This may be a sensitive topic and, if so, I apologize in advance. But when I see a frame that has had its serial number obscured or removed and is repainted with or without different decals I immediately think that a transaction took place with that bicycle where the "seller" was unaware and went uncompensated. There was a thread here recently where a guy was asking about his repainted "Cinelli" with no serial numbers and the wrong seat cluster and the specter of theft, disguise, and resale never came up despite the thread continuing for several pages.

Does the C&V community have a position(s) on how to deal with collectible cycles that may have been victim to an illegal transaction somewhere in their past? Is it just not talked about? In the art and antique world some provenance can be expected with items of value, are C&V bikes reaching a similar level?