Rich - I bet I can change your tune with one note.

Let's say you find two exact examples of a Crest and Seal chip that nobody else has; a very rare chip. In fact, collectors have been searching for this chip for over 20-years... and now you got two.

Now, you say to yourself that you can put this duplicate chip to work because you know of at least three other collectors who also have two of the only known Crest and Seal chips and your duplicate will surely balance a trade for the one chip you choose... as you know they will consider the offer

In your excitement of finding the pair, you scan one and post it to this board as so many of us have done in the past when we want to share (key word: SHARE) a new find of a rare chip. In fact, your scan happens to be of a chip (like the other three dupes held by other collectors) that will probably never be in anyone's collection except for one of those who you decide (another key word: DECIDE) to trade with. It's so rare that everyone who would love to have this chip now decides to accept your offer of sharing and takes your scan to do whatever they wish with it. Some others who are not visitors to this board also see your scan and they, too, would like to own an example of this chip and use the scan for their own purposes. Now, what have we got: we've got the only duplicate known of a rare chip brodcasted all over the world; a chip that you once thought to share, but the word share doesn't quite define what's taking place with what once was thought to be a rare chip and your dupe has lost its trading power for one of those other rare chips held by those three other guys never shared.

Could (and has) very easilly happen. Right?

JB