Fabric tests have unstitched the New Zealand's national museum's purchase of athletics legend Peter Snell's double Olympic gold medal-winning singlet.
The museum has backed out of the deal after buying it at auction in Auckland earlier this month thinking it was worn by Snell when he won the 800m and 1500m finals in Tokyo in 1964.
It paid $NZ122,500 ($A117,000) for the item bearing Snell's number 466 below the embroidered words New Zealand and Silver Fern logo.
However, a staff member raised questions about its fabric which led to it being tested, and now the museum doesn't think it was the type used at the 1964 Olympics.
The museum and auction house Cordy's both believed it to be the genuine article.
"When you look at it all the elements are right. The numbers, the lettering, the name tag in the back: 'Snell PG', everything about it was right," Cordy's auctioneer Andrew Grigg told RadioLive.
Cordy's had done everything it could within its powers to verify it was the real singlet.
They hadn't got to the bottom of whether or not it was a fake. There was no suggestion was the singlet was a scam, Mr Grigg said.
"I haven't gone there for a second."
The unnamed vendor had the singlet for five or 10 years but its history before that was unknown. He was devastated to discover it wasn't genuine after trying to raise money for a medical treatment for his father, Mr Grigg said.
The museum went after the singlet based on photographs and the advice of an independent expert.
