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Permalink Reply by JMS1223 on September 4, 2024 at 4:57pm

One way to check is to use Google images to see if you can find an exact match. This only works if it’s an actual preprint and not a homemade copy of someone’s personal autographed item. 

Speaking of JSA “authenticating” preprints I have seen them “authenticate” (on more than one occasion) a Steven Spielberg preprint photo he sent out in the 1980s-1990s. I have one of these preprints and they are definitely very convincing but if you simply compare it to another you can confirm they 100% match one of the three known varieties Spielberg sent out. JSA has also “authenticated” Barack Obama preprint signature U.S. Senate letters. The signature is printed as part of stationary and again, I owned one of these and they definitely look real, but once compared with another I could confirm 100% it matched. 

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Permalink Reply by Jason H on September 4, 2024 at 6:26pm

Are you sure its JSA and not someone swapping stickers or fabricating their own JSA sticker for all these instances? If its shown in their database, thats crazy. I get authenticators can make mistakes but that shouldn't ever happen with preprinted photos. Letters are a bit more difficult and I can see that happening with Obama in that way.. but wow. The guy who sold me the Ghostbusters prepring didn't take long to tell me to just return it after I threw a crazy fit. Im sure he knew and just didn't want to admit it. 

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Permalink Reply by JMS1223 on September 4, 2024 at 7:36pm

Yup, definitely actual JSA authentication on both the Spielberg preprint and Obama preprint letter. I saw them both over a year ago and wish I had saved images of both preprint photo/letter and JSA authentication. If I ever come across either again I will try to remember to find this thread and post them here. 

Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on September 4, 2024 at 8:54pm

They authenticated the same Jerry Lee Lewis stamped signature over two consecutive cert numbers. That’s right. They had a second chance after not recognizing a stamped signature, but didn’t notice that they were authenticating the exact same signature twice.

Permalink Reply by Jason H on September 4, 2024 at 6:17pm

Since a preprint means the signature is part of the picture, if you look at the photo with reflected light at the right angle, all you will see is glare on the gloss of the photo. If it is signed with ink, you will see the ink reflect the light in a different way. I'd say about 90% of the time its a really quick process. Sometime you get one that is a bit harder to figure out and you need to use multiple light sources or even shine a light through from the photo and see what it looks like on both the front and back. It can be more difficult for Matte photos sometimes but hardly ever impossible. 

This of course doesn't rule out autopens and forgeries, which are separate issues

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Permalink Reply by JMS1223 on September 4, 2024 at 7:32pm

Oddly the Spielberg preprint photo actually shines separate from the photo but that’s because the signature area is in a separate white border. It totally looks like live ink but it’s printed. Not autopen either. It’s part of the photo but printed in such a way the white space is a different layer. Hard to explain actually. 

Also definitely JSA because the number on the cert matched up to what was on JSA website. Don’t have a picture of it as this was at least a year or two ago. I wish I had saved it. 

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