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Future Proofing Autographs from Advancing Technology

I am creating this post for us to talk about the possible implications of advancing technology against our hobby over the coming years. Personally, I feel that autopens will advance to a point where they can be placed on any item with every signature being 100% unique. My fear is anyone could place a signature on counterfeit inserts, cd booklets, even items like baseballs. I questioned in another post if TPAs would be a good way to date the signatures before forgeries take over. I believe once autopens become undetectable, our hobby will take a massive hit both in overall value and as heirlooms. Anything that hasn't been properly documented could potentially be lost in the sea of forgeries which could quickly hit the market. could we share advise on the best way to protect our items from these threats before its too late? Third Party Authentication seems to be a great way to essentially timestamp our autographs. would there be any other cheaper, better options?

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Permalink Reply by JK on June 8, 2023 at 1:18am

I'm going to look into it further, but I think a Notary Public can certify that a document is a true copy of an original. Along those lines, it might be possible to create a document with a photo of a signed item and have it notarized. The Notary would not be attesting to the authenticity of the autograph, but rather that the document accurately shows an image of the original. That document would be dated.

As far as TPAs are concerned, stickers are out for me, and if the TPA goes out of business someday and their database disappears then they'd be worthless anyway. Plus, they aren't dated.

Encapsulation only works as long as the TPA stays in business (same database issue) and also are not dated. And if the item is ever removed then you're back to square one.

A full TPA letter that is dated is the only way to permanently show a dated authentication.

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Permalink Reply by Jason H on June 8, 2023 at 11:13am

Notarizing.. thats interesting, ill look into it more myself as well. But would that be something easily falsified in the future by bribing a notary?

I didn't even think about TPAs database completely disappearing. I would hope they wouldn't completely go out of buisness though. As long as they keep grading sports cards, im sure their business will evolve and they should keep the database intact even if they no longer authenticate.. but you never know

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Permalink Reply by JK on June 8, 2023 at 12:49pm

Anything could be faked, but if you pick a Notary who uses a nice embossed seal, for example, that might help. (Some just use a rubber stamp).

Notaries are serious business as they are licensed by the state and are held to very strict standards.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on June 8, 2023 at 11:58am

Autopens could actually be a lot easier to detect in the near future. You can definitely determine whether something was signed by a human or machine today if you know what to look for. High magnification is often necessary tho. In the near future software should easily be able to determine it.

It's quite likely that in not too many years we'll be able to tell definitively if something was signed or written by the person it's supposed to be.

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Permalink Reply by Jason H on June 8, 2023 at 12:46pm

Appreciate your thoughts Steve... I imagine a machine connected to a computer, run by a program that can vary speed and pressure. A machine you would calibrate the pen in relation to the surface being signed so that there are no more starting and stopping dots. A program that can take a template of a few signatures, or even just a single signature, and have it manipulated within the program with slight changes that would make each signature unique.

I do not believe we will see anything like what I imagine any time soon, maybe not even in most of our lifetimes, but who knows. Part of my thinking originates from seeing how sticker cutting machines work. Simple mass produced ones like the Cricut or Silhouette Cameo. The programs created to run them are very basic, but they do have pressure settings already. There are no variations for cut lines because its pointless for its specified purpose... Swap the blade for a pen, redesign the machine to be used for other items, and perfect the application that runs it, and if someone has a lot of determination, it could threaten our hobby. I believe its best to think about the possibility now and have a plan in place to prepare for the worst, just in case. Im sure most people will think its all just sci-fi nonsense but it is worthy of a discussion.

Your thoughts are an interesting take however. Advancing technology which weeds out the forgeries. Hopefully you are right.