This was a perceptive remark on the web:
This is a very tough question. The first thing you have to understand is that violin dealers (who frequently authenticate instruments) make their money on margins. They, like everyone else, want to buy cheap and sell dear. They have a certain incentive to withhold correct authentication in order to acquire it cheaply. On the other hand when selling they are very generous with "authentication". It is hard to be in both positions so some dealers have acquired fine instruments that they withhold authentication on then have other dealers sell them with "authentication" and share the margin.
Authenticators who are not in the sales chain typically charge a fee that can be a significant percentage of the appraised value. But you could pay the money and take the certificate to another dealer who would only sneer at it.
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