Abstract: An on-line method for issuing a certificate of authenticity for a collectible to a collector who has personally witnessed the collectible being signed and a verification system for authenticating a suspected signature on an object by scanning the suspected signature and transmitting to a central computer where the suspected signature is compared with a set of authentic reference signatures based on input as to the shape of the object. In embodiments, the collector provides information on the collectible via the Internet to a central computer which stores the information for future reference by potential purchasers of the collectible. The collector must sign a statement on the certificate of authenticity that declares, under penalty of perjury, the information that the collector provided regarding the collectible is correct. Subsequent purchasers can access the central computer via the Internet.