I was planning on sending off my signed Pokemon comic to CGC (if has a Dynamic Forces COA) but I’ve just found out that they will only authenticate a signature if they actually witnessed the signing.
Are PSA the same? I have a Topps card (signed by Rachael Lillis) with a Dynamic Forces COA. I’m hoping that would be enough to get it slabbed as authentic, but after finding out about CGC’s process, I’m not sure anymore.
Need some answers from people who have sent signed cards to get graded by PSA. Thanks.
P.S There are a few “signed” cards on Ebay. If I bought a few and sent them off to PSA, could they authenticate them? Or are they assumed ot be illigitmate if there is no proof.
You are bumping up against the reality of signature authentication — all they can do is examine the signature carefully and make a judgment on the likelihood of it being authentic based on the evidence available. Signature authentication is a lot of pageantry. Conventional cynicism would indicate signature authentication after the fact is simply impossible. But some people are better at estimating the likelihood of authenticity based on the available information.
If PSA is willing to authenticate signatures without witnessing them firsthand, you will probably not have much difficulty getting the signature authenticated. They’ve already opened the door to a forgiving process by accepting them at all.
Signature authentication is a questionable science. The parameters that determine if a card is real is so narrow, its easy to authenticate.
With signatures, everyone has access to a sharpie. There is also a range of variations in a person’s autograph so you only have to be as good as the most sloppy real autograph
Yes, PSA authenticates signatures. But can they really? They’ve authenticated many fake autos and rejected real ones in the past. To me the value of PSA’s opinion is minimal when it comes to autos. I nearly disregard it. Its just piece of evidence used to build my own opinion
That being said, I currently have an autograph sub at psa simply because I really like graded cards😁
I currently don’t own any slabbed Arita signatures for this reason. I’d quite like one but I’m a little concerned about paying a ton of money for something that could well be a fake.
The value of PSA authentication is more for the overall market. Many members here probably have more knowledge of autographs than PSA employees, but that isn’t the norm. Most buyers need an authenticator. Especially for less frequent signers.
You guys think this is real? Or is buying ungraded sigs a bit too risky? I’m leaning towards the latter. His writing seems to change a lot. Most of his sigs show a curved “A” in his surname, whilst only a few have a sharp top.
My belief is that it is literally not possible to know if a signature is real and you are only ever buying a potential signature. If you didn’t see it happen with your own eyes, you’re buying a hypothetical that can never truly be qualified.
Yeah that’s fair. I think it’s a bit different when they come with a COA though. I trust my signed comic as it comes with a pretty reliable Dynamic Forces cert and the comic signature is numbered.
Disclaimer: This is 100% personal opinion, I am not a signature specialist, and do not verify signatures.
The only thing that rings an alarm bell for me is the R. It’s inconsistent with his other signatures, otherwise it looks fairly consistent with Mitsuhiro’s card signatures from what I’ve seen. Signatures are tough because they’re very rarely if ever 100% consistent, and like stagecoach said it’s literally impossible to verify, it’s an educated guess in a best case scenario unless witnessed.
The fakes you generally see of his signature that are bold enough to attempt to copy the sketch part are often pretty poor. If it is fake they did a pretty good job. It’s definitely something I’d recommend having a signature expert look at prior to buying if it carries a heavy price tag.
