In the world of visual arts and antiques there are many grifters who want to pass on their falsifications to museums and some who are so daring to fool the members of the royal family. But there are also many people who are more than willing to spend cash on a sandwich of grilled cheese from an old lady who claims that the parable of the Virgin Mary is burned in the surface surrounded by butter.
Yes, from crazy eBay lists (and one person who has sold his forehead for advertising space) to forged invaluable artifacts, and somewhat less than sanitary widely used memorabilia of celebrities, here are 10 of the most expensive items that turned out to be worthless.
10. Ghost in the pot?
A pot that supposedly contained a spirit was sold on eBay for $ 55,000. The man claimed that he sold the pot on eBay Because it terrorized him.
The pot came of course with a disclaimer that the seller would “not be held responsible if the” black thing “was released” and that “all sales are final.”
If you think this is a rare event on eBayYou would be wrong. We quickly searched for “Ghost in Jar” on the market and discovered a seller who offered their alleged captured poltergeist for the low price of $ 5,000.
Although the item has succeeded in finally closing for $ 55,000, the buyer has never really paid for his captured ghost surprise. Maybe they had a remorse from an intense buyer?
Our question is, what would have happened if the buyer had completed his purchase? What would their reaction have been if they realized that everything they have done, their hard -earned savings has been spent on a worthless mason pot?
9. Collector’s bottle of whiskey
A breakdown and loaded, customer at the Waldhaus am See Hotel in St. Moritz paid no less than $ 10,500 for a glass of whiskey from a bottle Macallan Scotch Whiskey Marked with a label dating all the way back to 1878.
Experts expressed doubts of The Scotch’s Authenticity, after comparing the label of the bottle with that depicted in newspaper articles from the moment the whiskey was reportedly made. The hotel and bar manager, Sandro Bernasconi, felt compelled to instruct the help of analysts from Scotland to test the authenticity of the Scotch.
However, when those tests returned, they proved that the bottle is actually a mix of 1970 and is in fact worthless.
These analysts used carbon dating tests that suggested a probability of 90-95% that the Scotch was made between 1970 and 1972.
The hotel had no idea that the bottle wax fake And would like to repay the customer, who happens to be one of the best -paid online fiction writers in China.
8. Real pirate treasure?
In 2015, an American explorer claimed that he had discovered the remains of the ship of the infamous pirate captain William Kidd off the coast of Madagascar, as well as his treasure.
The man, an underwater investigator called Barry Clifford, stated his findings in May 2015 and stated that he had found a silver ir 110 pound. This caused a UNESCO team, the cultural body of the United Nations to visit the site of Clifford’s alleged loot to see if his claims had weight.
Unfortunately for Clifford, the UNESCO report showed that the “silver” got that he was so proud of was just a lead weight. In fact, no ship has never been found. It turns out that what Mr. Clifford actually found, a broken part of the St. Mary Port Construction, a small island, just east of Madagascar.
However, it gets better.
Barry Clifford went so far that he filmed a television series based on his hunt Captain Kidd‘s ship and even the’ presentedingrot“To the president of Madagascan and the US and the British ambassadors. The man even claimed that UNESCO was wrong and that they robbed Madagascar and the people of St. Marie of this” discovery “.
However, this was not the first time that Clifford collided with UNESCO. In 2014, Clifford claimed to have found the flagship of Christopher Columbus, the Saint MariaOff the coast of Haiti.
7. A wealth of Roman coins
Treasure Hunting Pair Paul Adams and Andy Samson thought they would hit it when their metal detectors came across what seemed to be a series of old series Roman Coins. The two danced around and screamed “Roman Gold! Roman Gold!” In the field in which they found the coins that they thought it would be worth more than $ 297,192.
The two went very happy, thinking that they could pay off their mortgages, to crush their dreams after an expert told them that the coins were total fake.
What is more is that one TV -Production company had left those fake coins while filming a popular BBC -Comedy series about people, such as Paul and Andy, called, Detectorists.
The first episode of the show even shows that the fake coins are buried in a clay bowl in Roman style, and then discover “2,000” years later.
6. Grilled cheese Virgin Maria
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsw9k85Qegs
Would you believe that one Grilled cheese sandwich Can $ 28,000 pick up? Not me either, but it’s true. In 2004, an internet casino confirmed that they had bought a sandwich with what is thought if the image of the Virgin MaryBelieve that it is worth the exalted price tag, because it (at the time) had become part of the pop culture.
Dian Duyser, the original supplier of the mystical sandwich claims that it has never been formed in the 10 years since she made it.
