(justin Priddy Opens Ace, New Third Party Authenticator)

[blowoutcards]

(JUSTIN PRIDDY OPENS ACE, NEW THIRD PARTY AUTHENTICATOR)

Just six months removed from Global Authentication International, Justin Priddy is off on his own. He has debuted Autograph Certification Experts (ACE) and along with partner Neil Whiteley-Ross is set to make a name for himself in the controversial world of autograph authentication. Priddy, just 26, spent nearly four years with GAI and despite what people think he says, he never worked at PSA. Priddy says his split with GAI was amicable.

"I just really wanted to step out and do it on my own, there is something more appealing about working for yourself," Priddy told The Brill Report. "I had achieved everything I wanted to at Global and I had helped grow the authentication department and felt it was time to move on."

In a previous interview with TBR, GAI top man Steve Racchi spoke highly of Priddy.

"I will put my guy up against anyone in the business," he told TBR.

GAI has had it's own problems beginning with a recent move and shut down which gave dealers and collectors the idea the company was closing. It did not. Then there was the incident where GAI certified Tiger Woods golf balls as authentic, which they were not. The company bought back all it could find but Priddy says he had nothing to do with that.

(This scene from ACE website may or may not say something about authenticating Woods and separating Priddy from GAI.)

"Those Tiger Woods golf balls were done just before I was hired, so none of those were done by myself," he said. "No, it was tough to leave, I love Steve like a brother and you hate to leave a place where you feel like family but in the end we all agreed it was the best thing for everyone concerned."

Priddy's new partner has been in the memorabilia, autograph and card business for about 30 years with much of it in San Diego.

"Neil has been buying and selling signatures for quite a while and he and I just seemed a good fit but it is tough to step out on your own," said Priddy.

(GAI certified items)

At only 26 years old Priddy admits to having no formal training, citing the fact there really isn't any schooling, or classes or really any type of educational procedure for this sort of thing. It's basically on the job training and doing it over and over again.

"It is mostly self taught and that is unfortunate in the fact it is self taught," he said. "I wish there was some schooling or accreditation or stamp of approval because I'd certainly like to take some classes."

There are no licensing requirements for autograph authentication in California and while some states do require some sort of licensing there is little else you have to do to get it. Forensics experts testify to their credentials but they do not do what third party authenticators do, by a long shot.

"I think the industry has gone through that and seen where that has gone," he said.

Some of the big names are even banned by eBay including Donald Frangiapani who still does business as a forensics expert and who most dealers and industry experts (hobby industry) and even the FBI says he gets it wrong a lot. Victoria Mertes still runs her forensics business in Beverly Hills, CA despite certifying a number of Greg Marino forgeries. She too is a Forensics Expert. She has never returned a call to TBR.

Forensics experts basically compare autographs and signatures to determine if they were written by the same hand, forged or not, and they also work on determining age of paper and related items for wills, documents etc. They do not authenticate an autograph to be an original first hand.

And speaking of Marino, arrested along with a dozen others in the largest forgery ring bust in US history, it is often asked if third party authenticators have exemplars of Marino's work. Priddy says he doesn't know about the others but he does.

"Oh yes, I have an extensive list of Marino exemplars with over 300 of the names he signed," said Priddy. "I was amazed at how many he did from all the Hall of Fame players to even Greg Luzinski if you can believe that."

Priddy says this list is invaluable. As far as being surprised, he was perhaps most blown away with one very specific autograph which is among the rarest in all of sports. On a trip to Houston he was called to a store to check out some signatures.

(Shoeless Joe & The Babe, extremes on the amount of autographs signed in their lifetime.)

"The guy pulled out a land grant with Joe Jackson's signature on it and I immediately told him it was a secretarial, actually done by Jackson's wife, since pretty much everyone knows Shoeless Joe was illiterate," Priddy told TBR. "Then with a big smile the guy turned the document over and there was an actual Joe Jackson signature, with the broken script and the shaky hand and it matched the exemplar I had. I was really blown away by it."

The most commonly forged signature he sees?

"Mickey Mantle," he stated without hesitation. "I'd say we see about 20 forged Mantles at almost every show, and who knows how many are out there?"

He says the majority of the bad ones he sees are Marino fakes. The most difficult he points out is easily Christy Mathewson. Mathewson died shortly after returning from World War I where he was the victim of mustard gas and other gassing attacks. Since he died so young, age 45, there are few examples of his signature.

"His autograph is extremely scarce and the price is so high it always attracts the ill intentioned people in the hobby to try something," said Priddy. "He just has one of the toughest to authenticate."

Priddy says the most important thing he looks for is the basic form of an autograph.

(Walter Johnson ball said to be forged, notice the careful hesitation in the signature, unlike Johnson who had a flowing signature.)

"The tendencies, because everyone has a tendency to write a little darker in some spots when they hey draw up their name," he added. "There are the certain wobbles and we look for any variation or hesitation in the signature that leads to the determination the piece is not authentic."

When it comes to mistakes he admits he has made his share but like all in the industry adds no one is perfect, not even the best.

"I interviewed with one of the best in the business in 2002 (we'll withhold the name here) and he told me 'look we are all human and whoever tells you they are perfect, don't trust them,'" Priddy said. "It is unfortunate, it does happen and you just try to minimize the mistakes."

As for the nuts and bolts of the business Priddy says autograph authentication begins at $20 for almost all modern players and goes up from their depending on the value, rarity and difficulty of authentication. For $7 an on-line quick service is being offered to determine if it "likely genuine" or "likely not genuine." The company will not authenticate team signed items unless they are baseballs.

"Baseball you usually have good exemplars, but when it comes to the more obscure players on a football helmet or ball, or basketball it becomes difficult to verify the lesser known players," he said. "We'd rather stay away from that."

This is a common problem with the other authenticators which collectors have brought to TBR.

"Where do you get an exemplar of a third string linebacker who happened to sign a day before he got cut and was selling insurance the next week?" Asked Dave Rodriguez of Signatures.com. "And you see these COA's which list most of the guys on the ball and add a line about the rest of the guys whom they don't even list their names on the cert."

As for Priddy he agrees.

"If you don't know the signature how can you authenticate?"

-The Brill Report

[Thetruthisout]

ACE (Justin Priddy) is still a joke.

Here's a forged Derek Jeter jersey with his COA. Listed on Ebay now.

Most aren't aware that Priddy (ACE) is on Ebay's Banned COA list.

[1212superstar]

brookie yer so priddy

[kingofsnake]

[1212superstar]

yer so priddy