Whether it is historical documents, antiques, sports memorabilia, or works of art, collectors know that for the item to be valuable it must be authentic. In other words, it has to be the real thing. The Leonardo da Vinci painting “Salvator Mundi” is over six hundred years old and sold for $450 million at an auction in 2017. As recently as 1958, the same painting sold for sixty dollars as skeptics were convinced it was merely a print and not the real thing.[1]

The 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card remains the most valuable baseball card in the world. Even in poor condition, this card will bring in over a million dollars. There are only fifty to 75 genuine Wagner cards in circulation. Because of how much it is worth, Old Sports Cards, a website business dedicated to the hobby of collecting card…