To grade or not to grade?

[gavinrendar]

Hey! I'm pretty new to collecting. I have an old 1955 topps Hank Aaron #47 card from an old friend. Trouble is, he gave it to me with the corners trimmed of with scissors (breaks my heart)! The corners are each rounded off with about 1/2 to 3/4 cm missing. I know it will get a terrible condition rating if I send it in to grade, but I'm considering it just to have it "authenticated." Other than that, the card is pretty clear, no major creases or wear. Some questions if you would be so kind.

1. Should I grade it, how much would it cost?
2. Who should I send it to if I do?
3. Is the card worth anything?
4. Random: Does grading authenticate autographs obtained in person? if so how could they possible do that?

Thanks! I'm looking forward to being a part of the card collecting community.

[CompleteGibberish]

It WILL come back as altered and ungraded.

1. No
2. See above
3. Altered with the corners gone, it is a 1 if someone is interested. $20.00 as a set filler or nostalgic reasons, but no collection value per the general hobby populace.
4. Yes,because a person cannot help but maintain specific stroke patterns in their signature. Write your name 3 times fast,slow and from an angle. You will see what I mean. Specific sigs are so popular that there are data bases with dozens or more as well as known fakes.
I know you can search and find Joe Dimaggios sig attached to an FBI file on the web, with 12 or 14 signings of him side by side. Will give you another example of how repetition produces consistencies :)