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Chatted with a guy at a flea market who said my fake 18th century map looked 'too clean' and now I can't unsee it
He pointed out that real old maps have stained edges and uneven ink lines, which made me realize my $25 'vintage' purchase was probably printed last year, so has anyone else had a find like that totally wrecked by one comment?
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jordan1344d agoMost Upvoted
Honestly that comment might have done you a favor. I got a similar reality check when someone pointed out my "antique" compass had a plastic bezel that would have melted in the 1800s. Now I actually dig through those flea market bins looking for things that are genuinely dinged up and stained because those imperfections tell a real story. Your fake map could be a cool conversation starter if you lean into it and call it a modern reproduction instead of trying to pass it off as authentic.
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mason_ward4d ago
Not gonna lie @jordan134, I think you're missing the point a little. Those imperfections you're talking about like dings and stains can be faked too by people who know what they're doing. I've seen guys boil paper in tea and drag it through gravel to age it, then sell it as 1800s. The real tell is usually in stuff like the paper type or ink composition, not just how beat up it looks. That plastic bezel story is funny though, classic misstep.
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