Posted By:
David SmithHere we go again, (hypothetically) throwing history to the wind for the almighty dollar.
OK, so let's say you go to a flea market in Pennsylvania and buy an old picture. Then, when you get it home, you want to take it out of it's old, dirty frame. While taking the picture out, you notice some old paper between the backing and the picture. When you take that "old paper" out and unfold it, you find you have a copy of the Declaration of Independence.
You are thrilled by this discovery but don't know if it is real. So, you take it to whoever an authority is and they declare the piece is real. Now, do you have it professionally framed and conserved or do you cut it up into little pieces and insert it into sports card packs???
Don't get me wrong, I am all for making money but there is a right way and a wrong way and to me destroying history is the wrong way. As far as originality goes, just ask automobile collectors. They have a saying that goes something like, "A car can be restored 100 times but it is only original once".
David