Autograph dealers and fakes

[mufasa]

1) Stay away from signed photos and books. I know people like them, but the truth is, they are easy targets for a forger.

2) Documents, from a good dealer, especially ones with seal stamped into the paper, I don't think the forgers have been able to replicate that.

I totally agree ... Oriano

[alexanderautogr]

Jeremy, a gentleman would simply contact me off a forum and say: "You know, Bill, take another look at this..."

Conceding nothing, and of course not having the time to chase EVERY self-aggrandizing complaint here or anywhere else, what if the shoe was on the other foot? I don't know what you do for a living, but if you were a doctor, would you be offended if I called you a quack because my self-taught medical education led me to believe my hangnail was caused by your Viagra prescription?

Even if I was wrong, which I again reiterate I do not concede, do you feel the need to publicly vent your spleen, Dr. Kevorkian? Where I come from, it's done in a more civil manner.

I still respect you, Jeremy...but you don't make it easy.

[Jeremy]

So you think the Rommel sig I showed is authentic? Yes or no? simple question.

My emails carried no anger. I responded to your learning curve comment in a public forum regarding 3 Rommels which you sold or were selling. There is no onus on me to pm you and keep the issue of selling fakes out of the public domain. If you can't deal with a discussion about whether or not you sold a fake Rommel in public then that is your issue not mine. you merely paint yourself in the same light as other dealers who rant and attack with childish insults when someone questions the authenticity of their material.

As I said, stick to the issue. You either sold a fake Rommel or didn't. Which is it?

If you feel the need to pm some people for an opinion to check mine I am happy to wait and you might like to look at the thread on fake factory Rommel sigs, if you haven't already.

[kahle33]

The reason that the desire to collect is in free-fall? Simple.

History simply isn't taught in schools any longer.

We've seen that the days of people building large, complete collections seem numbered. More often, we see people buy perhaps five or ten items for display, and then disappear. It's especially evident with presidential material: people pay more for cut signatures than letters or documents because they want to frame them up and hang them on the wall to impress office visitors.

Some eBay vandals have taken to cutting up letters and selling a few words at a time. Bright, shiny objects...

I was surprised to see cut words for sale at RRauctions. Really encourages cutting documents its sad.

I do Rev War reenacting and deal with the public. Its amazing how clueless the public is about history. One of the most common questions when we are at Fort Mifflin is "Why did they build this (18th century) fort so close to the airport?"

[alexanderautogr]

Fort Mifflin -Now THAT'S funny!

Part of the reason for the growth in WW2 autographs (and militaria) is the fact that nearly everyone's father or grandfather fought in the conflict. There's a personal attachment. Fields of autograph collecting such as authors, cabinet members, explorers, and aviators barely have the attraction they once did, because they simply aren't the subject of history classes any more. And Americans don't read - they're far happier with cell phones, iPads and video games.

The dumbing-down of vast swaths of the American public is a sad situation indeed.

[kahle33]

Yep, true, its sad.

Got a Dr. Ley document I was going to reconsign with you. Also got a piece of tile from Hermann Goring's pool. Who knows with that. Will drop off.

[Jeremy]

Going back to the point in question re autograph dealers and fakes rather than what someone is consigning... Perhaps you could ask Kahle33 to pm you about it, Bill?

So you think the Rommel sig I showed is authentic? Yes or no?

I didn't expect an answer from you, Bill, re my specific question. If you say it is authentic, you embarrass yourself. If you say you sold a fake, you embarrass yourself.

Hopefully, we won't see any more Rommel fakes in your future auctions and we "hobbyists" on this forum (as opposed to an "expert dealer") won't need to raise the issue again, irritating as it (I?) may be.

Your "esteemed colleague".

[alexanderautogr]

Going back to the point in question re autograph dealers and fakes rather than what someone is consigning... Perhaps you could ask Kahle33 to pm you about it, Bill?

So you think the Rommel sig I showed is authentic? Yes or no?

I didn't expect an answer from you, Bill, re my specific question. If you say it is authentic, you embarrass yourself. If you say you sold a fake, you embarrass yourself.

Hopefully, we won't see any more Rommel fakes in your future auctions and we "hobbyists" on this forum (as opposed to an "expert dealer") won't need to raise the issue again, irritating as it (I?) may be.

Your "esteemed colleague".

Wish I could address every question about every one of the 40,000 pieces we've already sold, but I'm sure you can appreciate that would open the door for every crackpot in the world to call us out every hour, every day. Suffice it to say, we don't offer anything which we aren't satisfied is authentic.

I am ALWAYS willing to hear and carefully assess comments made on material offered on a current sale, as far as practicable. I'm sure that's more than almost every other dealer or auctioneer had offered in a public forum.

I hope you can appreciate our position. And my "esteemed colleague" appellation was made in complete sincerity.

[eldenwaff]

Wish I could address every question about every one of the 40,000 pieces we've already sold, but I'm sure you can appreciate that would open the door for every crackpot in the world to call us out every hour, every day. Suffice it to say, we don't offer anything which we aren't satisfied is authentic.

I am ALWAYS willing to hear and carefully assess comments made on material offered on a current sale, as far as practicable. I'm sure that's more than almost every other dealer or auctioneer had offered in a public forum.

I hope you realize that you are sounding more like a politician than an autograph dealer with all of those qualifiers & caveats.
No need to go into 40,000, 30,000 or 25,000 past sales. 1 specific question was asked about 1 specific item, failure to answer without post after post of waffling does not look good no matter how you try to spin it.

Just an observation, judging from your past reactions to the slightest criticism I am guessing you won't take it too well.

[Simon O.]

This thread is spiralling down in to insults and name calling.

Closed.