As a long time Jimmy Stewart collector, I have dozens of authentic autographs in my collection. From checks to photos to a baseball, I treasure them all.

However, one key piece has eluded me - that is a signed photo from It's a Wonderful Life. 

Jimmy Stewart was a generous signer and there is a good supply of authentically signed Stewart items readily available. As of now, there are approximately 420 James Stewart signed items on eBay from almost every movie he…

Over the years I have heard many stories of how various Facebook Autograph Groups can be a total circus. Crazy members, fighting, bad opinions, stalking... you name it. In light of this, I have avoided them.

However, recently I broke my own rule and joined the "Out or Safe!?”  baseball Facebook group because I had heard stories of what was going on in there. My curiosity was piqued and I wanted to see for myself. The premise of the group is someone posts a photo of an item, and admins…

Hey gang... please check out my new video and be sure to subscribe to my channel! :-)

Collectibles Chat Episode 7: Collectibles Chat with Steve Zarelli, Zarelli Space Authentication.

What are Autopen autographs; how to identify Autopen autographs; and Autopen myths.

I close the episode with a collecting tip.…

Today marks the 34th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. 

In this episode of Collectibles Chat -- Honoring the Challenger Shuttle Astronauts and Challenger Autographs Collecting Tips.

Collectibles Chat Episode 4: Exposing traced autograph scam. What to look for to identify traced over autograph fakes.

Please be sure to "subscribe" to my channel. Thanks!

Episode 2: Collectibles Chat with Steve Zarelli

In this episode I examine and discuss a vintage Soviet-era postcard book with numerous cosmonaut autographs.

I have been blogging and writing magazine articles about autograph collecting in general since the mid-90s. I can't believe it's been almost 25 years!

My latest adventure is trying my hand at videos. While I am a professional authenticator specializing in astronaut autographs, my videos will be a mix of space-related and more general for a wider range of interests.

With that, I invite you to check out the first episode of "Collectibles Chat," which focuses on removing a Mickey…

On April 12, 1961, Soviet Air Force pilot Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space. Launched aboard his Vostok spacecraft, Gagarin orbited the Earth and beat American Alan Shepard into space by 23 days. 

On March 27, 1968, Yuri Gagarin was killed in a training flight crash at the age of 34.

Despite not being as much of a "household name" as Alan Shepard, John Glenn or Neil Armstrong, Gagarin is a tremendous historical figure and there is strong demand for his…

Astute collectors know that crooked sellers use phony proof pictures to sell their fakes all the time. They steal images from other signings, pluck a photo from an internet search, and so on.

These so-called proof pictures rarely prove anything, but in this case, it proves the item is a fake, or at least, it is not the same photo that is being offered!

Here is a photo supposedly signed by Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Billy Martin and Mickey Mantle.…

What are the top five most dangerous space autographs? What space autograph is fake 75% of the time in my opinion? You may be surprised at some of the names.

I wrote the attached article for the Fall 2014 edition of the UACC magazine, Pen & Quill. I am pleased to share it here for your reading…

This article originally appeared in my blog, Steve Zarelli presents: The Collecting Obsession.

James Stewart was a willing through-the-mail signer for many years. However, after suffering medical problems in the 1990s, his office fulfilled mail requests with secretarial signatures and an Autopen machine.

The proxy signatures -- typically signed "James…

Steve Zarelli Space Authentication is pleased to present an online signature study on NASA astronaut, Virgil "Gus" Grissom. The full study can be found on my website by clicking here.

I have included a number of verified signature exemplars that span the short period Gus Grissom was signing autographs, as well as Autopens, secretarials, pre-prints and…

Even though I review hundreds of space and aviation autographs every month for clients including RR Auction, JSA, SGC, PSA and others, I always enjoy looking at cool items. Every once-in-a-while something comes along that really knocks me out of my chair... and this X-15 multi-signed photo is one of them.

The X-15 set altitude and…

At Steve Zarelli Space Authentication, I review thousands of autographed astronaut photos every year. Also, as a collector for over 15 years, I have seen many, many more.

So what is the most valuable and desirable single signed astronaut photo? Most people would probably assume it is a photo signed by Neil Armstrong. Armstrong unpersonalized white space suit portrait photos with a strong signature can fetch $5,000+. In a RR Auction Space Auction last fall, this…

As some of you know, my name is Steve Zarelli and I am an astronaut , cosmonaut and aviation autograph authenticator for RR Auction, JSA, SGC as well as dealers and collectors worldwide. I have been studying Neil Armstrong autographs for over…

Over the past few months I have noted an explosion of this James Stewart signature style on eBay. It seems as if some sellers have an endless supply of these signatures and they all have the same unusual characteristics.

• A sharp, "jerky" appearance
• Letters smashed together with poor letter definition
• Odd spacing between letters
• Never personalized
• Many of them do not appear to be on glossy photos... they are on cardstock prints

I…

Over the past few days I have been re-reading Operation Bullpen, the story of the Marino Family Forgery Ring and how the FBI took them down. The last time I read it was several years ago.

Something that really struck me this time around was how self-conscious the ring was about their product being “high quality” and how nervous they got when “someone…

UACC - GREAT NEW MEMBER & RENEWAL OFFER

Some exciting news from the UACC ... there are a number of new board members including Tricia Eaton, John Reznikoff and myself (Steve Zarelli). We are looking at new and exciting ways to grow the UACC with a focus on online initiatives, publications, signature…