Words of wisdom to follow! I am willing to pay a little more from a honest dealer for the real deal, as your paying extra for the knowledge. IMO the cloth stuff is REALLY hard, as there are tons of fakes. Now the medals are even getting harder to tell. Scares me.
IMO going to the shows is also key, holding the real deal is critical. You can't photo every detail. Weights, texture, even smell can help. Text books are key as well.
