Sheriff Hank Keough: I... I... I never heard of a crocodile crossing an ocean.
Hector Cyr: Well, they conceal information like that in books.
Lake Placid, 1999
Right after “Are they real?” one of the top questions we get is “How do you know all this stuff?”
Both good questions! For the answer to “Are they real?” please click here… for the answer to the second question, read on!
The short answer? Well, books… and an extensive personal research collection and decades of real world experience.
People have been fascinated by the treasures of past civilizations from before the invention of the written word. Generations of historians, philosophers, collectors and curators have left us thousands of volumes on history, visual arts, metallurgy and mining, societies and cultures, religions and spiritual beliefs, coins and currencies, monetary systems, geography and world exploration – just to name a few.
It is to these books that we turn when creating our legendary highly detailed Certificates of Authenticity. We are the Gold Standard with our multi-page, full-color Certificates of Authenticity. Researching and writing each certificate is a labor of love, sometimes months in the making, because every certificate we create tells the rich history of the treasure it describes… who created it, why and how. How it was used, who used it, how it was lost, and how it was discovered. What is its place in history, and how did it help to create the world it lived in, and now lives in? Our documentation packages are an average of 3 pages long, and some Certificates are 8-10 pages, taking months to research.
Our library extends from the writing of the ancients to modern scholarly works that shed light on every aspect of the items we conserve and present. Only through extensive research, understanding of times and places throughout history, and a keen eye for historical and modern bias can an accurate picture of a coin or artifact emerge. It is this hunt for meaning that makes what we do so fulfilling, and so challenging.
Like you, we love history, and never tire of learning more and making connections over time and distance. Our library is an ever-expanding collection of the latest research publications and treasured antique books that are artifacts in their own right. So, if you ever come for a visit, you may just have to move a book or two (and a cat or two) to find a comfy spot. But, we guarantee some amazing true life stories for the effort!
