At Gold Standard
Collectibles, we never cut corners to make a quick buck.Doing so is not in line with our values, nor
would it ever be worth it for us to tarnish the spotless reputation that we
have built through many years of honest dealings.By combining our own expertise in vintage
sports autographs and memorabilia with the independent review of the most
highly respected authenticators in the industry, we ensure that every item we
sell is of unquestionable authenticity.
Each of our items fits
one of three categories.
Certified at the time of signing or use:
Companies like Upper
Deck Authenticated and Steiner Sports specialize in contracting with teams or
players to obtain authentic autographs and game-used items.Then, they tag the item with a tamper-proof
seal or hologram, typically with a unique serial number that also appears on
the letter of authenticity they provide with the item.Through this method, you can be assured of the
authenticity of your Upper Deck Authenticated Michael Jordan autograph, or your
Steiner Sports Derek Jeter game-used bat, because those players are known to be
under contract to provide authentic autographs and memorabilia to those
companies.Some players prefer to handle
the sale of their autographs and game-used memorabilia themselves, forming
companies themselves or allowing their friends and close associates to do so.Teams and leagues have also developed their
own authentication procedures in recent years, typically for game-used items.
Certified after the fact:
An autograph collector has the option of looking for the
cheapest piece available or the one most likely to be authentic. These
are two very different objectives, and we obviously have an opinion as to
whether both are truly "autograph collectors." Let's just say that one
cannot find authentic signatures of superstars past and present from dealers
claiming to have massive quantities at bargain basement prices.
So
how does one find authentic ones, given that there was no one sticking
serial-numbered, tamper-proof holograms on each item that Babe Ruth signed?
In short, stick with
items that are authenticated by PSA/DNA Authentication Services or James Spence
Authentication and with dealers who specialize in such items.
There are plenty of opportunities to get real signatures of almost all
players.Collectors just need to be
willing to spend the money and/or effort to assure they are getting the real
thing. For example, if you want to learn how to identify real Mickey
Mantle signatures, you can look at past auction catalogs and eBay auctions to
see hundreds of Mantle signatures with letters of authenticity and matching
holograms from Upper Deck Authenticated, a company that had him under contract
for a few years. By reading up, you can learn about other signings that
Mantle did with reputable sources and see examples of those items, such as the
limited edition of 1,000 Ron Lewis lithographs signed by the 500 Home Run Club
in 1989. Then, as you look at Mantle autographs with various letters of
authenticity, you will notice a pattern: the ones authenticated by PSA/DNA Authentication
Services or James Spence Authentication look remarkably like the Upper Deck
Authenticated ones or other ones with good provenance, whereas the $200 Mantle
balls with other letters of authenticity just do not look right. You
might do the same thing with Ted Williams, or Joe DiMaggio, or Babe Ruth.
As
signatures get more expensive, the forgeries will tend to be better because
there is more incentive for forgers to offer that type of material. But
as you see more and more of them and keep track of who has vouched for them,
you will notice a clear divide between which ones are real and which ones are
not. You will also see that perhaps there is a good reason why a Babe
Ruth ball authenticated by PSA/DNA or James Spence Authentication might go for
$20,000 or $30,000, whereas one in similar condition from another authenticator
might not exceed $5,000.Wouldn't the
owner submit the ball to PSA/DNA or James Spence Authentication to get the 4-6x
price premium if it were that simple?
This is not to say that every expensive one is real, or that there are not any
real ones that are not authenticated by James Spence Authentication or PSA/DNA.
But it is to say that if you do not have the time, resources, or frankly,
the aptitude -- it is not for everyone -- to learn for yourself about a
particular autograph, it just makes sense to buy one approved by someone who
does.
The
market is efficient, in the sense that the top-notch, real material authenticated
by PSA/DNA and James Spence Authentication commands the highest dollars.
It may require time to educate yourself, and it may require significantly
more money to get these items, but in the end, that is how to get the item you
truly want.
Please note that there are four main types of
letters of authenticity you can get from PSA/DNA or James Spence
Authentication:
Full letter:This describes each company's full
authentication process.Once an item is
fully examined and deemed authentic, it receives a letter of authenticity on
proprietary watermarked paper with a brief description of the item, a photo of
the signature, and the signature of the authenticator.A certification number is assigned the item
and appears on both the letter of authenticity and a tamper-proof sticker that
is attached to the item.The owner of
the item can also choose to have the sticker affixed to the letter rather than
the item in order to preserve the item's integrity, which is sometimes done
with older items.The serial number can
be verified on the authenticator's website at any time to demonstrate authenticity
to subsequent buyers.
