What Artifact Authentication Costs: Fees and Turnaround

There is no published rate card for artifact authentication. This is what the market generally looks like, what drives the differences, and how to work out whether a fee is worth paying on a given piece.

The common fee structures

• Per piece, photographic review. The most common arrangement for individual points and tools. The collector sends a defined set of photographs and receives a written opinion.
• Per piece, in-person examination. Higher, because it takes the expert's time under magnification and raking light, and typically involves shipping and insurance.
• Per lot or per collection. Frequently discounted per item. If you have thirty pieces, ask — the per-piece rate for a batch is usually well below the single-piece rate.
• Hourly consultation. Used for complex questions, disputed attributions and provenance research.

What actually drives the price

Four things, mostly:

• Photographic versus physical. Physical examination reveals things photographs cannot — patina inside flake scars under magnification, weight and feel, deposits in recesses. It costs more because it takes longer and carries shipping risk.
• Whether a certificate is issued. A documented, signed opinion intended to travel with the piece costs more than a verbal or informal one.
• Difficulty. A common point type in a familiar material is quicker than a rare form, a restored piece or something with a contested attribution.
• Turnaround. Many authenticators offer expedited service at a premium. Standard turnaround is commonly a few weeks and lengthens around major shows.

What a fee should buy you

Whatever the price, a useful opinion states what was examined, what methods were used, what the expert concluded, and — importantly — what they could not determine. An opinion that asserts a conclusion with no reasoning is worth very little, regardless of who signed it or how the certificate is printed.

Ask before you pay: does the fee include a written opinion or only a verbal one? What happens if the verdict is negative — is there a partial refund, and do you still receive documentation? Is return shipping and insurance included? Reputable practitioners answer these plainly.

When it is not worth it

Authentication is not free money. If a piece is worth less than the fee, and you are not selling or insuring it, the honest answer is that the fee buys you peace of mind and nothing else. That is a legitimate purchase, but recognise it for what it is.

The cases where it clearly pays:

• Before buying anything significant — the fee is a fraction of the loss you are insuring against.
• Before selling, where documentation reliably lifts the price and widens the pool of buyers.
• For insurance or estate purposes, where an undocumented collection is difficult to value and easy to dispute.
• When a piece has been represented to you as something specific and expensive.

One rule worth keeping

Be cautious with anyone who authenticates a piece and then offers to buy it. The conflict is obvious and it does not need to be malicious to distort the outcome. Authentication and acquisition should be separate transactions with separate people.

Compare authenticators — profiles list services offered, and many include pricing and turnaround directly.