This book is for everyone who has or will trust in the autograph business whose treasured prize is possibly the source of easy cash for a forger (thief), and to those who may be seeking a new treasure-beware. Knowledge is power.

The Truth About Collecting

When a prized autograph of first president George Washington turns out to be a fake, renowned autograph collector Charles Irion begins to research the world of autograph collecting. What he finds is a business fraught with fakes and frauds.

Follow Irion on his trail of truth as he starts at the very beginning of autograph collecting to find a world filled with falsified documents and counterfeit signatures – most of which are “authenticated” by the autograph experts who control this multi-million dollar business. Join Irion as he explores a mind-boggling world of autographs that aren’t what they seem, run by people who aren’t what they claim.

Even his conclusion that “the only true autograph is one you get yourself,” proves false when an autograph he personally collected from Muhammad Ali is declared a fake by one of the country’s top authenticators! Both enlightening and disturbing, this non-fiction book exposes the rampant fiction in the world of autograph collecting.

About the book

On Christmas day, 1776, George Washington decided to attack British mercenaries in the town of Trenton, New Jersey. He managed this sneak-attack by crossing the nearly frozen Delaware River in wooden boats, standing at the prow of his craft while his soldiers rowed hard against current, snow and wind.
The Hessian mercenaries on the other side of the river didn’t expect such an attack. In fact, they considered the Continental Army under Washington’s command to be a minor annoyance.

We all know the rest of the story: the Washington-led troops defeated the Hessian soldiers and then crossed the Delaware again to fight further battles. It was this tactical battle – conceived by the great George Washington – that inspired the citizens of the American colonies to rise up and fight against British rule.

It was also George Washington who served as an inspiration to write this book. As you will see, I purchased an authenticated autograph of our first president, only to find out eight years later that it might well have been signed by someone else.

This infuriated me. Like most autograph collectors I assumed that an authenticated signature meant that it was indeed an authentic signature. But, as you’ll see in this book, that was not what it means at all. Like George Washington, I have decided to launch a sneak attack on the autograph industry. I have done this by writing a book that educates autograph collectors like myself about the pitfalls of this incredible – but troubled – business.