Pics of Mickey Mantle's authentic signature? PICS ADDED 4/27....

guitarwes · April 24, 2007 7:24AM

wondering if any of you guys have any pics of Mantle's real signature.

I have a ball that my dad bought for me a long time ago (before COA's) and was wondering if I could get a comparison. If it's close, I'd like to send it in to get it authenticated.

Which brings up another question. Who is the BEST most reliable source to send it to for authentication?

thanks for any help guys..............will check back tomorrow...........wes

stown · April 24, 2007 7:26AM

<< <i>Who is the BEST most reliable source to send it to for authentication? >>

PSA/DNA Link

guitarwes · April 24, 2007 7:35AM

Thanks for the link. I like the "Do you have the Balls" title line.

Am I correct in assumming that it costs $75 to authenticate Mantle's Sig?

storm888 · April 24, 2007 7:58AM

This is a PSA/DNA Mantle

mikeschmidt · April 24, 2007 8:01AM

Wes-

It is $75 to authenticate.

You could just go on Ebay and search for "Mantle" and "PSA/DNA" and you will probably get a few dozen results that will have comparable signatures.

TraderShea · April 25, 2007 2:34AM

Wes,

(Sadly for resellers/Great for "no profit needed collectors") there actually seems to be quite a few Mantle balls out there, he signed a bunch in his later years. Its one of those where there are enough of them where a resale for good return on them means they have to be in really good shape (ie ball shows little to no signs of age). I’ve been watching them recently because I would like to add one to my collection, generally one without AUT will go in the $200 range, those with generally $500-600 depending on ball condition. If the ball isn’t in the best of shape and with it costing $75 to get the COA then it becomes of question of weather you are planning on keeping it or turning it over for profit.

If you just want it for your collection and would like to know if its real or not yourself, then post pics here; I know there are enough of us to probably give you a maybe 90%+ accuracy on its authenticity. Besides, we love pictures around here and even if we didn’t take a stab at it being real or not you would be sharing something special

Shea

guitarwes · April 25, 2007 7:37AM

will get pics soon when I get my camera back.....thanks guys.............wes

schr1st · April 25, 2007 7:38PM

Here are a few:

A couple that I witnessed him sign (not cerified yet, but since I saw them signed there is no need for me to rush)

I've also have a PSA/DNA signed ball that I can take a picture of if need be. It's a 60's era signature of his.

guitarwes · April 26, 2007 12:21AM

Thanks schr1st.

One of the reasons I'm asking is that I saw a card posted here with Mantle's Sig on it that looked totally nothing like any of your. And it was certified by PSA/DNA.

I realize variations in signatures occur, but this one was WAY off.

The signed ball I have has the exact signature that your cards have. The "swooping M's" and everything. Which makes me feel better about it possibly being authentic.

I also have a Nolan Ryan ball with COA. What do these bring these days?

Thanks again everybody........pics coming soon.........wes

TraderShea · April 26, 2007 1:35AM

<< <i>Here are a few:

>>

I do want to ask though, was Mays the last to sign that or was it done just recently in his now well advanced age? I only ask because his signature, while still beautiful, isnt quite as strong as I have always seen and have myself. I'm thinking the end possibly tails off because he had to make sure he fit it in, but it could also be the age catching up to him which is sad...

guitarwes · April 26, 2007 11:23PM

OK guys, here are finally some pics I promised(not the best in the world, but they'll do I guess)
This might be a little overkill, but oh well.....

I have no idea what that funk is just above and to the right of "Mantle".

Let me know what you think.........thanks again............wes

TNTonPMS · April 27, 2007 12:06AM

Looks legit to me . . .
I have a few team signed Yankees Baseballs 1953-56-58.
Only difference is on the 53 he's not on the sweet spot and on the 56 and 58 he shares the swet spot with Yogi so the signatures are a little bit smaller .
I'd wait until a reputable authenticating company is having an appearance for authenticating at one of your local Sports memorabilia store .
Speaking for myself , I'd accept nothing less than a James Spence LOA or a PSA .
They see things that 95% of us would never even think of looking for .
I don't have any LOA's from PSA but JSA's LOA's are beautifully prepared.
Those LOA's alone are collectible to me and it means a lot to me to have them look as beautiful as they do .

