This is what happens to photos when left in direct sunlight for years. This was a full color photo and now is all red/pink. Signature surprisingly did not fade as much. I know some inks hold up better than others in sunlight.
This is a faded signed Omar Bradley letter I see each year at a flea market I attend. The first year I noticed it was about fifteen years ago. It was not faded at that time. I think the dealer wanted $300 for it then. This year I noticed the dealer had it in a tented area whereas before it was on a table in direct sunlight in a display case where sun was hitting it. I asked the dealer about it and he said since it was faded it would be $100 (he admitted he made a mistake by previously having it in direct sunlight which caused signature to almost completely fade away). I looked up Omar Bradley letters online and saw I could buy a perfectly non-faded example for $75. So way overpriced. No wonder why he still has it fifteen years later especially now that it’s faded.
I found this and was curious if you would attempt to remove the tape? I think I would because I feel like it might still be able to be removed cleanly before it stains that area of the letter and turns brown and crispy.
If I attempted to remove the tape and it looked like paper was lifting then I can stop removing the tape and leave it alone. I just know it will look very bad in a few decades when adhesive darkens and stains and weakens paper.
Yikes! I think removing it would be tough. On that one I'd try to find a professional conservationist. They might have methods/chemicals to dissolve the adhesive.
Never had tape issues, but is it possible using a hair dryer and blowing it on low or medium head could help the sticky loosen a bit, especially the ABC graded stickers?
@bronzemat said:
Never had tape issues, but is it possible using a hair dryer and blowing it on low or medium head could help the sticky loosen a bit, especially the ABC graded stickers?
Never tried that but I might be afraid the heat could be a problem.
This probably just bothers me since many are okay with stickers on the back of signed items but I don’t like other stickers either such as what appears to be an auction or price tag sticker. The adhesive is probably acidic so it will leave a stain in the middle of photo and bleed through the front. And to make matters worse there is also the authentication sticker too.
Found this atrocity today while browsing ended items on eBay.
Not only does the photo printed over signature have bad contrast but it was carelessly printed upside down. Shockingly this STILL managed to sell for over $500. A clean cut slabbed signature without anything printed over it also sold for around the same.
The above roughly cut Obama signature sold for $560. To put things into prospective, the nicely cut ones in slabs have Buy It Nows for just $100 more. Also one could easily obtain a whole copy of Renegades signed by both Obama and Springsteen for $500.
@JMS1223 said:
The above roughly cut Obama signature sold for $560. To put things into prospective, the nicely cut ones in slabs have Buy It Nows for just $100 more. Also one could easily obtain a whole copy of Renegades signed by both Obama and Springsteen for $500.
Just saw this MUCH better slabbed cut that sold for $475 - almost $100 less than the ugly cut one. Both slabbed Obama signatures started low and attracted dozens of bids but the botched cut sold for much more. Crazy!
I also found this preprint Senate letter that sold for $500 which seems like way too much for a printed signature letter despite the great content. I know it’s printed (as opposed to autopen) as I used to have one just like this - one with first name only and one with full name. He sent both kinds with the blue signature as part of the printing process (it shined when I looked at it closely in the light and could tell it was printed with the letter). Exact matches can easily be found for both versions (and I matched up one such letter that PSA authenticated!)
A few months ago this Rosa Parks signed price list was up for bid and I bid $300 and lost it (I was only bidding hoping to get a deal). It ended up bringing $338 before tax and shipping. That was on September 18th. Interestingly that ended item on eBay is no longer accessible (shows up in ended items but if I click on it, the listing has been removed).
Anyway, in current listings I noticed the same signed price list now at $899 with a bonus of an added JSA sticker right on the front of the vintage historical item!
I found this interesting. A faded Albert Einstein signed letter brought just under $3000 which is much lower than Einstein letters that are not faded (which usually bring over $5000 for generic content). Just goes to show how much sun fading of autographs hurts the value.
