{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Stamp Certificate

Expertization is the process of authentication of an object, usually of a sort that is collected, by an individual

authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...

or a committee of authorities. The expert, or expert committee, examines the collectible and issues a certificate typically including: * A statement of: ** Whether or not the item is authentic ** Identification of any damage to the item ** Identification of any repairs to the item ** Identification of any forgery or faked parts of the item * A photo of the item Some experts apply a mark or signature to the item attesting its genuineness. Expertization is particularly common with valuable philatelic items, some of which are so often forged that they may be unsaleable without it.

See also