I was sort of thinking about the Salvador Mundi "Da Vinci" too.
There is a recent Podcast by Michael Lewis that dealt with this and seems apposite.... It talks about the incentives for corrupt authentication in what may have been the ultimate collectible of the past several years.
https://atrpodcast.com/episodes/the-...nardo-s1!7616f
Some other stray thoughts.
--Authentication (and grading) is market driven like everything else and PSA occupies a strong position in the market ... (Good for them but maybe too good for them?)... As I think it was Kenny Cole who wisely noted several posts above, collectors would be mad if they took longer and charged more .... On the other hand the pricing structure is supposed to mean that we can expect more scrutiny when the stakes are higher (based on the value of the submission although this is a bit murky sometimes).
Maybe when the stakes really are high we should recognize that PSA/SGC/BGS are worth what they can do for the price charged -- Maybe consumers should demand and be willing to pay more then. (They are still bound by their guarantees)
Maybe if the card is really important we should demand a "higher authority" i.e. a more expensive one or more than one.
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The Graders
I've never been that adept at predicting grades -- others have a much better eye. Still, I have no idea how anyone could ever detect that wax was removed or some other things that are part of this debate ... From the grader's perspective how can they be at fault ? They are innocent dupes unless they take into consideration who the submitter is ... Of course if you are intent on deceiving the graders that's really easy to get around.
Submitters, Deceptive Sellers
Its another thing to knowingly submit it under false pretenses and then to sell it once the submitter gets it past the grading authority (knowing that the grading company was "deceived") -- the same holds true of accepting the consignment knowing the grading company was deceived.That furthers the deception.
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