Upon examination of this Einstein letter I noticed it had been framed and exposed TWICE to the sunlight. I can see one area of lighter toning where letter was framed and exposed to sunlight and another smaller area where it was exposed again. I sure hope it doesn’t get exposed a third time where the whole signature may very well disappear due to owner not being aware of harm of displaying in direct sunlight.
Unfortunately it is very difficult to copy/save photos off RR Auctions website so that is why the images I post are very low quality. I don’t own an actual computer so I can only work with what works with my tablet/phone. I wanted to illustrate how faded this signature was compared to a non-faded and a little bit faded examples but I am unable to do so. I think RR Auctions puts tight controls on their auction images so people can’t copy them. Anyway, I just wanted to explain why the low picture quality. I apologize.
Thanks. I am assuming you have a computer and able to save it without issue? On my tablet and phone when I hold down the picture, nothing happens. On most other websites when I hold down a picture I get options to save, copy or other things.
There is one way to kind of save that…cut the right end off to remove the ugly sight of authentication sticker, but sacrifice the original index card size. OR if there is a clean way to simply heat up the sticker and cleanly remove it that would be awesome. I have yet to buy a stickered item to experiment on if that is doable.
There is one way to kind of save that…cut the right end off to remove the ugly sight of authentication sticker, but sacrifice the original index card size. OR if there is a clean way to simply heat up the sticker and cleanly remove it that would be awesome. I have yet to buy a stickered item to experiment on if that is doable.
Have you ever thought about buying some cheap/junk autograph of someone for under $10 with a sticker and trying it? Not much different from people who buy junk coins and acid wash Buffalos or clean ancient coins that can't be helped.
Guess how much this sold for? Just because it’s slabbed someone decided to pay $115 for this ugly very closely cut signature. The same signature in the original book sells for like $80.
@JMS1223 said:
Guess how much this sold for? Just because it’s slabbed someone decided to pay $115 for this ugly very closely cut signature. The same signature in the original book sells for like $80.
I'd almost buy that absurdity just for entertainment value.
It makes me think that the hobby/business has gone insane.
There is one of those big overpriced Las Vagas-based online dealers who has a slabbed Jimmy Carter signature (as "J. Carter") that was obviously cut from the colored flyleaf of a book, and it's priced at several hundred dollars. They also have an actual signed book with the same colored flyleaf for something like $125 or $150.
Found these Supreme Court Justice autographs and sadly the collector who had them decided to put scotch tape over the signatures thinking it would preserve them. Instead it ruined them.
Not only do these have the ugly awful authentication stickers on the original Schindler’s List promo photos from 1993 but both are very much overpriced. One is $655 and the other is $1300 In reality a Liam Neeson signed Schindler’s List photo like this usually brings around $100.
This makes me sad. This Harry Blackmun signed Chambers Card was up for bid several months ago. I remember bidding around $50 and lost it. It went for around $100. Well the winning bidder decided to get it stickered by JSA (auction description says sticker on back) and now it’s $300! A big NO thanks. I would pay more for one without any stickers. Yes, I know sticker on back is less bad than on front but it still bothers me. This was a nice Harry Blackmun signed Chambers Card that is now RUINED in my opinion by a non-removable sticker.
I completely agree with the issues with some these authentication stickers placements.
I had this 5x7 Card autographed by both players at the same event.
The autograph company running the show offered authentication stickers, I figured why not.
The young girl doing the stickers, who clearly did not want to be there, seemed to be at least knowledgable about how/where to put the stickers.
She asked if I wanted them on the front with the autos or on the back, she suggested I put them on the back so they wouldn't detract from the autos and offered to place them in an open space on the back.
I was pleasantly surprised and I am happy with the result.
Didn’t want to create a new thread so I will post this here.
