Appraising, evaluating from photos, how reliable is it?

[Jean]

Pete,

 

I would say: Moët Henessy (wait and see)

[Sam Elliott]

Hell.....I'm still trying to determine which is the real turtle and which is the fake....

[Pete Klein]

Jean -- I hope you will be at DTI next year-- Mon Dieu -- I have so much catching up to doooooo!!! LOL!!!

[Bugyotsuji]

Quoting a friend here: "I have seen this scam before. They pay Forbes for the advertising and now they use the thread to legitimate the sword in some way using phrases like "this has been deeply discussed with the President of xxxx" every second the thread is open and somebody is giving opinions means few more dollars for them."

[kusunokimasahige]

I would like to add the following sentence, slightly modified from Classical literature : Timeo Danaos et Dona Ferentes......

 

BEWARE OF RUSSIANS/UKRAINIANS/LITHUANIANS [and above all when] BEARING GIFTS !!!

 

KM

 

Postscriptum:

 

The only sword perhaps worth 80.000.000 US$ is 天叢雲剣 which is kept in the ISE shrine, if at all there is

anything there, since no one but the caretaker has taken a look at its box/packaging apart from those who

saw its packaging in 1989 when Akihito became Tenno, and no one in recent history has ever seen the

sword itself.....

 

Now whether or not the owners believe it to be a genuine sword

is besides the point. Fact is and remains they are pushing to sell it as an original.

And that is enough for me, this in my opinion should be investigated by Interpol.

 

[With eternal thanks to Jean]

[Sabotage]

By the way, the reason you got no response when you wrote to Forbes is because you didn't address your concerns to the right person. You're not looking for the editor, you want the advertising director. You may also want to mention the following phrases: scam, false advertising and liability.

 

I have worked for newspapers and magazines for 13 years now, and trust me, they can be held liable for false advertising if some dumb schmuck buys this without getting it authenticated first, based on what they read in Forbes. Likely this advertorial came camera-ready and all they had to do was slap it on the page, so they (the publishers) didn't pay any attention to what it said, other than to spell check it.

 

Also, in case anyone feels the need to buy objects from magazines based on "articles," here are a few things to consider. Paid advertisements that resemble news articles should say either "Paid Advertisement" or "Advertorial" which is really just a fancy way of saying "we're trying really hard to make this look legit, but buyer beware." Also, one look at that font and point size screams "we want you to see this and we needed to fill the space! This isn't a real article!" Typically, reputable publications have a style guide they adhere to pretty strictly that puts "editorial" fonts in one category and "advertorial" fonts in another, so it's always easy to spot.

 

Also, I wonder if it ever occurred to the owners that people don't advertise Ming dynasty vases or the Koh-i-Noor for sale in Forbes.

 

But this post is actually useful in that it does raise the issue of just how reliable a photo appraisal is and the need to get someone to look at something in person if you're going to slap an outrageous price on it. And of course, who you're having do the appraisal and what their qualifications for your particular object are. I wouldn't get a jeweler to appraise my furniture.

[Eric H]

Andrey Trepshin

 

I can only shake my head about your long-winded explanations on the uniqueness of this published Tachi, valued at $ 80‘000‘000 by experts who are absolutely unknown in the sword world. The forwarded arguments by knowledgeable people of this board against your unproven theories fizzle ineffective.

Don Quixote fighting windmills.

 

However the best advice has already been given.

 

IN FACT...SEND IT TO Japan FOR SHINSA

The recognized experts of NBTHK will open your eyes about the "artistic value" of this Tachi, but I‘m inclined to believe they will even not accept it in this unpolished condition.

 

AND DO NOT FORGET TO MAKE INSURANCE FOR $ 80‘000‘000 WHEN SENDING TO Japan.

Good luck

 

Eric

[Jean]

  Quote

Timeo Danaos et Dona Ferentes..

 

In fact, H-J, the "et" emphasizes the sentence, it should be translated as:

 

Beware of Greeks and above all when they bring gifts

[paulb]

oh for a classical education!!!

there am I trying to master the finer points of my own humble langauge. This is becoming a somewhat weird thread, but considering its weird starting point I guess i should not be surprised

[kusunokimasahige]

Jean you are absolutely correct !!

 

Mea Culpa....

 

KM

[Jean]

Paul,

 

7 years learning Latin and 5 Greek, in short: clasical education.

[kunitaro]

I heard some news about Forbes magazine from my friend in US,

This past week news came out via the Wallstreet Journal that Forbes magazine has not been paying its own rent for the past few months.

This while rumors have been circulating that the publishing has been having money problems. Ironic as they are well known for covering the rich.

Alas he news has been updated the due rent was not that of their headoffice, but another nearby property. Still this raises questions as to why they would be failing to cover their most basic obligated costs of business in this case the cost of its rental properties.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/forbes-h ... nt-2012-11