Does that come with a COA?
by Kim Poor
Its a question common to dealers.
 By its very title, a 'Certificate of Authenticity' (COA) should prove authenticity, right? Many collectors, especially those new to the hobby, assume they do.
Truth be told, a COA is only as strong as the credibility of its issuer. Many dealers outright refuse them, and are insulted that a collector would be so naive as to demand a piece of paper to underwrite their reputation.
Unfortunately, this policy often results in a lost sale.
Of course, anyone with a computer and printer or even a nearby Kinko's can create a convincing COA. Forgers, in particular, must find it a simple exercise, and presumably are delighted that it often ices a sale.
DiMaggio and eBay
Consider the case of the "J. DiMaggio Company" COAs: first surfacing on eBay a few years ago, along with authentication by Don Frangipani, "FBI forensic expert," these certificates were most often seen with sports stars', Beatles', Neil Armstrong's, or any other big-name celebrity's autograph.
It reached a point where these "authentic" signatures were so obvious for what they really were -- forgeries -- that reputable dealers and experienced collectors alike pleaded for help from eBay. The online auction company responded with their standard "hands off, buyer beware" policies and threatened banishing any collector who complained.
The U.S. Government saw the problem a bit differently. The FBI's Operation Bullpen showed J. DiMaggio and Frangipani* would authenticate anything for a requisite fee, and indeed operated a large-spread and highly profitable forgery ring.
In response, eBay quickly instituted a policy of "no items with DiMaggio or Frangipani" COAs.
Ironically, before being pulled from the market, these certificates had come to serve their exact opposite -- identifying inauthentic autographs. No matter how convincing the signatures, if a DiMaggio or Frangipani COA was attached, the sale would go sour.
* A well-known autograph dealer visited Frangipani (who was never named in the Operation Bullpen indictment), and discovered he was the victim of identity (and reputation) theft. Indeed, Frangipani was an FBI forensic specialist, but apparently had one of his blank certificates copied and used repeatedly for these clandestine purposes. It is unclear why he did not pursue the perpetrators, nor issue a public repudiation. He seemed unaware of the furor.
UACC
That all said, it still seems that most collectors want that piece of paper, rather than seek out a seller's reputation or become more experienced themselves.
We at Novaspace issue a nice COA with each of our autographed products, as well as our limited edition art prints. Why? Because it is required by the UACC (Universal Autograph Collector's Club), to which we belong.
Can anyone join the UACC? Yes, unless you are a recognized scoundrel. It's like the Better Business Bureau -- they have guidelines and benevolent intentions, but in reality, anyone willing to pony up the membership fee can join and use the logo.
We joined the UACC because we saw fewer rascals as members than in competing groups. Truthfully, we feel our reputation helps the UACC and vise versa.
COAs - who benefits?
 Another reason we issue our certificates is as a means of communicating information about the subject, such as our space art prints, which often require some sort of explanation, and an "about the artist" statement. Some states also require a COA with limited edition art.
At our private astronaut signings, we issue a simple COA with a photo of the astronaut signing something at our gallery; but this is as much braggadocio as proof of authenticity.
We also sell some of our items wholesale to third parties (such as to the Kennedy and Johnson Space Centers) and a COA helps them resell our products (at the same time serving to advertise Novaspace to their customers).
 Of course, not all COAs are superfluous. Sometimes a COA signed by an astronaut is all that distinguishes a flown artifact from a ground-based souvenir. In these cases, it is best to get the final authority of their signature on the dotted line.
Ultimately though, an autograph must speak for itself. No certificate of authenticity can replace a knowledgeable collector.
The sooner collectors realize this, the sooner dealers can cease their issue.
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