It's almost impossible to fake age. There's one area, however, where there are a lot of fakes that can be incredibly hard to detect, and that's early Renaissance Italian paintings. They were often done in the 1930s. For whatever reason, they're easier to fake than other paintings. It's very strong but very selective, and that's healthy.
People are cautious about what they buy.
If they want certain items, they'll bid incredibly strongly. Otherwise, they'll leave them alone. Peterson is a contributing editor at BusinessWeek Online. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.