Autographs 101 · Collector guide
How to research an autograph before authentication
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Before you buy: an autograph research kit
Use a practical checklist before asking for an opinion. No signup or upload is needed to read or download it. This kit organizes questions; it does not authenticate a signature.
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AUTOGRAPHS 101 — AUTOGRAPH RESEARCH CHECKLIST 1. Identify the piece: signer claimed, item type, size or card year/set/number. 2. Request whole-item front/back photos and a sharp signature close-up. 3. Record the seller's account separately from what you personally observed. 4. Check a claimed certificate at the issuer's own website. 5. Compare the available record with the item, label and photographs. 6. Note missing or conflicting information; ask the issuer to clarify. 7. Decide whether professional examination is needed before proceeding. QUESTIONS TO ASK Could you share clear front/back photos and a signature close-up? What is the signing or acquisition history, and what supports that account? Which company issued the claimed certificate, and what is its number? Are there alterations, damage or repairs not visible in the photos? A real certification number alone does not establish that the offered item is genuine. A photo-based AI screen is not a COA, a formal appraisal or professional authentication. Official PSA verification and caveat: https://www.psacard.com/cert Research guide: https://autographs101.app/guides/authentication Use and adapt this checklist for your collecting. Keep private details out of public messages.
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Illustrative case: a signed card with a certificate
The seller provides a close-up of a signature and a certificate screenshot, but not the card's reverse. Record the certificate as a seller claim. Ask for the complete front and back, the label, and the card's year, set, number and variation. Open the issuer's own lookup rather than accepting the screenshot as the result.
Still unresolved: whether the actual offered card matches the issuer record. Do not turn a successful number lookup into an authenticity verdict.
Illustrative case: a photo with no documented history
You have a signed photograph but do not know when or where it was signed. Keep that history marked unknown. Preserve the images and any packaging or correspondence that came with it. Do not invent a signing event because a signature resembles another online image.
Next useful step: obtain better context or seek an appropriate professional opinion. A missing story is not proof of a forgery, and a plausible story is not proof of authenticity.
What can a photograph tell you?
Photograph the whole item, the signature close up, and any labels or accompanying documents. Use even light, avoid glare, and retain the original images. Record the seller's claims separately from details you have verified.
Photos let you compare visible features and ask better questions. They do not give you the same access to the physical object, ink, surface, or history as an in-person examination. A blurry or incomplete image may not support a useful conclusion.
How should you check a certificate?
Use the issuing company's own verification service rather than relying on a seller's screenshot. Compare the available record with the signer, item type, and identifying details on your item. If a record is missing, inconsistent, or unclear, contact the issuer before treating it as confirmation.
Keep the certificate and the item connected in your records. A number that exists in a database does not, by itself, establish that a different item displaying that number is genuine.
When should you seek professional authentication?
Consider professional review when authenticity affects a purchase, sale, trade, or an important collection decision. Check the provider's current submission requirements, accepted item types, charges, return shipping, and availability directly. Do not assume an item will pass.
PSA describes examining autograph structure, ink and the object, including comparisons. Its published turnaround times are estimates and may change. Authentication, grading and valuation answer different questions; ask which service you are actually purchasing.
Where does 101 Pre-Screen fit?
101 Pre-Screen is an AI-powered preliminary review of visible signature patterns. It is not a certificate of authenticity, an appraisal, or a guarantee that a professional authenticator will accept an item.
Treat a result as another input to your research, not permission to ignore missing provenance or conflicting evidence. Keep the original photos and supporting records so you can revisit the decision.
Can an AI autograph checker authenticate my item?
An AI photo review and professional authentication are not interchangeable services. 101 Pre-Screen examines a submitted image for preliminary observations; it does not issue a certificate of authenticity. PSA describes physical-object evaluation, autograph structure and ink analysis as parts of its authentication process. Choose the service for the decision you need to make, not simply the most confident-looking result.
For an unknown signer, treat any image-based suggestion as a research lead. Compare it with reliable context and appropriately sourced examples. Do not label an item with a person's name solely because an automated tool proposed that name.
Does a valid PSA certification number prove an autograph is real?
No. PSA explicitly warns that real certification numbers can be copied onto counterfeit materials. Its database confirms information associated with a number; it does not guarantee that an item offered on another website is the same genuine item. Compare the physical item, label, available images and description together.
Use the exact issuing service. An autograph authentication record and a numerical card grade answer different questions. When details conflict, or a lookup is unavailable, keep the result unresolved and contact the issuer. Autographs 101 is not PSA, JSA or Beckett and does not provide their official verification results.
How do I keep research useful after the first check?
Keep the original photographs and the source of each claim. Write down what remains uncertain and what you asked the seller or authenticator. A later answer should add evidence to your record, not erase the distinction between a claim and a confirmed detail.
In Autographs 101, the existing Next Move planner organizes missing questions. Gold and Emerald can save plans and private notes in Research Shelf, then deliberately use selected standard questions in a message draft. You still choose the recipient, edit the wording and send. Review current benefits before subscribing; no authentication outcome is promised by a membership.