Suspect Partagas Serie D No.4

[JAC]

Hello, I'm new to the forum, I've been smoking cigars for a few years but I'm not an expert by any means, my uncle gave me a box of PSD4 the other day and I'm not sure if they are the real deal or just a good falsification (he's not sure either), the band's color looks a little washed out in the pictures because of the flash but it looks like it is the proper shade live. They feel and smell ok but I haven't smoked one yet so who knows, real or fake, I think they can use a couple of months inside my humi before I try them.

From what I've researched online, the box, labels, etc. all seem to be correct, the only thing that stands out is the FPG, I've read that it was the old designation for the Partagas factory but I couldn't confirm if it was still used to label Partagas cigars made there (with the codes changes and all), my uncle told me that he also got a box of Romeo y Julieta Exhibicion N4 and that it also had the FPG label, do they also make RYJ robustos at the Partagas factory??

Anyway, a picture is worth more than a thousand words, so lets get right to it:

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[dochowl]

I'm guessing they are fake... the bar code number does not register on the Habanos site. Is it just me (and the pictures) or do the cigars have only 2 caps (rather than the standard 3). Also, I don't see a notch on the corner of the cedar insert. I am most likely wrong, but who knows.

I guess what really matters is they way they smoke.

[JAC]

I'm guessing they are fake... the bar code number does not register on the Habanos site. Is it just me (and the pictures) or do the cigars have only 2 caps (rather than the standard 3). Also, I don't see a notch on the corner of the cedar insert. I am most likely wrong, but who knows.

I guess what really matters is they way they smoke.

The top cedar insert doesn't have a notch, the one separating the top and bottom does. Yes, the caps was another thing that makes me suspicious, they don't seem to have 3.

[dochowl]

If it makes you feel better, the authenticity checker on Habanos.com doesn't seem to be correct all of the time. Odd cedar inserts can be blamed on poor quality control. The triple cap, on the other hand, seems to be the kicker. Are they all like that?

[JAC]

If it makes you feel better, the authenticity checker on Habanos.com doesn't seem to be correct all of the time. Odd cedar inserts can be blamed on poor quality control. The triple cap, on the other hand, seems to be the kicker. Are they all like that?

I checked like 3 of them and couldn't see the third cap , they are probably fake, I would still like to hear more coments to see what other flaws they have, so that I can learn for future purchases.

But on the other hand, they might still be decent smokes, my grandfather says that even with cheap cigars, at least one out of the entire box should be a good smoke, hehe .

[ChanceSchmerr]

These have to be the biggest question mark on the forum these days, the PSD4s.......

My guess is fake, but that's because I'm comparing the box markings to an empty PSD4 box that Rob used to ship me a sampler from a czar a couple of months ago.

[rckymtn22]

Looks like the printing and the embossing are a little bit off in the above picture. Raises some suspicion but not necessarly fake since it is Cuba.

[thechenman]

I think the lack of a triple cap is the dead giveaway here that these PSD4s are fakes.

[purosdave]

To add to the other discrepancies they used a factory code from the 90s.

[CIGARHead]

I've yet to hear of any 2010 stock being available.

[Omskakas]

Take a good, sharp close-up picture from the dollar bill seal. Looking from this picture it looks like crap:

[Laxman]

Seal looks fake, there seems to be something off with the label, and the caps do not look right. Also I have not seen any 2010 box codes, I am not a pro but it looks very suspect to me.

[tigger]

Where is he saying he bought them?

Other stuff aside for a moment, it seems very unlikely that a March '10 box would be for sale already.

[JAC]

Thanks for your replies guys.

Now, what do you think of the cigars themselves? can you tell anything from looking at the foot? I mean, they could be ok smokes even though they are fakes, and another thing, I'd be willing to do an "autopsy" on one of them, what should I look for and how should I go about doing it? just cut one straight down the middle length wise?

He told me he bought him from a guy who smuggles them from Cuba, yeah I know, the same old story, haha, but since I live in Venezuela, a Cuban smuggler bringing in cigars isn't that far fetched, perhaps they are made by a torcedor with stolen tabacco? at about 3US $ a pop, if they are decent then it doesn't seem like a bad deal.

[smokem]

Thanks for your replies guys.

Now, what do you think of the cigars themselves? can you tell anything from looking at the foot? I mean, they could be ok smokes even though they are fakes, and another thing, I'd be willing to do an "autopsy" on one of them, what should I look for and how should I go about doing it? just cut one straight down the middle length wise?

He told me he bought him from a guy who smuggles them from Cuba, yeah I know, the same old story, haha, but since I live in Venezuela, a Cuban smuggler bringing in cigars isn't that far fetched, perhaps they are made by a torcedor with stolen tabacco? at about 3US $ a pop, if they are decent then it doesn't seem like a bad deal.

At $3 each, they are suspect.