I recently purchased (and subsequently) returned a James Bond full bleed Daniel Craig auto card as when I received it, the autograph was smudged.

The seller on ebay did have the actual picture of the smudged auto but without over analysing I didnt really notice.

I cant imagine a smudged autograph would retain it's value, if it had any to start with.

So what is the deal if the auto is smudged?

Is it a possible fake, would Rittenhouse relase a card with a smudged autograph?

I find this an interesting situation because its pretty much impossible to tell exactly what happened and everything else is just a matter of opinion. I doubt that RA would knowingly seed a damaged autograph card, which is what a smudged signature on a certified card would be considered, damaged. But how it got smudged is anybody's guess. It could have been in the packing process or it could have been mishandled after it came out of the pack. You would think it hard to smudge a dry signature, so maybe Craig did it when he signed and it wasn't noticed. I kind of find that hard to believe since I'm sure he didn't autograph that many cards. There is room for a lot of speculation about how and where the autograph could have been damaged.

Less uncertain is its effect on the card. Most certainly it lowers the price because it lessens the appearance. Its not worthless as it's still a short printed card and it's still his authentic signature, assuming it's genuine of course. However most collectors will prefer a clean signature and a lower demand always means a lower price.

Now the seller apparently provided an accurate picture, if not necessarily pointing it out in the description, so perhaps the selling price was discounted to compensate for the damage. You don't say what you paid, but the return was accepted. I can see where some people might be happy with the card for a low enough price figuring that they could never afford a mint one. I wouldn't be, but as I said, its a matter of opinion.

Considering the volume of autographs that RA handles when putting a set together, looking at every one is not a realistic expectation.

If blank and the infamous "sign here" cards can make it into packs, a smudged auto certainly can.

There are quite a few smudged Highlander Elizabeth Gracen autos out there because nearly everything she returned was smudged by not letting them dry properly before stacking them. RA took out the worst of the lot I'm told, which is why that auto is so bloody hard to find.

I would have dropped RA a line and seen if they could have done something, but being 'second hand' maybe they wouldn't...

Ed

Ed beat me to it but the 1st thing I thought of was the Elizabeth Gracen auto from Highlander. I pulled 1 from a box that was smudged then my wife got a hidden archive box with a perfect sig on it so we didn't have to decide what to do.

My 1st question is: Is Daniel Craig left handed? That can also lead to smudged signatures depending on how he signs. It can be pretty easy to find lightly smudged James Marsters autos from Inkworks sets. Buffy, etc.

I've pulled a couple of smudged autos from packs, the most recent one being the Hall/Smits dual from Dexter. Tom sent me a replacement right away. I still have the smudged one here... not sure what to do with it.

I figure I paid around 70% of the going price, so it was a pretty good deal in that sense and the signature was not overly smudged.

I was very tempted to keep it but knowing my own nature, it would have nagged at me until I bought antoher one and then I would have been left with a smudged card I needed to sell and being honest I would have advertised it as smudged and probably only got about 50% of what I paid for it.

I never thought of going direct to Rittenhouse.

I think you were very lucky to get a refund. If as you say the auction showed the card clearly smudged then that was what you bid on and that is what you got.

Perhaps the seller thought it sold cheap and was only too glad to have it back.

smudgies are not that rare. i have a Stargate Teal'c smudgy i got from a packet.

I pulled a smudged Twilight Zone auto card once(can't remember what minor actor), but Rittenhouse replaced it promptly for me.

All the recent talk of fake autos must have gone to people's heads - a smudged auto does not a fake card make!

RA stated that Craig signed approx. 200 cards and given how quickly he obviously signed some of them (owing to the sloppy sigs) I imagine he simply rushed a few and chucked them on the pile without having dried properly. Either that or he may have touched the ink when handling the card not realising it was still wet. Really not much of a mystery.

As for value, a serious smudge will have a negative effect, you yourself are proof enough of that. I have sold smudged cards myself however, for decent prices. People still want them so not everyone is bothered. I find the rarer the card, the more accepting people are.

Seeing as RA are keen to weedle out any duff cards before they get pack inserted, that should tell you all about their attitudes towards smudged cards. They have been kind enough to swap me a smudged auto (from a factory set) no problem. I'm not sure about stuff bought online, rather than pulled from a sealed box yourself, but it never hurts to ask. Its clear the problem happened during the manufacturing process, not once it hit eBay etc. so why wouldn't they exchange it? You could always e-mail RA and ask what their policy is in such a situation.

Glad to hear your problem is resolved even if you don't yet have a Craig autograph.

I think that sometimes an 'error' on the part of the signer can add character to a card.

I pack-pulled a Famke Janssen from the first X-Men movie, which she'd signed in biro.

As we all know, biros don't necessarily write on that type of card stock, so the card had what I like to call a 'scribble spot' where she'd warmed up the pen before signing.

Not the same as a smudge, but just a touch of the reality of signing.

quote:

Originally posted by simon1978:
I think that sometimes an 'error' on the part of the signer can add character to a card.

I pack-pulled a Famke Janssen from the first X-Men movie, which she'd signed in biro.

As we all know, biros don't necessarily write on that type of card stock, so the card had what I like to call a 'scribble spot' where she'd warmed up the pen before signing.

Not the same as a smudge, but just a touch of the reality of signing.

OK, I'll bite. What's a biro? Black/Blue ink . . ? She signed a lot of these cards in ballpoint pen, but I don't get the abbreviation.

I don't think a scibble spot on a card is as bad as a smudge. Anything that the eye picks up first is worse than what you notice on further examination. And of course it depends on the severity. Is it a little indentation or a big one? Is it a tiny smudge at the end of the name, or does it smear across the whole signature and ruin it?

I don't think these things add character so much as they are just damages that keep the card from being graded mint and lower any selling price. If its just a little damage some people will be fine with it, others will only want a clean card no matter what.

Here is a picture of the Daniel Craig card I bought and returned. This is the actual photo on ebay, there was no mention of a smudge in the descritption of the item.



In future, I may keep such items but in this case, with the high price of this card I would prefer to get a more pristine version.

I too try to avoid smudged autographs if I can help it. I can understand why you requested a refund as I am sure your eye would have been drawn to the smudge every time you looked at this card, which would be likely to be one of your prized autographs. It's hardly surprising you didn't notice the smudge either, it's very difficult to see through a simple photograph, and I only noticed it because I was lookely expressly for it!

Ahh, nothing like a picture.

I agree, its very hard to tell that there is a smudge unless you are looking for it. On that basis, if you weren't prepared for it, its probably better to send it back than feel disappointed and maybe a little deceived.

But for those looking for a bargain, that are not bothered by a small defect, I would say that it really doesn't take very much away from the card's appearance. At a nice discount, that would be a card I wouldn't mind having.

Alas, I still probably couldn't afford it.

It's back on ebay now with a .99p starting bid.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayI...geName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Might end up going cheap..

Amazingly there is still no mention of the fact that it is smudged.

Where is the smudge? I don't see it.

where the waistcoat meets his blazser.almost at the highest point of the autograph!!

Here is the smudge highlighted..