Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Elvis and Beatles autographs among most forged in 2012

http://rt.com/art-and-culture/news/beatles-autographs-forged-2012-185/ 

Elvis and Beatles autographs among most forged in 2012

Published: 01 January, 2013, 16:44
Edited: 01 January, 2013, 21:44

An autographed photo of The Beatles is displayed at an exhibition in Buenos Aires.(Reuters / Enrique Marcarian)
An autographed photo of The Beatles is displayed at an exhibition in Buenos Aires.(Reuters / Enrique Marcarian)
Elvis Presley and The Beatles crown the list of most-forged celebrity signatures.
Memorabilia experts have announced a list of celebrities whose fake signatures were most frequently sold by scammers in 2012. The research was undertaken by memorabilia authenticators PSA/DNA, Reuters reports.
According to the study, only half of all signatures by the Elvis and the Fab Four that were offered for sale proved to be authentic. They also topped the list two years ago when it was last published.
The next places on the list were occupied by former U.S. President John F. Kennedy and late prince of pop Michael Jackson, followed by US astronaut Neil Armstrong who passed away in July.
According to Heritage Auctions’ director of entertainment and music memorabilia Margaret Barrett, quoted by Reuters, secretaries and assistants of celebrities were partially to blame for the number of fake signatures appearing on the market. Barrett said that assistants answered tons of fan mail for their celebrity bosses back in the day.
"There was absolutely no financial gain 50 years ago and secretaries and assistants just wanted to make them happy. A lot of times people stumble upon an old box of signed photographs in grandma's attic and don't know they're forged."
An autographed photo of The Beatles is displayed at an exhibition in Buenos Aires.(Reuters / Enrique Marcarian)
An autographed photo of The Beatles is displayed at an exhibition in Buenos Aires.(Reuters / Enrique Marcarian)

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