SS WWII Bugle & Banner

[BOB COLEMAN]

Gotta be REAL careful with auction houses, a whole lack of specialist knowledge and a whole lot of sales pitch there!

Very true. Except in the rare occasion when a specialist firm guarantees authenticity of an item, if you buy a fake, you are stuck as the terms are always everything is sold "as is." An aquantance years ago in the late 70's purchased a fake signature Japanese sword in an auction of high end swords at Sotheby's. He was able to obtain a refund after he submitted the blade to a Japanese shinsa and received a rejection as fake signature.

[MD Helmets]

Auctions are like grab bags mixed with great stuff and total junk, except you get to see what's in the bag effort you grab it. I have snagged some nice helmets from online auctions and I have also seen some fabricated helmets go for ungodly amounts of money. As with everything, do your homework and ask for more photos if needed. Most auction houses will accommodate you with extra photos, and in the end I made it worth their time. Others provided more photos that showed me an item was junk. I, too, saw this one on proxi bid.

[big ned]

It bears all the hallmarks of one of the Indian made fakes, as does the utterly crappy trumpet. Try blowing that and all you'll get is a hernia. This stuff is produced in increasingly vast amounts on the Indian subcontinent.

Regards, Ned.