Authentication

Authenticate-my-Autograph

The AMA is a trusted professional Third Party authentication service.  We work with a team of professionals who are experts in the industry and have over 70 years of experience between them.  In response to widespread counterfeiting, forgery and piracy of autographed collectables, the AMA provides a professional opinion on your collectable.

If you have a signed item that you would like to have examined and authenticated, please email the item as detailed below.

Online

Please email a large good quality image (in jpg. format) of the item to authenticate@amaonline.com.au along with any other valid information that you may have including, where and when the item was signed, a copy of original Certificate of Authenticity, or any other relevant information.   We will then respond to you and detail the process for authentication.

Sending your item by mail

Once we have responded to your  initial online inquiry and have confirmed we will be providing a further review of the item, we will ask you to carefully and securely package your item and send it by registered post to our office.

Australian Memorabilia Association
PO Box 3201
St Pauls 2031 NSW
Australia

If, in our opinion, the item is deemed genuine, it is photographed, logged and registered into our online AMA Registry database.  All registered items have a unique alphanumeric number assigned to them which allows collectors to verify their items by simply entering the registration number into our website. Incorporated into each items profile is who signed the item, the type of item, the type of writing device, and a digital picture of the exact signature on the item.  Any interested party can verify authenticity online even if items change hands in the future.

Furthermore, for private collectors, the item is labeled with an invisible ink which contains a sequence specific to the AMA.  A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) is issued with a matching unique alphanumeric number and a matching number is placed onto the item.   Once the review is complete, the item will be returned by registered post or courier at the owner’s expense (no glass or framed items, please).  If insurance is required, it may also be requested at the owners expense.

Fees

  • Authentication for 1 autograph on one item          Starting at $70.00 plus GST
  • Authentication for 2-5 autographs on one item     Starting at $95.00 plus GST
  • Authentication for 6-10 autographs on one item   Starting at $135.00 plus GST
  • Authentication for more than 10+                           TBA

Note: discounts provided for multiple authentications and collections.

Our Reviewers

Mark Handel – Expert

Mark Handel who is originally from Philadelphia, started collecting baseball cards in 1968. Over the years his enthusiasm for sport grew and he became a passionate sports memorabilia hobby collector.  Mark has owned and operated several businesses in the USA and in Australia.

In 1999, Mark developed a turnkey operation for sports memorabilia with the highly successful Sports Online/Wide World of Sports Memorabilia which quickly became Australasia’s largest online retailer of sports memorabilia with partnerships amidst Network Channel Nine and News Limited. The business worked very closely with all the major sporting codes in Australia to produce high quality memorabilia.  During that time, Mark conducted frequent signings with such greats as Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Joe Frazier, The Australian World Cup cricket teams of 2003 and 2007 along with numerous cricket legends and many other sporting heroes across a range of sports.  He has valued countless collections for dealers, collectors and insurance companies and has over 25 years experience in the memorabilia market.

Mark sold his business interests in 2012 to pursue other interests and now provides his professional independent services to the Australian Memorabilia Association with his expansive knowledge of the memorabilia industry in the areas of sport, entertainment and history, particularly across Australia and the USA.