TTM Responses 7/5/08
Back when Muhammad Ali signed through the mail (TTM) and someone wrote him requesting an autograph, there were several responses that could be expected. It was almost guaranteed that you would receive a signed Islamic pamphlet even if other autographs were sent. It was common for Ali to sign the bottom or the back of the request letter, usually personalized and dated. He would also add one of his famous quotes most of the time.
If you requested a photo, there was a good chance that you would receive one of five different photos. There was the 3x5 photo of him in a black suit, this is the same photo currently being used for the autopen. There is also a larger version (8x10) of the same picture. Another photo in the black suit from a different angle could also be received in 8x10 format. A B&W photo of Ali from his boxing days was another option. This photo has a white border around it and comes in both 8x10 and 5x7. If Ali didn’t have any photos at the time, he would sometimes add under his signature “Sorry, out of pictures”.
Sometimes the requester would receive a nice treat, a signed note on Ali's own stationary. These autographs are a little more rare than the others but can still be found with some looking. Even more rare was the return envelope made out in Ali's own hand. Most of the envelopes weren't signed but some of them have Ali's signature in the return address area.
Although your chances of receiving a hand signed Ali signature TTM at this point are slim-to-none, I still believe that Ali signs several autographs for his fans but I have no proof of this.
GAI Authenticated Forgeries 5/18/08
Recently a flood of obvious forgeries which have 'authenticated by Global Authentication have hit the market. Many of these have been selling on ebay for hundreds of dollars. There seems to be several different styles of forgeries, so they're not all from the same forger. How so many phony Ali autographs from different sources could be found 'authentic' by GAI is a mystery to me. What exemplars were used by GAI to examine these signatures? The answer has to be none.
One example is ebay item #300217636183. This auction was for a Muhammad Ali "signed" gloved complete with a COA from GAI, cert #GV322890. The only problem with this auction is that the glove was not signed by Ali, it is a forgery (see photo). This auction ended on April 30th with a final price of $565.89 with 16 bids. This is only on example from over 20 that I have noted in the last several months.
GAI cert # GV 322890 GAI cert # GV 336001
It doesn't take an expert to see that these are not authentic, so why can GAI? I understand that these companies are giving their opinions and nothing is 100% but over 20 mistakes showing up in such a short period? Either they don't know Muhammad Ali autographs or they don't care. How can they call them self "The leader in authentication" if they can't tell the difference between blatant forgeries and the real thing?
Aliautos.com hopes that its readers keep this in mind, just because they call them self "The leader" doesn't make it so.
Hologram Stickers and COA's 2/22/08
Recently forgers and unscrupulous sellers have found a new tool to help them pass their bogus autographs, hologram stickers. All throughout the internet you can find these holograms used on COA’s and on autographed items from sellers you never heard of. Or worse yet, from sellers you know that you can’t trust. Do a google search for ‘custom holograms’ and see what you find. There are hundreds of companies that will make you hologram stickers with any picture, name, or number you want, including those dual serial numbered stickers that you see on COA’s and the item.
Quite a few times now I have received an email or spoke to someone who said that the item came with a hologram sticker and COA, which made them feel more comfortable with purchasing the item. (That's exactly what these sellers want you to think.) In all of these cases, the autographs that I looked at were fake. The fact is still the same; most COA’s aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on. Even if they now come with a shiny sticker on them.
Authenticators controlling the market? 12/22/07
On PSA/DNA's website it states; "Because potential buyers feel more comfortable purchasing certified items, PSA/DNA Certified autographs sell for premium prices". What it doesn't say, is that includes forgeries certified by PSA, JSA and others sell for a premium. A major problem in the hobby is these 3rd party authenticators are allowed to control the market. Today, with forgers running wild, new collectors along with many others think what these companies say is gospel. Such I assure you, is not the fact.
Some collector’s stay away from items authenticated by PSA and other such companies, some say “All it does is run up the price even worthless forgeries and autopens”. Since I mainly focus on Muhammad Ali autographs, I can’t speak for everyone’s signature but I have seen quite a few “authenticated” Ali signatures that I wouldn’t spend two dollars on, let alone the hundreds of dollars that the items sold for. Which include his autopen, some terrible forgeries, and some M. Ali signatures that could have been done by anyone.
The bottom line is educate yourself in what you collect. Don’t let companies make your mind up for you or you may just "Follow the Leader" into trouble.
