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Authenticity is Everything
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Difference between Authentic & Secretarial + Signature Study
For a long time, collectors have been warned about the potential for Arnold Schwarzenegger's TTM signatures being secretarial, especially due to the fact that there seemed to be no short supply of them in the 90s. These signatures are VERY close to the real ones, and they can be tough to spot without regular familiarity with Arnold's signature.
I'd like to create a thread outlining the differences between a secretarial and authentic signature. I will post examples of the secretarial signatures, and examples of signatures that I believe are authentic because they come from "official" sources. I will also outline the key differences between the signatures.
Please feel free to let me know if you agree with my opinions, and if there is any other important information that should be included.
There is also a "riddle of steel" to solve at the bottom, concerning official autograph cards. Please comment and help out!
SECRETARIAL SIGNATURES:
CHARACTERISTICS OF SECRETARIAL SIGNATURES:
OVERALL:
If you were to trace a line under these signatures, you'd end up with a very squiggly line. The letters, especially in the "nol" and "hwarzene" do not touch on the same invisible horizontal line under the signature.
These signatures usually have an upward slant to them, and are usually signed straight across the bottom of something.
The letters in these signatures "stand upright".
"ARN":
These letters tend to be very "loopy", with no definition of different letters. It is more of a continuous squiggly line.
"LD":
The "L" tends to be the same height as the "D".
"CH"
The "C" and the start of the "H" tend to bow away from each other.
"W":
This letter is usually very rounded and small, with the second dip of the w very much like the first dip.
"ZENE":
These letters are usually formed loosely, and they all aren't running in the same angle/direction.
AUTHENTIC SIGNATURES:
To ensure the accuracy of this study, I tried to include only "official" verified hand-signed signatures. The first is from a fine art print signed for Sideshow Collectibles in 2005. The next are various in-person signatures from Arnold's book tour in 2012. The final is from Arnold's exclusive signing with Easton Press for a special edition of his book.
CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTHENTIC SIGNATURES:
OVERALL:
If you were to trace a line under these signatures, you'd end up with a relatively straight line. In most instances, each letter touches down on the same invisible horizontal line below the signature. In some cases, his first name and last name don't follow that same line, but each word in his name name still can have a relatively straight line traced under it.
These signatures usually have a rightward slant to them, with about a 15 degree pitch to the signature, in comparison to the upright letters found in the secretarial signatures. Arnold tends to have an overall upward slant to his signatures. Unless he has to sign on a straight line (such as the lines provided on the official signed books), his signature tends to have an overall upwards drift. This can even be seen on the line provided on the Easton Press COA. His signed books without a signature line tend to have an upward drift to them as well.
"ARN":
While some of these letters can occasionally have a loopy characteristic to them, the letters are more defined as three individual letters.
"LD":
The "L" tends to range from being slightly shorter than the "D", to being much shorter than the "D".
"CH":
The "C" and the start of the "H" may slightly bow from each other, but not as dramatically as found in the secretarial signatures. On many occasions, the "C" and the start of the "H" are almost parallel to each other.
"W":
The "W" tends to be larger and more defined on an authentic signature. It is not as rounded, and oftentimes the first dip in the "W" is larger than the second dip.
"ZENE":
These letters are usually tightly defined, and they are usually running in very similar angle/direction.
Tags: Arnold, Authentic, Autograph, Differences, Schwarzenegger, Secretarial, Signature
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by J Young on
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You guys need to sit and sign your name, Over and over and see what happens. I know my signature goes off sometimes. My signature is not always dead straight, on the bottom , and considering how I have my arms positioned, and what its resting on.
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Permalink Reply by Rich on
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I think we realize that, but if you review the study, it appropriately categorizes the difference between through the mail signatures in contrast to those obtained straight from Arnold in person, even in a seated environment. The contrast is noticeable in those two signature categories, and I believe the secretarial theory for TTM Arnold autographs is valid.
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Permalink Reply by JXE on
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The issue is that the TTM items were signed over and over again and they all look one way; while the in-person stuff and the recent book stuff was all signed over and over again and they all look a different way. Take some time to look over the examples in this thread and you'll see it clear as day.
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While some celebrities readily admit to using secretarial signers TTM, many of them swear up and down that their TTM items are authentic even though they are clearly different from in-person examples.
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I see what you are saying about the z going below the line. in one set of signatures and the others stay on the line.
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Yes , it clearly looks like two different autographs if you just look at that section, compared to the in person.
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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Tam on
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Even Beckett gets it wrong
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Permalink Reply by John Patrick Evans on
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Bummer. My buddy is in the mix on this stuff enough that it convinced me to stay away from these trading card sigs. Of course, there is no way to know for sure but his story jibes with the evidence presented in this thread. Arnold is one of those signatures I will only 100% trust if I get it myself in person.
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Permalink Reply by DP on
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Is it possible to please re-establish the links in the early part of this thread as I get an error message saying third party hosting temporarily disabled.
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