The Tourist Item/Souvenier in arms antiquities

[Bob A]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Bob, my comment was not intended to suggest the damage to your piece was not authentically received, just that such intentional 'distressing' has been known.

No problem, Jim.

It did cause me to recall a comic tale by Pat McManus; when he was a youth, surplus stores had plenty of leftover WWII stuff for sale. Once the owner of the store saw that the kids were more interested in buying things like helmets that had bullet holes in them, rather that the unscathed items, he took it upon himself to ventilate much of his inventory, to generate buyers' enthusiasm.

Of course, when McManus told it, it was funny.

I confess to having recalled that tale when bidding on the barong. I bought it anyway. There's a lot of the wonder of little kids in those of us who pursue these weapons, I suspect.