How do I get a certificate of authenticity for an autographed sports jersey?

[frankqfrank]

My brother's friend won a new David West New Orleans Hornets jersey at the Xavier University basketball camp and was lucky enough to get it signed by West thanks to Thad Matta. He's considering selling it. In any case, does anyone know how authentication of something like this works, who should I deal with, where, what might it cost me, and is it worth it? Thanks in advance, maybe there are some memorabelia fans out there on AT.

 

[isekii]

if you have a huge mall that sells collectibles ask them how to get it authenticated.

give them a call i'm sure they'll send you in the right direciton.

 

[kranky]

Who is going to authenticate it, when they weren't there in person to witness the signing?

 

[frankqfrank]

That was a concern of mine, however seeing as alot of signed memorabilia isn't witnessed by someone with authority to authenicate it with backing from a big company like Upper Deck, I figure there's gotta be something better than "just take my word for it."

 

[Mark R]

There are companies that can authenticate without having been witness at the time.

They have large databases of known genuine autographs, and have trained personnel who carefully examine you specimen with their database. They may have additional tools as well, such as techniques which show tampering, or attempts at erasure.

Following this, they issue a certificate containing a photo of your item, and may label your item in some unobtrusive way.

Fees vary, but for a small item are usually less than $300. They can be much, much higher for more valuable items.

 

[Rufio]

just make your own certificate.
hahahaha

 

[fatbaby]

Originally posted by: Rufio
just make your own certificate.
hahahaha

I don't see why you wouldn't. Who has the legal authority to "authenticate" something anyways?

 

[Busie23]

PSA, Professional Sports Authenticator, is regarded as the best in the business by most. They can authenticate anything. You can either mail the item to them or stop by a sportscard show that they are at and they will take a look at your item. Their show prices are lowing then the regular prices plus you don't have to wait a few weeks to get your item back.

These are the same people that invented the card grading that became popular a few years ago.

PSA

 

[frankqfrank]

Thanks for all the replies. A lot of eBay jerseys don't have any authenitcity proof but do ok anyway. This jersey certainley isn't worth $300 so maybe it's not even worth the trouble.

Or.... I think I could make quite a nice one myself.

 

[fr]

I don't get it. How can someone tell if the person's autograph was really signed by them if they weren't a witness? It's not going to look exactly the same and what if someone did a great imitation?

 

[iwearnosox]

99% of all autographed sports memorabilia is fake. (Industry accepted fact.)

Think twice before buying any.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: fr
I don't get it. How can someone tell if the person's autograph was really signed by them if they weren't a witness? It's not going to look exactly the same and what if someone did a great imitation?

There are some "authenticators" (not PSA) who figure once they provide a COA, it doesn't really matter if the signature is real or not. Many COAs just say that it's their opinion the autograph is genuine. If they are proved wrong, oh well, it was just their opinion. Did you ever notice how many people sign their name as no more than a couple of squiggly lines? It's not hard to fake them, as iwearnosox points out.