And as strange as it may seem, this is very often the most important factor in authenticating an autograph. Look at the first six letters they spell “proven.” Provenance means just that – proving where the autograph came from. Only an autograph that can prove itself outside seller claims can be said to meet this burden. In assessing this proof, we disregard representations of sellers and ignore sales pitches. You must begin with the premise that an autograph is not authentic and make it prove itself. Many people start with the idea that an autograph is authentic and look further only if they are suspicious. Here are the steps we take to authenticate an autograph: So although you cannot become an expert in authenticating autographs just from reading this, you’ll find that you do have the ability to determine for yourself whether many autographs are authentic. Of course, for the more difficult or challenging projects, nothing works like experience. 10 useful steps of autograph authenticationĪuthenticating autographs is like many other skills in that you can learn a lot of the basics quickly and use these to tackle many of the situations you will face. I searched for and found dealers I could trust, learned the tell-tale signs of danger, and remained a collector. I determined that they were not authentic, pursued the seller until I got my money back, but did not become discouraged. I applied these lessons in the autograph field and investigated those baseball autographs.

As a lawyer, you learn to dig for facts, accept what the evidence shows (rather than what you hope to be true), be skeptical, and not just believe whatever you are told.

I practiced law for decades before determining to devote full time to the autograph business. This is a valid concern, and because of the Internet a greater one than ever. This experience has proven true for us as well: always, the first question about an autograph is, how do you know it is real? At the same time, people would buy chairs and bureaus from the other man for thousands of dollars and never once ask him how he knew they were really antiques. People admired his autographs, the Hancock in particular, but almost never failed to ask how he knew they were authentic. His prize piece at the time was a document signed by John Hancock, gorgeously framed and priced at $500. Authenticating Historical Autographs The Eternal Question: “How Do You Know It’s Real?”ĭecades ago when a colleague first started out as an autograph dealer, he tells of sharing a booth at an antique market with a man who sold fine antique furniture.

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