[andreacarrillo]

By now most everyone has probably seen the article about Dak Prescott using autopen to sign the signatures on his 2016 Panini Prizm redemption card as reported by Beckett Authentication Services' expert Steve Grad. Panini is currently "investigating" what happened and Dak's representatives have no idea how those cards got over to Panini.

167 cards were purportedly signed by Dax, and Panini is planning to reissue the cards with a special Dax holograph to prove that this time they are in fact authentic.

What are your thoughts on this story, do you think autopen and secretarial signatures happen more often on these trading cards then we realize? What can the card companies do to prevent this from happening in the future? Do you take the companies word for it when collecting pack pulled autographs, or do you always send them in for 3rd party authentication and grading?

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/19841...-autograph

[jplarson]

What can the card companies do to prevent this from happening in the future?

Go back to the verbiage that used to appear on these cards that the signature was witnessed in the presence of a representative and guaranteed genuine.

Nowadays it's more weasel words like "this autograph is guaranteed by " without defining how it's guaranteed. And really what does "this auto is guaranteed" guaranteeing exactly anyways?

[andreacarrillo]

Go back to the verbiage that used to appear on these cards that the signature was witnessed in the presence of a representative and guaranteed genuine.

Nowadays it's more weasel words like "this autograph is guaranteed by " without defining how it's guaranteed. And really what does "this auto is guaranteed" guaranteeing exactly anyways?

Yes, it's hard to know what they are guaranteeing, for instance with these cards, it's obvious they aren't guaranteeing that the signature itself is authentic, just that if any issues are found (like they were) that they will replace it with another version.

I get it, it's hard to have employees everywhere at every signing, but if you aren't going to be present to watch the signature then how can you stand behind it?

As a third party authentication company we offer our opinions on autographs, except those that we are personally there to Witness. Those are the only autographs that we 100% guarantee the authenticity of because our staff is there to certify the signature immediately after it is signed. Maybe the card companies need to start doing the same type of thing!

[rjcj2017]

One thing I will say for Topps ... they have a witness at all signings.

(Or at least they say they do.)