“Amateur!”

Tony loathed the proposal.

“Carbon-dating isn’t a foolproof method, yet you want a machine to do the appraisal. What a joke! Regardless if you’re using carbon-14 or thermoluminescence, none of these could beat the naked eye.”

Casper smirked at Tony’s admonishment. “You are right. Scientific appraisals have loopholes, but we wouldn’t know the difference till there is a comparison.”

The two men scoffed. “Stop pretending to be an expert. Now, return the jar to us! You can’t afford to pay if you break it?”

Casper laughed. “But I can. Let’s play a game. If the jar is genuine, I will pay you double the final bidding price at the fair.”

“What? You? Look at shabby attire. Where are you going to find the money if you can’t even afford a shard from the jar?”

Doubt filled Victoria’s mind as the men mocked Casper. She was impressed with his gut feel. However, his evaluations on the two items made no sense. Her interests were at stake because the vase and jar were finale items at the auction.

Tony pounded the table with his fist. “This is preposterous! Do you think you can act impudently because you’re rich? I don’t care about your finance. You owe us an explanation for claiming the jar to be a fake.”

He set the jar down and asked, “Mr. Lane, can you lend me your high-definition magnifying glass?”

Tony took one out of his toolbox reluctantly and gave Casper.

He felt a sense of familiarity during the examination. It felt different from the genuine antiques he had at home, more like the high-quality forgeries produced by his mentor.

Could this be one of his works?

was certain the enamel temple jar

like the back of his hand. A knowledgeable

to test the two men to clear his doubts. Pretending to smash the jar

expressions confirmed

was once a famous master forger, to mentor him. The man made seventy-two replicas

one in the world of antiques. Some loved him, while others hated him. His forgeries had caused men to lose every penny, but there were also men

a different identity. Finally, the Simpsons hired him to be Casper’s mentor. The man imparted everything about

could pass as the real thing to fool the experts, a forger had to

mentor destroyed all his works, there weren’t many left in circulation. The jar wasn’t one of his, but there were some similarities in the craftsmanship. It must be

became the director of the

to leave his trademark on his work. Mr. Crane would carve a pin-sized crane camouflaged amongst the motifs. The apprentice would have

“Bingo!”

the forger’s signature hidden in a bird’s-eye.

ingenious!” He smiled at Tony, who felt a chill down his

did you

question, “Mr. Lane, I wonder if you have heard of a legend in

man to know this. “Are you talking about the best master forger, Mr. Crane? I heard his

cocked his head at the sellers and smirked. “These men couldn’t find Mr. Crane, but their piece resembles his

Tony the jar and the

followed his directions and saw a

the field, Tony was clueless about the origin of that mark. He turned to

stunned. The consultant was a well-respected appraiser

have an apprentice named Mr. Buck. I believe he is continuing his mentor’s practice when he left a carving of his signature on his work. And that is the fawn on this

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