On-card autograph
An on-card autograph is a signature written by the player directly on the card's surface, as against a signed sticker applied later. Collectors also call it hard-signed, and many prefer it.
Also called Hard-signed autograph.
In more detail
On an on-card autograph the ink sits on the card itself. Because the signer has to sign the cards and send them back to the maker, signed cards sometimes miss the date a product is packed, and CGC's glossary explains that a redemption card then goes into the pack in their place.
Collectors weigh the two kinds differently. CGC calls sticker autographs less desirable than on-card ones, and a 2011 Cardboard Connection dictionary uses the slang sticker drop for a signed sticker put on a card in place of the hard-signed kind.
Look closely at the signature area in photos. A 2009 beginner's glossary on Upper Deck's site describes a sticker autograph as a signature on a clear label applied to the card's surface, while a hard-signed card has the signature placed directly onto the card. A listing should say which kind it is.
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