Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. used a few autopen examples during his career as a space hero.  These autographs are still floating around and some may find their way onto eBay.  Collectors should be aware of the risk with Alan Shepard signatures, especially with Apollo 14 and Mercury 3 (Freedom 7) items.

This Guide will reproduce the known examples of his autopen autograph.  This comes from the archives of Space Autograph News, an underground and out-of-print newsletter published in the 1990s.

An autopen is a machine-generated signature used widely by celebrities and politicians in the previous century.  These fake autographs were sent by the thousands in response to fan mail.  Early NASA astronauts were known to use autopens, so cautious collectors always watch out.

Fortunately, if you can identify autopens, you'll eliminate a lot of risky material from your portfolio.  I've prepared an index of 104 early astronauts who have used autopens in my Guide "Fake Autopen Directory of NASA Astronaut Autographs".

http://reviews.ebay.com/Fake-Autopen-Directory-of-NASA-Astronaut-Autographs_W0QQugidZ10000000001388198

I have also prepared 104 different Guides, one for each early astronaut, to document their known examples of autopen signatures.  Use these individual guides to check your own space autographs for autopens.

Let me know if you have any updates to this Guide, and I'll keep adding to it.  If this Guide is helpful, please take a moment to leave feedback.  I'm trying to become one of eBay's best Guide writers, and I need your positive vote.  Thanks to the 109 people who have viewed this site as of November 25, 2006.  And a bigger thanks to the four people who have left feedback.  That means a lot to me!