Past Tense

Dave Winfield of the New York Yankees was my first autograph. I was eight years old when I received his autograph, and after that day Dave was a hero to me.

As a kid I collected sports cards from baseball, football, hockey and basketball, but to get them signed by the athlete was another thing. I always enjoyed all sports from playing them and watching them on TV. I enjoy the sport of hockey the most and on my favorite team the Hartford Whalers. My official autograph collecting days started in Hartford, CT. I was a hardcore Whaler fan and would attend most home games and obtain autographs from the Whalers and the visiting teams.

For seven years between the ages of 10 through 17, I collected NHL autographs. I met pretty much every hockey superstar that was in the league at the time, which included names such as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sergei Fedorov and much much more. My collection of hockey autographs were signed pucks, photos, sticks, jerseys and more.

When the Hartford Whalers organization was moved to North Carolina, my love for autographs did not die. I started to collect music and celebrity autographs mainly in Hartford, and NYC. I have also traveled throughout the States and Canada meeting bands and Artists such as: Beatles Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews, U2 Bono, Pink Floyd Roger Waters, Doors, etc.

I have always enjoyed all music from: Rock in Roll, Pop, Blues, Jazz, Rap, Folk and Country and more. , So I had a great interest in trying to obtain from all genres of musicians to keep the memories alive.

I still get that same rush I used to get as a kid, only now I sell some of the items I obtain as a supplemental income. To learn more about me and to view my authentic Rock n? Roll signature exemplars, please visit www.sharkstreasures.com.

As of today, I currently live in beautiful Southern California and still continue to work with the best collectors and professional photographers in the Entertainment business. Throughout the years I have obtained thousands of signatures in sports, music, celebrity and along with some political. I have built a database of authentic signature exemplars and able to determine if an autograph is authentic or fake, based on collecting experience and cross comparisons. The market is loaded with fake autographs and it is really disgusting, because some people just don’t care. An autograph to me is a true memory or an artifact that should be well preserved for the future generations.

I recently went back to school and finished my degree in Geography as well as GIS at Cal State University, Northridge. Nobody really knows what to expect in the future, but I can say autographs will always be a part of my life. My goals are to keep the autograph industry pure, by offering authentic pieces to the market and guide people of my knowledge from collecting as well as buying signed items. All the Best Mark Turgeon