I think that the name of the topic sums up my question.
Yesterday a card I bought off an auction sight arrived - A9 Jerry Doyle. It is the last card I needed for the set, so I am a bit familiar with the features. First thing I noticed is that there was no Skybox emboss seal. Comparing it to other cards it also has a few other abnormalities from eight of the other cards (Skybox logo is on a White box instead or blue; the copyright year is 1998 instead of 1997; the 'Printed in the USA' is under the Skybox logo instead of to the left or it). These things are the same as A10 - Bruce Boxleitner, but that one is emboss.
Does anyone else have any of these auto cards that aren't emboss ?
Do the folks here think this could be a fake ?
thanks, Ian

Don't know that much about Babylon 5 cards, but the Skybox seal has been hit and miss on my own cards from some of their other products. Most have it, but some are so faint that you have too look very hard to pick it up, and some don't seem to have the embossment at all. Just a guess of course, but if the lack of a seal is your big concern, the card is probably alright.

Damm, I just bought a Jerry Doyle off ebay and it also doesn't have the emboss seal, every other Bablyon 5 card I have does have the seal.

Also, the seller I bought it from has another one listed.. suprising as I hadnt seen one of these cards listed for ages.

Doesnt look good..

I'm not sure if it's real but i can tell you this.
This is probably a signed card from a convention.
Some actors brought them on their own for
singning the cards during the autograph session.
I never saw Jerry Doyle doing this but others.

I bought these when they originally came out. A9 and A10 are indeed different from A1-A8(Skybox logo is on a White box instead or blue; the copyright year is 1998 instead of 1997; the 'Printed in the USA' is under the Skybox logo instead of to the left or it).
After rechecking all my cards, all of the autographs DO have the Skybox embossed stamp.
Hope this helps.

Jeff

I have asked the seller a question of why the seal is missing.

Here is the response:
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Absolutely 100% authentic. Though most of these autos did have the emboss. Some were released in pacts before the embossing occurred.

We have more just like this one and many of them were actually given to the owner directly from Jerry Doyle at an official Sci-Fi convention.

These are the same version, as listed in the description, but actually more rare, as there was only a limited amount printed before the embossing.

Please review our feedback (100%) and DSR scores (4.9 or better in all categories) to verify our reputation on the eBay system for excellent service.
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Seems a valid response, especially as it was the likely source mentioned before in this thread.

quote:

Originally posted by drofdarb:
Here is the response:
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Absolutely 100% authentic. Though most of these autos did have the emboss. Some were released in pacts before the embossing occurred.

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Seems a valid response, especially as it was the likely source mentioned before in this thread.

As I mentioned, the Skybox embossed seal is usually there, but not 100% of the time. If its not readily visible people are going to question it, but if everything else looks good, the card is still most likely to be genuine.

However, to be considered in mint condition, I would think that its supposed to have a clean seal. I'm not sure what a grader would do or how much he would deduct on a Skybox autograph card that had no seal. Maybe he wouldn't even notice.

quote:

Originally posted by drofdarb:
We have more just like this one and many of them were actually given to the owner directly from Jerry Doyle at an official Sci-Fi convention.

Skybox did let some actors keep "a few" cards, so those cards would not be embossed even with a genuine autograph.

I also chuckled at the "an official Sci-Fi convention" remark. What makes a con official? Does that mean there are fake ones out there?

Ed

Another update from my ebay seller:
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Wanted to also add that, though our currently listed EX version did already state "THIS CARD IS NOT EMBOSSED" in the description, because you were the second person to mention the emboss being absent, we went ahead and updated the listed one to describe the reasons for the lack of emboss and the fact that some of these are actually far rarer than the sealed product versions that came from the first batch of packs without emboss, as they were direct from the actor to us at the Sci-Fi Convention. (ie: no middle-man )

We will also update the NM listing when we do relist that to avoid any confusion in the future.

If you prefer to only own the more widely available embossed version (or don't want to add this rarer version as an addition to the complete embossed series) we are happy to accept a return for a full refund.

But, I must add that these are selling fairly fast and though we have a few of them, they will likely be increasing in price in the near future. So it's a great addition that is still going up in value, if you would like to keep it.

Hope This Helps,
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My listing did not have the "not embossed" in the description. I do find it amusing that these non-embossed cards are meant to be rarer. Yet they do seem to be selling quite a few of them.

quote:

Originally posted by drofdarb:
My listing did not have the "not embossed" in the description. I do find it amusing that these non-embossed cards are meant to be rarer. Yet they do seem to be selling quite a few of them.

In my opinion -- legit or not -- the embossed cards will likely always be more desirable than the non-embossed ones.

I can see the listing when one of these buyers tries to sell these cards "No embossed seal, but I bought it from a guy on eBay who said he bought it from the actor at an official Sci Fi con!"

Jon

I sent my non-emobssed Jerry Doyle back.

Now to just find one with the emobssed seal. anyone got a spare lying around?

Well this thread has been very informative and everyone has to set their own "rules" about what they will or won't accept in to their collections.

I do think that it brings up the question of just how much proof is necessary to validate an autograph. Unless I'm missing something, no one is suggesting that this Jerry Doyle autograph is not genuine. The card is not embossed, and seems to have come directly from the actor rather than a pack insert. The seller is honoring returns.

I think if I wanted a Jerry Doyle autograph, which I don't, I would be happy to have it. Everyone is buying the Leonard Nimoy LLAP card and that is not right from RA, its from him. So what's the difference if you know the signature is authentic?

I know the answer, its a matter of matching the rest of the set. But as an autograph card collector my only concern is that the autograph is real. The best way to ensure that is to buy certified cards, but convention or private signings are just as good in my opinion as long as they are verifiable. And they are often much more affordable.

thanks everyone that posted, (love this community). I ended up keeping the card as it was the easiest way to have completed the auto set, though I would prefer it to be embossed like all the others.
Now to find the parallel language set...

Actually only just got my money back recently for the non-emobossed card, seller was quite nice about it. I already found another card on ebay, had the embossing and was actually cheaper so pretty happy about that.

I have almost finished a master set of all babylon 5 cards, whew, its been tough, just need to get some of the women in motion cards and a couple of promos and I hope I am done.