Certificates (COAs) are easily the most misunderstood area for the ill-informed autograph buyer. “Who to Trust, how do I know its genuine”Firstly it is important that a COA is only as good as the issuer.
Nowadays most dealers issue a COA irrespective of whether an item is genuine. On closer inspection many of these certificates do not even have contact details on them! Remember also that anybody can set up as an autograph dealer and become an “expert overnight”.
In most cases COA's are probably worthless. If a seller is consciously selling forgeries he will feel no shame also issuing bogus certificates. The key to the authenticity of any autograph if you did not actually obtain it yourself is traceable provenance. If traceable provenance has gone cold or been forgotten the buyer relies solely on the expertise of the seller.
COA’s issued by most dealers are usually worded such as “In our opinion” and “full lifetime money back guarantee if this item can be proved to be other than stated”. Many questions arise from statements like these.
a)How do I prove an item is not authentic? Do I go to an expert? How do I find him? How do I know he is? Will his expert opinion invalidate another expert’s opinion? Who is the best expert? Result: Never ending litigation
b)How much is authentication? There really are very few genuine experts around prepared to put their knowledge to the test and sufficiently respected by all for their opinion to really be decisive in litigation. Cost £50 per item upwards or percentage of value of item. The true test is whether a major auction house will accept their opinion sufficiently to place a lot.
c)Be aware that photographs at in person signings could be used on many occasions.
d)Holograms are useful to match an item with a certificate to ensure the autographs has not been tampered with. However they are no proof that the original autograph is authentic.
In truth a COA is only as good as the issuer. It is NO guarantee in itself of authenticity. Its main purpose is to act as a reassurance to the buyer and a record of where purchase was made.
Most COA’s would not stand much scrutiny. Indeed some of the worlds best known Dealers do not even issue them, preferring to simply reimburse the customer if at anytime they express any sort of dissatisfaction with their purchase. Reputation is far more important and litigation is always messy and confrontational.
In conclusion look for traceable provenance on all certificates if possible as this dilutes simple opinions. COA’s are only useful if supplied by well known respectable dealer for the second point of sale.
We hope all this advice is useful to you and you are able now to have more confidence in making informed decisions about buying autographs.
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