It has been SIGNED with a black permanent marker, in-person by singer MICHAEL STIPE (a nice full autograph), guitarist PETER BUCK, bassist MIKE MILLS, and keyboardist KEN STRINGFELLOW (who has added "2008") on September 9, 2008 in Helsinki, Finland.
The watermark is not on the actual item.
Higher resolution images of the item are available upon request.
Please message me with any questions you might have before purchasing.