Authentication

Here at BC Boots UK we pride ourselves on having our stringent quality control and authentication procedures, in order to ensure that every item available on our website is 100% genuine and authentic. Our founder started out as a private collector of match worn football boots over a decade ago, our company was formed years later as a product of the sheer passion which came naturally with the hobby, and this is deeply embedded within the core of our brand ethos.

Our years of experience within the field of match football boots has grown our reputation into one of the most, if not the most, reputable sellers of match worn football memorabilia in the world.

With every item we have available here, there are a number of differences which set them apart from variants that are sold commercially in retail stores, which makes them truly unique, one-off pieces of footballing memorabilia.

We have an 8-step Authentication Process, in which our in-house team follow meticulously to check over all items that come into us here at BC Boots UK. Each stage ensures that the match-worn or match-issued item is scrutinised thoroughly, reducing the risk of forgery and enhancing the item's value and credibility in the market.

Authentication Process

Stage 1: Initial Examination & Provenance Verification

1. **Documentation Review**: Collect all available documentation related to the item, such as letters of authenticity, match programs, player statements, or previous auction details. This step helps establish the item's history and ownership.

2. **Provenance Verification**: Verify the chain of custody from the original owner to the current owner. This often involves checking sales records, obtaining statements from reputable sources, and ensuring the item's history is consistent and credible. If the item comes to us directly via a club source, verification of that particular staff member's role & position within the club.

Stage 2: Physical Inspection

3. **Material Analysis**: Examine the fabric, stitching, and construction of the item to ensure it matches the materials and manufacturing techniques used during the specified period. This may involve comparing the item with other known authentic examples, if any have passed through our stock before or are elsewhere in the market.

4. **Wear and Tear Assessment**: Analyse signs of use such as stains, scuffs, or fraying. Match-worn items often show specific wear patterns that correlate with match events or typical usage by the player. Sometimes this step may not deliver full clarification if the piece in question was only lightly worn by the player.


Stage 3: Photographic & Video Comparison

5. **Photo Matching**: Compare the item with high-resolution photographs and video footage from the match in question. Look for unique identifiers like scuffs, stains, patches, or specific design features that can definitively link the item to a particular game.

6. **Event Verification**: Correlate the wear and unique features on the item with specific events from the match, such as a player’s fall, slide, or a specific action that would have caused the observed damage or wear.

Stage 4: Final Autientication & Certification

7. **Compilation of Evidence**: Assemble all documentation, photographic evidence, expert opinions, and provenance records into a comprehensive dossier stored within our system.

8. **Certification Issuance**: If the item passes all stages of authentication, issue a certificate of authenticity detailing the item's details, supporting its match-worn or issued status. Once all members of the team involved in the authentication process have come to a unanimous decision, the certificate will be signed off by our director once reviewed.

COA

Certificate of Authenticity

With every item available here on our website, we provide an individually serial numbered BC Boots UK Certificate of Authenticity (COA) to accompany each one. The COA is in place to provide a lifetime warranty for the authenticity & genuine nature for the item in which it relates to.

We hold in-depth, extensive knowledge about each item we have available and are happy to answer any questions our clients may have.

The COA itself will state specific details about the item in which it is in correlation with, and is only valid when hand signed by a director of BC Boots UK.

The Guarantee

We have a wide network of contacts within the football industry, with whom we work closely together with in order to acquire the best match worn & issued pieces of football memorabilia to be able to make them available to our clients. All items, prior to reaching our website, go through our rigorous, multi-stage, authentication process with our in-house team who hold expert knowledge in this field.

Pleas enote - if the condition of the item(s) is/are altered after receipt, such as wearing/using a pair of match worn or issued football boots where the condition of which is stated in the item description here on our website & internal database, this will invalidate the COA and the warranty in which it provides.

The guarantee in which our COA provides not only confirms the item's authenticity, it's source & it's genuine nature, but it allows for you as a collector to sell your piece of memorabilia on in the future should you wish to do so with much more ease whilst maintaining or increasing it's value, as the warranty will transfer to the new owner.