How to spot counterfeits

[HabanoSy]

What supplier did you use to procure the cigars...!?!

I buy some boxes direct from H&F and sometimes upon inspection some of the bands are blurry.

No offence but I doubt whether the Punch petit punch is considered worthy of the counterfeiters time and effort.

Im sure everything is fine, you normally find that a cigars/vitolas of this size is what the newbies to the cigar rolling world learn with so discrepencies in weight is not unusual.

If you can pop some pics up so we can have a closer look...

Cheers, HabanoSy

[Non chill filtered]

Punch bands

Hi tolk folks. Im 30 years of age and Ive been smoking ccs for about 18 months now, so i decided to buy my first box of punch petite punch last week. Well they arrived today vacuum sealed, the box looks perfect, all the seals look fine, the ema no is 'nov 07' and seal no is IB509245, there is a habanos hecho en cuba stamp underneath.
Upon opening, the first thing i noticed was that some of the bands prints were abit 'blurry', and one cigar looked very lightweight, so i decided to weigh them. The lightest was 4.5g and the heaviest was 7.4g nearly 3g difference. They are all the same length and colour.
Ive just smoked one, and the burn, draw and flavour were fine. Its mainly the description on some of the bands which lets them down. Is this nothing to worry about or are some of themfakes. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks guys.

[Stevieboy]

Lol.
I've seen that place before...what a load of garbage.

Come on in boys and take a peek.....IF YOU DARE!!!

[Boss Hog]

I wonder if anyone would consider trading a single or two with me, knowing the full story

I'm dying to try some recommended smokes from you chaps, and of course get some variety in my new humidor!

I would, but only after trying a sample

[Simon-JG-hr]

I prefer all naturals to just fakes.

[TJCoro]

Hey Boy...Wanna' buy a watch?

Hey TJ! Wait up a minute....what's that you got there?

OHMYGOD!!! Is that what I think it is???


Come on in boys and take a peek.....IF YOU DARE!!!

[ACMCC]

There are many different levels of fakes, some are very good and some are bad, if they smoke well then they are made of good tobacco, some are made with banana leaf! last time I was in the Dominican Republic there where fakes everywhere even in the good hotels, If you have the real thing or a good fake, it really doesn't matter if you like them, however I would try another single when there gone, in case you don't like the real thing (if they are fake), if you get what I mean, If you get a good smoke for ?36 a box then happy days.... would be interesting to get one of our Cohiba experts to try one though! just for there opinion... you could trade it for something completely different so you can try something new, perhaps If you trade it for Pro-rata for what you paid, you might get an offer.....just in case, I don't smoke many so can't help,

[misterbulgarin]

On the subject of fakes, my mate bought a Cohiba Esplendido for ?20 from my local store, and the band looked real faked. Wasnt raised, was totally wrong, even the BOX was all wrong.

I dont have a picture but the band was like this:



The box's typography was all off, but they stressed it was direct from Hunters and Frankau. mmmmmmmm

[Cohiba Fan]

I wonder if anyone would consider trading a single or two with me, knowing the full story

I'm dying to try some recommended smokes from you chaps, and of course get some variety in my new humidor!

[Cohiba Fan]

I can now also confirm that the warranty seal's have the hologram logo that only shows under UV light.

I was going to buy a UV pen from ebay but then realised that I could do the same job by quickly holding the box under the bed at the local sunbed centre and top up my post Cuban tan at the same time!

I tried to take a photo and it just about came out...

[Simon-JG-hr]

- The cigars smoke great with an even burn and long ash. And although I am by no means an expert, I did smoke approx 15 Cohibas from the hotel humidor and several from a shop in Havana, so I have something to compare them to.

To be honest, if they smoke well and you like then, then at ?36.50 for a box of 25 it's really little odds if they are actually Cohibas or not. What you do know is that you've got cigars that you like at a good price.

My tuppence worth.

[Boss Hog]

Nice story, enjoyed reading it over lunch in the office. Good job I get an hour!
Everyone please correct me if you dont agree but I have limited knowledge in fakes, but surely if they were fakes they would still be made with cuban tobacco. Albeit possibly a lower grade of it but still potentially better than some NC's I've tasted.
How do they taste? If you like them then does it matter?
I've had some free unbanded cubans from 1001 before and really loved whatever they were. you could have stuck a cohiba band on it and I wouldnt have known.
Average joe down the pubs not going to know the difference either if they are that well copied. (unless it's stevieboy in disguise) and if they are real who would know as well?

If you paid a small ransom for them, I agree that you could be slightly miffed at them not being real.

[Cohiba Fan]

LOL


Cohiba Esplendidos

Bought in 'Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagas' in Havana, Cuba. The box has the official government hologram on itself as you can view in the picture (all cohiba boxes without the hologram are fake). I am selling the cigars cheaper than the official price in the UK, which is about ?760 pounds as they are an unwanted present.


