What Barry Said
Jay:
I think part of the reason "The" Wagner continued to set record prices was because each new owner held out hope that the rumors were, in fact, rumors and they would actually be acquiring the finest known, unaltered Wagner in the world.
If it is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that this card has been altered, it doesn't diminish its notoriety, but it does diminish its actual technical grade (for what that is worth). To those who buy something for the sake of saying they own the thing that is acknowledged by everyone as being the best (subjective valuation, I know) something in the world, it will have lost some of that edge.
I probably phrased my previous price comment poorly. It's still beautiful, it's still collectible, and it's still way out of my price range, but I don't think the next owner will raise the price bar on it yet again.
Kevin
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