Do you think a serious art collector would recognize the work of Damien Hirst if it was presented, unsigned and anonymous, at an art auction? Apparently, at least one would. Film producer Allan Maloney managed to snap up Hirst's Spin for a mere £200 at an anonymous auction at the Flatlake Arts and Literary Festival in Ireland.

Festival organizer Kevin Allen came up with the idea of offering up Hirst's painting of concentric circles alongside 41 other anonymous works. In attendance were some of Ireland's most prestigious art dealers and media types - they knew there was a Hirst on the block, but didn't know which one it was. The other pieces were deliberately misleading, painted in Hirst's style. In trying to guess which one was 'the one', buyers paid up to £5,000 for works they mistook as being Hirst's, including a sculpture entitled Two Rats in a Drainpipe, made by some A-level students in London.

Hirst donated the painting, which he created for his 'Spin' series, hoping it would go to someone who really liked it. I wonder how he feels about the fact that Maloney immediately offered up the painting for auction again, selling it for £95,000 to Irish gallery owner Kevin Spillane.