An infamous art forger's son faked his father's paintings, complete with certificates
Han van Meegeren became notorious for forging art. Then his son went one layer deeper, producing fakes of his father's own work and supplying provenance certificates to go with them. The episode shows a basic weakness in proving anything is genuine: the paperwork meant to vouch for an object can be forged too.
Authentication means proving a claim true, such as a person's identity or an object's origin. It differs from identification, which merely states who or what something is. The word traces to a Greek root meaning real or genuine. It also differs from authorization: one checks that you are who you say, the other checks that you are allowed to do what you are attempting.
Broadly there are three approaches. The first leans on a trusted witness, such as someone who watched a piece of sports memorabilia being signed, or simply a reputable shop whose shelves imply the goods are real. The second compares an object's features with known genuine examples: an art expert studies brushwork and signature placement, an archaeologist runs carbon dating or chemical analysis, and a document examiner checks whether its ink and paper existed at the supposed date. The third relies on external paperwork, like certificates or the chain of custody that courts require for evidence, which can be forged, perjured or simply separated from the item and lost.
Comparing features works mainly because a flawless fake demands expertise, invites mistakes and usually costs more effort than it earns. Money exploits that logic, packing banknotes and coins with fine engraving, watermarks, distinctive textures and holograms that trained handlers can check quickly. Legal penalties for forgery add further discouragement, depending on the odds of being caught.
Makers of consumer goods now pile on defences: ink that shifts colour when tilted, marks visible only under ultraviolet light, microscopic coded particles checked against a database, even labels embedded with traceable DNA. A plain QR code offers weak protection on its own, but paired with a copy-resistant pattern it can be verified by smartphone. For written messages, seals, shared passphrases and electronic signatures do the same job.
Source: Authentication
