Beware of Phake Phillies Gear
Your ball signed by Howard may be hooey
By TERESA MASTERSON
Updated 2:47 PM EDT, Mon, Oct 19, 2009
The Phils are on phire and everyone wants a piece of the action. Just make sure when you buy your “piece” it’s the real deal.
While October baseball is inspiring fans to scoop up meaningful memorabilia from the season, such as balls, bats and hats signed by the Phillies’ best, it is also inspiring opportunistic criminals to sell forged gear.
"The stars are always most frequently forged, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels,” Ted Taylor, co-owner of STAT Authentic LLC, and authentication company in Montgomery County told KYW’s Lynne Adkins. “We see a lot of those forgeries, because they're inherently expensive."
To be an informed buyer, fans should make sure the items they purchase come with a third party authentication, Taylor said.
As for memorabilia signed by the greats, look closely: If the ink is thicker in places, pooling between letters, it means that the signature was written slowly. Most signatures are written quickly, with a natural and consistent flow to it, said Taylor.
The price for a ball signed by 20 Phillies from the 2008 World Series goes for $2,589 on MLB.com. A balls signed by Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels range from $199.99 to $319.99. Fakes will be in a similar price range, and that’s a hefty sum to pay for Joe Schmo’s John Hancock.
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First Published: Oct 19, 2009 10:09 AM EDT
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