In a recent letter to the Crown Point magazine, John Guest took issue with the list I have compiled of fake and repro lightning rod balls. He felt the word fake should not be used since they are still lightning rod balls. I would like to defend the use of the word fake. These are new balls that are produced with the sole purpose to be sold as old balls. Since they are not old, they are fake. He also took issue with what he felt was a lack of facts or information behind my list. In his letter, he himself admits to re-mercing balls and not marking them as such. He says they are "restored". He can "restore" all he wants, but when one of these balls is sold as old(not necessarily by him), it is now a fake or repro. Only balls in original condition can be considered authentic. He has a negative opinion of something I am doing to try to help the new collectors who may not be aware of the extensive market of fake and repro balls. I will continue to use the word fake as I feel it accurately describes these items. I have stated in the main page that not all balls on the list are fake, some were originally produced. Unfortunately, many have now been faked. Please take the time to look at the page with the pictures of fake and repro balls. I am doing what I can to add as many pictures as possible. If anyone has pictures I would be glad to look at them and if approved, I will add them to the page. As always, your comments are appreciated and I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you.
Mike Higgins |
