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Mickey Mantle: Memories and Memorabilia Chapter

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Ready for Some Super-Senior Football?

May 22, 2013 | Tom Bartsch | Leave a reply

This time we turn to the gridiron to compile an All-Star team of oldest living former football players who appeared on cards, led by Ace Parker and continuing with some formidable foes, including Chuck Bednarik. The East team gets first dibs. Read More

How Forgers Make Cash from Fake Celebrity Photos and Movie Posters

May 14, 2013 | Tom Bartsch | 1 Reply

From the Operation Bullpen author Kevin Nelson comes the latest installment on celebrity and historic and political forgeries. If a photo, album or poster is filled with multiple signatures and it seems to good to be true, it probably is. Getting the cast or group to all sign a piece is often a foolhardy thought. Read More

Forged ‘Cuts’: How Crooks Spun Pieces of Paper into Gold

May 8, 2013 | Tom Bartsch | Leave a reply

In the latest installment from Operation Bullpen author Kevin Nelson, he looks at the nationwide autograph forgery ring brought down by the FBI in 1999 and how they are still inflicting damage to the hobby in the area of cut signatures. Read More

Ray Hess: Decades of Observation in the Hobby

May 6, 2013 | Tom Bartsch | Leave a reply

A true historian of the hobby: Ray Hess collected baseball cards in the 1930s and saw Babe Ruth’s last game. And when talking about the Who’s Who of the hobby in the early days, Hess has rubbed elbows with them all. Read More

Part 5: What’s So Crazy About a Mother Teresa Baseball Anyhow?

April 30, 2013 | Tom Bartsch | Leave a reply

‘Operation Bullpen’ author Kevin Nelson pens the final installment in his series on the famous forgery ring: Of all the hundreds of thousands of counterfeits produced by the Operation Bullpen gang, none has ever invited so much comment or ridicule as the Mother Teresa baseball, arguably the most famous autograph forgery ever made. Read More

Forging the Big Three: DiMaggio, Mantle, Williams

April 22, 2013 | Tom Bartsch | Leave a reply

The signing habits of Mantle, Williams and DiMaggio on the show circuit and with memorabilia companies was all forgers needed to have a “story” as to why they would be in possession of hundreds of signed photos, for instance, of these superstar players – none of which were genuine. Read More

The 1998 Home Run Chase: A Perfect Storm for Counterfeiters

April 15, 2013 | Tom Bartsch | Leave a reply

Why do forgers go for the big names? Because that is where the demand lies. From Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan to Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, the big names and their big achievements lead to demand, and the forgers supply the goods. Read More

How To Trick People and Get Away With It: The Art and Craft of the Forger

April 9, 2013 | Tom Bartsch | Leave a reply

The art of autograph forgery isn’t limited to simply placing a signatures on an item. As ‘Operation Bullpen’ author Kevin Nelson details, forgers were craftsman who did their homework to deceive collectors, playing on an appearance of vintage to sway buyers. Read More

Operation Bullpen, and Why Forgers Don’t Always Hit the Sweet Spot

April 2, 2013 | Tom Bartsch | Leave a reply

Kevin Nelson, author of “Operation Bullpen: The Biggest Forgery Scam in American History” debuts his exclusive series on baseball forgeries for SCD, using photos obtained from the FBI and stories he ran across in writing the book. Some of these photos have not previously been seen in public. Read More

MLB’s Official Historian is a Collector Himself

March 27, 2013 | Tom Bartsch | Leave a reply

MLB historian John Thorn is immersed in baseball’s past, yet his personal collection is about heritage and not star appeal. Come along with an exclusive interview with Thorn as he describes his collection and how the hobby is still in its infancy. Read More

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