Following a wave of interest in Star Wars memorabilia with the release of the new film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mark Hamill has started using Twitter as an authentication tool in an effort to help prevent fans from being defrauded in purchasing autographed memorabilia. I don’t recall an actor ever taking such a “hands on” approach to helping fans with authentication in such a manner, so it is a pretty interesting development.
Below are some examples today of Mark Hamill helping fans properly identify his autograph via Twitter (@HamillHimself):
REAL-That’s my old “M”, which I changed over the years. Rather than tweeting, I’ll “like” real signatures. #FansRule https://t.co/bCOoeDJ02U
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 28, 2015
This is REAL Rob- Use this example to weed out the phonies. #FightFraud #BeatTheDealers #FansRule https://t.co/Zfx2oI8lc6
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 28, 2015
Close call, but pretty sure it’s FAKE. Misspelled name a good indicator of a fake (& I’m not that good an artist) https://t.co/kpKfP3ZPkq
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 28, 2015
REAL. Memorize this perfect example to spot future frauds. Would love to save fan’s hard earned $ from crooks’ greed https://t.co/uUFuwe75tm
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 28, 2015
REAL. Again- man wanted extreme irreverence. Give the people what they want. Never thought they’d go public. #Jokes https://t.co/0EdQgvehBd
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 28, 2015
All REAL. These were for adult who wanted my humor. Would not do this for a child who want Luke, not Mark.#FansRule https://t.co/GYVtxaToOf
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 28, 2015
This is REAL. Hopefully folks will begin to be familiar w/ my signature & know the fakes on sight! #BeatTheDealers https://t.co/HLjPx4Z3NO
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 28, 2015
Both REAL. Maybe I’ll just “like” the real ones rather than boring everyone w/ endless tweets over authenticity, OK? https://t.co/lstgojuJVq
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 28, 2015
Sorry to admit it’s REAL. (Seemed funny at the time… what was I thinking’?) #BeatTheDealers #BadGag https://t.co/plKF9hGaPD
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 28, 2015
YES!!! That’s real & I always ask if it’s OK to make a joke. If they want MTFBWY, that’s what they get (no joke)#lol https://t.co/TOn2V14xrA
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 28, 2015
The first time I met Mr. Hamill at San Diego Comic Con in 2009 (to obtain his autograph myself), I asked him about fake prop lightsabers being sold in the marketplace, and he was more than eager to help contribute his thoughts to the discussion…
Jason DeBord