Interesting debate, food for thought being offered on both sides. I won't weigh in with an opinion, since I don't have the technical knowledge to convincingly back it up. I'll say this - The list of knowledgeable folks who are backing it up is undeniably impressive.
I would also say:
* The burden of proof is on he who wishes to sell, and presumably, reap a profit from it - And on those who are already convinced, and wish to add their reasoning to the debate.
* The old adage of this hobby "buy the item, not the story" has no doubt been repeated multiple times by everyone in this thread, and is one of the simplest, earliest and best lessons we have ever learned - Yet it seems to have been haphazardly thrown by the wayside by some, in this case. Provenance can at times make or break an item but, from what I have seen, and although extraordinary efforts were apparently made to make the vets heirs a centerpiece of validity for this controversial dagger, I see no reason to disregard words that we all live by on a day to day basis, if only for this one special case.
