Autograph Authentication Report
2022 Topps Garbage Pail Kids: Bookworms - Brent Engstrom Auto · #60
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 | Single horizontal signature filling most of the yellow strip. A large dominant capital 'B' is followed by a compressed 'ent' with a tall 't' stroke, then an 'S'/'E'-like loop opening a run of arches for 'Engstrom'. | R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6/R7 and R8 all show the same structure: big opening B, short compressed 'ent' with a tall upright, an Engstrom capital formed as a looped S-like stroke, and a train of 'm'-style arches finishing right. | Match |
| Slant and baseline | Moderate right slant. Baseline runs roughly level to slightly rising across the strip. | R1 and R2 (also green on yellow) show near-identical slant and a level baseline. R3, R5 and R8 are somewhat flatter and more elongated, which fits faster signing. | Natural variation |
| Letter construction | The 'B' starts with a left-side entry and builds two bowls with an open upper loop. The 't' is a tall vertical with a crossing. The Engstrom capital is a reverse-S style loop. The tail is three or more rounded arches. | R1 and R2 are essentially the same construction. R4 and R6/R7 show the same B bowl structure and arched ending. R5 is more angular but keeps the same sequence of forms. | Match |
| Connecting strokes | 'ent' connects in one movement. There appears to be a lift between first name and surname, and the surname arches are continuous. | Same pattern in R1, R2, R3 and R8: a break between the B-ent group and the surname, then a continuous surname. | Match |
| Starting and ending strokes | The B entry looks tapered rather than blunt. The final arch trails off to the right with a light, tapered exit. | R1, R3 and R8 show similar tapered entries and a trailing exit on the last arch. No blunt terminals in the references. | Match |
| Line quality and speed | Strokes look fluid, with smooth curves and no visible tremor or hesitation at this resolution. Width and darkness vary where strokes overlap or change direction. | References show fast, confident lines. Our line quality is in the same range. | Match |
| Pen pressure pattern | Darker, heavier areas in the B bowls and at stroke crossings. Lighter on upstrokes and exits. | R1 and R2 show comparable darker overlaps in green ink. Others are hard to judge from low-resolution web images. | Natural variation |
| Spacing | The 'ent' group is tightly compressed against the B, with a modest gap before the surname. Surname arches are evenly spaced. | Matches R1 and R2 closely. R3 and R8 are slightly more spread out, consistent with a longer strip or faster stroke. | Natural variation |
| Flourishes and underlines | No separate underline or paraph. The Engstrom capital loop and the long arched ending act as the only flourish. | No reference shows an underline. The flourish is limited to loops and arches, as on ours. | Match |
| Placement and size | Centered within the Topps signature strip, with ink running over the printed 'BRENT ENGSTROM ARTIST AUTOGRAPH' text and slightly past the strip edges, which is typical of hand-signed strips. | All references sit in the same strip location. Several (R1, R2, R3, R4) also show ink crossing the printed label text. | Match |
| Ink and substrate | Green ink on a yellow strip. Uneven density at overlaps. No obvious halftone or dot pattern at this resolution. | R1 and R2 show the same green-on-yellow combination. Other references use blue or black on differently coloured strips, which is normal parallel or product variation. | Natural variation |
Examiner notes
Our card is a 2022 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Book Worms artist autograph (#60 Adam Apple), signed by Engstrom for the Topps release around 2021–2022. The references cover about 2020–2024: R3 is 2020 35th Anniversary Series 2, R4 and R5 are 2024 Kids At Play, R6 and R7 are Book Worms #53 (same 2022 set as ours), and R1, R2 and R8 are undated Topps artist autograph cards. That puts ours in the middle of a short, stable span of contemporary Topps signings, so no meaningful era drift is expected. Visible differences are mostly ink colour (green, blue, black) and strip colour (yellow, pink, red, light blue, dark blue), which are product and parallel choices, not changes in hand.
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.