I had sent to an authentication service for the first time in my life because I was selling an autograph but the buyer needed authentication before going forward. I decided to send my Elton John signature in to Beckett for encapsulation (cost me $110 total in fees). Unfortunately it came back not authentic. I had $200 into the autograph itself and now another $110 so not a good experience.
@JMS1223 said:
Didn’t want to create a new thread so I will post this here.
I had sent to an authentication service for the first time in my life because I was selling an autograph but the buyer needed authentication before going forward. I decided to send my Elton John signature in to Beckett for encapsulation (cost me $110 total in fees). Unfortunately it came back not authentic. I had $200 into the autograph itself and now another $110 so not a good experience.
Should have just spent the $3 my Old Hollywood autograph collector charges, and you could have known for sure, or not. It's still possible it's real.
Fu*k those grading companies, sorry....but they get too many wrong.
@JMS1223 said:
Didn’t want to create a new thread so I will post this here.
I had sent to an authentication service for the first time in my life because I was selling an autograph but the buyer needed authentication before going forward. I decided to send my Elton John signature in to Beckett for encapsulation (cost me $110 total in fees). Unfortunately it came back not authentic. I had $200 into the autograph itself and now another $110 so not a good experience.
Should have just spent the $3 my Old Hollywood autograph collector charges, and you could have known for sure, or not. It's still possible it's real.
Fu*k those grading companies, sorry....but they get too many wrong.
Unfortunately the person who offered me $500 needed an opinion from Beckett or PSA. It’s unfortunate they seem to only trust these companies and not actual experts that know certain signatures much better.
That's the downside of authentication companies. If it's real but they say it isn't (or at least that it can't be authenticated), then that impacts your ability to sell it.
I suppose you could still offer it with a disclaimer.
@JBK said:
Here's an abomination - they cut up an FDR document and an Eleanor Roosevelt signed White House card. At least the WH card had a JSA sticker on it.
The Sandra Day O’Connor signature is completely disregarded (cut off part of her first name). The back of this card just says congratulations on getting a Ruth Bader Ginsburg signed cut signature.
Comments
But...it's a limited addition, surely it will be worth hundred$ of dollars due to it's rarity?
This is what happens to photos when left in direct sunlight for years. This was a full color photo and now is all red/pink. Signature surprisingly did not fade as much. I know some inks hold up better than others in sunlight.
This is a faded signed Omar Bradley letter I see each year at a flea market I attend. The first year I noticed it was about fifteen years ago. It was not faded at that time. I think the dealer wanted $300 for it then. This year I noticed the dealer had it in a tented area whereas before it was on a table in direct sunlight in a display case where sun was hitting it. I asked the dealer about it and he said since it was faded it would be $100 (he admitted he made a mistake by previously having it in direct sunlight which caused signature to almost completely fade away). I looked up Omar Bradley letters online and saw I could buy a perfectly non-faded example for $75. So way overpriced. No wonder why he still has it fifteen years later especially now that it’s faded.
I found this and was curious if you would attempt to remove the tape? I think I would because I feel like it might still be able to be removed cleanly before it stains that area of the letter and turns brown and crispy.
If I attempted to remove the tape and it looked like paper was lifting then I can stop removing the tape and leave it alone. I just know it will look very bad in a few decades when adhesive darkens and stains and weakens paper.
Yikes! I think removing it would be tough. On that one I'd try to find a professional conservationist. They might have methods/chemicals to dissolve the adhesive.
Here's an absurdity. Two autographs that Beckett attributed to Liechtenstein Prince Hans-Adam II.
The first one is his, the second one is very clearly not.
Never had tape issues, but is it possible using a hair dryer and blowing it on low or medium head could help the sticky loosen a bit, especially the ABC graded stickers?
That reminds me of the Morgan Freeman signature that was slabbed as a George Forman signature. They make a few laughable mistakes sometimes.
Never tried that but I might be afraid the heat could be a problem.
