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Just realized a lot of those 'ancient' artifacts on eBay are total fakes
I was talking to a guy who restores old pottery for museums last week. He said over half the stuff listed as 'Roman' or 'Egyptian' on auction sites is either modern reproductions or pieces cobbled together from broken fragments. He showed me a fake amphora that had the wrong clay texture for the region. Made me wonder how many of the artifacts people buy online are real versus just convincing fakes.
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xena_murphy14d ago
Over half? That's insane. I figured maybe 10-20 percent were fake, not more than half. No wonder so many people get burned on those sites.
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Figure the guy might know what he's talking about, but also wonder how you even start telling the real from fake without being an expert yourself. Like is there a dead giveaway that even a beginner could spot, or do you basically need a degree to not get ripped off? Seems like a lot of people just trust the seller's photos and stories without really checking the details. Makes me think the whole market for ancient stuff online is way more sketchy than people admit. What's the easiest way to test an artifact at home without destroying it?
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