CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY often referred to as the ‘COA’.
All British Sports Museum signed products come with a Certificate of Authenticity verified by the company’s Managing Director, which legally guarantees that the item has been hand-signed by the celebrity in question. The certificate includes security features to avoid duplication and protect your investment. British Sports Museum is an AFTAL-registered company, which means that the memorabilia that they sell is open to the scrutiny of over 100 AFTAL dealers, and they are satisfied that the company only sells genuine signed memorabilia. We're also part of Collector Approved who work with the country's top collectible dealers insuring items sold are 100% legitimate.
Understanding your COA.
1. AFTAL Online COA unique identification number.
This is a unique number associated to your product and this is registered on the Online COA website, therefore were you to lose your paperwork, you still have a digital trial to the certificate via www.onlinecoa.co.uk
2. Hologram seal
A security hologram to prevent duplication. This seal shimmers and animates when tilted and has been incorporated in every Certificate of Authenticity since 2021.
3. Company Number.
Why is it so important that the company number is on the certificate? Unfortunately, from time to time, companies move premises, sometimes they get sold, change names or even go out of business. The company number gives you access to the history of the company, the directors, and how to contact them, so should the contact details change you can still trace the new company owner or old directors.
4. Our full contact details.
When you buy a piece of Sports Memorabilia, the most important thing is to have the assurance that the item is genuine, and if you were to discover it wasn’t, you would be able to take action. Most COA’s that are attached to fakes will not have the contact details of the company that issues it, why? Because selling fake signatures is fraud, and this crime carries a custodial sentence. Because of this, you’ll see many certificates with just a Joe Bloggs signature and a Gmail/Hotmail type email address. It is very important that your certificate includes full contact details such as a physical address, company website, and email address.
5. AFTAL & Collectors Approved registered
The British Sports Museum is a member of AFTAL (Autograph Fair Trade Association Ltd) and Collector Approved (https://www.collectorapproved.com)