Are hobbyists aware that a lot of authentication mistakes are made?
Yes and no. There are hobby insiders and outsiders. The insiders are fully aware of whats going on. The majority of outsiders – which are the average collectors – are very nave, and accept an authentication opinion based solely on a company name – without even knowing who the authenticator was or what that authenticators qualifications are. In most cases, they are unaware when they have purchased a non-authentic autograph that has been passed as authentic. In terms of total numbers of hobbyists, since there are a lot more outsiders than insiders, its an educational process thats going to take time. But you can only fool the public for so long.
