Authentication

We receive thousands of requests to authenticate posters every year and in most cases the information is available on our website. If you just purchased a Woodstock poster, a Radio City Music Hall poster or something similar, please look it up on our site first. In many cases you will find the information there that will allow you to tell the difference.

Unfortunately, we do not have the time or resources to respond to every request to authenticate posters purchased on eBay, Craigslist, garage sales and flea markets. As a result, we no longer authenticate or render opinions on posters purchased elsewhere.

The five fakes most commonly seen by us are:

1) The Woodstock poster, both in 18″ x 24″ and 24″ x 36 sizes. 95+% of these are fake. Look here for information about how to determine if they are real or not: http://www.classicposters.com/Joan_Baez/poster/Art_of_Rock/3.1

2) The Grateful Dead Radio City Music Hall poster. Unfortunately, these are difficult to tell apart unless you are very familiar with them. Our best advice is to only purchase these from a very knowledgeable dealer who will guarantee the authenticity.

3) The closing of Winterland “Blue Rose” poster with the Grateful Dead and New Riders of the Purple Sage. Here is the information: http://www.classicposters.com/Grateful_Dead/poster/Art_of_Rock/4.38

4) The AOR 3.116 Hawaiian Aoxomoxoa second print poster bootleg. Virtually every one of these we see is fake, including those sold by somewhat knowledgeable dealers. Here is the link for the information on these: http://www.classicposters.com/Grateful_Dead/poster/Art_of_Rock/3.116

5) The AOR 4.50 Led Zeppelin at Oakland Stadium poster. Originals of this piece are rare, fakes are not. Look here for information: http://www.classicposters.com/Led_Zeppelin/poster/Art_of_Rock/4.50

If you need help authenticating a poster that is not listed on our website, here is the procedure:

1) Look twice on our site to see if the information is there.

2) If you don’t find the information, drop us an email regarding the poster. Include an image so we know what poster we are dealing with.

3) In most cases, we will be able to give you guidance, but we make no guarantees as to authenticity without seeing the actual poster.

4) DO NOT send us any posters for authentication or sale without asking us first. We will not ship them back without return postage if you do so.

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