Autograph Authentication Report
2024 Mutagen Canister Kids Stickers Open Edition - Artist Mark Pingitore Auto · #27b
Findings
Signature comparison
This card. The signature as cropped from the slab photo (front).
Below, the known examples Crown compared it with. Examples with stronger proof (signed in front of staff, or certified by an independent authenticator) carry the most weight.
Feature by feature
| Feature | This card | Known examples | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall form and proportions | Compact two-part signature: a zigzag 'M' initial group, a gap, then a 'P'-based surname group ending in a long horizontal tail. Measured height-to-width is 0.177. | R1, R2, R5, R6 and R8 show the same two-group layout, angular initial group and long trailing horizontal. Measured ratios run 0.168–0.225. | Match |
| Slant and baseline | Near-upright strokes (-4.3°) on a nearly level baseline (0.4°) once the vertical placement is rotated. | Upright slant runs -14.1° to -0.5°, averaging -4.14°. Baseline runs -3.1° to 1.6°. | Match |
| Letter construction | 'M' is made as a fast sharp zigzag with a pointed up-down rhythm. The 'P' is a tall stem with a compressed bowl. The final 't'-like element is a short upright crossed by, and flowing into, the long finishing stroke. | R1, R2, R3, R6 and R8 show the same abbreviated 'M' zigzag, a compressed 'P' bowl and a crossed 't' feeding a horizontal finish. | Match |
| Connecting strokes | The initial group and surname group are separate. Letters within the surname are partly run together in a cursive, abbreviated way. | The same separation and partial connection appear in R2, R5 and R8. | Match |
| Starting and ending strokes | Starts appear tapered and the long final horizontal trails off. No obvious blunt starts or stops at this resolution. | R1, R2 and R6 show tapered entries and the long tapered horizontal exit. | Match |
| Line quality and speed | Strokes look fluid and confident with no visible tremor or hesitation. | References show rapid marker execution with similar fluency. | Match |
| Pen pressure pattern | Fine-to-medium dark green/black marker with modest width variation. | References are blue and black markers, some broader (R1, R7), with somewhat more width variation. | Natural variation |
| Spacing | Clear gap between initial and surname groups. Surname letters are tightly spaced. | Same spacing habit across R1, R2, R5 and R8. | Match |
| Flourishes and underlines | Long horizontal terminal stroke serves as the flourish. No separate underline. | Long terminal horizontal present in R1, R2, R3, R6 and R7. No separate underline. | Match |
| Placement and size | Signed vertically along the right edge of the artwork over the green/yellow background, in moderate size. | Reference crops show signatures over the artwork, typically horizontal. Orientation on a sticker is a signer choice and is not diagnostic. | Natural variation |
| Reproduction indicators | Ink appears to sit over the printed art with no visible halftone dots, and the stroke edges look irregular. Placement differs from any printed element on the card. | Not applicable. | Not assessable |
Measurements
Software traced the ink and measured it against the known examples. The shaded band is the signer's normal range across those examples; the gold marker is this card.
| Feature | This card | Known examples | Normal range | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slant of upright strokes | -4.3° | -14.1–-0.5° | In range | |
| Overall writing angle | 0.4° | -3.1–1.6° | In range | |
| Height to width | 0.177 | 0.168–0.225 | In range | |
| Ink travel per unit width | 2.95× | 2.5–5.32× | In range | |
| Stroke thickness variation | 0.45 | 0.433–0.63 | In range | |
| Closed loops | 5 | 16.0–98.0 | In range | |
| Separate strokes | 16 | 5.0–25.0 | In range |
Our software traced the ink and compared it with five clean Mark Pingitore reference signatures. The slant of the upright strokes (-4.3° against a reference average of -4.14°), the overall writing angle (0.4°) and the height-to-width shape (0.177) all fall well inside the range his own signatures show. The more photo-sensitive measures were also within his normal spread: ink travel, stroke thickness variation, closed loops and number of separate strokes. Our closed-loop count is on the low side, but these figures shift with image quality and pen type. None of the seven measurements was borderline or unusual, so the numbers support authenticating this signature alongside the visual comparison, though they cannot by themselves prove it was hand-signed.
Examiner notes
Our signature is on a 2024 Mutagen Canister Kids open-edition sticker. All eight references are contemporary Magic Marker Art / Nintendopes / Horrorible Kids artist autos, apparently from the same recent period (about 2023–2024). No meaningful career-era drift is expected. Differences are more plausibly due to marker type, sticker surface and signing speed.
How Crown authenticates autographs: the signature is compared with known examples gathered from Crown's own authenticated cards, independent authenticators and public listings, measured by software, examined by an AI forensic model, and signed off by Crown Grading staff. The decision above is Crown's.
