Autograph Authentication Report
2021 Nintendopes Stickers Open Edition - Artist Mark Pingitore Auto · #33b
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 | Two-part abbreviated signature: a compact angular 'M' unit, a gap, then a taller 'P' unit trailing into a 'gt'/'t' terminal. Proportions are roughly even between the two halves. | R1, R2, R3, R5, R8 show the same two-unit abbreviated form with an angular 'M' cluster and a taller 'P' followed by a looped descender and 't' cross. | Match |
| Slant and baseline | Signed vertically along the left card edge. Relative to its own axis the slant is mildly rightward and the baseline is fairly level. | References are mostly horizontal with a moderate right slant. R6 and R8 are more compressed and steeper. | Natural variation |
| Letter construction – 'M' | Zigzag 'M' made as a fast up-down-up stroke, ending in a short rising tail. | R1, R2, R4, R5 show the same zigzag 'M' with a rising exit stroke. | Match |
| Letter construction – 'P' and terminal | Tall 'P' upstroke with a bowl, a descending loop below the baseline, and an ending cross/'t' stroke. | R1, R2, R5 show the identical 'P' bowl, descending loop and horizontal 't' bar ending to the right. R3 and R4 are compressed versions of the same. | Match |
| Connecting strokes and pen lifts | Pen lift between the 'M' unit and the 'P' unit, which are otherwise continuous within each unit. | The same lift between the two units appears in all references. | Match |
| Starting and ending strokes | Starts appear tapered rather than blunt. The terminal 't' bar shows a flicked exit. | R1 and R5 show tapered entries and flicked terminal bars. | Match |
| Line quality and speed | Fluid, confident strokes with no visible tremor or hesitation at this resolution. | Fast, fluid line quality throughout. | Match |
| Pen pressure pattern | Some density variation in the blue ink, heavier on downstrokes. | R1 and R5 show similar downstroke emphasis with a blue marker. | Match |
| Ink / instrument | Blue marker or felt-tip. | Blue in R1, R3, R5, R7. Black in R2, R4, R6, R8. The artist uses both. | Natural variation |
| Placement and size | Vertical along the left side, crossing the printed artwork, moderately large. | Placement varies across references, all over printed artwork. A vertical orientation is not shown in the crops but is unremarkable for sticker cards. | Natural variation |
| Flourishes/underlines | None. | None. | Match |
Examiner notes
Ours is on a 2021 Nintendopes Stickers Open Edition artist auto (No. 33b) and was likely signed around the 2021 release. R2–R6 and R8 come from the same set and are effectively contemporaneous. R1 (Horrorible Kids Series 9) and R7 (11x17 print) are similar-era artist items. The references show no meaningful career drift, so era is not a factor in any difference.
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.
