There is no doubt that sports memorabilia is one of the best ways to connect on a more personal level with your sports idols. But, even more importantly, sports memorabilia can be considered an incredibly valuable asset with high yield potential and a low correlation to other assets such as the stock market.
Over the past years, world-famous sports memorabilia sales such as the Luka Doncic rookie card and the LeBron James rookie card (which were sold for $4.6 million and $5.2 million respectively) brought the spotlight on the importance of certifying the authenticity of these items.
On the other hand, due to the advent of eCommerce sports memorabilia trading platforms and the 142% increase in sports card trades that took place in 2020, the risk of dealing with forged Certificates of Authenticity (COAs) is more real than ever.
Luckily, technology can help. Here is how the new generation of technology-enhanced COAs can provide evidence of sports memorabilia authenticity. Let’s dive in!
A sports memorabilia Certificate of Authenticity is a document that comes with collectibles and valuable items to prove their authenticity and originality. Traditionally, COAs are paper documents that resemble ID cards and carry essential information about the product, such as provenance, serial number, date of manufacturing, and specifics such as whether the product is a limited edition.
COAs are essential to prove the authenticity of sports memorabilia, and they are necessary to prove the value of a certain item when the current owner decides to sell or trade their collectible.
Historically, COAs were nothing more than paper cards usually shipped or packed with the sports memorabilia item they are associated with. However, with the advent of eCommerce marketplaces and advances in technology, such traditional COAs have become far too easy to forge or copy.
That is where new authentication solutions can help.
Today’s COAs carry a multitude of authentication features, including holograms, passwords, and cryptography. What’s more, next-generation COAs are made even more secure and efficient through the use of technologies such as blockchain infrastructures, Smart Contracts, NFC, RFID, NFT, and IoT.
Obtaining a certificate of authenticity for sports memorabilia isn’t easy. Usually, buyers looking to invest in an authentic item will receive the COA with their purchase. These COAs are used to determine the value of an item upon selling or trading and should be sold together with the item they are associated with.
But what if you have a piece of sports memorabilia that does not have a COA?
A great alternative to boost its value and ensure that you can obtain a fair price upon selling it is to work with specialized authentication agencies. Depending on the type of item you are looking to authenticate, you might consider partnering with organizations such as PSA, Beckett Authentication Services, KSA Certification, or JSA Authentication Services.
Certificates of Authenticity may vary from one another and even be branded or customized to a certain item. Nonetheless, they do carry a range of critical information that describes the item they are associated with.
Most commonly, COAs will display a summary of the item’s transaction history, the date of production, the signature of the authenticator, and the stamp of the authentication agency that provided the document. Some other critical information you should look for in an authentic COA includes the item’s serial number and a unique hologram.
But how can you be sure that your COA is authentic? Especially if you are just getting started in the world of sports memorabilia investments, it can be hard to set an original COA to a facsimile apart.
Here are a few telltale signs to look for in a Certificate of Authenticity associated with a sports memorabilia item:
The stamp of the authentication company - research who stamped the document and ensure that the authentication company is a reputable one. Compare your COA to others in the industry - knowing what a COA for sports memorabilia should look like can help you understand if yours is an authentic one. Check the signature - the signature on your COA should be a real one, not created by stamps and autopens. What’s more, you should check that your document has not been ghost-signed.Looking at the sports memorabilia item itself, you’ll be able to better understand whether it is authentic or not. Look up the history of the object, look for evidence such as photographs (i.e.: a photo of a sports idol holding or using the item), and only deal with trustworthy and reputable sellers.
As seen above, there are many ways to reduce the risk that the COAs associated with the sports memorabilia object you have purchased is a fraudulent copy. However, to avoid this pitfall altogether, consider the benefits of investing in a technology-enhanced, digital-physical Certificate of Authenticity - such as the ones devised by the authentication experts at Authena - to verify the authenticity of your sports memorabilia.