Posted By:
edacra
I went on a blind date with a young lady who worked for S*****y's, and got a bunch of dirt on how authentication is handled at even the most respected auction houses.
Long story short, and no real shock, she confessed they mostly rely on guess work, and have knowingly sold works they suspected were fake simply because it would have been a no-no to question the provenance. She rattled off a list of major museums and the fakes in their collections as if it were common knowledge. Everyone involved with the sales knew these major works were fake, but the sale went through, and no recourse was taken.
The same person who handles, and tags the Eames prototype chairs one day, might handle the Ty Cobb bat the next day. One person will unload and process huge trucks of material in a few days time. The difference is an auctioneer that specializes in sports material should be able to stand behind the auction - it's not one of a kind, there are experts in the field who have handled or even owned one, and really that's more then you can say for many high end artifacts on the market. If you tried to sell a masterwork painting and authenticated the canvas rather then the painting itself - people would worry. My guess is auction houses must have really good insurance.