There is a College Prof. at Moorhead State U. who thinks it's bogus, and the Star and Tribune has generally printed negative opinions. However, as the evidence has mounted, the tide has swung towards authenticity. I have come to be of that opinion.
Wolter started his investigations as a non-believing skeptic. He is a forensic geologist who tests concrete failure and the like. He concluded that the stone had been inscribed when it was dressed, and that it had been in the ground for greater than 200 years, which would predate Ohman, the farmer who found it.
This was done scientifically by measuring the oxidization of one of the several types of Mica that are found in Graywakke(sp?). If the Stone is bogus, then this fact must be explained, no?
There have been other skeptics who have pointed to Runic flaws. All now have been proven to have been in use in 1362. If it is a fake, then Ohman would have had to be an expert in medieval Runes. He had a 6th grade education. Was he just lucky?
If a theory is true, then all the little facts will affirm the theory. If one arises that cannot be explained by the theory, then the theory is wrong and needs to be reformulated. An example is, if OJ is guilty, then he must have owned size 12 Bruno Maglie shoes.
It looks like the ancillary facts are lining up in support of "genuineness."
If you wish to call it a fraud, then explain how the above facts work in your scenario, in an equally credible or more credible fashion.
If you can, I will gladly come over to your side.
Put me in the 'don't know' column.
There is ample proof that Columbus had a map given to him...that placed another land or island out in the Atlantic (which he assumed was Asia). Wherever the map came from...is left to question. The same is true for the Vikings...there is no solid proof other than tales. And even the recent stories of Chinese ships in the 1300s making their to the west coast of America or Mexico...cannot yet be proven.
The impact though...when one finally does show that someone else arrived prior to Columbus...will force a major rewrite of every school book in America. Our whole perception of the "great journey" will go down the drain. And perhaps that is a major reason why no one is easily buying the viking story.
I've posted some comments elsewhere. I'll just say here that I'd WANT the stone to be real. Heck, I WANT that "Scottish discovery" of America in 1400 to be real. Or the claim that Coluumbus was Jewish (as one recent book "proved") or that Columbus was an illegitimate son of a Portuguese prince (as another recent book "proved"). Produce ONE reputable historian (NOT an "engineer" or a "geologist") to endorse the book's thesis, a person who doesn't stand to profit from the "authentication" of the stone via a book deal.