Is this Sammy Sosa signature real?

Shrink

Ebay auction 290136799775
Ebay auction 220130566108

any opinions about these 2 bats?
Do you concur that these signatures are authentic?

I am a first time poster so I hope this is the proper forum.

Thank you

Oimbotb

Link 1



Link 2

SDSportsFan

First off, WELCOME to the boards!!!

The auto at Link 1 has the proper shape, but the scan is so small, I can't be sure in my own mind whether it looks good or not.

The one at Link 2 is a style so different from any Sammy Sosa autograph I've ever seen, that I'd stay far away from it.

Your best bet if looking for a Sammy Sosa autograph, in my opinion, is to stay with ones that are authenticated by a reputable company like PSA/DNA or UDA (Upper Deck Authenticated).




Steve

Shrink

Oh Darn! I guess if the bat in the second link is no good then if he sells the second bat in that auction the ones with all the autographs then that one is no good either. I wish ebay would shut sellers down like that. I wish you could better see the signature in the first auction. My family wants to get a Sammy Sosa signed bat to add to my brothers collection.

Goot

The second link has silver sharpie on the "team signed" bat so that should be a give away towards the age of those sigs.

Shrink

Sorry but can you explain what you mean it is a dead giveaway to the age because of the silver color. I am not familiar with all this fake stuff. I know when I was in highschool in the early 80's they had those pens that wrote in silver and gold. They weren't called sharpies though, they were some name. Like a caligraphy pen---I think.

Goot

Haha I wouldnt know about those, I was born in 91. I would guess that it's newer silver sharpie but I'm not sure. Need to go to the "old" guys for further help.

TNTonPMS

I don't have any Sammy Sosa sigs from 87 but I can tell you this , his sig is nothing like that now .

TNTonPMS

Maybe when these guys become famous , they switch from signature style , to autograph style ?? I dunno, but that Sosa sig on that bat looks very sloppy and written very slowly ??

TNTonPMS

Wow !
all my pics became really small ??

:Edited to say : Doh ! forgot I had to reduce down to 10 Kb or less for Icon upload day yesterday .

Shrink

I found this card with a similar signature. Do you think this card is genuine or fake.


Sosa autographed Card


I asked the seller in the first link if he could send me a close up picture of the signature. If he does I will post it here to see what your opinions are.

Shrink

Thank you for your opinions. It is past 3am and I must be off to bed. I will look back here tomorrow to see if there is more advice or opinions. Thank you for the nice welcome

MuckyMutt

<< <i>Your best bet if looking for a Sammy Sosa autograph, in my opinion, is to stay with ones that are authenticated by a reputable company like PSA/DNA or UDA (Upper Deck Authenticated). >>



That's the best advice - in my opinion.

If, on the other hand, you are looking for a cheap fake on Ebay...

Shrink

Ok thanks for the advice

F1ferrari

It's possible that both are Sosa's signature. A lot of popular atheletes go to an 'autograph school', where they learn how to make their signature look nice, and how to sign so it doesn't tire your hand/arm.

I've seen Dale Earnhardt's sig before and after he went (both owned by the same person who had each personally signed at race tracks), and you wouldn't be able to tell that they were done by the same person.

MooseDog

Can't really tell on the first item but from a distance it at least looks OK.

Sammy's early signatures do sort of resemble the one on the Gastonia bat so I'd say there is a slight chance but my but feeling is that that bat and the team signed "not for sale" bat was just an afternoon project for a couple of bored young kids. Those signatures mostly look like the work of 10 year olds. They do look like they were signed in different hands so I guess there is an outside chance they would be good. I'd be awfully surprised if any reputable authenticator would pass that one.

Players signatures evolve with practice. Signatures change over time, sometime dramatically. Sosa is a classic example of this. I had a 1990 Donruss signed in 1990 or 1991 with a beautiful flowing signature. Now it's S_________ S_____. Even Cal Ripken Jr, one of the best superstar signers ever, has seen his signature deteriorate to Ca Rp J.... I like to cite Cal as an example of a player "practicing" as his signature is almost spot on of his dad's.

Can anyone on this board who ever played any kind of baseball not admit that they at one time "practiced" their "autograph"??? I know that my signature is greatly influenced by my time as an autograph collector, and yes, I practiced a lot...

Bottom line on that Gastonia bat though is as a collector I wouldn't even want that in my collection. It's butt-ugly.

PS. Regarding silver and gold pens, they were around in the late 1980s. They were called "paint pens" back then. Don't believe they were made by Sanford (Sharpie).

TNTonPMS

One would think , as a young boy growing up and playing baseball, the he'd at least practiced signing his name on a baseball/bat/glove for that one day when he became an actual baseball player , that is the only thing that would steer me away from that baseball bat .

I agree it looks like a bunch of 8-10 year olds signed that bat and that would be too much of a gamble for me without a COA from either JSA or PSA .

I have tried to study many things about signatures after being burned for a decent amount of cash in the past and when all else fails , trust your instincts is what I am left with in the end . . . In the end , I am clueless because a professional I am not .

TNTonPMS

Another thing I do not trust is any item like that , that has no COA, because your chances of selling it are much greater , and why would one not want to get as many bids as possible , so why not spend the money to make money . . . not to mention, knowing for yourself even if your intentions are not to sell it .

