Overview

• Experts exposed three non-original beer steins from the 1980s, leading a mother and son to withdraw their €1,500 sale after their valuation collapsed to €250.
• A Frankfurt seller aiming for €15,000 with a 19th-century diamond jewellery set left empty-handed when the top bid stalled at €4,800 amid traders' laughter.
• A purported 1729 Russian silver coin failed material and weight tests, revealing it as a fake and earning its sellers no offers.
• A pensioner’s over-50-year-old floral oil painting ignited a bidding war that ended at €2,000, nearly seven times his €300 expectation.
• A decorative lion figure thought to be bronze was identified as galvanoplastic plastic and sold for €200, far below the €1,500 it would have fetched if genuine.