Autograph Authentication Report
2025 Topps Worst of Garbage Pail Kids 40th Anniversary - Auto · #WAC-2
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 | Wide, low abbreviated signature. Large open 'D' arc at left, compact 'il' middle, peaked 'G' with long horizontal tail. | R1, R2, R3, R6 and R7 show the same wide, low abbreviated layout and the same sequence of elements. R4 and R5 are full-name signatures with a different structure. | Match |
| Slant and baseline | Near-upright stems. Baseline roughly level, with the tail running flat to slightly rising. | R1 and R2 show near-upright stems and a level-to-slightly-descending baseline. R3 and R6 are similar, allowing for the tight crops. | Natural variation |
| Letter construction | 'D' is built as an upright stem plus a large arching bowl that opens to the left with a hooked terminal. 'i' has a short dot-dash, followed by an upright 'l'. 'G' is a tall peaked stroke dropping into a low wave and tail. | R1 and R2 show the same arching 'D' bowl with hooked terminal, a dot-dash 'i', and a peaked 'G'. R6 and R7 show the same peaked 'G' and wave. | Match |
| Connecting strokes | 'D' is separate from the middle letters. The 'G' peak flows continuously into the tail. | Same separation in R1 and R2, and the same continuous 'G'-to-tail flow in R1, R3 and R6. | Match |
| Starting and ending strokes | 'D' starts with a curled hook at lower left. The signature ends in a long tapered horizontal tail. | R1 and R2 show the same curled 'D' start. R1, R3 and R6 end in a horizontal trailing stroke. | Match |
| Line quality and speed | The 'D' arc and tail look fluid and confident. Width is fairly even, typical of a felt-tip marker. A dark irregular blob sits at the base of the 'D' stem. | Fluid, quick marker strokes in R1, R2 and R7. | Natural variation |
| Pen pressure pattern | Marker with fairly uniform width. Heavier deposit at the 'D' stem base. | Marker with similar uniform width in R1, R2 and R7. | Natural variation |
| Spacing | Clear gap between the 'D' group and the 'G'. | Similar spacing in R1 and R2. | Match |
| Flourishes and underlines | No underline. The long 'G' tail serves as the flourish. | Same long tail in R1, R3 and R6. No separate underline. | Match |
| Placement and size | Across the bottom margin below the artwork, spanning most of the card width. | R1, R2, R3, R6 and R7 are placed in lower margins or across the art. Size relative to the card is similar. | 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 | 3.0° | -12.6–4.8° | In range | |
| Overall writing angle | -5.4° | -6.2–17.3° | In range | |
| Height to width | 0.223 | 0.246–0.304 | In range | |
| Ink travel per unit width | 4.14× | 2.33–2.84× | Outside range | |
| Stroke thickness variation | 0.666 | 0.294–0.592 | In range | |
| Closed loops | 24 | 0.0–4.0 | Outside range | |
| Separate strokes | 13 | 7.0–9.0 | Outside range |
The computer measurements compared this signature against three references, but two of them (R4 and R5) appear to be signed by a different David Gross who writes his full name. So most of the numbers are not a fair test for this artist. The three main shape measures came out within normal range: upright slant, overall angle and height-to-width. The three flagged measures are the kind that photos and thick markers easily distort, and they are excluded from the call: ink travel, closed loops and separate strokes. A heavy ink spot at the base of the 'D' probably inflates them as well. Overall, the numbers neither confirm nor contradict authenticity. The visual match to Dave Gross's verified-style card autographs carries the assessment.
Examiner notes
Ours is on a 2025 Topps Worst of Garbage Pail Kids 40th Anniversary auto (#WAC-2), current era. The relevant references are all Dave Gross artist-auto cards from about 2018-2023: R7 is a 2018 Wacky Packages sticker, R2, R3 and R6 are 2022 GPK Book Worms, and R1 is GPK Kids at Play. All use the same abbreviated card-auto form: a large 'D' arc, a dotted 'i' with an upright stroke, then a peaked 'G' with a long trailing line. R4 and R5 are full-name 'David Gross' signatures on a physics diagram and a large photo. They appear to belong to a different David Gross, likely the physicist, and are not era references for this signer.
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.
