Just curious... a Jack Eichel question.

[charnick]

Does anyone know when the last time Leaf had Jack Eichel sign on-card? My saved search is littered with so many new sticker autos that look almost worthless right out of the box it's crazy.

[seth2720]

yea most of the sticker ones don't look sharp at all, and not collected either.

[Stat Monsters]

Autograph collecting in cards is going to get more and more sophisticated and scrutinized.

I like what Beckett does with at least evaluating and grading signatures based on ink density, completeness and other aesthetic factors.

I think "on-card" is going to carry a premium, after all, if you get a Jack Eichel autographed sticker, what's to stop the card company from applying it to a Hockey Puck, a Jersey, a Hockey Stick or any other item and then touting it as being "Autographed / Signed"

I think the stickers are fine for certain situations, but in general should be an undesirable option for most investors and collectors. We need to send that message to card companies, especially when you get a stickered autograph that's crappy and incomplete trailing off of the sticker surface. There should be a QC quality control process where the card company destroys flawed stickers.

The one thing I sort of laugh and and find odd is when autographed cards are signed by an athlete by their nickname only and it carries a premium.

If I had the option to get a 1/10 autographed card signed "The Great One" simply that nickname or a 1/500 autographed card signed "Wayne Gretzky" without the nickname, I'd take the real autograph.

I don't know whey the industry considers inscriptions only (no signature) as an authentic autographed card. If you take that to any federal institution, it would be rejected as a signature.

Card companies should insist on the nickname plus the autograph from the signing athletes. It only makes sense and makes for a rare and collectible item more than junky novelty.

[discostu]

Beckett grading autographs is simply another way to take your money.

Autographs can fade brutally in a slab...yet that farce of a grade stays forever.