Beckett: What would you do?

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horfin

Veteran
147
5.00 star(s)
Joined
Jan 18, 2003
Messages
365
Location
Ohio
So I collected a lot from the 80's through 2004 (roughly). I got married had kids and the cards got put away. One of the last sets I was going to complete was the 2000 Playoff Contenders set. I bought the autos and traded for them, etc. Well in 2019, I heard a story about the sale of a Tom Brady auto from that set selling for more than $100,000. I told my kids that I thought I had that card. I pulled all my cards out and eventually found that I had the 2000 Tom Brady Auto. I had actually kept a want list and I had obtained this card sometime in 2001.
I decided to have the card graded. I filled out the form packed the card up and took it to FedEx. I went to hand the card to the employee and they asked about insurance and I said yes $20,000.00 (i think it books at $20,000). The guys chin dropped and asked what it was and i told him it was a collectible card. He told me that the insurance was capped at collectible cards at $500 or $1,000.00. I took the card back and realized that I had to do something else.
I grew up in Dallas (now in Ohio). So i decided to take the card to beckett. I set up a mini-vacation for me and my wife and called beckett and told them I would bring it in.

When I dropped the card at Beckett I was astonished in the lack of control that they had over the card (I took multiple pics to verify that i got the same card back), I explained that I flew in from Ohio and I needed the card back no later than Friday morning (it was Monday).
I heard nothing Monday or Tuesday.
On Wednesday, I received an email stating that they needed to authenticate the auto for an additional charge. I agreed, but was upset because I had set everything up before hand. But now I had to pay an expedited fee to get it back by Friday morning (it had to go through authentication and then grading). I agreed to this at 8:00 pm. In the middle of the night or early Wednesday I received a cryptic email stating that my card was not authentic and that i needed to come get my card. (I was not charged for the grading, but i was charged for the authentication).
I picked the card up on Thursday.
I called the person who graded the card and explained to him that I had received the card in a trade in 2001 and that it had been in storage ever since. He asked me to bring the card back. I couldn't now because I was leaving the next day.
When I got back to Ohio I reached out again and asked him to reconsider his position. He asked me to send scans, which I did. A week later, he confirmed that he stated it was a forgery.

I was very upset at the time. I have actually ignored this since November of 2019 (when I went to Texas). I went from thinking I had a $20,000 to $100,000 card (every card collector's dream) to going to having a card not worth the paper it was printed on.

My problem all along was I traded for this card before anyone really knew who Brady was going to be. Is it really possible that a forgery of this card was made such a long time ago?

Would you do anything? There is a authentication service in New York, but I don't want to go through this again.
Bill
 
I would get a second opinion. Like you said why make a fake in 2001. Good Luck, great story I hope it turns out better. DG
 
Before you pay to have it looked at again, find one on ebay and compare the sigs. to see if its even close?
 
You could consider other grading/authentication services....honestly the only other two I'd even look at are PSA and as a far 3rd place SGC.
If you're just concerned about the autograph itself, PSA can verify the authenticity of the autograph and NOT grade the actual card. It's still slabbed as "authentic"

Keep in mind, they are all opinions. The super high end market is FULL of fakes and reproductions. I'm sure there are valid copies that get shot down by authenticators due to rarity and small differences (sign your name 1000 times and tell me how equal they are).

The ONLY way I specifically know something is authentic is if I saw someone sign it with my own two eyes. Even pack pulled, there are plenty of examples of athletes having family or secretaries or machines sign cards. If you know the history from the box/pack to your hand without gaps, then you know it's authentic. If you're looking to profit someday, that's another story without 3rd party authentication on an item like that.
 
Just fair warning...IF it is legit and worth 50k+, it will cost a LOT to grade with PSA. A card valued over 49,999 costs $2,000 dollars to grade.
 
I recommend you pay the grading fees and send the card to PSA.
It's unfortunate that the Contenders set doesn't list the autographed cards differently. That leaves it ripe for fakes. But like you said, no reason to fake it back in 2000. But I can understand Beckett being hyper vigilant about that card and the auto.

Wait until after the holidays and send it in! Good luck!
 