Full letter with
grading:In recent years, PSA/DNA began
to offer grading for autographed baseballs and other signatures for an
additional fee and includes the grades in the letter of authenticity.Sometimes, a high grade can increase the
value of an item by 2-3x or more, depending on the rarity of the particular
item in that condition.When grading
autographed baseballs, the authenticators grade the condition of the signature
and the ball separately on a scale of 1 (Poor to Fair) to 10 (Gem Mint).Then, they average the two grades to derive
the overall grade, with an allowance to raise or lower the overall grade by .5
based on the ball's overall eye appeal.A ball that grades GEM-MINT 10 will have a strong white color with bold
stampings and no blemishes or other flaws.A signature that grades GEM-MINT 10 will be nice and dark with no skips,
smudges, or contrast issues with the background.PSA/DNA encapsulates each graded baseball in
a ball cube with tamper-proof seals and a label denoting the grade, but some
collectors choose to remove their graded balls from this case for display
purposes.PSA/DNA also offers autograph
grading for items other than baseballs.For these items, only the signature itself is graded and the 1-to-10
grade appears on the letter of authenticity.Collectors can also choose to have PSA/DNA grade and encapsulate small
items like index cards in the same way it grades and encapsulates trading
cards.In those cases, the certification
number and grade appear on the label of the encapsulated item and there is no
accompanying letter of authenticity.
Auction house letter:Most of the largest sports memorabilia
auction houses retain PSA/DNA and/or James Spence Authentication to review all
of the autographed items that appear in their auctions.Given the sheer volume of autographed
material offered in each auction, sometimes including lots consisting of
hundreds of signatures each, PSA/DNA and James Spence Authentication developed
modified processes for authenticating auction house items.Under these procedures, each lot that
includes an autograph is accompanied by an auction house letter of authenticity
on the authentication company's proprietary watermarked paper.These auction house letters contain the
auction house name, lot number, item description (per the auction house, not
the authenticator), and date of the offering.These reflect preliminary reviews of the items, rather than the full
examination process.Unlike the full
letters of authenticity, auction house versions contain a printed signature of
the authenticator rather than a live signature and do not contain a photo of
the item, certification number and sequential sticker, or authenticator's
description of the item.However, as
many auction houses tend to preserve auction archives on their websites, one
can usually conduct a simple search to verify that an item is, in fact, the one
matching the auction house letter of authenticity accompanying it.Typically, the winner of an auction lot has a
30-45 day window to submit the item to the authenticator in order to upgrade to a full
letter of authenticity at a discount to the normal fee.Please note that PSA/DNA recently
discontinued issuing physical auction house letters of authenticity.Instead, auction house items described by PSA/DNA
are described as "Pre-Certified" and may be submitted for discounted full
authentication by the winning bidder within 60 days of the end of the auction.
Certification card:For lower-value items, PSA/DNA and James
Spence Authentication offer a certificate of authenticity card at a lower cost
than the full letter of authenticity.This 3" x 5" card includes a certification number that is also attached
to the item using a tamper-proof certification label.There is no photo or information about the
item on the certification card, but information about the item is included in
the certification database on each company's website.
While autographs have
been the focus of this discussion, we believe MEARS (Memorabilia Evaluation and
Research Services) is the most highly-qualified authentication company for
game-used uniforms and equipment.
Guaranteed to pass authentication review:
Several of our items do
not come with a letter of authenticity.
However, all of our autographed items are 100% guaranteed to pass authentication
by PSA/DNA Authentication Services or James Spence Authentication within 30
days of receipt or your money back. We are only willing to carry an item without a letter of authenticity if we are 100% certain it is authentic, based on our knowledge and experience; if we have any doubts, we will submit it for third-party authentication before buying it and offering it for sale. We
have simply found over the years that many of our customers prefer not to have
the costs of authentication (often $100 or more per item) tacked onto our
prices. Some of them have submitted 10,
20, or even 50+ items from us for authentication and gotten the thumbs-up on
all of them, even though the overall pass rate for items submitted to these authenticators is likely under 50%. At that point, they know
that we know our stuff and would prefer to pay less and have the choice left up
to them of whether it's worth getting a PSA/DNA or James Spence Authentication
letter of authenticity. If you would
prefer to get your item authenticated immediately after purchasing it from us,
we can submit it to the authenticator of your choice directly and then have it
shipped to you, provided you pay the cost of the item and authentication up
front. If it fails, we will refund your
money in full, including the cost of authentication.
