For Private Collectors
Protecting the value of your archive means transitioning away from easily forged paper certificates. This guide outlines best practices for acquiring and securing high-value assets.
1. Demand Cryptographic Proof Before Purchase
The burden of proof rests on the seller. If you are purchasing an asset valued over $5,000, a traditional paper COA is insufficient. Paper COAs can be purchased on the black market or convincingly printed at home.
Before wiring funds, request the item's Registry Hash. Use our Verification Tool to confirm the asset's existence on the Ethereum mainnet. The seller must be able to prove ownership of the wallet that holds the corresponding NFT.
2. Transitioning Your Existing Collection
If you currently hold a significant archive authenticated only by traditional means, you are holding unrealized risk. We recommend a phased transition:
- Audit High-Value Assets: Identify the top 20% of your collection by value. These are the prime targets for sophisticated forgery and should be verified first.
- Schedule a Batch Scan: Utilize our Estate / Archive Batch service. We deploy a mobile scanning unit to your vault, ensuring assets never leave your custody during the digitisation process.
- Burn the Paper: Once an item is cryptographically anchored, the old paper COA is obsolete. While you may keep it for historical novelty, the blockchain record is the sole source of truth.
3. Storage and Environmental Controls
Our cryptographic hash is tied to the physical state of the item at the moment of scanning. Significant physical degradation will alter the spectral topography and cause future hash verifications to fail.
Use our Ink Decay Calculator to understand the half-life of your specific assets. We mandate:
- • Museum-grade UV-filtering glass (99% block minimum).
- • Strict humidity control (45% - 55% RH) to prevent substrate warping.
- • Acid-free, lignin-free archival backing boards.