So I collected a lot from the 80's through 2004 (roughly). I got married had kids and the cards got put away. One of the last sets I was going to complete was the 2000 Playoff Contenders set. I bought the autos and traded for them, etc. Well in 2019, I heard a story about the sale of a Tom Brady auto from that set selling for more than $100,000. I told my kids that I thought I had that card. I pulled all my cards out and eventually found that I had the 2000 Tom Brady Auto. I had actually kept a want list and I had obtained this card sometime in 2001.
I decided to have the card graded. I filled out the form packed the card up and took it to FedEx. I went to hand the card to the employee and they asked about insurance and I said yes $20,000.00 (i think it books at $20,000). The guys chin dropped and asked what it was and i told him it was a collectible card. He told me that the insurance was capped at collectible cards at $500 or $1,000.00. I took the card back and realized that I had to do something else.
I grew up in Dallas (now in Ohio). So i decided to take the card to beckett. I set up a mini-vacation for me and my wife and called beckett and told them I would bring it in.

When I dropped the card at Beckett I was astonished in the lack of control that they had over the card (I took multiple pics to verify that i got the same card back), I explained that I flew in from Ohio and I needed the card back no later than Friday morning (it was Monday).
I heard nothing Monday or Tuesday.
On Wednesday, I received an email stating that they needed to authenticate the auto for an additional charge. I agreed, but was upset because I had set everything up before hand. But now I had to pay an expedited fee to get it back by Friday morning (it had to go through authentication and then grading). I agreed to this at 8:00 pm. In the middle of the night or early Wednesday I received a cryptic email stating that my card was not authentic and that i needed to come get my card. (I was not charged for the grading, but i was charged for the authentication).
I picked the card up on Thursday.
I called the person who graded the card and explained to him that I had received the card in a trade in 2001 and that it had been in storage ever since. He asked me to bring the card back. I couldn't now because I was leaving the next day.
When I got back to Ohio I reached out again and asked him to reconsider his position. He asked me to send scans, which I did. A week later, he confirmed that he stated it was a forgery.

I was very upset at the time. I have actually ignored this since November of 2019 (when I went to Texas). I went from thinking I had a $20,000 to $100,000 card (every card collector's dream) to going to having a card not worth the paper it was printed on.

My problem all along was I traded for this card before anyone really knew who Brady was going to be. Is it really possible that a forgery of this card was made such a long time ago?

Would you do anything? There is a authentication service in New York, but I don't want to go through this again.
Bill

Bill, that is just brutal. What a rollercoaster ride. I do agree with the rest of the crew here, I would first do a LOT of comparison, both that card and others.

My thoughts on authenticity....I wonder if the signature was obtained ttm, do you know? Sometimes a secretarial signature will get sold as authentic, since there are a lot of them out there.

Tom Brady also may have changed his signature somewhat over the past 19 or 20 years. Shoot, mine has changed probably 4 times in the past 20 years!! That is something else you can look into, and can always talk to your local card shop owner, just to see what they might know as well, since their business is cards and autographs.

All in all, if I had a card potentially worth that kind of money, I would be getting another opinion! Good thought to wait until the new year!

Blessings,

Kevin
 
I just sat here literally took a piece of paper and signed my name 10x and every auto is slightly different than the next Now I have no clue how many cards Tom Brady had to sign but I'll bet the 1st card he signed was different than the'50th one he signed...hand gets tired starts to cramp-up and remember BGS its one persons opinion were as with PSA multi people grade/authenticate the card..I would sent the card to PSA but keep in
mind it's not cheap
 
I thank all of you for your opinions and input. I literally have been so upset about the situation that I came home from Texas in November of 2019 put the card in my desk and it has been there now for 13 months.

I can't even look at it.

Frustrating.
Bill
 
I thank all of you for your opinions and input. I literally have been so upset about the situation that I came home from Texas in November of 2019 put the card in my desk and it has been there now for 13 months.

I can't even look at it.

Frustrating.
Bill

That is a most frustrating and upsetting experience, no doubt about it! Maybe look again in the new year and see what you want to do. It is very difficult to deal with an item of that kind of potential value.

Another thing you could try is when shows are back being hosted in person, there are typically authentication booths that you can bring items to. Might be easier and much cheaper to access a show closer to your home, rather than travelling or paying the insane shipping costs.

In the meantime, it's Christmas!!

Blessings,

Kevin
 
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