Product Authentication

The caption above is easy to say but hard to verify and substantiate unless you really mean business. We hear and see it all the time. Individuals off the street and shop owners that have been in business for 25 years are always asking you to trust them. This alone should be a tip that something is not right. Every autograph has a history or a point of origination that should be documented as it transfers from point to point. Credible dealers and your serious collector will be prepared.

The baseball that Sammy Sosa signed for a collector on the street or after batting practice can be substantiated. Document the event by writing down the circumstances as to who got the autograph, the date, location, a list of people who were there, a ticket stub from the game, information and details about the game and for the icing on the cake, a photograph of the fan with Sammy. Pretty basic stuff even for a novice collector. The more information you have, the easier it is to buy, trade and sell your collectable memorabilia.

At the Gallery of Sports Art, Inc. we want you to trust us not just on our word but based on what we describe as a four-step process that we have implemented to verify and authenticate the autographs that we represent in our certificate of authenticity. The four steps include background information, witness verification, photographic proof and unconditional guarantee.

Background Information

The date, venue, city, state and if significant, even the time of day maybe noted within our certificates. This information provides important details that are crucial in substantiating that a signing session took place with a specific individual. They are important because we can’t control these factors when they are scrutinized for fraud.

Witness Verification

Employees from the Gallery of Sports Art, Inc. or authorized agents must be present at every signing session that we contract for with an athlete or celebrity or it simply does not take place. Our reputation is on the line when we certify and acknowledge the signing and every certificate bears our signature, name, address and phone number.

It is also our philosophy to include a complete list of individuals who have participated in arranging or have actually witnessed the signing session. We believe that this is the most important feature of our certificates. We refer to this feature as the third party factor. Listing an employee, agent, secretary, hotel staff or even a business competitor provides a third party witness that we can’t control when a signing session is scrutinized. The more people involved the less chance you have of being taken.

Photographic Proof

The final step in our authentication process is to actually record the signing session with a photograph of the athlete or celebrity with the specific item being signed. When possible we try to take a picture of the actual item. However, for multiple items signed at the same time that fall in the same category such as helmets, jerseys, football, baseballs and general flats we may utilize the same picture for all of the items signed that day for the authentication process. Individually, a photograph is merely a record of one item being signed at one point in time. However, the photograph when combined with the background information, and the witness verification step insures you that the number of designated items specified in the certificate were properly verified and signed.

Unconditional Guarantee

We stand behind our work and guarantee every autograph that we secure and present to our customers 100%. We are confident when we make this statement because of the process that we have instituted in the authentication process.