Changes to the autopen 12/1/07
I'm not sure exactly when but sometime within the last couple of months, Ali's autopen has changed. All they did was make the existing signature smaller. I have already seen several for sale on the secondary market. Many uneducated collector's still believe that the autopen is a real signature and refuse to accept the facts. This recent change is the first alteration to the autopen that I have seen.
Below you can see the previous (large signature) autopen and the New (small signature) autopen.
Fake Ali's in big auction houses? 5/28/07 The last article I wrote about PSA was on 2/10 of this year and their BBB grade was an F. Now, less than a month later it's BB. How can that happen? On 2/21 PSA responded to all the complaints on the BBB's website, some dating as far back as 2004. What took them so long? Could it be the fact that it's because of all the negative press that they are getting because of this? PSA states "This issue was resolved." at the end of their response. Is it? I'd like to hear from the customers that made the complaints. There are six complaints on the website, what about all the other complaints that go directly to PSA or through other avenues. As on the BBB's website PSA went from an F grade, which by their definition means: We strongly question the company’s reliability for reasons such as that they have failed to respond to complaints, their advertising is grossly misleading, they are not in compliance with the law’s licensing or registration requirements, their complaints contain especially serious allegations, or the company’s industry is known for its fraudulent business practices. To a BB grade, which by their definition means: A high rating. The company would generally have demonstrated good business-consumer relations, and we would expect any consumer complaints not to be of a serious nature and to be satisfactorily handled by the company. But there are serious complaints and there has been since 2004 on the BBB’s site. Are we to believe this is all going to go away? I for one, do not.
Recently, I went through the Past Auction section of several major online auction houses, some of which include R&R and Heritage auctions. I found several autopens and questionable autographs being sold as authentic. Some authenticated by PSA/DNA. In all of the sites, the farthest I could go back was 2000, so I started there and worked my way forward. I'll start with the R&R findings that caught my eye.
Item # 1403 A questionable 'Muhammad Ali AKA Cassius Clay' 16x20 photo which sold for $341.55
Item # 1787 A questionable Ali & Frazier 14x11 signed Print sold for $210.60
Item# 2266 A questionable Muhammad Ali signed 16x20 sold for $697.32
Item# 2900 A book with an autopen signature authenticated by PSA/DNA sold for $190.71
Item # 1676 Another questionable Ali signature authenticated by PSA/DNA sold for $243.36
Item # 2417 An autopen signature on an 8x10 again, authenticated by PSA/DNA sold for $203.58
I also found this on Heritage Auction Galleries...
Lot # 1294 A group lot with an autopen signed 8x10 photo sold for $206.00
Don’t be fooled to think that everything offered by the big name auction houses are real and the same goes for items authenticated by PSA/DNA. Do your research and don’t loose money because ‘they’ say it’s real.
PSA tries to clean their image? 3/2/07
Ali Photo File 8x10's 2/22/07
There are an alarming amount of forgeries on the market but there is one kind that we can avoid without question. Within the last few months Photo File, a large photo printing company has started to print licensed Muhammad photos. You can see the Photo File logo along with an ALI logo the second you look at them. The sellers will advertise clear, big signatures on these photos. Ali hasn't signed in the manner that these forgers are signing in years, let alone a lot of these fakes are terrible.
If you go to Photo File's website you will see the examples of photos that they sell. Also, go to the aliautos.com forums for more examples of forgeries on these photos.
PSA/DNA 2/10/07
Recently it has come to light that PSA/DNA had autograph dealers working as authenticators. Conflict of interest anyone? Who's to say if they passed their own phony signatures as authentic. This in it self is a horrible act. But it's not the only issues surrounding PSA.
If you lookup PSA's parent company, Collector's Universe on the Better Business Bureau's website you will see that they have a grade of F, the lowest grade possible. Why? Because of many complaints of not returning items, denying that they ever received items (even though the sender has proof of delivery), returning items without explanation to why they found the item as not authentic, or not returning the same item that was sent. These are all scary things to think about. I usually give a company that big the benefit of the doubt, the bigger you are the more complaints you have. But this? There's no excuse for such crimes. In some cases we are sending them thousands of dollars in items and fees and receiving nothing in return. I for one will not use their service and have lost faith in anything that they deem as authentic. I will be my own authenticator when it comes to Muhammad Ali autographs as I had in the past before all of these companies. One could only hope that this brings down the prices of PSA/DNA certified items as they are overpriced to begin with. You are the buyer and are going to spend your hard earned money, who are you going to trust, yourself after studying the proper material or a item's COA that may have been authenticated by that dealer?
Click here to see PSA/DNA's BBB report.