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  130785573139: Apollo 15 crew-signed photo

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Author Topic:   130785573139: Apollo 15 crew-signed photo
mjanovec
Member

Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 10-17-2012 02:40 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I would like to caution fellow cSers about what appears to be a highly suspect Apollo 15 signed photo appearing on eBay. The Irwin and Scott signatures, in particular, are very weak attempts at forgeries in my opinion.

The seller includes a Novaspace COA and a Novaspace frame... so it's possible this piece originated from Novaspace. Another possibility is that a switch occurred with the photo inside the frame. (The lack of an image or detailed description on the COA demonstrates the weakness of these types of COAs.)

Unfortunately, the Novaspace COA may trick unsuspecting buyers into thinking this piece is authentic. The lesson here is that it always pays to scrutinize the signatures, regardless of the apparent source.

mach3valkyrie
Member

Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006

posted 10-17-2012 03:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mach3valkyrie   Click Here to Email mach3valkyrie     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I just sent an email to the seller, who is a member of this forum, alerting him of the problem. The signatures in question are bad in my opinion.

davidcwagner
Member

Posts: 799
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 10-17-2012 04:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for davidcwagner   Click Here to Email davidcwagner     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am the seller. I bought this a few years ago on eBay. The concept of a switched photo is a surprise. Advice is appreciated. If it is deemed bad by the group then I will pull it.

davidcwagner
Member

Posts: 799
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 10-17-2012 06:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for davidcwagner   Click Here to Email davidcwagner     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Sent an email to Novaspace about the item. The Novaspace frame and COA are why I bought this.

fredtrav
Member

Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010

posted 10-17-2012 06:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for fredtrav   Click Here to Email fredtrav     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
eBay fraud is a big problem and I do not think shady sellers would have any problems with taking a legit pic out of a frame and inserting forged pic and keep the frame and COA with the fake.

I am going through a bit of fun with a fraudster. I put in a bid on the Easton Press series of six astronaut signed books. I got an email from someone purporting to be the seller offering to sell them to me at my bid (I was the fifth highest bidder, by the way). Problem was the email came to my email address and not through eBay. He wants payment via moneygram and has nice page all set up to look like an eBay page but it is not.

Of course eBay does not take these things seriously. Talked with them today and they were "well, it's probably not legit, but we have a lot of that. You can send a copy to spoof." That was as far as they would go.

What disturbs me is that this person was able to know my bid and had my personal e-mail address and eBay was not very concerned.

davidcwagner
Member

Posts: 799
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 10-17-2012 08:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for davidcwagner   Click Here to Email davidcwagner     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
eBay just pulled all my autographed items. I believe it was because I sent the following to a buyer that made an offer on the Apollo 15 item.

The email is as follows:

Hi. There is a question whether the signatures are authentic. See collectSPACE.

I have contacted Novaspace for their opinion and will let you know. I do not feel comfortable responding to your offer until I hear from Novaspace.

eBay then pulled all three autographed items. I believe the other items were good. It seems that eBay punishes honest sellers who make good faith disclosures and protects (or at least ignores) fraud.

davidcwagner
Member

Posts: 799
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 10-17-2012 10:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for davidcwagner   Click Here to Email davidcwagner     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Kim got back to me.
Definitely bad. This was pre 2000. The Irwin and Worden might have gotten by me back then, but not the Scott. Is there any signs of taking the foamcore backing out? It shouldn't have any marks (except hanging nail marks) which will be vertical near the wire. Is there signs of spring removal and reinstallation? These would be arcs near the frame edges on the foamcore.
I replied:
Bummer. No obvious removal marks. I will send you the COA and the photo when I get a chance to remove it. The Novagraphics Art Gallery sticker is on black paper that is glued to the foamboard. Wonder if the changed out the foamboard? The COA may be a xerox on paper similar to yours.

gliderpilotuk
Member

Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 10-18-2012 03:44 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for gliderpilotuk   Click Here to Email gliderpilotuk     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by davidcwagner:
It seems that eBay punishes honest sellers who make good faith disclosures and protects (or at least ignores) fraud.

There's no doubt about that. They also remove your stuff when so-called authentication experts snitch to them (without contacting the seller) that in their omniscient opinion your item is "suspect".

Good luck with the resolution David.

Tallpaul
Member

Posts: 153
From: Rocky Point, NY, USA
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 10-18-2012 10:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tallpaul   Click Here to Email Tallpaul     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
David, hang tough. I know from my eBay transaction with you that you are totally above board.

Spacefest
Member

Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009

posted 10-18-2012 01:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Spacefest   Click Here to Email Spacefest     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
David contacted me. It's definitely our cert and frame job. Scott is definitely bad, probably the others as well. Approx 1999 vintage. Scott was an easy authentication, early on for me. Schooled by Gregg Linebaugh (Spacesource.)

No obvious signs of disassembly of frame, according to owner.

davidcwagner
Member

Posts: 799
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 10-19-2012 03:34 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for davidcwagner   Click Here to Email davidcwagner     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Sent the entire framed piece for his evaluation. Need to know if someone is replacing Novaspace items with bad items.

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