Beckett Principal Autograph authenticator Steve Grad is now bringing some of his own collection to market.
An autograph collector long before his job was to examine them, Grad has gained plenty of notoriety in recent years for his appearances on the hit show Pawn Stars.
Now, he’s excited to let some of it go to fellow collectors. He had much of it for sale at the National Sports Collectors Convention. Rick talks to Steve about that and more, including well over 100 appearances on the hit TV show, Pawn Stars.
If you’ve seen Pawn Stars, you’ve seen Steve Grad authenticate autographs. In my opinion, the premiere autograph authenticator in the world.
Grad joins me from Industry Summit in Las Vegas to talk about what’s hot in autographs and some of the current topics in authentication. That includes talking Michael Jordan autographs and how many fakes are out in the wild.
Since 2013, whenever someone brings in an autographed item of significance Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars will “call his guy”, which is Steve Grad.
“In the world of collecting, my opinion might mean something to friends, but to the rest of the world, it means nothing. You need Beckett Authentication. That’s what you have to have if you want to sell it”, said Rick.
Grad got his start collecting autographs over 25 years ago, acquiring more than 100,000 in-person autographs. He took his passion and knowledge of autographs and turned it into a successful business. Formerly working for a leading authentication company, Grad built their autograph authentication business during a 15-year tenure before moving to Beckett in 2016 to spearhead the launch of Beckett Authentication Services
A renowned expert in his field, Grad has authenticated many of the finest pieces in the sports collectible hobby including the Laws of Baseball, the highest-graded Babe Ruth single-signed baseball, the only known Joe Jackson signed photograph and numerous other high-end pieces of American sports history.
Since 2013, Grad has served as an autograph expert on History’s “Pawn Stars”, appearing on over 135 episodes to date.
