Another step forward in building trust
Enhancing the auction authenticating process
Pictured above are Justin Miller, co-owner of Miller & Miller Auctions, and Dan Matthews, founder of The Authentication Company (TAC).
A new relationship between Miller & Miller Auctions and The Authentication Company (TAC) will be adding another layer to the guarantee that antique advertising sold by the auction house is the real deal.
“Right from the start we’ve been guaranteeing everything we sell,” says Justin Miller, co-owner of Miller & Miller. “But with values skyrocketing in what has become essentially a high-stakes game, this added authentication process will simply amplify the trust factor – especially for the first-time buyer.”
The Illinois-based TAC, founded by owner Dan Matthews in 2018 after decades of being in the auction business, has developed a system for authenticating antique advertising items and assigning them unique serial numbers and a hologram sticker. Miller & Miller will now be adopting this system for some of their more challenging consignments. Their upcoming Petroliana & Advertising and Soda and General Store Advertising sales on September 7 and 8, 2024 will be the first to be TAC authenticated.
“This is one of the hottest categories at the moment,” points out Matthews. “Some of these pieces can go for $10,000, $20,000 – even more – so buyers need to be confident they’re getting what they think they’re getting.” His approach to authenticating is always the same, always circumspect, especially since fakes have been circulating for more than 50 years. “Everything’s guilty until proven innocent,” he says.
And even though half the time he’s able to spot a fake just by seeing a photo, in order to get a TAC serial number and hologram sticker, an item must be inspected in person.
TAC focuses on authenticating petroliana, motorcycle, porcelain signs, licence plates, automobilia, soda signs and gas globes, offering potential bidders peace of mind. “Once something is authenticated you don’t have to worry about what you’re buying,” he says. “There’s no reason to hesitate.”
Matthews believes Justin Miller has become an accomplished authenticator himself, a skill he developed over time using research, science, consulting experts, and of course experience – all of which hone instinct. Working with TAC will be especially useful for those harder-to-confirm pieces, which Justin estimates account for roughly 10 per cent of potential consignments. Plus, there’s the challenge of authenticating never-before-seen pieces coming to market.
In the course of their careers, both men have seen plenty of fakes. “You see them all the time – at auctions and at shows,” says Matthews. And there may even be pieces “in grandpa’s collection” since they’ve been made for so long. Over the past 50 or so years, all sorts of reproductions have also been made in India and shipped to North America, he adds.
Some advertising fakes are what you call ‘fantasies’, which are basically new signs made to look old, but not based on any sign in particular. ‘Reproductions’, on the other hand, are new signs made to look old and copy an existing sign or antique advertising item. Matthews once met with a Texas man who had collected 100 advertising signs, 95 of which he identified as fake. Justin recalls in Miller & Miller’s early days going to see a gentleman in Canada with a collection of American door pushes after he’d sent photos. Seeing them in person, he started getting “a bad feeling” but took them away for possible consignment. Once back at the auction house, he got researching and consulting and soon realized 70 per cent were fake. The entire lot was shipped back to the man.
“You never know for sure if someone is trying to pull a fast one or is an unwitting victim themselves, but the bottom line is Miller & Miller has never sold reproductions or fakes and we never will.” Justin says their late father, Jim Miller, a renowned antique dealer, instinctively knew you live and die by your reputation. “You’re always buying the dealer, not just the product.”
With so many auctions being conducted virtually now, especially since the COVID pandemic, it’s even more important for buyers to be able to trust they’re bidding on an authentic item, particularly when there are so many fakes out there. Asked if there’s any potential for conflict of interest when the auctioneer is the one both authenticating and selling an item, Matthew insists, “Not if you’re guaranteeing what you’re selling.”
One of the most challenging things to authenticate are porcelain signs (although there are also really good fakes in tin and other categories). Since porcelain signs are essentially glass on metal and glass shows virtually no age, Matthews uses a device called a spectrometer to analyze the properties of the porcelain to determine if it contains pre-war ingredients. That, along with other important clues, help to verify a piece.
“Nowadays there are so many online conversations and research forums discussing antique advertising. Everybody has an opinion, but that’s not necessarily reliable,” notes Justin. “This authentication process takes one big thing out of the equation and gives buyers the confidence they need to move forward and bid with trust.”