How to tell SK signature is fake?

[Sherlock Joe's]

I know people have posted on here (me included) with images of a book "signed" by SK and asking what people think of the signature.

I always appreciate the feedback or answers other posters give when this question is asked. However, personally, I've run across one or two copies when I was travelling and had to decide fairly quickly whether or not it was worth the investment especially since I probably wouldn't be back in the area any time soon.

I also know there's a site (Dark Tower site, maybe) that has examples of SK's signature over the years and shows what we all know about signatures changing over the years, or how many signatures he made on a given day, etc.

For those who have the experience of judging whether or not the SK signature is legitimate, I'd love to hear what specifically you look for to make a "legit" or "fake" determination. Any details would be great.

I know this info would help me, but also think it would help others during their own searches to complete their collection. Thanks!

[mulleins]

For me, I've been collecting King since the very early 80's and have had the privilege of seeing the signatures evolve over the years. This is no way makes me an expert though. I think even the best gets bamboozled sometimes.

I like to keep a folder on my phone with photos of his signatures for reference to help me try to match if I see one in the wild For me, it comes down to a gut feeling.

When in doubt, don’t pull your wallet out.

It’s important to study his signature for the period the book is dated (if it has one). Example: I’ve seen an 87 date in a first edition Christine with a King signature clearly from a more recent time. Not sure the reasoning for this to be done. The signature did look real, but the forged date took away from the value.

It is important to pay attention if the book is a newer release but has an older signature in it, red flag indeed.

One of the newest things (and this is unfortunate) we’re are starting to see stamped signatures by King Forgers. If a seller has several signed books for sale and all of them have the same identical signature (look closely for pen marks all in the same spot across signatures), you’re probably looking at a stamp signature.

This brings me to King inscribed copies. I absolutely love these and collect them. The longer the inscription by King the better. With that said, I have still seen some terrible inscribed copies with a fake King signature trying to be passed off as a real signature. Scammers are a sad group of people.

My best advice is to take some time and study several King signatures across internet platforms and challenge yourself to figure out if it is real or not. After a while, you will develop a great gut feeling for real versus forged. I still do this today to keep a good edge on collecting King.

Everything above is just my opinion and what I do. Hope this helps answer your question.

Ralph Mulleins

[Sherlock Joe's]

It’s important to study his signature for the period the book is dated (if it has one). Example: I’ve seen an 87 date in a first edition Christine with a King signature clearly from a more recent time. Not sure the reasoning for this to be done. The signature did look real, but the forged date took away from the value.

Ralph Mulleins

First off, I greatly appreciate all of the info and the time you took to share it, Ralph. Having comparison signatures saved on a phone to look at when seeing a book "in the wild" is a great idea.

I once saw a poll on Instagram where respondents ranked signatures with dates (supposedly signed same year it was printed) as the most valuable and/or preferable. Maybe that explains what you've seen ...

[Sherlock Joe's]

This brings me to King inscribed copies. I absolutely love these and collect them. The longer the inscription by King the better. With that said, I have still seen some terrible inscribed copies with a fake King signature trying to be passed off as a real signature. Scammers are a sad group of people.

Ralph Mulleins

I once saw an eBay auction for a "signed" Stephen King book with an inscription of "From one king to another Stephen K." that was selling for a couple of hundred dollars

I did laugh, but some sucker probably bought it.

[TheCollector]

I've been meaning to update the links section with this site, and here's a great opportunity to mention it:

I don't go out of my way to collect signed trade editions (sticking mainly to the S/L's) so when I get the occasional email asking about whether a signature is legit or not I have to throw out a big disclaimer that even though I run a SK site judging fakes isn't my area of expertise. I'm probably no better or worse at it than most collectors that have seen a bunch of signatures over the years.

You see enough of them you get enough sense to weed out obvious fakes and then (for me) it's about finding a known good signature from the same timeframe and comparing it.

I'd recommend checking out Signed and Dated Info, which has the biggest collection of known good signatures and inscriptions sorted by date. Line up the signature you're looking at against these for comparison.
https://www.signedanddated.info/

[Sherlock Joe's]

I've been meaning to update the links section with this site, and here's a great opportunity to mention it:

I'd recommend checking out Signed and Dated Info, which has the biggest collection of known good signatures and inscriptions sorted by date. Line up the signature you're looking at against these for comparison.
https://www.signedanddated.info/

Terrific site and I greatly appreciate it ...

One thing that jumped out at me while I was scrolling through those signatures is how the dot on the letter "i" in his last name always seems off to me ... like it's over the next letter instead.

Again, I appreciate the thoughts and info.

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

King used to sign his name Knig which was a good way to fox the forgers.

[mulleins]

His Knig signature even fooled some early collectors. See attached sample of this type of signature being discussed.

Ralph Mulleins

[Sherlock Joe's]

This one has me waffling ... I don't like that the "t" and "h" in his first name have the loops they do when a lot of his signatures don't.

However, I checked that "Signed and Dated" website and there are a couple from 2019, 2021, and 2022 that have similar loops.

[TheCollector]

Ah, I'm going to leave this to the experts. This is why I mainly stick to collecting S/L editions

I did see some similar sigs on signed/dated but for me, the few times I've acquired a signed trade edition, it's more about how best I can prove it's a legit signature down the line when I'm ready to sell the book.