Everything the book covers.
Fakes & Scoundrels runs twenty chapters deep — every major collectible, and every way the trade gets gamed. The linked chapters open a closer look.
What collectors chase — and what gets faked.
- 07
Art — The Foremost Collectible in the World
The highest price ever paid for any collectible was nearly half a billion dollars — for a single Leonardo.
- 08
Historical Manuscripts — “The Thoughts of Mankind”
Leonardo’s handwritten codex sold at Sotheby’s for $30 million — to Bill Gates, an inventor himself.
- 09
Coin Collecting — The Catch-22
The 1933 Double Eagle — struck the year gold was banned — recently sold for nearly $20 million.
- 10
Gun Collecting — The Allure of Old Guns
America’s most popular collectible — and a forger can turn a common gun into a rare one in an afternoon.
- 11
American Swords (1776–1865)
Napoleon’s presentation sword sold in Paris in 2025 for $5 million. The sword is the most personal of weapons.
- 12
American Flags (1700–2000)
The four Tarleton Revolutionary War flags sold at Sotheby’s for $17 million.
- 13
The American Civil War (1860–1865)
The most-faked field in American collecting — and the math has never worked.
- 14
The American Indian (1500–1900)
The finest beadwork in the history of mankind — and a thriving trade in fakes.
- 15
The American West (1500–2000)
Manifest Destiny, gold rushes, and outlaws — alongside the garage-built “relics” that follow them.
- 16
World War II (1933–1945)
The Greatest Generation — and the medals, souvenirs, and documents that get forged.
Auctions, banks, insurers, and the law.
- 01
Auction Companies — “The Big Back Door”
A year inside an auction house: $30 million in consignments, a commission never paid, and the back-door games.
- 02
Bank Loans & Liens — “Loan to Own”
A $25,000 painting, a $650,000 appraisal, a $400,000 loan — and a $1 million fraud.
- 03
Insurance Frauds — “Lightning”
Insurance fraud in collectibles is an easy crime to commit. All you need is a patsy.
- 04
Replevin & Repatriation — “It’s Mine, Not Yours”
It begins with a phone call: a claim that what you own really belongs to a government, a country, or someone else.
- 05
Estate Planning — The Future of Your Collection
Thomas Jefferson did his own — and here is why your inventory should never go online.
- 06
Tax Donation — To Your Favorite Museum
Donate to a museum and keep your name in perpetuity — without inviting an IRS problem.
Why it was written — and who got it right.
- 17
Epilogue — Why I Published This Guidebook
“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Everything in this book is real — and it happened to me.
- 18
Addendum — Afterthoughts & the Psychology of Collecting
Hard-won reflections on why we collect, and how to keep doing it with your eyes open.
- 19
Great Collectors & the Good Guys
Not everyone in this trade is a scoundrel. The greatest American collector built his own Western town.
- 20
Glossary — The Language of Collecting
A working vocabulary for buyers, sellers, and heirs — so the next scoundrel can’t hide behind the jargon.