Opinions on this Mantle auto please
Tedw9
Posts: 1,424 ✭✭
What do you all think, is this legit? PSA DNA says they can't render an opinion.
Looking for Carl Willey items.
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Comments
<< <i>PSA DNA says they can't render an opinion. >>
Was that their Quick Opinion?
Looks good to me!
<< <i>
<< <i>PSA DNA says they can't render an opinion. >>
Was that their Quick Opinion?
Looks good to me! >>
The reply to me was "Response: "Unable to Render Opinion"
1994 Pro Line Live
TheDallasCowboyBackfieldProject
Many of them look slightly different from the others ....
Based on a few that I just checked, the sig you have looks pretty darn good!
Remember, they're giving you their opinion ... who knows for sure unless he/she actually saw Mickey sign it?
this bat was signed by Mantle in 1992 in Cooperstown!
PoppaJ
Good as gold.
Sean
Always Looking for vintage hockey autographs
The Broderick Collection
Unfortunately, this made it one of the easiest to fake as well.
I remember a news show a couple years ago (?60 minutes) where a guy had perfected Mantle's autograph, and could sign it on the spot- looked perfect.
Kind of scary.
My 2 cents is that the auto business in general is risky - if you don't see it signed in person.
<< <i>Mickey had one of the nicest, clearest signatures in the business.
Unfortunately, this made it one of the easiest to fake as well.
I remember a news show a couple years ago (?60 minutes) where a guy had perfected Mantle's autograph, and could sign it on the spot- looked perfect.
Kind of scary.
My 2 cents is that the auto business in general is risky - if you don't see it signed in person. >>
I'm pretty sure the guy you're referring to is Greg Marino ....
Here's the story:
Wiry, chain-smoking, tattoo-laden Wayne Bray, the mastermind who ultimately flipped on his fellow cohorts, as well as the master artist -- pot-smoking, reggae-listening Greg Marino, whom FBI experts called one of the most remarkable forgers in American history.
Bray and Marino met in 1994 in Bray's San Diego area card shop, where Marino was attempting to peddle some of his father's sports lithographs. After striking up a friendship over a period of time, Marino walked into Bray's shop one day, pulled down a piece of Mickey Mantle memorabilia and replicated Mantle's beautifully rendered signature, which, as a lifelong Yankees fan, he had practiced relentlessly to perfect. Bray's reaction was pretty much instantaneous: Cha-ching!
Bray, who already had filled orders for forged merchandise with a corrupt major East Coast wholesaler named Stan Fitzgerald, was astounded by Marino's craftsmanship. One thing led to another, and at the point of Mantle's death, the always high interest in Mantle- signed merchandise exploded. So, too, did the forged merchandise enterprise.
Marino not only worked tirelessly signing fake Mantles, but he also quickly added countless other sports stars and celebrities to his repertoire -- Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan and Mark McGwire as well as celebrities and well-known figures such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Albert Einstein, and in the most sensational find following the bust, five baseballs that were purportedly signed by Mother Teresa.
Of course, they were all expertly signed by Marino, who estimated that he produced more than 1 million forgeries, occasionally working 15 hours a day at his dining room table when demand, spurred on by the advent of the Internet and TV auction outlets, grew hot. He kept photocopies of authentic signatures in log books and could reproduce them on sight.
The forgery racketeering ring grew to include 20 individuals who were all busted on the same day in 2000, including Marino's brother, father and mother, the latter of which served as a ruthless money manager for the family. More than $10 million worth forged memorabilia was seized.
"It just astounded me how much money was involved and how much these guys could make," Nelson said. "Signed memorabilia is a $1billion annual industry, and these guys were the McDonald's of forgery. The requests that were coming in were so off-the-wall, but these guys didn't even blink an eye."
Their myriad tricks of the trade were so brazen they'll make you laugh. For signatures of deceased stars and celebs, the gang would buy up old books from thrift stores and use the blank, yellowing pages in the back to give off the appearance of age. They did the same with baseballs, reproducing old stamps and using old inks to craft a vintage autograph, then dipping the balls in shellac and putting them in bags of dog food to give than "that old smell."
There are dozens of such amazing anecdotes throughout this captivating tale, except the tale is all true. The ultimate testimonial? Even Bray called the author to tell him how well he'd nailed the details.
PoppaJ