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Hi all. Its been yonks since I posted here but I was determined to share this story somewhere. It applies in this case to antiquities but could equally apply to coins. I collect antiquities (when the finances allow), and about a year ago I was on the hunt for a good condition bronze age sword- rare as hens teeth I know. I came across what looked to be a pristine, almost too pristine, example in a Scottish auction house, it's estimate being a tiny fraction of what it was worth. With these kind of items, provenance is vital, and I did my damnest to contact the auction house with a view to being helped out on this matter and was only met by quite rude replies which told me nothing. Anyway, the auction came and the sword sold for about five times it's estimate, yet still far far below it's worth and very affordable. The complete lack of provenance put me off completely and I didn't participate. About three months later, I had a lovely sword offered to me by a well known UK antiquities dealer and hey presto, the same sword. I thought this gave it an air of legitimacy and gave it another chance, and so myself and the dealer tried our utmost to establish some bit of provenance but getting absolutely nowhere and the Scottish auction house droned on about 'sellers privacy' (it was long gone and he or she had got their money, so why?), so for the second time, I passed on it. Around a month later I see the sword being offered by TimeLine auctions at a hefty estimate. This left a bad taste in my mouth. I know it's passed through the hands of 'experts' since I saw it first, but I felt angry at the way TimeLine just bought it for peanuts and stuck it in their next auction as quickly as possible just to make a bit of profit. They unconditionally guarantee all of their items genuine, yet how on earth can they be sure this was? I'm sure this happens with hundreds of items all the time, but after that experience I think I'll be passing on TimeLine auctions for the near future. Just thought I'd share this story just to make you all aware- just because something is offered by a 'reputable' dealer doesn't guarantee its authenticity.