This probably just bothers me since many are okay with stickers on the back of signed items but I don’t like other stickers either such as what appears to be an auction or price tag sticker. The adhesive is probably acidic so it will leave a stain in the middle of photo and bleed through the front. And to make matters worse there is also the authentication sticker too.
That's insane. That adhesive will stain when it gets older.
Found this atrocity today while browsing ended items on eBay.
Not only does the photo printed over signature have bad contrast but it was carelessly printed upside down. Shockingly this STILL managed to sell for over $500. A clean cut slabbed signature without anything printed over it also sold for around the same.
That's great! Someone was in such a rush to create a collectable that they printed the photo upside down.
I guess that Obama/Springsteen book was a goldmine for these people.
Whoever cut this did a poor job. They could have easily cut it to look much nicer.
The above roughly cut Obama signature sold for $560. To put things into prospective, the nicely cut ones in slabs have Buy It Nows for just $100 more. Also one could easily obtain a whole copy of Renegades signed by both Obama and Springsteen for $500.
Just saw this MUCH better slabbed cut that sold for $475 - almost $100 less than the ugly cut one.
Both slabbed Obama signatures started low and attracted dozens of bids but the botched cut sold for much more. Crazy!
I also found this preprint Senate letter that sold for $500 which seems like way too much for a printed signature letter despite the great content. I know it’s printed (as opposed to autopen) as I used to have one just like this - one with first name only and one with full name. He sent both kinds with the blue signature as part of the printing process (it shined when I looked at it closely in the light and could tell it was printed with the letter). Exact matches can easily be found for both versions (and I matched up one such letter that PSA authenticated!)
This is another reminder that sunlight is bad for autographs
JK Rowling evidently has her own hologram sticker. Looks like someone got carried away with this one I saw on eBay:
harry-potter-and-the-fake-hologram
A few months ago this Rosa Parks signed price list was up for bid and I bid $300 and lost it (I was only bidding hoping to get a deal). It ended up bringing $338 before tax and shipping. That was on September 18th. Interestingly that ended item on eBay is no longer accessible (shows up in ended items but if I click on it, the listing has been removed).
Anyway, in current listings I noticed the same signed price list now at $899 with a bonus of an added JSA sticker right on the front of the vintage historical item!
That sticker really hurts. It doesn't really add anything but it sure does detract.
It is an interesting read, though. I see her autograph as cheap as $7.50 each on the note cards.
I found this interesting. A faded Albert Einstein signed letter brought just under $3000 which is much lower than Einstein letters that are not faded (which usually bring over $5000 for generic content). Just goes to show how much sun fading of autographs hurts the value.
Upon examination of this Einstein letter I noticed it had been framed and exposed TWICE to the sunlight. I can see one area of lighter toning where letter was framed and exposed to sunlight and another smaller area where it was exposed again. I sure hope it doesn’t get exposed a third time where the whole signature may very well disappear due to owner not being aware of harm of displaying in direct sunlight.
Unfortunately it is very difficult to copy/save photos off RR Auctions website so that is why the images I post are very low quality. I don’t own an actual computer so I can only work with what works with my tablet/phone. I wanted to illustrate how faded this signature was compared to a non-faded and a little bit faded examples but I am unable to do so. I think RR Auctions puts tight controls on their auction images so people can’t copy them. Anyway, I just wanted to explain why the low picture quality. I apologize.
That's OK - the poor image is a good indicator of how faded it is!
Here is a higher resolution.
Thanks. I am assuming you have a computer and able to save it without issue? On my tablet and phone when I hold down the picture, nothing happens. On most other websites when I hold down a picture I get options to save, copy or other things.
Unbelievable.
There is one way to kind of save that…cut the right end off to remove the ugly sight of authentication sticker, but sacrifice the original index card size. OR if there is a clean way to simply heat up the sticker and cleanly remove it that would be awesome. I have yet to buy a stickered item to experiment on if that is doable.
