A whole bunch of questionable cards just popped up on eBay. . . be careful out there! For more details checkout webjon.com.

Jon

H'mm interesting

Email sent to you Jon

Uh-oh if they are fakes, soon they will be dispersed all over the collector community cuz all of them have bids.

Thanks for this new wake-up call!

I always find it difficult to come to a conclusion based on a scan, as autographs really have to be examined in hand for me. The twin Garners do appear to be identical and that is pretty suspicious as even a consistant signer doesn't lay down the exact same autograph twice.

As for the Janssen X-Men card, every time I have seen that card the signature was done in ballpoint pen. That includes the one I own, which I got when I couldn't find one done in sharpee. The ballpoint ink looks very light on the card and it's a shame she used it. The card in the scan is done with what looks like marker type pen. I'm wondering if there were ever legit versions of this card signed in sharpee? That is an awfully dark signature for that card compared to the usual one.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Raven,

I commented on your side about the Bell and Janssen. If you want I can send you scans via email of both real cards.

Thank you for the scans and comments so far, I am happy to have any scans you have available, please make sure to let me know if you pull the card yourself, and send to collect@webjon.com.

It is very difficult to spot a questionable card from a scan, which is why the scans on the site are so large.

If you look at the bottom autograph -- Yunjin Kim -- the autopen 'dots' are most evident in this scan. There is one at the very start of the signature in the 'Y' in Yunjin, then in the 'XOXO' There is a dot at the right of each of line in each 'X' and a dot a the top middle in each 'O'.

Jon

Is there anything that can be done about this???

Are the cards from the manufacturers, but somehow they were acquired without the signature?

I have both versions of the Janssen card, bought when the set was released, and both from a VERY reliable dealer. I do not remember what the story was behind the two inks used, but I was sure they were both legitimate. And my marker card looks extremely close to the one shown on your website.

I also have other cards shown there, but don't have the time right now to compare them.

quote:

Originally posted by MarcG:
Is there anything that can be done about this???

You can report these items to eBay as counterfeit autographs. Do to that go to the eBay auction page for the item and click:

Report item (at the right under the seller info)
Then Select:
> Counterfeits and copyright violations
> Bootlegs and counterfeit media
> Counterfeit autographs

Click Continue, add a brief description. "Counterfeit trading card signed with an autopen" or something of that nature.

Add in the eBay item numbers for all the questionable autographs.

Click submit.

They don't make it easy, but at least you can flag multiple auctions in one report . . . if enough people complain the cards will get pulled and the seller may get banned. Even if the seller doesn't get pulled though this is helpful if the buyer realizes they bought a counterfeit, it makes it easier for them to get their money back from Paypal.

quote:

Originally posted by MarcG:
Are the cards from the manufacturers, but somehow they were acquired without the signature?

Good question. There are many different variations of the counterfeit cards out there. Some unsophisticated fakes have simply been color copies of legitimate cards.

Some of them have been signed blanks that have come on to the marketplace -- this happens far too often -- search eBay's card section for 'unsigned auto*' and a bunch will pop up.

Others have printing differences from the actual cards, and these are the most curious to me. . . Are they rejected cards from the printer? Did someone with access to the original image files or printing plates make more after the run? I don't know, but these cards show up with some sophisticated security, like the Inkworks watermark and foil stamp, so these aren't coming from some kid with a color printer.

Jon

Ummm I have a Yunjin Kim autograph pulled from rittenhouse out of a box I personally opened, and it has your "autopen dots" in all the exact same places that you mentioned. Begining of the Y, on all the X's and O's. So unless Yunjin herself used an autopen to sign all her cards, I would say that one is 100% legit.

I'd love to see a scan!

Jon

Darn. I was looking at their SI Sharapova. ...Interestingly, one buyer of the coupons pointed out that he had received COUNTERFEIT coupons. That'd make for an interesting story... --Chris

I opened a case of LOST SEASON ONE and my pack pulled autos from Josh Holloway and Evangeline Lilly look almost exactly like the ones in your scans.

quote:

Originally posted by cardaddict:
I opened a case of LOST SEASON ONE and my pack pulled autos from Josh Holloway and Evangeline Lilly look almost exactly like the ones in your scans.

I'd love to get high quality scans of your known pack pulled cards!

Of course these look very good -- very close to autos that are pack pulled! That's the point,and why it's so difficult to tell legitimate cards from questionable ones.

Jon

Great news -- either the seller or eBay has pulled these auctions.

Hey Jon
I also have pack-pulled a Yunjin Kim that had the dots on the XOXO.
This is the best scan I have (the card is no longer in my possession).

Thanks Miss Lizzy!

The card you've posted definitely has dark spots in the XOXO, but it also has feathering -- at least it looks like it does, the scan is pretty small.

Dots in an of themselves aren't always problematic as they can occur naturally in a signature, but if you notice the Yunjin Kim cards posted on webjon every 'stroke' in the signature starts with a 'dot.' Also every dot appears to be perfectly round.

Finally on the questionable there is no variation in the line thickness/darkness (aka feathering) at all through the entire signature, dot above the 'i' in Kim, or 'XOXO'

It's hard to tell from your scan, but there definitely appears to be feathering in the 'XOXO', plus line variation in the signature, and it doesn't look like 'Yunjin' starts with a dot.

It's *hard* to tell from a scan, for sure, and the cards are supposed to look real. . . That said I welcome all who ask questions since awareness is the best thing we can do to prevent these cards from getting out. I don't even own a single Yunjin Kim autograph to compare to, I'm simply going off these very small cues in the signature, along with the realization that the seller had other questionable cards.

Since people have questioned my questioning this card I freely admit that I have gone back and examined the card more closely and compared to other autographs, and I still feel -- for the reasons stated above -- that these Yunjin Kim cards are questionable. I still would like to see nice high quality scans from people who have copies of the same cards posted.

Jon

Oh, I totally agree that they are questionable. I even went and reported a few after reading your first post and blog. I'm glad they've been taken down.

And speaking of questionable autos, I have a Brian Krause from Charmed Season One that I am pretty damn positive is fake. I cannot for the life of me remember where I got it from.
Can I send it you for a second opinion?

What about that Daniel Radcliffe?
Do you think it's legit?

quote:

Originally posted by Miss Lizzy:
What about that Daniel Radcliffe?
Do you think it's legit?

No self-respecting machine would write that badly
I remember seeing a documentry about a day in the life of the Beatles. It was made about 1964 and showed them making a surprise visit to their official fan club, where an army of women were signing pictures. Fakes have always happend and that's why I now lean towards the 'meet in person' auto.