Cubans Real or Not

[Starz26]

Greetings,

I would like to verify if either of these two items are authentic cuban cigars or fakes. Both items are Cohiba Maduro 5. One is a 10ct box purchased in Italy, the other is a 25ct box purchased from xxx

1. The tax stamp on the 25ct box appears to have the new tax stamp with the old one pasted on top of it. Notice that there is an area of glue on either end of the smaller tax stamp. The tax stamps on either box look authentic, I just do not understand why the xxx box has two of them.

2. the clasp on the 10ct box purchased in Italy has "Schamale Germany" stamped on it. The box from xxx has nothing stamped on it.

3. The hinges on the box from Italy are not as neatly cut out as the box from xxx.

4. The Bottom of the cigar box from Italy appears to be burned in while the box from xxx appears to be printed.

5. Both stamps on the bottom of the dress boxes appear authentic.

6. The cigars in the box from XXX have a couple that are slightly shorter than the rest.

I purchased from xxx since they were a sponser here. Both boxes appear to have features that are authentic as well as a couple that make me wonder.

Can anyone verify that either of these are authentic?

 

[rabbgp]

Why not step into the Intro thread and introduce yourself?

 

[Jfire]

You have about 5 mins to remove that vendors name or someone will be by with the vacuum cleaner to do it for ye mate!

 

[texas_stang]

get the vendors name out.

 

[Moro]

Now isn't that starting off with the right foot?

EDIT - Sponsors here can be trusted; as for the one from Italy; not like ye'll be able to return it, right? So who cares. If ye enjoy them, smoke them. Next time try singles before boxes, what if ye were not to like them, as legit as they might be?

 

[Starz26]

Sorry, guess the first post left a little to be desired.

The box I purchased from Italy I liked which was why I decided to purchase another box. The problem is that I am left to wonder if either are fake. Just looking for some expertise.....

 

[Benzopyrene]

Sometimes different from different countries. I wouldnt worry about it from the mentioned vendor, as they can be trusted or they wouldnt be a site sponsor. As for this being your first post, you really should introduce yourself first.

 

[SkinsFanLarry]

"The tax stamp on the 25ct box appears to have the new tax stamp with the old one pasted on top of it."

I for one have never seen that before....:dunno:

 

[Fox]

"The tax stamp on the 25ct box appears to have the new tax stamp with the old one pasted on top of it."

I for one have never seen that before....:dunno:

Quite common when done by Habanos S.A. for inspection of product. There is a Spanish word stamped and associated with it, but I am drawing a blank on the word now so my other brothers will need to help me out here. . .:help:

Edit: See this thread.

 

[VirginIslander]

This also needs to be moved to the Habanos section

 

[Danilo]

never seen a box with 2 seals, one on top of the other on the left hand corner...

 

[smokemifugotem]

Welcome to the BOTL Starz! Ill pm u a couple addys of some of the shy guys on here...send them two or three and they will review them for ya JK bro! great question! And don't sweat the edits bro...we have all done it once or twice and learned to not do it again. Great group of gents here and I am sure someone will come up with a answer for ya! Welcome again! Nick

 

[jkim05]

Shoot me a pm, I might be able to help you out.
So for what I *think* is ok to say in public here. Based on just the pictures of the boxes you've provided us, it's impossible to really say whether the cigars themselves are real or fake. Especially with these Cohiba Maduros I know there are some really good fakes out there with boxes identical to the genuine article. I think based on what it looked like of your warranty seal, the letter code is ok based on your purchase date and production of these cigars.

As for the warranty seal, it's not unheard of for Cuba to reinspect a box that has been returned and cover the old seal with a new seal. However, this is not what happened in this case. If you look carefully at the top seal, it is the new warranty seal that has the barcode and the unique ID code. This code was designed to help curtail counterfeiting and probably limit or prevent grey market transactions (ie sales of cigars through parallel channels or outside of the authorized regions of distribution). Anyways, Cuba's been rolling in the new seals and pasting them on top of existing seals for boxes that probably were ready for shipping but not shipped yet. You should start seeing the new seals on the new production shortly.

 

[SkinsFanLarry]

"As for the warranty seal, it's not unheard of for Cuba to reinspect a box that has been returned and cover the old seal with a new seal. However, this is not what happened in this case. If you look carefully at the top seal, it is the new warranty seal that has the barcode and the unique ID code. This code was designed to help curtail counterfeiting and probably limit or prevent grey market transactions (ie sales of cigars through parallel channels or outside of the authorized regions of distribution). Anyways, Cuba's been rolling in the new seals and pasting them on top of existing seals for boxes that probably were ready for shipping but not shipped yet. You should start seeing the new seals on the new production shortly."


Thanks for the valuable information my brother, not only did I not know that this was a past practice but now know it is being done on existing boxes/shipments.

 

[jwintosh]

Mmmmmmmmmmm, Maduro!!!!

 

[Electric Sheep]

If they tasted good....then they are probably fake, because real Cohiba Maddy 5's suck!

LOL! :laugh:





(Just kidding)



(sorta)

 

[Starz26]

Thanks for all the information.

I am starting to think that would the snap on a cuban box have a made in germany stamp on it? If not, then the one from Italy is probalbly a fake, but the bottom of the cigar box was actually burned into the box.

The one purchased from xxx sponser appears legit except for the bottom of the cigar box being stamped and not burned. It is not common to find boxes that are no longer burned in writing on the bottom of the cigar box?

So many different things and they seem to be cioontradicting each other.

At least the sponse has been in communication and they said they had to remove the holographioc seals for:

We have to remove these before cigars get shipped to us by official distributors as they act as a tracking device to Habanos so they can identify any cigars being sold out of region

Everything I have read says that a stamped cigar box is bottom is a fake.....
After reading your responses I tend to believe that the cigars purchasded in italy may be fake but who knows. I was hoping the pictures would help.

 

[oneaday]

Some clasps are made in Germany, Spain, China etc. not a problem with the clasp.
Many boxes have been printed rather than "burned", not a problem with the code.
Slight size variations are not uncommon, not a problem with the size variance.

The only way to tell for sure is to smoke a few. Then you should know.

 

[tedski]

The only consistency with cigars from Cuba is their inconsistency ...

 

[jkim05]

The only consistency with cigars from Cuba is their inconsistency ...

Very true. The phrase "it's cuba" can be dangerous if just ignoring blatant signs, but I've seen some strange, but legitimate stuff before.

Like previous posters have stated. Stop dwelling on whether the cigars or real or fake, they've been purchased now and you're probably not gonna be able to return them. The ones from italy may be fake, they may not be, but there's an easy way to tell. You have two boxes, one which is almost certainly real and one which is questionable. Smoke a cigar from each box side by side. While there may be variances between boxes and even within the same box, they should taste reasonably similar. If the flavour profile is totally off, you have your answer. If not, you're probably fine.