Have you ever thought about buying some cheap/junk autograph of someone for under $10 with a sticker and trying it? Not much different from people who buy junk coins and acid wash Buffalos or clean ancient coins that can't be helped.
The idiocacy and the arrogance.
Idiocy on the part of the owner/submitter, and the arrogance of the authenticator who was willing to put his stupid sticker there.
So much area to affix that ridiculous sticker and they just have to place it that close to the signature.
Guess how much this sold for? Just because it’s slabbed someone decided to pay $115 for this ugly very closely cut signature. The same signature in the original book sells for like $80.
LMAO, man, that is terrible.
I'd almost buy that absurdity just for entertainment value.
It makes me think that the hobby/business has gone insane.
There is one of those big overpriced Las Vagas-based online dealers who has a slabbed Jimmy Carter signature (as "J. Carter") that was obviously cut from the colored flyleaf of a book, and it's priced at several hundred dollars. They also have an actual signed book with the same colored flyleaf for something like $125 or $150.
Found these Supreme Court Justice autographs and sadly the collector who had them decided to put scotch tape over the signatures thinking it would preserve them. Instead it ruined them.
That was unfortunately not uncommon back in the day.
Ouch, that sucks.
This one is pretty awful. One of those new large authentication stickers right on the front.
Inexcusable....how pathetic.
Not only do these have the ugly awful authentication stickers on the original Schindler’s List promo photos from 1993 but both are very much overpriced. One is $655 and the other is $1300
In reality a Liam Neeson signed Schindler’s List photo like this usually brings around $100.
This makes me sad. This Harry Blackmun signed Chambers Card was up for bid several months ago. I remember bidding around $50 and lost it. It went for around $100. Well the winning bidder decided to get it stickered by JSA (auction description says sticker on back) and now it’s $300! A big NO thanks. I would pay more for one without any stickers. Yes, I know sticker on back is less bad than on front but it still bothers me. This was a nice Harry Blackmun signed Chambers Card that is now RUINED in my opinion by a non-removable sticker.
I completely agree with the issues with some these authentication stickers placements.
I had this 5x7 Card autographed by both players at the same event.
The autograph company running the show offered authentication stickers, I figured why not.
The young girl doing the stickers, who clearly did not want to be there, seemed to be at least knowledgable about how/where to put the stickers.
She asked if I wanted them on the front with the autos or on the back, she suggested I put them on the back so they wouldn't detract from the autos and offered to place them in an open space on the back.
I was pleasantly surprised and I am happy with the result.
Too bad they didn’t offer to have stickers placed on the LOA or COA. That’s what I would most prefer.
Didn’t want to create a new thread so I will post this here.
I had sent to an authentication service for the first time in my life because I was selling an autograph but the buyer needed authentication before going forward. I decided to send my Elton John signature in to Beckett for encapsulation (cost me $110 total in fees). Unfortunately it came back not authentic. I had $200 into the autograph itself and now another $110 so not a good experience.
Should have just spent the $3 my Old Hollywood autograph collector charges, and you could have known for sure, or not. It's still possible it's real.
Fu*k those grading companies, sorry....but they get too many wrong.
Unfortunately the person who offered me $500 needed an opinion from Beckett or PSA. It’s unfortunate they seem to only trust these companies and not actual experts that know certain signatures much better.
That's terrible news on the EJ.
That's the downside of authentication companies. If it's real but they say it isn't (or at least that it can't be authenticated), then that impacts your ability to sell it.
I suppose you could still offer it with a disclaimer.
Here's an absurd group of autographs on ebay (I'm pretty sure the seller isn't responsible as he doesn't like stickers, especially on the front):
.
Here's an abomination - they cut up an FDR document and an Eleanor Roosevelt signed White House card. At least the WH card had a JSA sticker on it.
Yuck
Found this horrific card
The Sandra Day O’Connor signature is completely disregarded (cut off part of her first name). The back of this card just says congratulations on getting a Ruth Bader Ginsburg signed cut signature.