Good luck in your quest Guitar , that is a pretty baseball and I hope evrything turns out your way .
The Mick is probably one of the most forged signatures out there , but I'm sure you probably know that already .

fsjeter · April 27, 2007 12:24AM

Here are a couple of links with other exemplars:

Babe Ruth Autographs

R&S Sports Collectibles

Scott

cravetopps · April 27, 2007 12:41AM

TraderShea · April 27, 2007 4:47AM

Alright, more pictures

So Wes, if you take a look at your ball there are a couple places which kind of stand out on real sigs, a couple more which leads to questions. Here are the places I marked on your photo:

Now, those portions stand out because of the consistency in which Mick produced them, they would be difficult to reproduce with continuance and consistency in a fake. The portion where the first ‘M’ ends and the ‘I’ begins overlaps pretty smoothly, and the height of the rest of the signature is consistent with that connection. The little tail on the second ‘M’ which makes an almost baseline for the rest of the signature is present, and it stops just short of the ‘A’ which is usually the case. It also has the smooth flow in the ‘KEY’ portion, with the ‘K’ being in essence an E with an uppercase C creating the arc and finishes in a smooth flow into the ‘E’ with the dramatic strikes finishing off the diamond shaped ‘Y’. Its on a Bobby Brown ball (I think that’s Bobby) which would make the ball from mid 80’s to mid 90’s. If you look at Schr1st’s 1991 ECN card you find it to be extremely close, making it look like it was signed about the same timeframe which would be consistent with the ball its on.

There are two thinks would be a concern for me though; those marked with the yellow arrow on my marked picture…
~ The dot in the ‘I’ usually doesn’t curve toward the rest of the signature ~ it will most of the time drop straight down; or if it does tail off towards the back, it is usually faint as if its just a drag line. Probably not a huge deal, you can also see an almost similar darker line in CraveTopps’ ball, but yours is so pronounced. To its defense, a ball is where you will almost always find the “tail off” on that dot and its probably not a problem at all.

~ The big difference comes in the ‘A’. The top on yours curves upward from the bottom of the signature as if it would connect to the end of the ‘M’ if you continued the line ~ in almost every signature I have ever seen the ‘A’ is a completely different stroke though, as you can see in the pictures given by other members. The ‘A’ in his sig almost always starts facing the end of the signature, with only the slightest downward angle if any. Yours does have that dramatic downward point and curve at the top ~ drastically different from what you would normally find…

I think its real; I think the other points are too difficult to reproduce. If it is a fake, I think the ‘A’ is our telltale sign and I feel it reason enough to get it authenticated.

Hope that helped and maybe others can give their input on the ‘A’ to give you an even better idea.
Shea

guitarwes · April 27, 2007 5:07AM

Man, TraderShea, that was intense. I SOOOOOO much appreciate the time it took to offer that information!

I see what you mean on the "a" in Mantle, not real consistant with the others, but vaguely similar. At least most of the other "key" points match pretty much. Which makes me feel better.

And yes it is a "Bobby Brown" ball, if that's any significance.

Any more thoughts guys?????

TraderShea · April 27, 2007 10:46AM

no problem, I just hope I'm right

Yeah, if you are planning on keeping it yourself and I helped you feel more comfortable about it without you having to get it PSAed then great ~ and well worth the little time it took!

I do still want to hear other peoples opinions as well though, where are all you guys?

Oh and the Bobby Brown thing is only important as it dates it between 1984-94 (the time he was AL Pres) ~ well the ball at least. With Mantle passing in 1995 it means the signature was obtained between 84 & 95.

Pics of Mickey Mantle's authentic signature? PICS ADDED 4/27....

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