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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;PaddyB, post: 8150836, member: 40017&quot;]Wow, I thought this thread was long dead!</p><p><br /></p><p>I can bring you up to date:</p><p><br /></p><p>The friend showed pictures of it to Bonhams in London, and their first reaction was very enthusiastic. The item was sent up to them, and gradually their interest cooled. After a while it was found that this was in fact a much later copy - expertly done and with a great deal of effort to provide a false provenance, but nevertheless an outright fraud!</p><p>As others have noted, the lettering and some of the spellings aren&#039;t right for the period. The real killer is that there are a number of other identical fragments floating around the world.</p><p>Sorry if this is a disappointment to any of you, but maybe there is a warning to others.</p><p>I still think the idea of these diplomas is interesting, and I learnt a lot from the experience. Fortunately the friend had paid very little for it, and he has now kept it as part of his &quot;hard lessons museum&quot;.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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