| 1. Handwritten Documents | | | | Jefferson Davis had his wife sign many of his dictated |
| It was common in the eighteenth-century for | | | | letters. She did such a good job that she started |
| presidents to have secretarial copies made of all their | | | | putting a period after the signature she wrote so that |
| important papers to be kept on file. The secretaries | | | | he could tell which ones she signed. |
| would copy the documents in their own handwriting, | | | | |
| sign the president’s name, and below that signature, | | | | Watch out for other deceiving practices where a page |
| sign their own. This accounts for the “G. | | | | with a President’s quote and signature is cut out |
| Washington” signatures on authentic period | | | | from a book and doctored up into something else |
| manuscripts. These were carefully marked as file | | | | entirely. Some of these fraudulent creations have |
| copies. | | | | included these presidents: George W. Bush, Richard |
| | | | | Nixon, John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt. |
| 2. Land Agent Signatures | | | | |
| During Lincoln’s presidency, "Lincoln-signed" land | | | | 5. Preprinting |
| grants were being signed regularly by land agents. | | | | Many sellers on eBay use a method called |
| Land agents were given the authority to sign for the | | | | “preprinting”. The item they are selling may be |
| president and then noted with their own signature | | | | only a photocopy of an actual autographed photo |
| beneath (e.g., A. Lincoln by John Smith). This was a | | | | which has been printed on glossy photo paper. If |
| routine procedure until President Andrew Jackson | | | | someone is offering a “preprinted” autographed |
| decided to do away with this time-consuming task. | | | | photo, this information should be made clear to the |
| | | | | buyer. However, to be safe, make sure you read all of |
| 3. Proxy-Signers | | | | the fine print before buying anything. |
| A Proxy-signer is someone who has been authorized | | | | |
| to act for the signer. Dating back to George | | | | 6. Hand-Stamp |
| Washington, most of the secretaries that have been | | | | Some presidents, such as Andrew Johnson, Warren |
| used by US Presidents to handle their correspondence | | | | Harding, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano |
| have acted as proxy-signers, instead of trying to | | | | Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, at some previous |
| duplicate the presidents signature. | | | | time, used a rubber or steel hand-stamp to sign their |
| | | | | documents. |
| 4. Forged Autographs | | | | |
| There are many dishonest people out there who will | | | | 7. Autopen |
| forge autographs in such a way that it is almost | | | | The autopen is a mechanical pen that makes perfect |
| impossible for the amateur collector to discern. They | | | | facsimile (duplicate) signatures using a signature |
| will go to great lengths to make their signatures seem | | | | template known as a matrix. Harry Truman is believed |
| authentic. For example, they will use blank pages in old | | | | to have been the first United States President to use |
| books to write the signatures on to make it appear to | | | | the autopen. From about the Eisenhower era of the |
| be from that era. These forgers are just looking to | | | | 1950s until today, almost all American presidents have |
| make money from unsuspecting collectors. If in doubt, | | | | had the autopen to reproduce presidential signatures. |
| consult with a professional collector who should be | | | | Just remember that some unscrupulous autograph |
| able to tell the difference between forged and | | | | sellers may be able to obtain or produce one of these |
| authentic documents. | | | | autopen templates to mass-produce autographs for |
| | | | | re-sale. |
| During the Civil War, (Confederate States) President | | | | |