“Crew members and independent collectors have verified the authenticity of this item as a Mark English Forgery. Comes with a COA from Premiere Props”.  Wow.  I guess this is a new direction of this art market, filed under Sell At Any Cost: The Authenticated Fake Prop?  As noted in my wordy titled preview of Premiere Props upcoming regularly scheduled auction (see “Premiere Props ‘Hollywood Auction Extravaganza X’ Catalog Online, Television & Movie Prop and Costume Sale Event June 15 (Plus An OPB Editorial Plea For Authentication)“, their authentication and lot descriptions, in my personal opinion, left a lot to be desired.  I have no idea if anyone at Premiere Props reads the Original Prop Blog, but if “authenticating” a fake prop as fake and still offering it for sale is what they thought I had in mind with my public “plea for authentication”, they could not have been more wrong.  There is zero benefit to selling forgeries back into the marketplace, in my opinion, and the idea of including a COA “authenticating” a fake as a fake makes my head spin.  If the fake fooled Premiere Props, is it responsible for them to continue to facilitate the sale of a piece that is widely regarded as problematic for those of us who make efforts to keep such pieces out of the marketplace?  How about someone takes a hammer to it instead? [Read more…]