Autograph Authentication Report
2021 Topps Garbage Pail Kids - Illustrator Auto (01/75) · #38
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 | 'Joe Simko' in a long, low, horizontally stretched signature. Tall J and S dominate, with small 'oe' and compressed 'imko'. | Same structure in R1, R2, R3, R4, R6, R7 and R8. The height-to-width ratio sits within the references' range. | Match |
| Slant and baseline | Upright strokes lean back slightly (about -10.5°). The baseline is nearly level and rises gently. | Same slight back-lean and level-to-rising baseline. Measured average slant is -10.5°. | Match |
| Letter construction – J | Tall, sharply angled J upstroke with a descending hook that curls left below the baseline. | Same angular, tall J with a low curling hook in R1, R2, R3, R4, R6, R7 and R8. | Match |
| Letter construction – S and 'imko' | Large looped S. 'imko' is compressed, with a tall k stem and a terminal o (best seen in the full slab photo; the crop cuts off after the S). | Large S with abbreviated 'imko' and a tall k in most references. R5 shows a more open 'S,mko', which fits normal speed variation. | Natural variation |
| Connecting strokes | 'oe' joined after the J. The S is separated by a space. 'imko' is partly connected. | Same breaks: a gap between 'Joe' and 'Simko', and partly connected 'imko'. | Match |
| Starting and ending strokes | Starts with a quick, tapered J upstroke. The ending o is visible in the full photo but outside the crop. | Tapered entry on the J and a closing o, sometimes with a slight tail. | Natural variation |
| Line quality and speed | Strokes look fluid and confident with no visible tremor, at this resolution. | Fast, fluid strokes throughout. | Match |
| Pen pressure pattern | Blue marker with modest thickness variation. | Similar modest variation. R1, R6, R7 and R8 also use blue ink on Topps cards. | Match |
| Spacing | Clear word gap between 'Joe' and 'Simko'. Tight letter spacing within each word. | Same spacing habit. | Match |
| Flourishes and underlines | None. | None in any reference. | Match |
| Placement and size | Signed across the printed 'JOE SIMKO ARTIST AUTOGRAPH' nameplate, overrunning its borders. The nameplate runs vertically on this card design. | Topps references R1, R7 and R8 are signed the same way, across and beyond the nameplate. | Match |
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 | -10.5° | -16.8–-6.5° | In range | |
| Overall writing angle | 1.5° | -1.5–3.3° | In range | |
| Height to width | 0.218 | 0.212–0.3 | In range | |
| Ink travel per unit width | 2.96× | 2.21–2.93× | In range | |
| Stroke thickness variation | 0.375 | 0.352–0.432 | In range | |
| Closed loops | 4 | 1.0–13.0 | In range | |
| Separate strokes | 11 | 9.0–16.0 | In range |
Our software measured seven features of this signature and compared them with four reference signatures (R2, R3, R4 and R5). Every feature fell within the normal range of how Simko's own signatures vary. The slant of the upright strokes (-10.5°) sits exactly at the reference average. The overall writing angle (1.5°) and the height-to-width shape (0.218) are also normal. Ink travel, stroke thickness variation, number of closed loops and number of separate strokes are all within range too, though these four are more affected by photo conditions. Taken together, the numbers support the visual finding that this signature matches Simko's known hand. They cannot by themselves prove live ink.
Examiner notes
Our card is a 2021 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Illustrator Auto (#38, 01/75). The references are from about the same period. R7/R8 are 2022 Book Worms Topps artist autos, R1 is a later Kids at Play Fool's Gold auto, R4 is a BNS3 auto, and R2/R3 are Funko Pop signings. Simko's signature looks stable across roughly 2021–2023, so era is not a factor.
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.
