What is a Certificate of Authenticity?
5 min read
A Certificate of Authenticity — a COA — is a document, issued by the artist or their representative, that states a work is genuine and records the facts that make it so. For collectors it is the paperwork that protects value; for artists it is a simple, powerful way to sell with confidence.
What a good COA includes
A certificate is only as good as the facts it commits to. At minimum, a strong COA records:
- The title, year, medium, and dimensions of the work
- For editions: the edition number and size (e.g. “#3 of 25”)
- The artist's name and signature or mark
- A unique identifier for the specific piece
- The date it was issued
Why it matters
Authenticity is what separates a collectible from a decoration. When a buyer can prove what they own — and pass that proof on if they ever resell — the work holds its value. A COA also protects you: it fixes the edition size on the record, so a limited edition stays limited.
For prints especially, a certificate is the difference between an open, infinitely-reproducible image and a genuine numbered edition a collector will pay for.
Paper vs. verifiable certificates
A printed card in the envelope is better than nothing, but it can be lost, forged, or separated from the work. A modern COA is verifiable: it has a public page anyone can check, so a future buyer doesn't have to take anyone's word for it.
ManageCanvas issues certificates like this — each has a public verification page, provenance transfers to the buyer automatically at the point of sale, and a delivered certificate stays valid even if you later edit or remove the work.