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Posted By: runscott

All three examples you gave are displayed and viewed by millions. Also, each is unique - I don't think the importance of "uniqueness" can be over-stated. If there was only one t206 Wagner, in 'poor' condition, and it was twenty times bigger than an actual t206 card and hanging on the wall at the National Museum, viewers would be screaming for restoration. Or, if there was only one t206 Wagner, and it was 3-dimensional, hundreds of feet tall and planted in the river in front of New York City (in poor condition), we would want it "shined up" and the cracks filled (what an image for the immigrants! Also, probably more appropriate than a French statue). Now, I have to disagree on the Sistine Chapel thing - I liked it dirty and original, but I also have an aversion to these partially sandblasted 500-yr old cathedrals that are half-gray, half-tan. And I think a massive painting of the t206 Wagner image on the roof of a cathedral, though distasteful to many, would look okay in 'poor' condition as opposed to 'near mint'.