I wrote to the guy saying he'd been duped and he wrote a nice letter back:

The Cigars are not fakes.

The actual story behind them (which I could not disclose on e-bay) is that they were given to me by someone who works in the Cohiba factory in Holguin. The seals are not on them due to the fact that the person wanted to show me that they were not fake as I know what I am looking for!!.

They have all the nessesary paperwork which has not been glued on (for the reason meantioned above). They have the raised gold lettering on the Cohiba label on the actual cigar, they are the correct measurement 15mm, the correct clasp on the ceader wood box i.e. not silver pins but gold pins. Must I go on? These cigars are far from fake. Like I have stated in the advert if you are not 100% happy then I will refund the money in full??

Any more questions do not hesitate to call or mail!!

Regards

Poor sod!! He either thinks they're real or that I'll think they're real...

Anyone fancy a box split

The ebay listing isn't showing anymore, but I'm keen to know what they looked like and why you're so sure they were fakes?

Would it not be not be feasable for a Cuban factory worker to slip the genuine article out of the back door, so to speak, to sell on at bargain prices to tourists?

I apprecate most tourists offered cigars by locals are asking for trouble. But perhaps you can guess what's coming next...!

I bought some myself 2 weeks ago, from a lifeguard on the beach who we got friendly with. He claimed his dad worked for the factory in Holguin. We were cynical at first and a friend and I laughed as a chap from our hotel bought a box of Cohibas. That is until we saw them in his hotel room!

With regard to both Robustos and Espledidos, I've gone through the checklist (see both pages on this link: http://havanajournal.com/cigars/cohibas) and can report that:

- The bands are the correct size, the letter 'C' on Cuba is the correct font, the number of blocks at the top of the band is correct, and the gold writing is raised

- The quality and colour of the cigars is consistant throughout both boxes

- The clasp on the Esplendidos is as pictured on page 2 of the above comparison link

- The cut in the cedar lining is moon shaped, not a straight cut

- The sticker on the inside of the box is as per the genuine one in the comparison on the link provided

- The cigars smoke great with an even burn and long ash. And although I am by no means an expert, I did smoke approx 15 Cohibas from the hotel humidor and several from a shop in Havana, so I have something to compare them to.

However... as per the ebay seller, the stickers came unstuck with adhesive backings, within the box. He said this was so we could check the contents and inspect everything, then stick them on ourselves for the journey home (or he would do it for us). If these were snook out of the factory - it seems to me quite feasable that they would have all the genuine stickers ready for boxing the finished article, and that any buyer like myself would not buy a sealed box.

Then there is the price. 60 CUC (?36.50) for the 25 x Robustos, and 70 CUC (?46) for the 25 x Esplendidos

Now, me and a mate mulled over this for a good few days with a genuine Robusto and a Havana Club at the swim-up bar!! We began to think that making fake boxes to this standard, taking into account the costs of printing exact replica stickers, rice paper insert and bands and ribbons, branding of boxes, the colour consistency, build quality, consistency and quality of the smokes (although we hadn't tried one at this point) - would not only cost a lot of money, but be very difficult for Cubans to pull off due to the fact they don't have the technology.

We thought that the story he told us seemed much more likely. As supposing it was possible to churn out such good copies - after the workmanship - how much profit could seriously be made out of ?36 for a box! Much more likely, we thought, is that they are nicked from the factory. Incidentally, after we both bought 3 boxes between us at the end of the holiday and got chatting to him further, he told us (without us asking or bringing it up) that the process involves his father paying the security to let him get it out, someone else being paid, the guy who patrols the beach getting a small cut, and finally he makes about 10 CUC for each box he shifts. It took a couple of days to get our cigars after we put our order in.

So, what does everyone think? Am I a lucky bugger who came across the genuine article at a bargain price, or have I been taken in by this Cuban and now the proud owner of 50 fake cigars and around ?80 out of pocket and about to waste another ?170 on a humidor to store a load of fakes!

I honestly value your opinions which is why I have posted here. I guess you'll now want photographs?

[TJCoro]

Are the real or fake, you be the judge!

LOL


Cohiba Esplendidos

Bought in 'Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagas' in Havana, Cuba.
Any more questions do not hesitate to call or mail!!

Regards

Poor sod!! He either thinks they're real or that I'll think they're real...

Anyone fancy a box split

Nice adddition to the "counterfeit"" thread, senor steventhebad.

Based on his e-mail, I agree that the bloke probably beleives they are real. Be nice to know how much he paid.

Names TJ, TJCoro, and information is power!

[PoohBore]

My step dad when collecting his magicos from a a connection with the factory was also given a handful of official stickers to add to his box of genuine cigars at a bargain price. He wants me to try and sell them on. Looks like I'll pay him ?100 for a load of fake cigars to keep him happy....