The collector had no idea he had been scammed. He had bought autographed baseballs for 25 years, amassing 263 in his collection that include some of the all-time greats: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Cy Young, and Christy Mathewson, as well as current stars such as Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Bryce Harper. He even had all-star team balls signed by every player, all of them authenticated as legit.
He’s not the only one to fall victim to a practice that has grown in recent years. “There’s a lot of fraudulent memorabilia in the market,” said Chris Carlin, the director of customer care at California-based PSA. “We employ some of the most renowned autograph experts in the world, which is why people are in long lines here today.
“[Donald Henkel] is one of the best who ever lived,” said Jeremy Kraft, who has worked for Hunt Auctions in Exton for 14 years after spending four years as an authenticator. “It’s unreal what he can create. But that’s not the case with the prize collection recently auctioned off by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. The company, which also specializes in world and ancient coins along with comic books, auctioned off a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card last month that graded 9.5. It, easily surpassing the $7.25 million that a T-206 Honus Wagner card went for in a recent private sale.