How to Spot a Fake Autograph: A Vegas Dealer's Checklist for 2026

Written by Tyler Feldman, founder of Inscriptagraphs Memorabilia — trusted sports and entertainment autograph dealer based in Las Vegas since 2013.

Why fake autographs are a bigger problem than most collectors realize

The FBI estimates that 50% or more of autographed memorabilia sold online is fake or misattributed. eBay and general marketplaces are the highest-risk channels; small physical shops and unauthenticated Instagram sellers are close behind. This checklist is what I use, and what I train Inscriptagraphs staff to use, when evaluating an autograph — whether we're buying, taking a piece in on consignment, or authenticating a piece a customer brings in.

The 10-point authenticity checklist

1. Check the certificate of authenticity (COA) issuer

Only three third-party authenticators are considered industry-standard as of 2026:

• James Spence Authentication (JSA) — the largest and most widely recognized. JSA COAs have a hologram serial number you can look up on spenceloa.com.
• PSA/DNA (Professional Sports Authenticator) — the industry leader in sports card and trading card grading, with strong sports autograph coverage. Verify on psacard.com.
• Beckett Authentication Services (BAS) — verify on beckett-authentication.com.

Any COA from a service you can't verify on a public website is a red flag. Inscriptagraphs also issues our own IGM in-house COA — but only for items signed at Inscriptagraphs-hosted signings, with photo/video documentation of the signing event.

2. Verify the hologram

A real COA is paired with a tamper-evident hologram attached directly to the signed item. The hologram has a unique serial number that matches the serial on the certificate. If the hologram number doesn't match the certificate number, the piece has been swapped. If there's no hologram at all, it's not a JSA/PSA/Beckett authenticated piece — regardless of what the paper says.

3. Look up the serial number online

Every legitimate JSA, PSA/DNA, and Beckett authenticated piece can be verified in the authenticator's public database. Enter the serial number and confirm the description matches your piece (signer, item type, sport). If the database returns no result — the certificate is either a forgery or issued by a service that doesn't maintain public records.

4. Examine the signature under bright light

Real autographs are ink laid onto a surface — they show:

• Slight ink pooling at start-and-stop points
• Pressure variation across strokes (thicker on downstroke, thinner on upstroke)
• Ink absorption into the paper or slight bead-up on a glossy surface

Autopen and stamp signatures show:

• Perfectly uniform ink thickness
• Identical strokes when compared to other known autopen examples of the same person (side-by-side identical curves are diagnostic)
• Sharp start/stop points with no ink pooling

5. Compare against exemplars

JSA, PSA/DNA, and Beckett maintain exemplar databases — known-authentic signatures for comparison. If a signature looks meaningfully different from the exemplar (wrong slant, wrong loop structure, wrong letter formation), don't buy it. Also check for era-appropriate signatures — many players' autographs evolve over decades, so a "Ted Williams" signature that looks like his 1950s style but on a 1990s photo is a red flag.

6. Check for pen pressure indentation

On paper items (photos, posters, index cards), a real ballpoint or gel-pen signature leaves a slight indentation you can feel on the back. Stamped signatures and printed reproductions leave none.

7. Investigate the seller

• Does the seller have a physical retail address? (You should be able to visit them.)
• How long have they been in business? Do they have consistent Google reviews and BBB accreditation?
• Do they offer a lifetime authenticity guarantee — a written policy that they'll refund the full purchase price if the piece is ever proven inauthentic by JSA/PSA/Beckett?
• Have they hosted private signings themselves? (Public event photos, video, and media coverage are strong signals.)

8. Check the price

Authentic Michael Jordan signatures sell for $500-$3,500+ depending on the item. A "signed Michael Jordan photo" for $75 on eBay is almost certainly fake. If a price is dramatically below the market rate for that signer, assume fake until proven otherwise.

9. Ask about provenance

Where did the piece come from? A good dealer can trace every item back to either (a) a signing event they hosted or attended, (b) a purchase from a known consignor, or (c) a purchase at a documented public event. Vague provenance ("my uncle got it in the 80s") without documentation is a red flag.

10. When in doubt, get it authenticated

If you already own an unauthenticated piece, submit it to JSA, PSA/DNA, or Beckett for authentication. Turnaround is typically 4-8 weeks; costs range $30-$300 depending on the item. If it comes back authenticated, great — you have a real piece and a database-registered COA. If it doesn't, at least you have clarity.

Extra red flags I see weekly at Inscriptagraphs

• "Certified" COA from an unknown outfit. Only three authenticators are widely accepted; anything else is not certified in the industry sense.
• The signature is on a printed reproduction, not the original. A signed poster print of a signed photograph is not the same as a signed photograph.
• Multi-signature pieces with mismatched ink and pressure. If Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle both signed a ball in 2001, but Mantle died in 1995 — the piece is fake.
• Estate signatures — signatures allegedly signed by heirs or estates are not player autographs and should be labeled clearly.

What Inscriptagraphs does differently

At Inscriptagraphs, every piece we sell is authenticated by JSA, PSA/DNA, Beckett, or our IGM in-house COA (only for items signed at signings we hosted, with photo/video documentation). Every piece ships with a tamper-evident hologram and matching certificate, and every piece is covered by our lifetime authenticity guarantee: if any item is ever proven inauthentic by a recognized third-party authenticator, we refund the full purchase price — no questions, no time limit.

We're based in Las Vegas at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino on the Strip — you can walk in and inspect any piece before buying. Questions on a specific piece you're evaluating? Call us at (844) 474-4633 or email sales@inscriptagraphs.com. We're always happy to give a second opinion, even on pieces bought elsewhere.