I'm sure this particular auctioneer, along with the majority of all others, knew exactly what they had been consigned to sell. It doesn't take a expert to ascertain the difference from old and new, and these people are supposedly all experts.

 It would seem your friend has learned a hard lesson here John. With hindsight ,he would have been better consulting you before the event rather than after. The silly thing is the Five Boys is the least convincing of all the Garnier repros with horrible fuzzy faces. I could understand somebody being uncertain about a Hudsons Pail as that's probably the most convincing sign. You've got to be brave to punt 600 notes at something you're not entirely sure about. Stick to what you know I always think.

 As I said in my earlier mail, I did tell the auction house it was repro at least 2 weeks before the sale, and thye said they'd change the description. So they did know - and I reckon the buyer would have a strong case to claim his money back. I would be happy to supply a copy of the message I emailed them and their reply.