Reference collection

A reference collection is a collection of objects maintained for the purpose of study and authentication.[1] Reference collections are generally large undertakings maintained by institutions; instead of having a single representative of each object, they will typically have multiples, so as to illustrate variations and, sometimes, provide samples for comparisons. For human-created objects such as postage stamps or coins, a reference collection may also include an assortment of fakes and forgeries.[2]

Since the purpose is study rather than personal gratification or display, a reference collection values damaged objects as much as the pristine; in fact, organizations maintaining reference collections will encourage members to donate their damaged or poor-condition items to the collection.

In biology, reference collections, such as herbaria are a source of information about variations of populations within a species.[3] They are also the repository of holotypes used as the official definition of species.[4]

In philately, reference collections are critical to expertization, since the characteristics differentiating authentic stamps from reprints, fakes, and forgeries are often too subtle to be described verbally.[2]