The Con of Third Party Authentication

I lost confidence in third party authenticators like JSA, PSA and Beckett a long time ago.

Geez, you only have to watch one of a million episodes of Pawn Stars to see the incredibly slack authenticating technique of Steve Grad, formerly a principal of PSA/DNA (now just PSA since the DNA bit was a hoax - the only DNA-related process was their claim that an invisible strand of DNA was somehow included inside your Certificate of Authenticity).  Steve left PSA/DNA to set up Beckett Authentication.

See, for instance https://bit.ly/4qxG0UC.  This makes fascinating reading and includes:

"Grad has long been a controversial figure in the hobby having claimed that his mentor was Bill Mastro the disgraced auctioneer who was recently released from prison after doing time for engaging massive auction fraud."

But the absence of anything remotely scientific about third party authentication continues to stagger me, particularly when individuals and auction houses (who often have direct ties to these authentication companies who will guarantee everything in an auction without actually looking at a single item and then ask for additional funds later to upgrade your "Letter of Authenticity" to an actual "Certificate of Authenticity."

Third party authenticators look at a signature and give an opinion about its authenticity.  They appear far more likely to give positive "opinions" to those they know and whose business brings them millions.  The "opinions" are dressed up to look official and almost "legal" in their Certificates of Authenticity.

So when did I start to cotton on to this ritualised charade, this humbug on the public?  It was when I bought a George Foreman signed boxing glove at a US auction and asked for it to be sent to PSA/DNA for a Certificate since the auction house, Iconic Auctions, promised this.  PSA/DNA clearly didn't realise that they had promised Iconic Auctions to say that everything that they sold was authentic since I received the letter I've added here which conveys the many reasons why the item was inauthentic or, less politely, fake.  When I asked Iconic if I could return the glove for a refund, guess what?  I received the attached PSA/DNA Certificate of Authenticity with every reason reversed!

The sad thing is that certificates from these companies are accepted as "currency".  They add value to the worth of an autograph since people who buy with these certs know that they can sell the item on with the JSA/PSA/Beckett certificate which gives the appearance of legitimacy and authenticity.

As any view of Pawn Stars knows, stating that "yes, Elvis always did his "E" like this" or "Priscilla always put a full stop after her name" means, well, it doesn't mean anything at all.

To conclude, my own approach with Unique Memorabilia is to only buy and acquire from the most reputable sources, whether this be the sportspeople themselves, accredited auction houses, or from the individuals who spend countless hours at airports and training facilities obtaining the autographs directly from the players.  I've attached a third image which shows the efforts to which one well-known collector has gone to to obtain genuine Manchester United autographs.  Now, that's commitment and it is also authenticity.

If the items come with a third party certificate, I'll indicate this since there's no harm done if someone has already paid for something which adds value for the customer, despite its tenuous link to actual authenticity, however I refuse to acquire items which have such certificates but do not have acceptable provenance otherwise.

As we state on this site, we only sell those autographs and items which we'd proudly display on the walls of our own homes and offices.