Graded Authentic... A Subjective Term

Collector's today place too much trust in grading companies that are supposedly protecting the integrity of the hobby. One of their faults, aside from turning a blind eye to trimming, is authenticating items that are patently fake.

One such example is the 1992 Sports Stars USA card of Dan Marino, produced in an 'orange' version that says "All Time Best" on the left-hand side of the card and a 'green' version that says "Marino" on the right-hand side of the card. Images for both versions are the same and feature a blue facsimile signature on the lower portion of the card.

As far as I can tell, it's hard to believe deceit was intended by the creator to pass this off as an autograph card. With an ounce of scrutiny, one would conclude the image was an autographed 8" x 10" that was shrunk down to size in order to create the card. The dimensions of the signature are comically small, neatly fitting into a 1" x 1" box with room to spare. Marino's signature is fairly involved and never appears so compact. An easier surface examination would reveal there is no ink on the surface of the card.

No legitimate autograph examiner would certify this as authentic.

Sadly, I've yet to acquire the green version because they're normally bid up by unsuspecting buyers thinking they are authentic. An e-mail to PSA about the card they certified went unanswered.