Button Gwinett

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Forged Signatures: Tips to Help Collectors Find the Real Deal

The Declaration of Independence boasts of a plethora of signatures from some of America’s most famous men, but whose do you think is the most valuable? The podcast Radiolab conducted in an investigation and the winner is Button Gwinnett! Surprised? Gwinnett’s obscurity increased the value of his signature. He only has 51 documented signature examples and was killed in a duel in 1777. photo: Andrea Izzotti/ Shutterstock and Reader’s Digest

By Kary Pardy, writer of “Exploring Antique Technology” Mickey Mantle’s baseball, a celebrity-signed photograph, the copy of the Declaration of Independence from your relative’s attic: the value of each of these items lies in its authenticity. Forgers go to great…

Nick Boschetto
May 31, 2020