If you like collecting, and the thrill of the hunt, try searching eBay for sports memorabilia.
I want to say up front most of the items on eBay are genuine, and most of the big-buck memorabilia there are authentic as well. The few others do make things interesting, though.
For real excitement, start looking for Babe Ruth autographed baseballs. You will find three kinds of these on eBay: real, fake and you’ve got to be kidding.
By the way, as a benchmark, here is a genuine Babe Ruth signature cut from a letter.
Sometimes the real and the fake can be confused. One guy had a ball for sale that was obviously old. (Sometimes I think the perfect BR ball is brand new, yet is signed by a man who passed away in 1948. This is a tough item to find, but somewhat easier on the internet than in the real world.) The signature looked good in dark fountain pen, but the ball did not look like the typical 30’s Babe item. I refused to buy it, at quite a low price. That was a big mistake on my part. The nervous owner, nervous because it looked different, had the ball authenticated. It is an early WWI era (1914-1919) Babe Ruth signed ball, and the value corresponded to its rarity: $12,000. (I had taken a wild guess and gotten that value right.)
There was a nice fake ball, too that I have no image of. It was boldly signed in black pen. Unfortunately, that pen was a Magic Marker ™ which did not exist while the Great Bambino was signing. This auction was cancelled by eBay. Phooey.
I have a classic example of the collectible you’ve-got-to-be-kidding
Babe Ruth autographed baseball. Incredibly, this item was described as an authentic Ruth ball signed in pencil. Why the Sultan of Swat would sign in pencil I have no idea. No fountain pen handy?
But anyone can guess why an amateur forger would do this: you can re-sign, redraw every darn letter till you get it right.
Unfortunately, after I pointed out the item to eBay officials, they stopped the auction. I still think it would make a great gag gift. Like that 1972 fruitcake that keeps being regifted, it could be the Christmas gift that wouldn’t die.