Collectors and dealers can now submit autographed cards for JSA autograph authentication and CGC Cards grading and encapsulation in one seamless solution.
I really don’t like making definitive statements about the authenticity of autographs, since there can be so much variability. However, I can comfortably say that there are many feature of this autograph that are off and would concern me enough to not put it into a slab. Consider the comparison below.
Again, I’m not making a definitive claim but it’s a strange choice to lead the marketing with such a disconcerting example. I would be interested in seeing the scans but the cert number is not real.
As usual with Sugimori autos, the sketch is really helpful for determining authenticity.
If this is what CGC/JSA are using as an example to launch their service, it doesn’t bode well for any improvement in the Pokemon autograph authentication market.
I’m a CGC fan. With the PSA and BGS nonsense happening around autos, I was excited hearing the CGC x JSA announcement to eventually transition my auto collection over when they started. Then they fumble this badly on the very first Pokemon slab they showcase. This is just extremely disappointing to see tbh. It feels like all 3 companies are just shitting with bed rn when it comes to autos and it’s sad and annoying as an auto collector. I want to love you CGC, stop making silly mistakes…
I agree with others here. That Sugimori auto is fake.
They also highlighted a mislabeled Black Lotus. This is either a Collector’s Edition, International Collector’s Edition, or a Beta Artist Proof. And nobody can check on these cards because the certs that they provided were fake (1234567890123).
When people ask why there is so much disproportionate criticism towards cgc, it’s because they are constantly engaged in stuff like this. All they had to do was find a good looking Ken Sugimori autograph and spell his name right.
If leading collectors and hobbyists in your field can instantly tell that an authenticated autograph is suspicious, you haven’t hired the right people.
Something I’ve criticized every company for for a very long time is an unwillingness to pay for talent. There is an astonishing lack of actual expertise embedded in every grading company right now for TCGs. These companies do not respect TCGs. They will take our money but they will not financially back a respectable product.
It was foolish for CGC to assume that JSA would be able to immediately pick up Pokemon autographs (CGC TCG’s biggest category by a mile) despite having NOT ONE SINGLE EXPERT in Pokemon autographs on their payrolls ever.
In my opinion, this is exactly the same as the BBCE issues PSA was having with packs. A sports company given complete domain over TCG authentication without involving any actual expertise. Or when Heritage put a fake card on the cover of their catalogue (and then continued to distribute it at cons after pulling the listing!) Apparently, to all of these companies, it is untenable to give one single expert work in reviewing the things that go out despite this work being obscenely affordable. There are hundreds of people that would mark a significant increase in qualification for any of these situations that would likely jump at the chance to make a few hundred bucks here and there on a contract.
These issues hurt all of us.
The hobby benefits when it grows. These niches of the hobby have incredible room to grow. It is a real barrier to entry when the supposed leaders of our industry show an absolute defiance in providing reliable service because they cannot bother to reinvest any of the MILLIONS of dollars that they cash flow from providing TCG services.
I have friends at all of these companies and I have spent tens of millions of dollars over my career utilizing these services. And it is precisely because I care so much about the mission of the work that they are tasked with accomplishing that I think we need to unapologetically hold them accountable to being better.
