Authenticity is Everything
Signed cheques
Hi all, just wondering, I have seen many signed cheques over the years, yet the often sell for less than a simple signed card or page? What are our thoughts regarding signed cheques?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by michelle on
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If the sig is easy to obtain, a signed cheque does sell for less. If however the sig is difficult to get, the sky is the limit. Buyers believe a signed cheque will have a genuine sig, not realising that some of the sigs may be secretarial
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Permalink Reply by Dai W on
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Fair point, the ones that I have seen lately are ‘Peter Cushing’, his signature is quite distinct and they certainly look authentic however they have gone for £60-70 where I would have expected £100+ in line with pages, books etc…
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Permalink Reply by eddy on
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I would echo michelle's observation about being careful with signed checks from celebrities. The best bets of course are from personal accounts as opposed to business accounts.
From the era of my primary interest, i'm aware that some vintage checks on offer are proxy signed. Right off the bat, I think of Lou Costello and Errol Flynn who both had managers and secretaries sign checks for them.
In the case of Peter Cushing, I don't believe i've ever seen one that I questioned as being secretarial... at least from his personal accounts.
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Permalink Reply by JMS1223 on
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That’s good to know about secretarial signed checks. If anyone knows of more names to watch out for in potential secretarial signatures on signed checks, let us know. I usually thought signed checks were more likely to be authentic verses signed index cards/photos. I was aware SOME checks were secretarially signed but wasn’t aware that Lou Costello and Errol Flynn were secretarial. Good to know as I sometimes browse eBay for cheap/good deals on signed checks thinking authenticity is more certain. Guess I got to be careful everywhere.
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Permalink Reply by JK on
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I still think that signed checks are more likely to be authentic vs other items (cards, photos, etc.).
I am sure that there are some celebrities who had managers or accountants sign their checks (I think Elvis Presley is another example), but for most celebrities and notable people I think checks are usually authentic.
I've gotten lots of signed checks for people who would otherwise be either unobtainable or extremely expensive.
If there are lots of other options for someone's autograph then checks might sell for less since they are not as easy or attractive to frame with a photo, for example.
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A few other names I would be at least careful with checks from would include: Bob Hope, Paul Newman, James Cagney, Charlie Chaplin, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, William Holden, Rock Hudson, etc. etc..
Again, personal accounts always preferable to business accounts.
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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on
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Has anyone ever seen a Gleason check?
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interesting this topic should come up because I saw some signed-checks recently on an auction site.
If memory serves me correctly, weren't cancelled checks returned to the individual who wrote them?
If that's true, how do signed checks end up in circulation? I guess as part of estate sales.
Perhaps bank clerks kept cancelled checks as souvenirs.
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Yes, cancelled checks used to be returned to the account holder.
I'm sure estates are/were one way some checks enter the collectors market, and in some cases the people themselves sold or gave them away. I also believe that in many cases the checks went back to an accountant or manager who then sold them at some point.
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We're about to launch a study of checks authentically signed/proxy signed on the Classic Hollywood FB page I started last year. It's a good topic.
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One of the most coveted vintage Hollywood signatures used to be Greta Garbo. About 10 years ago, her estate began selling off old cancelled checks from her personal account (she had died in 1990).
Up to that time, a Garbo signature was of an ultimate rarity.
When those checks first began being offered on the market, they were usually in the range of $1500-$2000 and were selling instantly.
Now, a great number of them have been on the market over the years and the prices have gone down considerably. You can pick one up on eBay from the estate and other sources for around $300-$400.
Garbo is still a desirable signature. But, with fewer interested classic Hollywood collectors and the sheer number of them that have literally flooded the market the last decade, not nearly as unapproachable anymore.
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