Forty-plus years in the same trade
One of the longest-running autograph dealers in the world. Four decades means every market cycle, every forgery wave and every celebrity signing habit has already been seen firsthand.
Piece of the Past, Inc. — Entertainment Autographs
Authentic autographs from one of
America's most experienced
autograph dealers.
Buying, selling, authentication, appraisals. Collecting since 1984.
Every link on this page goes straight to Piece of the Past or to a live marketplace listing — nothing here collects your details.
§ 01Why this dealer
Forty years of receipts, not adjectives.
Anyone can call themselves an authenticator. These are the things that took decades to earn and cannot be bought — the reason a signature sold here carries weight in a courtroom, at a UACC table and in a collection you intend to pass on.
Read the full authenticity statementNo UACC complaints — ever
Not zero unresolved complaints: zero complaints, across millions of dollars in sales, with the body that has governed this hobby for more than sixty years. Kevin Martin was also one of three dealers chosen to rewrite the UACC ethics rules, and co-developed its Registered Dealer program.
Court-certified expert
Kevin Martin is a court-certified expert in entertainment memorabilia and has proven that expertise in a court of law more than once — a standard of scrutiny that third-party "opinions" do not meet.
Five publishers, hundreds of articles
Books on entertainment authentication published by five different houses since the 1990s, hundreds of articles, and the long-running "Fakes, Frauds and Forgeries" column for Autograph Collector magazine.
The price guide collectors used
For fifteen years and four editions, the field relied on Kevin Martin's price guide — editorial work that means values here come from the person who set the reference, not from a lookup.
Vetted by the people who chase forgers
Four years spent working with the head of eBay's fraud division pulling forged listings down, without charging a fee, plus testimony against third-party opinion outfits. A background that stands up to federal and platform-level fraud scrutiny is the point of a vetted dealer.
§ 02What we do
Five ways collectors work with us.
Entertainment memorabilia only. Charles Hamilton, the Dean of Autographs, said it takes a lifetime to master a single field — so we have spent ours on one.
§ 03Where to buy
Four places to buy from us.
Auctions on LiveAuctioneers, live shows on Whatnot, fixed prices on Etsy and Mercari. Same archive behind all four, same certificate policy on everything that leaves here.
Looking for someone in particular?
Search by name, role, film or category. Results link straight to the collector page or to the live buy-it-now listing.
Every listing carries full photographs of the actual item, condition notes and price on the marketplace itself.
Read before you buy§ 04Collector guides
Learn the field before you spend in it.
The memorabilia blogEleven questions collectors ask us most, answered in full. Nothing here asks for your email — read what you need and go straight to buying, selling or authenticating.
Every guide ends in one action, and it is always the same three: buy from us, sell to us, or have a piece authenticated.
All 11 guidesCollecting one name in particular? Search the directory by star, role or genre for what they signed, what is scarce, and where the fakes are.
Browse by celebrity§ 05Proof
What buyers say, in their own words.
Reviews captured from Whatnot, LiveAuctioneers and Etsy. The screenshots are included so you can see them exactly as they were left on each platform.
Whatnot
“Great Items. Love it when Kevin tells stories about the celebrity and/or autograph. Love the Show.”
LiveAuctioneers
“Piece of the Past is the absolute best! I have purchased over 200 items from them and I love working with them!”
Etsy
“The craftsmanship is exceptional… As a collector of original and screen-accurate movie props, I am truly impressed with the quality and care put into this piece. The seller is always helpful, professional, and a pleasure to deal with.”
§ 06Milestones
A career you can date.
Kevin Martin has been in this field long enough that its history and his overlap. A short version:
See signing proof photos1984
Piece of the Past opens, dealing entertainment autographs.
Early 90s
Hosts the Charleston convention where Stan Lee sat at an empty table; pays Batman creator Bob Kane three dollars a signature.
1990s
First of the authentication books; "Fakes, Frauds and Forgeries" begins running in Autograph Collector.
1996
Price-guide editorial work begins — four editions over fifteen years.
6 years
The only dealer in the field to run a home-shopping show, "Showbiz Collectibles", putting the inventory on television six hours a week.
21 years
Largest dealer at the Hollywood Show in Burbank before buying the show outright — then booking the full casts of Back to the Future and Terminator.
Thousands
Private signings conducted, more than any other dealer in the field — including Sophia Loren, Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Ricardo Montalbán and Burt Reynolds' first Las Vegas signing.
4 years
Worked without charge alongside the head of eBay's fraud division removing forged listings from the platform.
§ 07The guarantee
What a Piece of the Past COA actually means.
A certificate is only worth the firm behind it, so here is the plain version. For most modern signed pieces we sell, someone employed by this company was in the room and watched the item being signed. We do not mail items to celebrities and we do not buy inventory from other dealers. For vintage material that no living dealer saw signed, the piece is examined by Kevin Martin, a court-certified expert whose published exemplars other authenticators cite.
Because our certificate has been widely counterfeited, the policy changed in 2019. What comes with your item now depends on its price:
Over $100
A fully illustrated letter of authenticity. The letter pictures your exact item, so it cannot be re-paired with a different piece.
Under $100
The red-bordered certificate card, hand-signed by CEO Kevin Martin.
The refund guarantee, with no time limit
If any one of the three hundred-plus dealers in the UACC Registered Dealer program states in writing, hand-signed on their own letterhead, that a piece we sold is not authentic, we refund the original purchaser — with no time limit. The UACC itself requires two such dealers to act. We require one.
One honest caveat: if you intend to submit a piece to a third-party sticker service, send it without our COA. We have documented that those services fail items carrying it, and per UACC policy we do not refund on the basis of their opinions.
Read the full policy
Two real certificates as issued. The illustrated letter pictures your exact item and carries a verification number we can confirm on request; the red-bordered card, hand-signed by CEO Kevin Martin, guarantees the piece for the life of the item.
§ 08Start here
Three ways in. Pick the one you came for.
01
Buy Autographs
Signed photographs, documents and screen-used material that a member of this firm watched being signed, or that Kevin Martin authenticated himself — listed on LiveAuctioneers, Whatnot, Etsy and Mercari.
02
Sell Your Collection
One piece or an entire estate. Outright purchase, consignment or auction placement — you get a straight answer on what your material is actually worth.
Go to Piece of the Past03
Authenticate an Autograph
Send what you have for a quick authentication or appraisal by a court-certified expert in entertainment memorabilia, not a scan-and-sticker opinion.
Go to Piece of the PastWould rather just talk it through? Kevin Martin's office takes calls on 951-258-4968.
See our auctions on LiveAuctioneers