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The GAI Mantle, DiMaggio & Ted Williams Hoard—Are They All Forgeries?

A hoard of thousands Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams signed photos have flooded the market over the last few years. All authenticated by Global Authentication Inc., with COAs signed by former GAI executive Mike Baker.

The hoard has driven down prices on these legendary Baseball Hall of Famers by 50-percent or more, and it's not rare to find one for well under $50.

The problem?

Every baseball expert we asked is emphatic that they're forgeries. And they've had that same opinion since the hoard came out of Florida in 2008.

If the experts are right—and I don't doubt that they are—not only are thousands of collectors stuck with these worthless photos. Thousands more have unfairly suffered a catastrophic drop in the value of their genuine Mantles, DiMaggios and Williams due to the flood of fakes.

And as we all know, GAI went bankrupt in 2009 after certing thousands of forgeries of Mantle, Williams, DiMaggio, Koufax, etc.

Why Do So Many Think They're Forgeries? Let's find out!

If you're a regular collector like me, it's hard to tell good Mantles from decent forgeries. DiMaggios and Williams are easier, but I'd never buy without an expert opinion. So I thought it would be a great education for those experienced in these autographs—experts and experienced collectors—to show us why they're so widely considered forgeries.

I've included a few of the GAI authenticated photos to start with. Feel free to upload more. Ask questions, share your knowledge...and help make collecting these Hall of Famers safer for everyone!

Look at all this garbage!!!

Forged Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams photo. Laughable forgeries.

Forged Mantle, DiMaggio and Williams photo with a worthless COA from GAI. Look at this garbage.

Ugly and laughable forged Mickey Mantle with a worthless COA from GAI. I've observed hundreds of this-style forgery over the years.

Mass-produced forged Mantle, DiMaggio, Mays and Snider photo with a worthless COA from GAI. Ugly.

Forged and mass-produced Mickey Mantle. Ugly and laughable.

Forged Mantle, Williams and DiMaggio photo with a worthless COA from GAI. Horrid-looking forgeries.

Forged and mass-produced Mantle and Williams forgeries. Worthless COA from GAI and Mike Baker.

Forged and mass-produced forged Mickey Mantle photo. Pathetic.

This is one of dozens forged Mickey Mantle business cards that were "authenticated" by GAI and Mike Baker. Pure garbage.

GAI (Mike Baker) "authenticated" hundreds of Mickey Mantle forgeries on the below image.

Laughable Mantle forgery.

Here is a mass-produced set of Mantle and Williams forgeries.

GAI "authenticated" thousands of forgeries before they went bankrupt in 2009.

Tags: authenticate, authentication, baseball., dimaggio, forgeries, gai, genuine, global, hall, joe, More…

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on July 29, 2016 at 3:46am

http://www.ebay.com/itm/351795687120?euid=adc904fd2de64f7ba0c1749a0...

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on July 21, 2012 at 1:04pm

I haven't seen one of these in a long time. It's your typical Mickey Mantle/Ted Williams set of forgeries with the GAI cert (the Mike Baker Collection). But this one is a bit different, as it also includes the Nicholas Burczyk sticker COA on the back. Usually, we only see these with the GAI cert.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251113732127...

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Permalink Reply by frank johnson on July 23, 2012 at 5:04pm

I was duped on one of these myself. I bought 1 at a show. It has a certified document examiners sticker on it. A nice color photo of this pose. Sad thing is I have collected for 30 years and was fooled. I will try to upload my items I just bought.

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Permalink Reply by frank johnson on July 23, 2012 at 5:07pm

I would suppose this is also a fake. It has the same document experts hologram on it.

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on July 23, 2012 at 5:17pm

Fake!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on July 23, 2012 at 5:26pm

Honestly, I don't think I have ever seen one of these comics with an authentic signature. This and the record album seem to be forger's favorites.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on July 23, 2012 at 5:24pm

Sorry to hear it Frank, but the good news is you are learning and growing. I don't know any autograph collectors who were not burned at one time or another. Sadly, it is the dues we sometimes pay. The goal however, it to pay dues as infrequently as possible!

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Permalink Reply by frank johnson on July 23, 2012 at 6:13pm

Growing and out some cash. Why doesn't ebay do something about Global. They should ban their COA items. My guess is that they pay Ebay some cash.

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on July 23, 2012 at 5:51am

Another GAI certed Mickey Mantle forgery with the cert signed from Mike Baker (The Mike Baker Collection). This crap will be infecting our hobby long after we pass away. Disgusting!!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mint-MICKEY-MANTLE-Signed-Personal-Business...

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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on July 23, 2012 at 5:48pm

Here's another piece of crap Mantle forgery. Notice the Stat Authentic hologram on the bottom right. As we all know, Stat Authentic is on Ebay's Banned COA list.

The seller writes "100% guaranteed to pass JSA or PSA DNA authentication or your money back!" This crap would never pass PSA or JSA!!!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mickey-Mantle-Autographed-framed-hof-stats-...

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Permalink Reply by frank johnson on July 23, 2012 at 6:11pm

Not to defend the seller, but maybe they didn't know. I have 1000 feedback on ebay and I didn't know it was this bad. Why doesn't ebay ban Global authentication on their site if it is this bad?