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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;krispy, post: 1446933, member: 19065&quot;]Yes and no. Yes, such alteration, devalues a note when it&#039;s not done absolutely convincingly to a prospective buyer or TPG who, upon inspection, becomes aware of the alteration(s) before making a purchase or deciding to encapsulate a given altered/conserved note. Because a collector/dealer or TPG then avoids acquiring the &#039;problem&#039; note its value can&#039;t increase since its &#039;conservation&#039; didn&#039;t pass the scrutiny nor deceive those who may be willing to place higher value on a note. </p><p><br /></p><p>Most collectors who can scrutinize well enough to uncover &#039;problems&#039; or questionable surfaces, do so by observing problems with notes in hand before buying such items that may be of significant value. I am talking of high value notes and rarities, the likes that might drive up a notes market premium if condition/grade were deemed higher and made available to buyers. I am talking about those notes which inspire those who conserve/doctor collectibles, to take these chances. </p><p><br /></p><p>So then, the NO part of this response to the value question, is that when the altered note passes into a collectors hands or slips by a TPG and ends up in a protective sleeve with a grade and certification behind it, and makes its way into collections of dealers or individual collectors who are unaware of the problems or placed blind faith in a grade on a holder or opinion of another collector/dealer, then the value can realize increased &#039;value&#039; because they are buying as if it were original surfaces. </p><p><br /></p><p>TPGs scrutinize paper for originality and hidden conservation before assigning their guarantee to notes, but their screening could on rare occasion fail too it should seem plausible given questionable examples we have seen or discussed in grading discussion. If that happens, and a note ends up encapsulated or in a collection, the only thing beyond further scrutiny and knowledge of such very good and deceptive alterations is, time. </p><p><br /></p><p>Time will tell if the work of the &#039;conservator&#039; remains unseen for the life of the collectible. If multiples of years pass and the work is never apparent due to materials aging, then no one may ever know work was done on a note, for it may have been done professionally and remain unseen. Time and exposure to light and humidity levels, which facilitate decay, may cause materials to change appearance at sites where work was done poorly-- and the collectible value we perceive would too quickly erode in due course.</p><p><br /></p><p>Many people look at numismatics like a form of art that they collect and admire, yet they come to abhor and admonish the thought of alteration, cleaning, repairing or restoring such collectibles. Yet, professional art restoration aids in the benefit and longevity of major art works done in all mediums. Such conservators have significant academic and scientific degrees among a bevy of materials skills and experience to help manage and protect works of art on paper, such as prints in art collections, like intaglio prints-- the same methods of printing used to create much of the history of paper currency. Such conservators save documents of cultural and religious history from ancient papyrus to embossed metal plates like the dead sea scrolls. At some point, some professional conservation may be a necessity to preserve rarities. The thing to work to prevent are the skilled turning to profit off the uneducated, which is why as collectors we have to understand and view for ourselves what it is we collect. We cannot trust digital images and online auction sellers&#039; claims to originality and authenticity lest we have a return policy or absolute trust in the other party from reputation or prior experience that they will not con us in this manner of sales. We just have to be on our toes, as Clay has shown in this thread, he is all over it![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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