After our last types of baseball card post where we looked at autographed baseball cards, it makes sense to follow up with the similar but also very unique cut autographed cards.
Unlike the more common autographed cards that we talked about last time, cut autographed cards take totally separate signed document and incorporate it into the baseball card in a similar way in which relics are presented.
The obvious question might be why would they do this?
It's very unlikely that you'll find a cut autographed card for Aaron Judge or Fernando Tatis Jr because they are at the ballpark everyday and able to sign cards for the manufacturers. Using autographs taken from other documents allows for the card manufacturers to include autographs from players no longer with us, which often makes them pretty valuable - due to their limited supply.
As an example, there are only a limited number of Babe Ruth autographs in existence but potentially an unlimited supply for current players. This is what makes the cut autographed cards valuable and sought after.
The autographs can be cut from a number of different places although cheques, letters and contracts are the most common sources.
When done right, cut autographed cards can be absolutely stunning and provide a genuine feeling of awe in being able to hold something that a legend like Jackie Robinson or Roberto Clemente signed. Of course, these are the most valuable and hardest to come across.
By incorporating cut autographs into their products, manufacturers aren't limited to just baseball players. Abraham Lincoln, Harry Houdini & Mother Teresa have all been included in checklists before. We can only imagine the feeling of opening up a pack of cards and finding yourself in front of a card containing the autograph of someone like Winston Churchill or Lou Gehrig.
However, there have been some examples of some less-than-perfect cutting resulting in parts of signatures being missing and we can't properly understand why cut autographs are used when the subject is living.
We really like cut autographs as baseball cards though and they are often the cheapest and easiest way to acquire an autograph of a legend who is no longer with us.
What are your thoughts on cut autographed cards? Let us know in the comments or on twitter.
Comments