMER MASTRO AUCTIONS INDICTED FOR ALLEGEDLY DEFRAUDING BIDDERS IN ONLINE AND LIVE AUCTIONS OF SPORTS MEMORABILIA AND OTHER COLLECTIBLES…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on July 25, 2012 at 11:00am — 52 Comments

Lessons Learned by a New Autograph Collector

A new collector sent this in for us to publish:

I've written some observations about being a new collector. If you think it's of any merit, I'll forward it to whoever you feel could post or print it to try to help others."

…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on July 23, 2012 at 10:00am — 2 Comments

The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Courtesy of American Royal Arts

When Iowa custom home builder Rick Garceau found American Royal Arts, he thought he was in Rock 'n' Roll Heaven.

Owner Jerry Gladstone trumpeted ARA as the world's largest seller of autographed rock 'n' roll, and they had an eye-popping selection of rare, signed, classic rock memorabilia. Garceau spent over $88,000 with ARA in 2006 and 2007, snapping up Beatles-signed "Abbey Road" and "Sgt. Pepper's" albums; guitars signed by the Grateful Dead, Wings,…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 9, 2012 at 2:30am — 37 Comments

HOLD THE PRESSES: Six Charged with Fraud Over Fake Game-Used Sports Memorabilia

Rockford, Ill, October 25, 2011—Six men have been charged in similar but separate fraud schemes involving the sports memorabilia business and the purchase and sale of equipment and uniforms used by professional and collegiate athletes. Today, in U.S. District Court, four defendants were charged in criminal informations and two defendants were charged in indictments.

According to court documents, each case involved the sale, consignment, or auction of jerseys, in which each defendant…

Continue

Added by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on October 25, 2011 at 1:30pm — 8 Comments