The CEO of the casino said they would use The sandwich To raise money for a good cause, but we have not been able to follow information after the purchase has been made.
Perhaps this is another case of remorse from the buyer?
5. A fake collection of Chinese relics
The Jibaozhai Museum In Noord -China Jizhou closed his doors forever in 2013 when it was revealed that the invaluable collection of old Chinese relics were probably All fabrics. To put this in perspective, as much as 40,000 pieces It is thought that there were counterfeits in his collection. Although, one of the consultants, Wei Yingjun, it insisted that the situation was “not so bad”, insisting that it was a good thing that only about 80 pieces in his huge collection turned out to be the real deal.
A smart internet user suggested that the Chinese museum reopened as ‘the Museum of Fakes’, with a winning slogan like: “If you can’t be the best, why not the worst?”
We are also not talking about a small museum. The 12 huge rooms cost more than $ 7 million to make. China has seen many of these kinds of museums pop up over the years after a cultural boom. But it would be difficult to fill all those institutions with authentic artifacts, and China has a rich history of creating falsifications.
Art factories in China export cheap counterfeits of famous Rembrandt and of Gogh paintings, and some antique stores have been able to make replicas of Chinese artistic works that easily fool.
4
Andrew FischerA web designer from Nebraska, sold its forehead as an advertisement -huisend good on eBay for $ 37,375. The winning bid was from a company called Snorestop, which offers a variety of snoring remedies in stores such as CVS and Walmart.
Surprisingly, Andrew’s mention received a lot of attention from different companies, and the following year he again sell his forehead -unaraved good and claimed that he was going to use the money to bring himself through the university.
Andrew Has a viral marketing company been found since Nurv.com, but also regrets the stunt to go (literally) to his head, which suggests that there might be more to be a successful businessman than being known for Gimmicks.
Although, in the spirit of this list, we must wonder how well other companies did when paying back their advertising costs, given that they would not have had the benefit Andrewnews reporting?
3. Worthless diamonds and sapphire
An audit of one Czech National MuseumThe collection of diamonds and sapphires in Prague showed that many of the items in their collection were complete fakes. Before the audit, the collection was now worth millions, now It is worthless.
One, a 5-carat diamond in his collection was unveiled like nothing more than cut glass. Another, a sapphire that should be 19 cars, turned out to be a synthetic counterfeit. The Sapphire has been in the museum’s collection since the 1970s and was originally bought for around $ 10,000, and would be worth millions today if it was not a fake.
In fact, this inspection only covers The museum First 400 of the 5,000 precious stones and minerals, and the museum curators are not satisfied. At least half of their collection of rubies have also been revealed as synthetic.
Museum officials are now considering the possibility that they have been the victim of a scam, and the investigation will end until the end of 2020. But tracing those transactions can prove to be extremely difficult, because the person who is in charge of the collection is already dead in the 1970s, and although the valuable things could be met.
Although, we are probably not the only ones who think this sounds like an epic plot for a robbery film.
2. The chewing gum from Britney Spears
Exactly there with celebrity Badwater, a fan of Britney Spears bought a plug from chewing gum Allegedly from the mouth of the pop star was spit for a insane $ 14,000.
Normally used hair chewing gum WADs go for $ 5 to $ 100 (a fact that is simply astonishing). But unfortunately for that happy offer -winner, The eBay Lister offers actively against himself to increase the price so high.
The seller only offered a photo of the chewing gum piece and a ticket stump on one of the concerts of the pop stars where they reportedly found it. But there is no way to prove that the gums were chewed by spears.
As an honorable mention, the used cigarette butts from Spears, Kleenex and used bath towel were also mentioned at a certain moment, which the seller considered ‘priceless’.
1. World -free palace furniture
In 2016, an antique dealer in Paris, Bill GB Pallotbecame the most notorious man in the field of French arts. Pallot admitted to the police that he had orchestrated the falsification of four seats that were built to look as exact replicas of King Louis XV. Pallot also admitted that he had cheated the Versailles palace when he sold the seats To them for $ 1.9 million.
The government has even classified two of the seats by Pallot as national treasures.
Pallot’s business rival, Charles Hooreman, was the one who noticed the seats were fakes. Hooreman saw the work on the seats to be from Pallot’s Gilder and Carver, because he had used the same people on restorations for years and claimed to be closely aware of both their strong and weaknesses and artists.
Pallot was later arrested and served four months in prison and was last reported as pending trial for fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
Charles Hooreman, however, is tracing all the falsifications of Pallot and suspects that he has scammed countless institutions.
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