On Monday, shortly after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a copy of the Bush v Gore decision, signed by the justice, was put up for sale on eBay. The nature of the posting, which in one place misspelled the justice's name as Reinquist and offered a money-back satisfaction guarantee, led Wonkette writer Holly Martins to question the document's authenticity. Gelf talked to the seller, Tim Miller of FlatSigned.com, to figure out what was going on.

Miller acknowledges that many signatures on eBay are fake, especially those of people whose signatures are in great demand. J.K. Rowling's John Hancock, for example, sells for anywhere between $500 and $1000, according to Miller. Crooks often wait for famous people to die, which is why there are currently many Rehnquist signatures for sale on the site, many of them dubious, he adds. But the signature on his Bush v Gore is authentic, he assures Gelf. "We personally sent this to him in D.C.," says Miller. "We have connections." He adds that Rehnquist signed several copies of the decision, as did Clarence Thomas and Sandra Day O'Connor. Unfortunately, he was not able to convince the justices to all sign the same document—the legal equivalent of having the signatures of the '87 Mets on a game ball—because "They did not feel comfortable doing it that way."

Famous people often charge for their signatures. As mentioned by the Washington Post last year in an article about Supreme Court justices' oustide business interests, O'Connor was paid $4,950 for 1,500 signatures in 2003 (a feat that Miller estimates would take around four hours for a typical signer working without a break). Miller says FlatSigned paid Gerald Ford $50,000 for him to sign 3,000 copies of a limited edition of a book the company is selling on its website. Rehnquist, though, did not charge Miller for the 10 signatures he sent back. "He did it as a courtesy," says Miller.

FlatSigned has already sold a few copies of the decision with Rehnquist's signature affixed, including one that went for auction at $1,200, before the justice died. Miller acknowledges that prices of autographs do go up when the signer is involved in major news—"There is a bubble" he says, but he adds that collecting autographs is like buying stocks in that the market is unpredictable.

But he is positive that all of his autographs are the real deal. "Guaranteed or triple your money back," he tells Gelf.