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Mr. Gilliam, an engineer employed in the aerospace industry,
has been a collector of space helmets, suits, and other space
memorabilia. At the time of the trial herein, he had over 30
helmets in his collection, two of which were Mark IV helmets.
During 1985, Mr. Gilliam bought a suit and a Mark IV helmet for a
total price of about $250. In November 1988, he purchased
another suit and Mark IV helmet for a total price of $1,100.
Shortly before Mr. Gilliam made that second purchase, a catalogue
of aviation artifacts that was published in the summer of 1988
listed an identical suit and Mark IV helmet for sale at $1,300.
During his telephone conversation with petitioner that took
place around 1990 or 1991, Mr. Gilliam asked petitioner for a
description of the helmet that he was offering for sale. Based
on petitioner's description of that helmet, Mr. Gilliam deter-
mined that the helmet petitioner was offering for sale was a Mark
IV helmet, and not a space helmet as advertised by petitioner in
the newspaper. Mr. Gilliam specifically inquired about the
serial number on the Mark IV helmet that petitioner was offering
for sale. Based on that serial number, Mr. Gilliam determined
that that particular helmet had not been used for the purpose of
training Mercury astronauts.
Petitioner offered to sell Mr. Gilliam the Mark IV helmet at
issue for $10,000. Based on his personal knowledge of sales of
other Mark IV helmets, Mr. Gilliam informed petitioner that the
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