How to spot counterfeits

[Stevieboy]

I have Monte #2s from two different reputable sources and both types have overlap on the band just like yours Dave. In fact, my Especial #1s also have overlap as does the #4.
The fact that it's cello wrapped doesn't automatically mean it's fake as some retailers pack their singles in cello to protect them in transit. If it's a box of 25 or 10 you've got then deffo fake.
The biggest give-away is the slim ring gauge. From the way the cigar is bunched in the pic of the foot, to the pic of the head....all looks good. Was it a standard ring gauge you passed the cigar through or was it a tape-measure or something?

[daverave999]

I tried a couple of different ways. Mainly resting it next to a ruler. The difference in size would be 3mm diameter roughly, which is quite a lot. I did also wrap a tape measure round it and do some maths. It was nowhere NEAR what it should have been.
I'm visiting the guy who gave it to me tonight and taking a selection of sticks with me so he can have one, and I'll mention it in passing to find out where it came from. Not going to say I think it's fake of course as that would just be rude!

[TJCoro]

It's the real thing?

I'm with young stevielad on this one - cello is not a automatic disclaimer (stevielad taught me that one), but neither is the ring size.

I know someone who purchased a box of puros (Bolivar RCs) from a La Casa de Habanas in Mexico a few years ago that varied quite widely in terms of the ring size. According to my amigo, everything else was spot on, including the taste. The proprietor of the LCdH offered to exchange them due to the inconsistency and added that they should have been rejected at the factory. In otherwords, they were authentic puros but were not constructed to the strict standards for Habanas.

My friend decided to keep the puros since they smoked fine, and now he has quite a treasure after 7 years of aging ! (box date 2002). I had the pleasure to try one and was convinced of the benefits of aging fine Habana puros!

So like senor CJ, I will stick my neck out,but unlike senor CJ, I think you likely have an authentic puro.

But what the hell do I know???

I'm TJ, TJCoro Damn It! And I know a fine puro when I smoke it.

[TJCoro]

P.S. on the cellophane factor

One me thing I forgot to mention regarding cello, senor dave.

I have been in several cigar shops in Mexico, including a La Casa de Habanas, that provide cellophane at the counter for single puro purchases. So like senor stevieboy, I will reinterate...cellophane on a puro is not an automatic indicator of a counterfeit.

Names TJ, TJCoro, and BJ reminded me of that one.

[daverave999]

Ha ha! After all this time I've assumed it was countefeit and it might not have been! I'm still suspicious of the ring gauge though, having found out how they are made. Surely the wooden mould or whatever you want to call it that they put them in before they are wrapped would have to be sized correctly?

The other cigar I was given at the same time was banded Cohiba, and measures 169mm by 34 or 36 ring gauge, and was also in cellophane. Care to speculate on that one? I'll post some pics tomorrow as I'm off out soon. I can find no Cohiba listed that fits that size!

[Stevieboy]

Dave - so it's the length of a Siglo V and as thin as a panatella....and before the perverts read this I'm talking about a cigar

I've checked in MRN's book and I've nae idea Big Fellah

[yankeefan]

ah yes i have never been to mexico but i am familiar with the lcdh in mexico, moises down there is a good man. if you are unhappy with whatever you buy from him he will exchange it for you.

[Stevieboy]

Check out these dreadful fakes

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

[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....

[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!

[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?

[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.

[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.

[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...

[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!