[benjulmag]

Provenance to me does not require tracing an item back to its original owner. To me it entails documenting an item's existence to a period when there would not have been any incentive to make a duplicate for commercial sale.

Of the other 47 or so known Wagners, none to my knowledge come close to looking as pristine as this one, and none are believed to come from an uncut sheet. That may not raise red flags to others, but it does to me. Comfort level is a subjective matter. Speaking only about mine, for this Wagner it is not as high as for the 47 others.

It is my opinion the hobby does not fully appreciate the ability of forgers to make replicas that pass visual inspection, and this ability is not something that has not existed for many years. Sophisticated collectors I know personally going back to the 1970's have expressed concern about fake Wagners appearing. While I will not mention the auction house by name, I know for a fact (I was there) that in the late '80s an established one with a good reputation tried to sell a fake Wagner. When some collectors pointed it out to them (it was not a good fake), the AH replaced it with another (better) fake which they did not pull and which sold for tens of thousands of dollars. Again, I know that; I was there. For the area that is my expertise, 19th century memorabilia, I feel pretty confident there are slabbed cdv's whose authenticity range from suspect to plain fake. For some of them, I discussed it privately with some other long-time collectors, none of whom at the time agreed with me, though now some are beginning to develop serious doubts.

I personally have been defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by purchasing fake memorabilia that so was so expertly made that it fooled the entire hobby, and was revealed only through forensic examination. The HOF in fact had on display a sister counterfeit item for many years. To this day I marvel at the knowledge and skill required to make the counterfeits. Just a few years ago I returned a six-figure piece I purchased from a major AH after establishing, once I had it in my possession and could compare it to other items I had, that it was a fake. The underbidder, who I know, told me if he bought it it would still be hanging on his wall, and this person is a long-time sophisticated collector.

In the end this is something I think we will agree to disagree about. I believe the issue of counterfeiting is a lot more prevalent and serious than people believe. And I do not think raising the issue as it applies to this Wagner is indicative of an irrational and illogical analysis.