The new ebay money maker

[William1]

Well this was definitely an ebay money maker: ORIGINAL WW1 BRITISH ARMY TRENCH MAP OF THIEPVAL WITH TRENCH SIGN , DATED 1916 | eBay
This appears to be Goldie / Vongold under a new name, judging by the style of photos, characteristic use of words and location. Unfortunately ebay are no longer showing previous user IDs so it's not possible to tell which one it was.

It is appalling that someone's actually paid that much money for an obvious piece of junk that's not even very well done. Photo attached for reference when the listing expires.



I see he has also listed an effigy of his own head with a suitably welcoming expression, well it's remarkably close to my mental picture of him: WAX WORKS TUSSAUDS WW2 RAF BATTLE BRITAIN PILOT EX MUSEUM HEAD FOR FLYING HELMET | eBay

[HARRY THE MOLE]

It doesn't even look as though he used paint to do the sign either.

[HistoryMan]

Oh my lord ! Surely something can be done about this

I do notice how they have only provided limited provenance, if they provided fraudulent provenance then they would leave them selves open to prosecution for fraud I suppose, clever


Big question is, is not 100% original ???

[HistoryMan]

.

.

[William1]

Big question is, is not 100% original ???

You ARE joking, right?

I think he's covered himself legally by describing the trench map as original but not specifically the sign, which could be knocked up with a bit of rotten fence and a felt tip pen in minutes. To my mind it's an obvious fake but that can't be proved either way, so consider the following: It's plainly a piece of low-quality soft wood. If it's got that much rot, why didn't it rot away entirely over the course of a century? That green mould looks very recent - if so, why would a trench sign that survived so long suddenly be neglected just enough to cause selective damage? Why isn't there any damage to the front? Add in the clumsy attempt at Art Nouveau script, the seller's track record of "improved" items, his unwillingness to sell it under his known names and the careful wording of the title, and draw your own conclusions.

As a surviving piece of the Western Front, a believably original trench sign would be an extremely desirable item and most people in the militaria field are well aware of this. It's a brave collector who buys one without meaningful provenance and without handling it first.

[HistoryMan]

You ARE joking, right?

I think he's covered himself legally by describing the trench map as original but not specifically the sign, which could be knocked up with a bit of rotten fence and a felt tip pen in minutes. To my mind it's an obvious fake but that can't be proved either way, so consider the following: It's plainly a piece of low-quality soft wood. If it's got that much rot, why didn't it rot away entirely over the course of a century? That green mould looks very recent - if so, why would a trench sign that survived so long suddenly be neglected just enough to cause selective damage? Why isn't there any damage to the front? Add in the clumsy attempt at Art Nouveau script, the seller's track record of "improved" items, his unwillingness to sell it under his known names and the careful wording of the title, and draw your own conclusions.

As a surviving piece of the Western Front, a believably original trench sign would be an extremely desirable item and most people in the militaria field are well aware of this. It's a brave collector who buys one without meaningful provenance and without handling it first.

No I am not joking at all, it was merely a question to encourage a debate. Its dangerous to write off any item without proper consideration

Of course its highly unlikely its an original sign, but who knows, I have never handled one myself.

Perhaps its been in a loft or a damp shed for a century, but I repeat, unlikely.

I agree, one would have to be a brave person to splash that amount of cash on an item such as this without solid provenance

" Sign and nap purchased in 2001 in Amiens France at a early morning street market in the spring ,both came together sign is fragile as shown , this is all I can tell you but believe both to be correct "

The above is a clever way of avoiding any liability, is basically stating, sold as seen and buyer accepts all responsibility

[William1]

Its dangerous to write off any item without proper consideration

A fair point which I hope I addressed in the post above. Some items take less time to properly consider than others and I'd feel very uncomfortable with £1K invested in that object. A commercial forensics lab would soon establish its age and such places do exist, so whoever's got that would be well advised to get it to one. I once found myself in a similar situation with a different seller. When I mentioned this possibility he suddenly became very cooperative and refunded the money including both lots of postage.

Of course I might be totally wrong and the seller might have sold it in all sincerity from the depths of a good honest heart. We can all make up our own minds but I know what I think.

[Jerry B]

Well this was definitely an ebay money maker: ORIGINAL WW1 BRITISH ARMY TRENCH MAP OF THIEPVAL WITH TRENCH SIGN , DATED 1916 | eBay
This appears to be Goldie / Vongold under a new name, judging by the style of photos, characteristic use of words and location. Unfortunately ebay are no longer showing previous user IDs so it's not possible to tell which one it was.

It is appalling that someone's actually paid that much money for an obvious piece of junk that's not even very well done. Photo attached for reference when the listing expires.



I see he has also listed an effigy of his own head with a suitably welcoming expression, well it's remarkably close to my mental picture of him: WAX WORKS TUSSAUDS WW2 RAF BATTLE BRITAIN PILOT EX MUSEUM HEAD FOR FLYING HELMET | eBay

I noticed this seller had some iffy looking items in the manner of our old friends and I also wondered if it was them He is in the same area of the UK.

[SMP]

Rodent Control Officer -

[Composite]

From "Spanmil" on eBay I understand.....