Expert valuations and certificates

Raybaudi is severe and rigorous in its treatment of forgeries, fraud and any form of counterfeiting.

The Raybaudi Experts Studio is located in its own offices in central Rome. Our offices are protected by sophisticated alarm installations and anti-burglary systems. To protect the value of our assets and offer our customers the highest possible guarantees we are insured against theft by Lloyds of London. The studio encompasses an extensive library, a considerable stock of archive photos, a large store of materials held for comparison purposes (which has been administered and built up over 70 years), as well as an extensive collection of forgeries and counterfeits.

The principles that we have always followed are:

  • rigorous treatment of anything that is fraudulent or otherwise done through artifice (repairs, recolouring, re-gumming re-perforation etc.), especially for stamps on letters;
  • an emphasis on high-quality stamps, but without neglecting rarity values.

In brief, our services (the charges for each are listed under “our fees"), consist of:

  • using the best instruments for the purpose, meticulously examining every element that makes up the postage stamp or philatelic item (paper, drawing, colour, margins, perforation, gum, postmark, postage frank, etc.);
  • a signature if all seems to be in order;
  • a quick or more elaborate diagnosis, which may lead to the issuance of a photographic certificate.

As for classifications, experts are not always unanimous in their opinion. The reason is that they often find themselves obliged to make valuations based on editions of various catalogues that are not always identical or appropriate. For the classification of certain particularly difficult categories (such as the Sardinia IV, the large Hermes Heads of Greece, GNR and Fiume overprints and, generally, all overprinted postage stamps) Raybaudi Experts has for years been the preferred point of reference for a wide international clientele.