Are Autograph Certificates of Authenticity Worth Anything?

A certificate of authenticity is a written opinion. That is not a criticism, it is the definition — and it is how the documents themselves are worded by the firms that issue them. The paper adds nothing to the signature. It records that a named party examined the item and reached a conclusion.

So the question "is a COA worth anything" has one honest answer: it is worth exactly what the party behind it is worth, and nothing more. A certificate from a firm with forty years of trading and a clean complaint record means something. A certificate from an entity that exists only as a logo on that certificate means nothing at all, and is trivially produced.

• It is not illustrated. A certificate that describes "a signed 8x10 photograph" can be paired with any signed 8x10 photograph, including a forged one, for as long as it exists.
• It carries no number, or a number nobody can check.
• The issuer cannot be found — no address, no phone, no trading history, no field.
• It was issued from a scan. Nobody can authenticate an object they have not handled.
• It has no consequence attached. A certificate with no refund guarantee behind it costs the issuer nothing to be wrong about.
• It is the only evidence. Certificates are a supplement to provenance, not a substitute for it.

There is a second-order problem too: the certificates of reputable firms are themselves counterfeited. Piece of the Past's own certificate is among the most counterfeited in the industry, which is precisely why its policy changed.

Picture the actual item

An illustrated letter showing your exact piece cannot be re-paired with a different one. This is the single most important feature, and the cheapest to provide.

Be traceable

A verification number the issuer can confirm on request, against a record they keep.

Name a real examiner

A person, with a field, a history and a reputation that a wrong opinion would damage.

Carry a consequence

A stated guarantee with teeth. If being wrong costs the issuer nothing, the certificate is decoration.

Ask what happens if the certificate is wrong. Most issuers have no answer; the ones who do usually cap their exposure at the fee you paid them for the opinion.

The guarantee attached to a Piece of the Past certificate is stated plainly and has no time limit: if any one of the three hundred-plus dealers in the UACC Registered Dealer program states in writing, hand-signed on their own letterhead, that a piece sold here is not authentic, the original purchaser is refunded. The UACC itself requires two such dealers before it will act. This firm requires one.

One published caveat comes with it, and it is better known before a purchase than after: if you intend to submit a piece to a third-party sticker service, submit it without the Piece of the Past certificate, and note that per UACC policy refunds are not issued on the basis of those services' opinions. The reasoning, and the firm's testimony on the subject, is set out on its authenticity page.

• Keep every certificate with its item, and record which is which in your inventory.
• Photograph both together, so the pairing is documented independently of the paper.
• Do not discard an old certificate because a new opinion exists. The chain is the point.
• If the issuer has vanished, treat the piece as uncertified and have it examined on its merits.
• Never buy a certificate on its own, and never buy an item because the certificate looks impressive.