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T O P I C R E V I E WRick MulheirnAn Apollo 11 piece on this evening's Antiques Roadshow (Series 42, Compton Verney 1) included individual crew signed index cards framed with the classic crew portrait. The show did not linger long enough on the signatures close ups but they looked like autopen to me.moorougeTo be fair Rick the valuer did say that many of the Apollo 11 autographs were autopens but that he had consulted two other colleagues on the show who agreed with him that they were genuine. They put a value of between 2 to 3 thousand pounds on the item. For those interested, the item is the second one in from the start of the programme and I suspect that but for the fact that it is the 50th anniversary of the moon landing this item would not have been shown.This said, like the man with this item, I wrote to NASA at the time of the Apollo 11 launch asking for autographs and what I got back were most definitely autopens. BesixdouzeHave to say I agree with Rick on this one. I've checked the images from screen grabs in Photoshop and they have all the characteristics of autopens. The Armstrong looks like a Pattern 4, Collins a Pattern 3 and the Aldrin a Pattern 1. In my opinion, 10 minutes enquiry on the web and anybody could have come up with the same result but that wouldn't have made such good television, I suppose. Talk about fake news.spaced outI can't access iPlayer to view this but I wouldn't be surprised if they'd valued Autopenned signatures as if they were genuine.A few years back they featured a large collection on the show where all the signatures were Autopens but they valued it at tens of thousands. I actually wrote to the experts at the time to point out the mistake and to note that the owner of the items should be told of the real value of his collection but they basically brushed it off as a judgement call.BlackarrowMy wife drew my attention to this. I took one look at the "autographs," noted the dark dots at the end of pen-sweeps and pronounced: "Autopens." Then they said their experts were calling them original autographs and I got "a look" from my wife.I still say they are autopens, so I'm pleased to see that is the consensus opinion here.Rick MulheirnSnap! That sounds exactly like my experiece last evening with my beloved. The instant I saw the frame I exclaimed "Those are autopens!" Or was I in a parallel universe? spaced outHaving seen images of the autographs now I can confirm they are 100% Autopens.thisismillsBelow are screen grabs of the three autographs in question from the appraisal.
This said, like the man with this item, I wrote to NASA at the time of the Apollo 11 launch asking for autographs and what I got back were most definitely autopens.
The Armstrong looks like a Pattern 4, Collins a Pattern 3 and the Aldrin a Pattern 1. In my opinion, 10 minutes enquiry on the web and anybody could have come up with the same result but that wouldn't have made such good television, I suppose. Talk about fake news.
A few years back they featured a large collection on the show where all the signatures were Autopens but they valued it at tens of thousands. I actually wrote to the experts at the time to point out the mistake and to note that the owner of the items should be told of the real value of his collection but they basically brushed it off as a judgement call.
I still say they are autopens, so I'm pleased to see that is the consensus opinion here.
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