Many dealers will provide a “Certificate of Authenticity” (COA). There is nothing wrong with this practice since many customers will feel more content with their purchase when they receive one. However, I will not deal with them because they are utterly meaningless and a waste of your and my time. You see, anyone can claim to be an “expert” and hand out a COA, but they give the buyer no legal recourse against the seller if an item turns out to be fake -- since it is only an opinion, and not a guarantee. A small percentage of here-today-gone-tomorrow sellers capitalize on the misconception of COAs by handing them out like candy when they pull their scams like naming a night star after a loved one, or sell counterfeit celebrity autographs, fake Egyptian artifacts, pirated software, “antique” bronze swords, and yes, even faked fossils. You know that a COA for a fossil purchase is worthless when a clear identifying photograph and a detailed description of the item is not on the certificate. Instead, I provide a GUARANTEE of Authenticity (GOA), which is what you really want. The GOA does give you legal recourse should an item prove not to be what I claim it is. You create the GOA yourself when you print my auction page (which contains the item description, photographs, and guarantee terms). And unlike other dealers who charge you for it, or limit it to just 6 months, my guarantee is for as long as you own the piece, or until you no longer have the Guarantee of Authenticity in your possession -- whichever comes first. But because half of my customers are fossil dealers, I limit the guarantee to the original purchaser.
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