[RPKESQ]

All though I agree the right thing to do is to expose the fraud, it leads me to question why anybody would give credence to a second hand capture document, as they are so easily faked well enough to fool any expert without chemical analysis.

Like so very much in the collectible world everything from casino chips, coins, firearms, documents, ancient artifacts and art is faked and has been faked for (in some cases) thousands of years.

High grade American and Browning shotguns, Colt pistols, Winchester rifles, "SS" Lugers, capture firearms and the easiest of all, "dug-up" relic firearms are probably 75% to 90% fake.

Anybody who thinks these are hard to fake is only deluding themselves. I recently saw a entire collection of High-grade American Fox shotguns (9 pieces) all were fake. The proud owner paid over $150,000 for plain grades altered to look like high grades. Real value for the collection, about $10 -$15 K.

The process is simple, buy a low grade Fox SxS, research the Fox company archives for build records, pick a missing serial number, install high grade wood ($1500), have the action shaped and engraved in suitable manner ($1000), refinish barrels and metal work ($1500-$2000), result a Fox that will sell for $15K to $20K easily. Pretty good profit margine.

I have seen pieces that have been in Museum collections for 75 to 100 years that were fake. I have personally handled 4 different examples of the Remington-Rand 1911 serial number 1.