Justin Chris Priddy – President

A native of Orange County, California, Justin received his first autograph at a local card show from then LA Dodger hero Kirk Gibson in 1988 shortly after the World Series and has been hooked ever since. Frequenting Southern California card shows, collecting vintage and in-person autographs since 1988, he began to flock to Angel Stadium in 1993 to extend his in-person collection. He continued his chase for in-person signatures through the 1997 baseball season, when he geared toward less intensive collecting. Being exposed to a wide spectrum of both vintage and contemporary signatures early on began to cultivate his enduring study of autographs.

 While attending Cal State University Fullerton where he studied business management, Justin got his start as an autograph authenticator for a nationally recognized authentication company based in Southern California.  Starting in October of 2003, he would soon become the company’s Senior Authenticator and later the Director of Authentication for their memorabilia division. Overseeing the certification of over 500,000 items submitted for third party verification and signed in the presence signatures during his tenure, Justin gained valuable insight working with the industry’s top experts, dealers, and collectors.

In 2006 when HBO Real Sports conducted an investigative report on autograph authentication companies, Justin was one of only two national authenticators that correctly identified the fraudulent signatures when they were submitted for review. As a featured columnist in the hobby’s oldest publication, the Sports Collectors Digest, Justin has authored several signature studies, including: Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken Jr., Mark McGwire, Joe Jackson, and Grover Alexander. After leaving his position of Senior Authenticator, shortly after Independence Day in 2007, he briefly continued as a consultant through the start of September attending the last four trade shows the company would attend in the calendar year. He currently serves as the moderator for the GameUsedUniverse.com Autograph Forum, one of the industry’s principle message boards designed toward memorabilia. With the formation of Autograph Certification Experts, LLC (ACE), Justin brings an ecumenical acceptance as one of the industry’s top experts in autographs and is well established as one of the most consistent and accurate authenticators in the autograph industry. Along with his wealth of knowledge Justin also brings one of the largest autograph exemplar libraries to the ACE brand.

Brent Niederman - Consultant Authenticator

From Hamel, MN Brent has specialized in all apects of collecting Joe mauer and Hall of Fame autographed rookie cards. He has amassed a collection of over 400 Mauer rookie cards and over over 150 autographed cards that were signed in his presence or previously certified. Additionally he has acquired over 75 Hall of Fame autographed rookie cards, highlighted by a 1909-11 T206 Rube marquard and 1933 Goudey Mickey Cochrane.

Falling in love with the sporting world at an early age, Brent played baseball all the way through college until recurring injuries forced him to leave the game and continue as a assistant coach for the team his senior year. He attended Bethel University in St. Paul, MN with a degree in Sports Management graduating in May 2009. Currently Brent is pursuing a law degree applying to different law schools around the state to further his education in that field.

Brent first started collecting Mauer at age 14 when the Minnesota Twins drafted Joe in 2001.  He has attended various signing events like Twins Fest that is held twice a year to obtain Joe’s autograph as well as at the Metrodome.  He has carried on this passion for over nine years and has become well versed with Joe’s signature and its variations as to the style and how it has changed over the years.

Brent is a welcome addition to the ACE staff of experts specializing in Joe Mauer autographs. He is very experienced and knowledgeable in collecting Joe’s autographs in person and has familiarized himself with the evolving strokes, pen pressure, and consistencies of Joe’s signature.  Based on the style of signature Brent can typically set a timeframe in which an item was signed. His knowledge of Mauer’s signature is unparalleled within the hobby.