Autograph Authentication Report
2024 Mutagen Canister Kids Stickers Open Edition - Artist Mark Pingitore Auto · #26a
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 | Abbreviated two-part signature: a compact zigzag 'M' followed by a looped 'P' and a short trailing tail, long and low. | R1, R6 and R5 show the same zigzag M plus P-loop-and-tail structure. R4 and R8 show the more compressed, abbreviated version our signature resembles. | Match |
| Slant and baseline | Near-upright strokes. The signature runs vertically up the right edge of the card, so the crop is rotated, but relative to its own baseline it rises only slightly. | Near-upright to moderately right-leaning. The measured slant and writing angle fall within the reference range. | Match |
| Letter construction | M made as rapid down-up-down peaks with a short entry tick. P formed with a tall stem and a closed bowl, then a looped/crossed tail standing in for 'ingitore'. | Same M peaks and P stem-plus-bowl in R1, R2, R5 and R6. The tail is reduced to a crossed 't'-like loop in R1, R4 and R6. | Match |
| Connecting strokes | Gap between M and P. The P bowl flows into the tail without a lift. | Same M/P separation, with the P flowing into the tail, across R1, R4, R5 and R6. | Match |
| Starting and ending strokes | Starts appear tapered. The tail ends in a quick flick or loop. | Tapered entries and a flicked or crossed finish in R1, R4 and R6. | Match |
| Line quality and speed | Appears fluent, with no visible tremor or hesitation at this resolution. The ink overlaps colorful artwork, which complicates reading the line. | Fast, fluent marker strokes throughout. | Match |
| Pen pressure pattern | Blue marker with modest width variation. The measured thickness variation is typical. | Similar marker width variation in R1, R6 and R7. | Match |
| Spacing | Compact, with the P-tail section slightly cramped. | Ranges from roomy (R1) to compressed (R4, R8). | Natural variation |
| Flourishes and underlines | No underline or paraph. | None in any reference. | Match |
| Placement and size | Written vertically along the right edge over the purple background and artwork, at a moderate size. | Reference crops show horizontal placement over artwork. Orientation varies by card, and artists commonly sign in open space. | Natural variation |
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 | -2.7° | -20.0–-1.1° | In range | |
| Overall writing angle | 1.4° | -4.8–0.6° | In range | |
| Height to width | 0.165 | 0.162–0.307 | In range | |
| Ink travel per unit width | 5.59× | 2.83–3.5× | Outside range | |
| Stroke thickness variation | 0.57 | 0.376–0.667 | In range | |
| Closed loops | 69 | 5.0–27.0 | Outside range | |
| Separate strokes | 16 | 6.0–25.0 | In range |
The computer measured the slant of the strokes, the overall angle of the signature and its height-to-width shape, and all three fall well within how Pingitore's own reference signatures vary. Stroke thickness variation and the number of separate strokes are also normal. Two measurements, the amount of ink line per unit of width and the count of closed loops, came out much higher than the references. Both are sensitive to photo conditions, and here the signature is written over colorful artwork that likely confused the tracing, so they were not counted in the call. Overall the numbers support the signature being consistent with Pingitore's, while flagging a point for closer physical inspection.
Examiner notes
Our card is a 2024 Mutagen Canister Kids Stickers Open Edition artist auto, the same Magic Marker Art product family and likely the same signing period as the Nintendopes Open Edition references (R2–R8). R1, from Horrorible Kids Series 9, is probably close in time. All of these are recent, high-volume artist autos in felt-tip or marker, so no meaningful era drift is expected.
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.
