Advice on spotting a stamped autograph on a vintage card
frankhardy
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How do you spot a stamped signature on a vintage card? Any advice would be appreciated.
Shane
0
Comments
1. Crosses: live ink should be darker and evident when lines cross because ink is applied in a location two times. Stamps will not show crosses because it is just one press.
2. Starts/stops: you should see more ink where the pen or marker touches down on an item and frequently where it ends because writers will spend a fraction of a second more on those locations. Frequently you'll see a dot. Stamps lack these.
3. Flow: many stamps have ink lines that, when examine closely, are lighter at the middle and "flow" outward to be thicker/more bold on the outside. It'll look uneven: like 2 parallel lines with a hollow middle.
4. Variance: obviously, stamps create a uniform autograph that won't vary from use-to-use. If you see variation in the signatures, you'll know they're not stamps.
Sometimes it is hard to assess any one of the above, especially for very dark autographs. Authentication is about adding up the facts to make an informed opinion. If you see a few of the above issues, it should ring some alarm bells.
I have a couple of suspects, but the interesting thing is that one of the tips lead me to thinking a stamp, and another tip leads me to thinking real.
For instance, the crossing (intersections) are not darker, but there is darker ink at the stop marks.
What about this - have you ever seen a vintage autograph where, under magnification, the lines look (for lack of a better term) spotty? In other words, if you look at a section very close, it doesn't look solid. Did I make sense?
Shane
Some are spotty because ink is old and faded. Some are spotty because the writing implement was shoddy to begin with. Stamps are spotty because the ink blots, but it'll usually be throughout the autograph (very consistent). I don't think that's a huge concern if you're seeing other signs it's good.