I am not referring to the game some of us have played on the patio of a pub on a sunny afternoon, I am referring to the following auto. Before you take a look, I have a small story. I was at my LCS which I need to point out specializes in GOLD and Coins. They get people showing up all the time with cards and they usually send them away. I have a want list in the shop and they will grab stuff specifically for me (Like the Lafleur rookie and Dryden rookie etc) but for the most part they are only part-time cards. I was in there in the fall and saw this card. I asked the owner about the Gretzky auto and he said it was apart of a collection they picked up and that the auto was "part of the card printing" and that it wasn't actually signed. I didn't agree, but I didn't say that to him. I left the card behind and its $2 price tag.....
I didn't sleep well that night on this card and decided that the next day I was going to go back and buy it. Upon further review, this card didn't come out of the pack looking this way, it appears SOMEONE signed this card. If you look closely at it, there is feathering and gaps in the ink because it was a felt marker that did the signature ON the card. So the only question I have now is; Did Wayne sign this or did someone else?
I feel better about the auto as he didn't push it on me as a Wayne auto, but my doubts do lie in the "w". Many Wayne autos have a much wider W but it is possible that an IP auto could yield a sloppier job...
So I leave it with you guys, my peers and fellow readers...do You think it is real?
This card is a McDonalds release, I believe it is the 99-00 UD McDonalds set.
I also picked up another Wayne in the last couple months.
LOVE this photo, shame the back side is boring but this card is NrMt-Mt and to land it for 4.99 plus shipping was totally worth it to me.
LOVE this photo, shame the back side is boring but this card is NrMt-Mt and to land it for 4.99 plus shipping was totally worth it to me.
I'm no auto expert but that looks fishy to me. I've seen plenty of Wayne autos in my day including in-person ones but this one does nothing for me in the way of convincing me. You are right that an in-person signature could look different from one where he sits for an event but this is just too suspect. Without you being the one that got it signed, you don't really have that first hand knowledge of knowing it's real. It's a tough call without getting it authenticated somehow.
ReplyDeleteGreat points....of course Authenticating it costs some serious cash too...I looked into it for fun and it would be 50 bucks through PSA... Nearly the cost of just buying one really...
DeleteSO I am guessing you are thinking Fake..
My initial reaction was "no," but after looking at a bunch of these things on the bay, the best I can say is "I'm not sure." There are elements that look good, others I can`t say.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, you are correct that the card was signed after the fact:
ReplyDeletehttp://shoeboxlegends.blogspot.com/2009/07/pack-rip-1999-upper-deck-mcdonalds.html
Secondly, hard to tell if it's legit. I have a TTM Gretzky from when I was a kid that looks pretty similar to your signature, but who knows if mine is legit either I guess!
http://shoeboxlegends.blogspot.com/2008/06/card-of-month-june-2008.html