The world of fake art production is big business and we have seen in recent years just how many people have been caught out trying scam others by selling art which is nothing more than a fraud. This happens especially in the world of antiques and as you can imagine anyone who invests money in a fraudulent piece of art lives to regret it. In order to help you prevent this from happening when you are buying ancient art pieces, old coins or old antiques, we spoke to the team at the Sadigh Gallery in New York, to give you some tips on how you can avoid getting caught out.
Online
Buying online is a massive no-no when it comes to investing big money on pieces, unless it is from a reputable seller. If you find old coins or ancient art which you want to buy on a site such as eBay, the only way that you can safely buy it is if you are able to actually go and view the piece yourself. If this is not possible then don’t even consider spending big money online as this is where many scam artists like to operate.
Resources
When buying a product you need to be absolutely certain of what you are buying and this means checking your sources to ensure that the piece is exactly what you are looking for. Let’s say that you are looking to buy an ancient Egyptian coin, you should know that coin inside out and you should know what to look for. Different metals age in different ways which could be a tell-tale sign as to whether the piece is real or not, you should also know what inscriptions to look out for, how much the coin should weigh, as well as small nuances which only the original could have. If you don’t know your stuff then you will get caught out. If you are in any doubt then you could always look to pay an expert for an appraisal before buying the piece.
Trust Your Gut
A simple rule of thumb to follow is that if it doesn’t smell right, just don’t buy it, at least when you are looking to invest a large amount of money. If the purchase is low priced then by all means take a chance but if you have to spend a lot of money and you just aren’t sure, don’t take the risk. Many people have been caught out buying fake goods and they very often say afterwards that they had an inkling that the deal was too good to be true, if you feel this way then it is better to miss out on a great piece by being safe, than to take a risk and for it not to pay off.
Be careful out there as there are many people who are looking to sell off fake pieces of art.