The same thing happened to fine art as well. Some very famous artist trained by copying originals. The more simple the art is the more fakes there are. Picasso is one example.
Therefore....more education was required to be called an expert on any particular artist.
Anything that can be of value is subject to counterfeiting. You can see this with civil war items. even uniform buttons are counterfeited.
This means that as collectors....you need to be sharp.
I see lots of repo's on the market. Most of these are listed as repo's.
And...this is a gr8 way for non-collectors to get the look of old beads.
Mountain men love beads and they can get that Venetian look for way less then if thy bought antique beads.
It's the fools who advertise them as antique or ancient that screw things up.
Many sellers of beads expect the buyers to be able to tell the difference.
The more you know the better off you are....