Having rambled on and on it changes nothing though, the thing could in fact be legit , just signed before he practiced his Autograph style , which many do .

My son is practicing now

Shrink

Thankyou again for the information. I reported the one auction to Ebay, not that it will do any good. It is a shame that a seller with so many good feedbacks would sell something and try to rip people off.

WinPitcher

I reported the one auction to Ebay

What exactly did you say in your report? That a few people on a mesage board told you that the item is a fake?

You can't be serious.


Steve

bluemarlin

<< <i> I reported the one auction to Ebay

What exactly did you say in your report? That a few people on a mesage board told you that the item is a fake?

You can't be serious.


Steve >>



I gotta agree not sure that was a smart move.

Shrink

The guy in the first link will not send extra pictures.

I reported the second one as I suspected it was a fraudulent listing. There is nothing wrong with that. Now ebay might investigate it.

TNTonPMS

Ummmm . . . .

Shrink

If you think an item in fraudulent it should be reported.

MuckyMutt

<< <i>If you think an item in fraudulent it should be reported. >>



I think you need a better basis than "I think so".

Ebay does not "research" these reports - they either ignore the report or just pull the auction. It costs the seller money to have his auctions pulled because someone "thinks" they may be fraudulent.

Shrink

Well I reported it and I can't take it back. Maybe I shouldn't have, but listening to people I believe it to be fake and I think that is the general consensus here. If he is selling fraudulent items ebay should investigate him.

Jakt

A good rule of thumb, when in doubt, don't buy it. You will always have another opportunity later on that you will feel more confident in.

Shrink

Thank you for advice I am glad I didn't try to bid on it. To bad some others who are bidding don't have this same advice.

Barfvader

<< <i>Thank you for advice I am glad I didn't try to bid on it. To bad some others who are bidding don't have this same advice. >>



Much like the fact that you don't know if the signature is real or not (as many have pointed out it COULD be) you also don't know what the other bidders have for knowledge either. Not everyone that bids on items like this without a COA is a sucker that is being taken. The seller in this auction has given an extremely professional presentation with very detailed pics of the item so it's not like they are trying to hide something (you know, fuzzy pictures taken a mile away and telling you to look at the pic to make your own decision).

You reported the auction and currently eBay has decided to let it run. If it gets pulled it still doesn't mean it's not an authentic signature. The best thing in situations like this when you don't know if it's real or not is to have open communication with the seller. Ask if you were to win it and send it off to get it authenticated that if it fails do they offer a money back guarantee. If they do and you feel comfortable with that than bid. If they don't and you still want to take a risk than bid. Or if in the end you don't feel right about any of it than don't bid.

But reporting things that you have zero knowledge about makes no sense. If the item is real (as it could be) and the auction gets pulled that is just a major hassle for the seller. Why doesn't the seller have all the items authenticated? That's not for me to say but you do know that this seller does this on consignment and many times the actual owner has the say in what is done. That is not the sellers fault.

Now you have been given great advice by the others on here so start looking for an item that has already passed PSA/DNA. You'll pay more in the end but if your not willing to take the risk (many do take the risk and do rather well sometimes) that is the way to go.

Good luck on finding what you want.



Jeff

Jakt

<< <i>Thank you for advice I am glad I didn't try to bid on it. To bad some others who are bidding don't have this same advice. >>



As bad as it may be, better them then you.

GOLDENAGER

GOLDENAGER

shrink--and anyone else that doubts the authenticity of the 2nd Sosa bat:

Did anyone take a good look at the Sosa auto card you posted? Other than being on a flat surface as opposed to the bat, it is virtually identical--right up to incl the #10!

If you had just done a bit of investigating the Seller's past auction history you would have seen she has a massive amount of bats, balls, etc. signed by players, politicians, Kings, astronauts, movie stars & everything in between!!! Some of it has been authenticated, alot has not, but that's because the consignor didn't want to spend the money. A good share of it came w/ letters from the person that signed the item!

Every single item that WAS offered for authentication was approved as REAL! Of EVERY other item previously sold, w/ a liberal return policy, not a single item has been returned or questioned.

The Sosa sig & others on BOTH bats that look like kids writing is just that---young Minor Lg players, some still in their teens when they played for Gastonia in 1987!! They had not perfected the "ML WAY" of writing illegibly at that time!!

My whole point being---Before you report someone, as has been done in this case, do a bit of research! You can do much harm to a person's credibility by jumping the gun on a "maybe"!!

I also notice many of you who posted took the high road --that it "could" be real--and for that you should be commended!

gamehunter

I have a Sosa signed ball that was signed his rookie year and it is much different than his signature today.

Jakt

I remember seeing early examples of Mickey Mantle's signature from his 1951 season. It wasn't as rounded as the signature that we have come to know.

As far as the ones in these auctions, I have no idea when they were signed.

RMart

I remember seeing a picture of Mantle's early autograph. I did a search and came up empty. But I did find this:

Interesting perspective on Mantle about Mantle

RMart

this forum link had the Mantle signatures that don't look like the ones we have come to recognize

I know they are on the back of a comic, but you get the idea

AlexThur

If you can find a PSA DNA of an old Mantle auto like that, it would probably sell for a significant premium.