The thing is, most dealers, museums too, have a room full of objects that were "mistakes", with a long sad story attached to each object. On the other hand, old dad here can't afford to make a mistake like that. Take the above chest, if i had got it for a 5k hammer price, add in a 20% BP, that's now a 6k chest, add in dealer finance fee, we are up to $7200. On top of all that, Thomas Dennis or not, that chest needs to be restored and, you are not going to fix it by making a trip to the hardware store so figure at least 4-5k for restoration. That brings us to 11k-12k or so, a bargain if it is a Dennis chest, if it's not, it's going to wind up in the mistake room, a BIG no no for dad.
This is why over the years, most of the pieces i have i bought from dealers or museums, let them make the mistakes! Yes, you do pay a premium in price that way but i sleep better at night. I still gamble at auction but i gamble hundreds, not thousands or 10s of thousands.
