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MICKEY MANTLE AUTHENTIC EXEMPLARS... READ ALL ABOUT IT!

I just wanted to post these here to see what Fudd the Lowly Mantle Collector can do to help stop the flood of forgeries into the market place. The goal is that we can all start educating ourselves before we buy. To see what a beautiful signature the Mick had, and to learn to distinguish it from the obvious forgeries at first glance. Something TTA, STAT, DREW MAX, GAI GLOBAL (Baker certs) My Favorite Players Reborn (Tony Podsada) & Christopher Morales can't seem to do....at all? You will almost never see a signature in this photo album collection that would match or come close to anything that has been certed by any of those guys. Maybe you'll find 1 in a 1000 if you're lucky. To tell the difference between what an original hand signed Photo by the Mick looks like vs. an obvious Fake at first glance is easy. Give it a try. It's Fun!

As has been told many times, The Mick made more in one signing than his dad did in 1 year. He felt obligated to his fans to give them a "work of art". He did this by signing on just the right spot for the particular photograph he was presented. The size of his signature was determined by how big the sweet spot was. He knew EXACTLY how to fit his signature in so it looked perfect. A thing of beauty really. Please note that these are not all the same signature over and over, but merely a sample from my collection. What I do know is that these are consistent with the WAY Mantle signed and structured his Autograph as we know it. Good luck! FUDD

AUTHENTIC EXEMPLARS-PHOTOS

http://s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/fuddjcal/library/Mickey%20Ma...

AUTHENTIC EXEMPLARS-BALLS

http://s1342.beta.photobucket.com/user/fuddjcal/library/Mickey%20Ma...

Tags: forgeries, genuine, mickey mantle

10 members like this

Comment by CJCollector on December 30, 2011 at 3:35pm: I thought I would end the year by exposing yet another horrible Mickey Mantle forgery. This one is being sold by Ebay seller Coinsantiques.13

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Signed-Mickey-Mantle-Baseball-E421-/1306241...

Comment by CJCollector on January 2, 2012 at 7:20pm: Check out this hideous forgery being sold by Ebay seller Vintagebrothers. And yes, someone is actually bidding on this garbage.

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 2, 2012 at 7:28pm: Yuck. I hope eBay kills that one quickly.

Comment by DB on March 12, 2012 at 6:24am: Always good to compare the banannas from the real fruit;

Comment by DB on March 24, 2012 at 12:14pm: Thoughts on this one.... I believe t/b authentic but have become brain dead with all the variations; Also, how does toning affect the overall ball & presentation?

Comment by Fuddjcal on March 24, 2012 at 3:38pm: I like the Mantle & the Aaron for whatever thats worth.

Sweet spot single signed is always most desirable as is the boldness of the signature and how white the ball is.

Many of the old balls toned like a bitch because of some water problem I think in making them in Haiti or Costa Rica? When you get those in nice condition however, they seem to stay that way. The ball is nicer to me when the overall ball is white. If it's toned, I like it to be overall and not spotted like a racoon. I only collect Mint Baby, Mint!!!!The one thing I'll say is that the newer MLB Selig balls can tone and spot as well, even when they are not displayed. The funny thing is that the new inks that they use, sometimes fade right off the new balls after a few years, even if you don't display them. Give me an old Bobby Brown, William White, Gene Budig, Bart Giamatti or Leonard Coleman anyday over the new balls. When they are Mint after all these years, "they are Gold Jerry, Gold".

I display 36 in my office. The 30 ball case gets sun much of the day, but has UV protection as does the ball cubes. The other 6 are in Steiner glass cases with UV protection. The only trouble I've had has been with a few of the newer balls having the autograph fading 50-90% in some cases.

Comment by Steve Zarelli on March 24, 2012 at 4:28pm: The only trouble I've had has been with a few of the newer balls having the autograph fading 50-90% in some cases.

Are the ones with excessive fading Steiner by any chance? I have read reports online about Steiner signed balls being especially notorious for fading -- even when not displayed. I don't have any personal experience with it, but it does seem as if Steiner always uses weak looking light blue ink on their items.

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on March 24, 2012 at 4:40pm: Fudd,

Careful—UV protected ball cubes and framing glass aren't adequate protection from daily sun. You may not be seeing the damage now, but you may later, especially if they get warm during the day.

UV window tinting film will make a big difference and it's not expensive. A good treatment can last 5-10 years.

Comment by Steve Zarelli on March 24, 2012 at 5:28pm: Another thing to bear in mind is flourescent lighting has much higher UV than standard incandesant lighting.