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Am I the only one who got burned on a fake Viking axe?
I dropped $150 on what the seller swore was a real 10th century Viking axe head on Etsy last spring. Got it in the mail, took it to a local archaeologist at the university here in Duluth, and she laughed saying it was a cast iron reproduction from the 1970s. I wasted that money and felt like an idiot. Has anyone else fallen for a fake artifact online?
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martin.paige2mo ago
Man I felt that in my gut. I got burned on a "medieval" silver coin on eBay a few years back, paid $200 for what I thought was a 12th century English penny. Took it to a coin shop and the guy just shook his head and said it was a cheap replica from some gift shop in Romania. It's a really crummy feeling, makes you question everything you think you know about spotting fakes.
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grant.sam2mo ago
That $200 Romanian gift shop coin probably fooled more people than just you, which is how half the "antiques" on eBay work.
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nina_johnson861mo ago
Hold up though, I gotta push back a little on the whole "makes you question everything you know about spotting fakes" thing. In my experience, getting burned once is actually a great teacher if you let it be. I bought a "Viking" bronze brooch a few years back that turned out to be a tourist piece from a Polish flea market, and yeah it stung. But that mistake forced me to actually learn the basics like checking for tool marks, knowing what patina should look like under a loupe, and asking sellers for provenance documentation before I hand over cash. Your average online seller counts on people not doing that homework, so now you know better for next time. Take this with a grain of salt but that $200 lesson might save you $2,000 down the road.
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