charles_mitchell•17d agoProlific Poster

TIL that fake Mayan artifact I bought in Cancun cost me $300

I was on vacation last year and a vendor near the ruins sold me what he swore was a real jade carving from the Classic period. Got it home and showed it to a professor friend who said the tool marks were all wrong, probably made in a workshop last year. Anyone know a good way to spot fakes before you hand over cash?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela58716d ago

That's a rough lesson to learn. Real jade from that period is incredibly rare and almost never shows up in tourist markets. A good first check is the weight and temperature. Real jade feels cold and heavy for its size, while resin or glass fakes feel light and warm up fast in your hand. Did the vendor have a whole table of similar pieces?

henryp4016d ago

Was it next to the "real" dinosaur bones?

the_simon16d ago

Actually think the professor could be wrong. Those old tools were basic, so marks would look rough anyway. Sometimes a good story is worth the price even if it's not real.