From 1980 through to about 1992 I took a table at gun shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. There were occasional thefts at these shows, but my memory tells me that nothing of much consequence was stolen.
However, amongst the dealers who attended these shows two things were taken as given:-
1) collectors steal; many collectors regard theft as a legitimate way in which to add to their collections, these thefts are sometimes uncovered many years later, after the collector dies, sometimes the thefts are never uncovered.
2) no other dealer was to be trusted as far as you could kick him.
In respect of #1 above, my specific field is the Javanese keris, and within keris lore, and Javanese belief, one of the legitimate ways in which to obtain possession of a keris, or any other magically charged item, is by theft. The rationale is that if the magically charged object does not wish to remain with the thief, it will not, however, if the thief is intended to have custody of the object, it will stay with him.
Several months ago I suffered a considerable loss through theft. If and when I am certain of the thief's identity, this person will indeed experience magic.
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