For me, the whole concept that someone would sell me a "bill of goods" that is not what I paid for (and I wouldn't have the where-with-all to know the difference) is what keeps me out of collecting.
But my love of the Luger is every bit as strong as the most ardent collector, so I chose to buy a mismatched shooter, with a wonderful history (as evidenced by the stamps) and then have that beautifully reworked by Ted Green so no one woould ever be confused about its originality.
It is my "pride and joy" and I lavish all my attention and care on it, and I cherish it for the engineering work of art that it is, and the joy that it brings me. And I know I got exactly what I paid for. The world is a scary place, and there are lots of unscrupulous people out there, and sometimes "Caveat Emptor" is just NOT enough.
Dok [img]frown.gif[/img]
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