Provenance, what is it worth?

Jim McDougall · 16th May 2012, 04:17 PM

Well made point David, in current times with the volatility of the world economy there has been dramatic increase in investing in material goods such as antiquities, and the escalation of prices to ridiculous levels has brought out the worst in circumstances for collectors. Naturally this has completely muddled the field with 'ambitious' items and devious sellers who have reached remarkable skills in thier treachery.
While it seems patently obvious to most of us who have long been 'in the game', there are constantly new enthusiasts joining us who may not be as aware as many of us with years of experience. I think the term stupid as used in Swordfish's post is simply borne out of the frustration we all feel or have felt with the often maddening events and circumstances that reflect poor research, devious description and presentation etc.

As always, I think more of the thousands of readers out there who read our pages and are often new or not yet that well informed, but read here in hopes of advancing thier knowledge from more experienced individuals.
To them I say read carefully, learn all you can, and caveat emptor!

All best regards,
Jim

16th May 2012, 04:17 PM	#5
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,192	Well made point David, in current times with the volatility of the world economy there has been dramatic increase in investing in material goods such as antiquities, and the escalation of prices to ridiculous levels has brought out the worst in circumstances for collectors. Naturally this has completely muddled the field with 'ambitious' items and devious sellers who have reached remarkable skills in thier treachery. While it seems patently obvious to most of us who have long been 'in the game', there are constantly new enthusiasts joining us who may not be as aware as many of us with years of experience. I think the term stupid as used in Swordfish's post is simply borne out of the frustration we all feel or have felt with the often maddening events and circumstances that reflect poor research, devious description and presentation etc. As always, I think more of the thousands of readers out there who read our pages and are often new or not yet that well informed, but read here in hopes of advancing thier knowledge from more experienced individuals. To them I say read carefully, learn all you can, and caveat emptor! All best regards, Jim