Hitler Signature... real or fake? Please help!

[mtaylor583604]

I do trust the guy who has this for sale, I have received very good items from him in the past, but I do not know much About Hitler autographed items. Obviously the picture is in bad shape which would bring the value down, but he is offering it for a very decent price if it is real. I asked for more information on where he got this item and he said he has a lot of signed photos from a personal collection from Germany that have been in the collection for over 40 years. Furthermore he said they have been authenticated by a German military expert. This is the only photo that is damaged, but he wants 10 times what he offered me for this one for the others.

Please help, I dont want to spend money if it is a fake, I really appreciate any opinions.

[randy@treadways]

Sellers shouldn't even mention they had it 'authenticated by a German military expert' unless it's in writing and can be shown to prospective buyers before the sale. And of course the expert needs to be recognized as such by the collecting community.

This autograph is so damaged that I doubt it could be seriously authenticated by any expert. We'd have to put it down as 'possibly authentic, but there's no way to ever know'. Whether a buyer would want it for their collection at a greatly reduced price is debatable... for some collectors this is as close as they'll ever come (because of affordability), so why not?

[mtaylor583604]

Sellers shouldn't even mention they had it 'authenticated by a German military expert' unless it's in writing and can be shown to prospective buyers before the sale. And of course the expert needs to be recognized as such by the collecting community.

This autograph is so damaged that I doubt it could be seriously authenticated by any expert. We'd have to put it down as 'possibly authentic, but there's no way to ever know'. Whether a buyer would want it for their collection at a greatly reduced price is debatable... for some collectors this is as close as they'll ever come (because of affordability), so why not?

Thanks thats kind of the situation I am in, I cant afford one in good condition, so I was just wandering if there was a chance of this being real, any more opinions?

[Darrell]

Thanks thats kind of the situation I am in, I cant afford one in good condition, so I was just wandering if there was a chance of this being real, any more opinions?

It is impossible for anyone to make any definite answer for something like this. Maybe, Could be is about all anyone can say with certainty.

[max history]

The first thing to mention is that "authenticated by a military expert" is absolutely worthless. What expertise in autographs does a military expert hold? Absolutely none. Secondly, how on earth can anyone authenticate such a signature? Ridiculous. No genuine autograph expert would even look at this. Third, why would anyone want such an item in their collection? Save your money.
Max.

[mtaylor583604]

What about this one out of the same collection?

[max history]

Now that definitely looks fake.
Max.