I’ve been browsing signed Pokemon cards and noticed majority are firm sharpie lines. However, I came across this one which looks like sharpie at first but then I noticed that the lines are not firm. There areas with little holes all over the place. I’m thinking what’s used here is a marker type that’s not sharpie or after it was signed, it was quickly put into a sleeve. I’m wondering if anyone has a definite answer on why this happens and on the authenticity of autographs like these.
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This can happen when a sharpie or other ink pen is used on a glossy card like the Japanese full art in the picture. What happens is the ink doesn’t adhere fully to the glossy card and it pulls away in parts. Not the result of sleeving too fast, this usually happens pretty soon after the card is signed. Japanese cards in general are susceptible as they are more glossy, you can see the effect on this Gengar I had signed by Saitou, although not as bad.
Sharpies are generally fine for English cards because the surface is paper-like, but on Japanese cards and especially glossy/full arts you don’t want to use them. I recommend paint pens if you plan on getting a similar card signed. For example, Himeno used a paint pen on this card and you can see how clean the sketch and auto are on the card.
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Thanks for the information! I’m curious if you know why sometimes it’s super bad like the one I showed verses sometimes it looks normal. I’ve compared it to other signed ones of the same card and they look relatively ok.
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I am not sure, my best guess is that it has something to do with the marker quality. Maybe too much or too little ink leads to beading being more likely.
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