Collecting authentic game used memorabilia can prove to be a tough feat. It is very important to understand the difference between team issued memorabilia and memorabilia that was actually used in an official game. One piece of such memorabilia that is often the center of confusion are jerseys.
When examining various jerseys it is first important to determine whether or not the tagging and material are correct for the particular team, player, and time period. This will determine whether it is a replica, either store bought or fan made, versus a jersey that was in fact team issued for a particular game or season. To determine experts will compare the jersey in question to known examples of jerseys that have already been deemed as authentic by leading authenticators such as PSA/DNA. Most authentication companies, such as MLB Authentic, will place a serial numbered hologram on the jersey which pairs with a paper COA as well an online database to verify that the particular jersey has in fact been authenticated by that particular company.
Next, after determining that the jersey was in fact issued by a particular team during a particular season the amount of wear and damage are examined. Jerseys that show little to no wear were more than likely not game used, but only team issued. Players are issued more than one set of jerseys so this may be an example of one that was issued but that never saw any play. At this time any documentation or photos/video footage of the player wearing the jersey during play are looked at as further provenance. The more provenance and wear from play a piece of game used memorabilia has to back its authenticity, the more collectors will want to add it to their collection.
