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on the newer cards, 1998 and up--how important are auto grades to you?
olb31
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as a collector, as a seller and as an investor. do you think it really matters if the auto is graded?
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I've never seen an auto grade that wasn't a 10. Guys post in their eBay auctions PSA 10 when it's an auto grade.
Does PSA have to witness an autograph to authenticate it?
CGC, I don't think they'll authenticate an autograph without witnessing it. Which is good policy. Adds value to their authentication.
I have a couple cards that were intended to be autographed in house but weren't. I could sign them. It would look pretty official.
As a collector, I prefer dual grades. I prefer the signature to be graded and I prefer higher grades to lower grades. I don't always agree with the PSA grade... and I purchase many 10/AUTH cards because they're less expensive and that's a common combo for modern.
For investments and selling, I haven't really considered it. Inscriptions, placement, choosing the correct pen - sharpie vs. staedtler etc. & size... those are all more important to me as far as value.
A 10/10 generally sells for more than a 10/9 which sells for more than a 10/Auth, so I guess it matters objectively as far as price is concerned.
There's plenty to see.
There are also people who list cards with facsimile autographs as PSA/DNA so go figure.
Nope. You can get the stickers put on the back if you want and you can send in the documentation if you want when you submit the card. They will grade the card with the authentication stickers on the back and they accept quite a few different authenticators, such as JSA.
Forgery is a pretty old practice, and if you can get all the loops, hoops, angles, & intersections right, good work. I don't know much about it. If you don't witness it yourself I guess you would never really know. I would recommend against forgery. If you're not familiar, look up Operation Bullpen.
I prefer ungraded auto's
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
So you guys require documentation?
That's similar to requiring a witness. I don't think CGC employs all of their witnesses. I believe they qualify people to witness. I'm not familiar with these stickers. Unless you're talking about signed stickers stuck to cards?
I'm not saying I would forge something. I'm saying If I did I bet you guys would authenticate it. I've seen youtube videos where guys say they sent you fake autos and got them authenticated. I'm not sure how that's possible if you guys require documentation though.
Depends on if you are a honest person or a typical trading card dealer/seller?
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
I cracked some product a while back and some of the cards were auto cards that hadn't been signed. It was a Fleer product.
Are you guys assuming the people sending you autographs are honest?
First off, no one that’s responding here is employed by PSA or PSA/DNA, so we can’t answer for “you guys”.
Autograph authentication has been around forever. It’s not an exact science, but there are skills involved in identifying fakes. Presumably, if there are no telltale signs of it being a fake, it would pass authentication. Forging’s not as easy as it sounds, though.
Jim
I do not.
I am referring to JSA, Tristar, Steiner, Nolan Ryan Foundation, etc. Little stickers they put on the back of the card with the auth. I don't like to add those to my cards personally. Not the same thing as a sticker-auto. If you look up JSA sticker you'll find information on it.
There's nothing wrong with demonstrating a signature and stating it's a replication. I have no idea how many I would get right until you give it a try.
And who can forget when PSA authenticated a facsimile auto. Oops.
Sorry PSA, but come on. Graded cards are seen by at least 2 different staff members?
Not an autographed card collector…cards look marked to me.
I respect that and the cards that you share are amazing. I can’t remember when I first was infected with the autograph bug, but it’s been something I’ve been living with since 1989. It’s getting quite expensive though.
Are you sure?
Quack medicine has been around forever too. I'm just trying to get some feel for the quality of the service being offered. I'm sorry if you're offended. I think I'm asking legitimate questions.
Not offended at all. Just wanted to make sure you realized we weren’t answering for PSA, the company. Sorry if you took my responses in a way I wasn’t intending - just trying to share what I know. Now that I look back, my “First off” was a bad lead in - apologies.
And you’re right - maybe some of the responders are employees… I recognize all of their names and none have indicated that they were PSA employees in the hundreds of their posts that I’ve read, so I’m fairly confident but not positive.
Raiderguy10 runs an annual autograph submission and can probably answer some of your questions - been doing it for years and years: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1098107/annual-psa-dna-discounted-bulk-submission-autograph-grading-encapsulation-flat-authentication
There’s also a specific forum here for autographs - those guys over there are really good and can give you a lot more info about the service than many of us in the card forum, including from the perspective of other authenticators. Guys over there collect presidential, Hollywood, etc. so they know a ton more than us guys on the sports side. Lots of opinions over there about slabbing vs. stickers, so if you have specific questions about how each company handles placing stickers on items that aren’t slabbed then those may be your guys.
Jim
They don't say even if they are employees. Company has to be careful about the message they put out.
You've had a a lot of interesting posts today.
I grade the autograph myself when I buy a card. I was actually just looking at Willie Mays autographs a few days ago and many of his Topps Autos from his reprint set are bubbled. I decided on his 52 Topps Chrome auto just the other day but due to his passing, they are gone
Most of the modern autographs are a joke, players are down to using just their initials or some crummy scribble.
Most of the newer autos are issued by the card company, so I assume they are authentic.
Don't care at all about the auto grade, but I try to buy an actual autograph if I can find one.
Irrelevant.
Yaz Master Set
#1 Gino Cappelletti master set
#1 John Hannah master set
Also collecting Andre Tippett, Patriots Greats' RCs, Dwight Evans, 1964 Venezuelan Topps, 1974 Topps Red Sox
That's kind of how I feel.
I don’t care much for the auto grade, but I am not a fan of the sticker autos. I especially do not like when the autograph doesn’t fit in the sticker and you can’t see the entire autograph (maybe this means I do care about a “low grade” auto?).
I really couldnt care less if an auto is "graded" in reality, it seems silly to me and reeks of an upcharge.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.