A little real or fake help please

[Smaug]

I am currently in the Caribbean and have purchased a few sticks to verify their authenticity before jumping in on some boxes. I have bought from this vendor in the past, but before making a larger purchase I was hoping to tap the vast knowledge of this site. I have check the bands against pictures of authentic bands on the net but due to the sophistication of some of the forgeries I would like some opinions on the authenticity of the following sticks. Thanks in advance for any help provided.

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[Smaug]

A couple more:

Thanks again for any help.


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[BrittS88]

Ummm well the only one I could help with is the Cohiba in the second picture. Check the letters in Cohiba they should be raised. The C in Cuba should only cross itself once and there should be a comma between Havana, Cuba . I'm hungover, naturally blind and so I'll just tell you what to look for lol.

Edit: there are brothers with waaaaayyy more knowledge that will chime in here.

 

[Smaug]

All of the pics in the first post are of the same band. I was just trying to show it from all sides.


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[Trent0341]

The Behike appears to be fake to me for several reasons....
1. The color appears off on "Habana, Cuba"
2. Their are only two rows of dots between the "Cohiba" and the hologram where there should be three. Thats not a case of "Cuba being Cuba". Not with this band.
3. The space between the head and the pony tail is missing the chopped dot

The most important question to ask is where did you get them from? Don't post that answer here please as it is against the rules. Do you trust your source? How much did you pay? Etc.

 

[pbibby]

Also Behikes have pigtail caps. It doesn't look like (at least in that picture) there is one

 

[Trent0341]

A couple of photos:

The cigar on the left is a fake Behike 56. The cigar on the right is an OR Behike 52.

In this photo notice the the size of the dots and the fact that there are only two rows between the Cohiba and the Habana, Cuba vs. three rows in the one on the right.

In this photo again notice the size of the dots as well as the lack of dot between the head and the pony tail of the Taino indian

This fake band has been around since almost the beginning of the Behikes and is still one of the better ones I've seen. Hope this helps.

 

[mistaforty]

I don't think the checkers should bleed Into the "cohiba" box. They never have before.

The monte and party bands are very basic and it's usually only easy to tell side by side. They both seem to be embossed slightly. The party band looks a little bright/electric red but that could easily be the camera/lighting

 

[remy swagger]

I would agree.....FAKE

A couple of photos:

The cigar on the left is a fake Behike 56. The cigar on the right is an OR Behike 52.

In this photo notice the the size of the dots and the fact that there are only two rows between the Cohiba and the Habana, Cuba vs. three rows in the one on the right.

In this photo again notice the size of the dots as well as the lack of dot between the head and the pony tail of the Taino indian

This fake band has been around since almost the beginning of the Behikes and is still one of the better ones I've seen. Hope this helps.

 

[BrittS88]

All of the pics in the first post are of the same band. I was just trying to show it from all sides.


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I meant second post brother. Not second pic sorry

 

[Stillinger]

It's more a trust your source or not deal to me. If they're on sale or seem to be too good to be true, they are.

 

[SurpriseMVP]

I personally hate chiming in if its fake or real in these type of threads.
The Behike is 100% fake.
Based on that alone I would not trust the others and would take my business elsewhere.
I took a few photos from my personal collection for comparison. Couldn't take pics of the HDM Epis cause they are too deep to get out.

2011 BHK 54

2010 CoRo

2008 Monte ESP #1 (sorry youngest montes I have for comparison)

Partagas C (only Partagas I like)

Mike

 

[Chrisso]

I personally hate chiming in if its fake or real in these type of threads.
The Behike is 100% fake.
Based on that alone I would not trust the others and would take my business elsewhere.
I took a few photos from my personal collection for comparison. Couldn't take pics of the HDM Epis cause they are too deep to get out.


Mike

SurpriseMVP knows his CC's.

-Chrisso

 

[CigarGavin]

The hoyo and the monte look alright, but if a vendor has one obviously fake then your business is not something he should be getting. Move on brother. Ill edit this in a minute with a HdM Ep 2 pic

Raised labels are the biggest indicator on the HdM's that I have seen; most of the fakes are not raised.

 

[ENV]

We should sticky SupriseMVP (Mikes) post for future reference.

 

[Cigary43]

Caribbean = bad place to buy Cuban Cigars. I travel there at least 3 times a year and it's been a place where fake inventory thrives when it comes to CC's. Unless you are buying from a legitimate source ( LCDH ) then you take a chance of getting ripped off and EVERYBODY needs to understand this as soon as you step foot onto any Caribbean Island. It's a tourist environment and the Vendors there are not there to be your friend.....even with the nice music being piped in and you feel that wave of "deals" being thrust upon you....they are there to separate you from your money into their pockets and it takes discipline to know what it is you are looking for whether it be jewelry, cameras, booze and tobacco.

 

[Smoqman]

We should sticky SupriseMVP (Mikes) post for future reference.

Agreed.

 

[Smaug]

Thanks very much for all of the insight. The Behike I suspected was possibly fake but as it was "thrown" in the bundle I am not out much. All of labels are raised on the monte partagas hoyo and cohiba including the Behike. I also purchased a cab of siglo II that the box code checked out online. I looked at the boxes of some of the singles that I bought and the stamps on the bottom were recessed and not just ink stamped and appeared to have the proper code stamps etc. Was not a pressure sale as I am not terribly experienced with cc's nor am I totally naive so I bought a few to test the waters. Possible most inventory is legit and the Behke are for chumps? This shop also has a website and does regular shipping to us customers. The Island is St Martin but the shop is not the questionable on on Front St. Also the Behike does have a pigtail, just didn't include that in the pic. Thanks again for all of the input


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[Clint]

The pics are usefull to a point, but they key here (as with ALL Cuban cigar purchaese) is 'know your source'. If they were not bought from a LCDH, then you run a risk that they are fake...Period. Anytime you are purchasing Havanas abroad, stick to a LCDH.

They may still smoke okay, as they appear to be either good knock offs or grey market product.

Sorry, man!

 

[Smaug]

Ok, a couple more since this thread can be a valuable learning tool for other brothers. These Lanceros are from 2007-2010 I think, can't remember so they are not the current band but the last band used.

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