A forgery expert typically works with a number of different agencies and organizations to help identify forgeries. These experts can work for law enforcement agencies to help find forged money and documents, as well as providing advice on how such forgeries were made and could be detected in the future. This type of expert might also work for a museum or an auction house to help find forgeries of works of art or ancient documents and sculpture to ensure the authenticity of works sold or collected. A forgery expert can also work with lawyers to provide expert testimony in legal cases that involve forgery.
Someone who becomes a forgery expert typically has a background in either creating or finding forgeries, and will usually have a particular field of expertise. This can include the creation of authentic and false documents or legal tender, a background in art history and artistic techniques, or experience working with various legal documents. A forgery expert typically works in one of a number of different fields to help various businesses and organizations in identifying authentic documents or creations.
One common place a forgery expert is likely to work is in law enforcement or within similar government agencies to help find forgeries of legal documents or currency. An expert might work within the national treasury for a country and work to help identify fake money that comes in, to ensure that it is properly removed from general circulation. This expert could also work with law enforcement agencies to help teach officers to identify forgeries and to devise new forms of detection and similar countermeasures.
A forgery expert can also work for private organizations to help identify types of forgery. This could include artistic forgeries or historical forgeries that someone could create for fame or to sell for a large profit. Forgeries can range from historical documents, such as treaties or the diaries of famous figures, to works of art or sculpture that might be sold for a great deal of money. An expert can help these organizations identify forgeries and avoid acquiring one that could lose money or tarnish the reputation of the organization.
Law firms will often work with a forgery expert who provides expert testimony in a criminal or civil case. This expert will often advise a lawyer on how to build a prosecution or defense, and may also testify in court as to his or her opinion regarding evidence in a case. Such testimony can greatly impact the outcome of a case, and an expert with a history of success in legal cases can become highly sought after.