Glad to contribute.
I have known a number of fakers over the years, either "improvers" to antique weaponry, (who just somehow can't leave a good piece alone. They sharpen edges that were not previously sharp, add semiprecious or precious stones, enhance or add names or inscriptions, etc.), creators, who make things from scratch, and, the most dangerous, those who buy marginal pieces that are honest and reverse engineer an interesting provenance to lock several things together that supposedly tell a story using period business cards invoices, photographs, or other things. They, in turn, will sell these conglomerations at gun shows for surprisingly big money. An example of this type are the "Vampire boxes". A nice, period box, a nice old crucifix, old bottles for holy water, an old bible or other holy book, a wooden stake or two, some garlic, an old (and not too valuable pistol of the"period" and maybe a few cast silver bullets thrown in for good measure.
I live in a city that through books and movies, somehow has been seen as a home for vampires in the 18th and 19th centuries. There have never, repeat, never been creations like vampire boxes here, or anywhere else.
The point of this diatribe is to state that sometime fakers can make good money from their deceptions, and see it as a challenge. They do not think of it terms of the cost of materials and billable hours, straight business, train of thought.
A late, and highly respected author of a guide to antique guns asked me at a show about a particular individual who was selling such trash for big money. Apparently things were starting to catch up to him. As we walked around, the person in question just happened to walk down another aisle a row or two away!
I pointed him out, both of us astonished that the timing could not have been more perfect. And he had one of his cohorts with him as well! It seems that a number of East Coast collectors who had been taken by this bum were starting to look for him.
Anyway, over breakfast the next day, the conversation continued, he asked if I possibly had a photo of him. No, why would I?
Well, in the city paper that morning they had a little coverage of this show, and in a picture, guess who was front and center?
Not long after that, this person was not to be seen at shows and was rumored to be selling used cars or siding somewhere a thousand miles away!
But, as that was seven or eight years ago, I have since heard rumors that he's back, the statute of limitations having run out.
The old axiom, "you can't kill bad grass" definitely applies here.
I again apologize for the length of this story, I hope that everyone out there in the collecting world will be on guard for this.
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