Authenticity

I've been watching a lot of Pawn Stars lately (the History Channel) - had never seen it before, but it's fun!

It's interesting, they're so obsessed with authenticity, that authenticity itself is tied to monetary value. Is this signature from Winston Churchill real? If it is, it's worth thousands. But it needs to be authenticated by an expert. Not all of us are experts. So, what's on the line if the store says it's real and it's not? Who would know? What would get hurt? Reputation? Legitimacy?

Interesting framework to think about - the framework of realness, of valuing certain individuals and certain narratives in our history, and translating that to actual monetary value, into capital.

I'd like to see a show about who they sell all this stuff to.