Go and get a UV Light. Salient lesson.

[El Presidente]

Read this thread by Mus and go and get a UV light if you haven't already. 

This is particularly salient if you purchase Cohiba. 

 

[RDB]

There’s going to be a lot of people smoking these and absolutely convinced they are the real thing. No one is going to convince them otherwise!

[Nevrknow]

Got one years ago based on info I got from, where was it? Oh yes, here! 😬

Knock on wood everything I have passes.

But, there’s always a but, I have had to break a few friends hearts about their “ beach/cruise purchases.”  

[Ryan]

I use one of these all the time. Just over $7. Just the job.

https://www.amazon.com/Flashlight-Blacklight-Flashlights-Scorpions-Batteries/dp/B09K7N3KMN/ref=sr_1_6?crid=10IY1RSBHB99U&keywords=UV+flashlight&qid=1654767946&sprefix=uv+flashlight%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-6

 

They are very useful.

[Silverstix]

Is the UV light useful for checking other marcas too?  Or is this really just a thing for checking Cohiba?

[Ryan]

15 minutes ago, Silverstix said:

Is the UV light useful for checking other marcas too?  Or is this really just a thing for checking Cohiba?

Depending on the source of your cigars, it would be useful for checking the warranty seals of any recent box. There are UV security features on all current warranty seals. Some of which have already been faked, see LordAnubis's post above.

Regarding bands, I think Cohiba only for now but, especially given recent price increases, it would make sense for Habanos to start adding those features to Trinidad bands as well as Romeo Linea d'Oro and Monte Linea 1935 etc. It's probably a matter of time.

[Sir Diggamus]

Is the UV light useful for checking other marcas too?  Or is this really just a thing for checking Cohiba?

I think there are a few marcas that have UV on the band. I know Montecristo have a mark (“MC” I believe) on the visible end of the band.

I bought an inexpensive UV flashlight on Amazon a few years ago and it was fun to pour over the boxes and find all the info.


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[SCgarman]

Given new Cohiba retail prices I would guess it will far surpass Rolex, Hermes, LV and similar for the most counterfeited product on the planet.

[BlueRidgeFly]

Anyone know when Monte started putting the "MC" mark on the bands? Just got out my UV light and found that on most of the Montes I have, but one box of 2018 M4s do not have it. They taste legit, but now of course I'm wondering.

[Aznyse1]

Hi all  ,I’m a new member this is my first post so please bear with me while I find my footing 

I had recently purchased some boxes while traveling that I’m fairly certain are counterfeit .(BHK Cosecha 2014 and Maduro genus )The detail on the outer boxes are incredible ,everything stands up on seals .The placement to UV markings to micro printed numbers ,the codes also check out on habanos sites .The box codes and dates are questionable as well as the bands which also have UV codes it’s quite amazing the level of detail that went into these fakes .It’s so amazing that there is a small part of me that holds out hope of authenticity .The level of detail is quite disturbing . They smell Cuban have nice triple caps and all .

Sadly I purchased them as sealed boxes with all correct seals UV and checking out in habanos site .I wasn’t tipped off to the fraud until I opened the boxes when I arrived home .I have since learned alot more about level of detail while investigating these boxes authenticity.

i will make a post with all photos and details in the suspect cigar thread 

 

[RDB]

Welcome @Aznyse1. Do introduce yourself in the new member forum. This is a great place, be nice and share your enthusiasm and you’ll get a lot out of it. There’s a huge amount in old threads, so the search function is your friend.

As for fakes - buy the seller. Hint: use 24:24 and you can’t go wrong.

[Aznyse1]

Thank you , I will do that now ,

membership  for 24/24 pending approval I look forward to purchasing from there .

[Chas.Alpha]

3 hours ago, Aznyse1 said:

Thank you , I will do that now ,

membership  for 24/24 pending approval I look forward to purchasing from there .

A little bit of fair warning; as the recent price increases and the diminished supply (world wide) have taken hold, 24/24 tends to be a rapid-fire event. On any given night there are 300-400 members that are all trying to buy the 20 boxes of X that are available that night. The really desirable stuff is usually gone in 30 seconds.

When Di sends you her “sorry, all boxes are sold” e-mail, don’t get frustrated. She sent the same one to me, too! 😂

Cheers!

[Aznyse1]

Ha ,thanks for heads up ,I’ll set the alarms it sounds like a thrill . I can’t wait for next session ,maybe I’ll get lucky . The good news is it doesn’t take me long to decide I want to buy something and pretty much want to buy mostly everything right now from reliable vendors as I’m still in my building collection and exploring my pallet phase of my collecting 

[Chas.Alpha]

At this point, Rob (El Presidente) is the only place I’ll buy from if not going to Cuba. You’ll see... 🙂

[anacostiakat]

Funny.    Keep a UV light for a number of reasons.

[El Presidente]

On 6/12/2022 at 5:55 AM, Chas.Alpha said:

At this point, Rob (El Presidente) is the only place I’ll buy from if not going to Cuba. You’ll see... 🙂

While I appreciate the support, there are plenty of good retailers out there. Unfortunately many don't have too much to move currently. 

The Cohiba situation has us spooked enough to run all our Cohiba under a UV light before retailing. Alex is doing it from our office and it is a good training exercise. I would be gobsmacked if anything untoward came up as we buy only from PCC but ........just in case. 

[anacostiakat]

2 hours ago, El Presidente said:

While I appreciate the support, there are plenty of good retailers out there. Unfortunately many don't have too much to move currently. 

The Cohiba situation has us spooked enough to run all our Cohiba under a UV light before retailing. Alex is doing it from our office and it is a good training exercise. I would be gobsmacked if anything untoward came up as we buy only from PCC but ........just in case. 

A good time to mention that I have to commend you on the stock that you do have available.  And yea, the other reputable vendors sure don't have much available.  

[cnov]

On 6/11/2022 at 8:45 PM, Chas.Alpha said:

A little bit of fair warning; as the recent price increases and the diminished supply (world wide) have taken hold, 24/24 tends to be a rapid-fire event. On any given night there are 300-400 members that are all trying to buy the 20 boxes of X that are available that night. The really desirable stuff is usually gone in 30 seconds.

When Di sends you her “sorry, all boxes are sold” e-mail, don’t get frustrated. She sent the same one to me, too! 😂

Cheers!

This tube sprang to mind on reading about the "sorry emails"

I'm going to have it going through my head when trying from now on.

[Ford2112]

I ordered a UV light from Amazon. Going to check all my Cohiba singles when it comes in.

[jakebarnes]

5 hours ago, cnov said:

This tube sprang to mind on reading about the "sorry emails"

I'm going to have it going through my head when trying from now on.

Loved this album. "turn on the bright lights" is still the best of theirs--but this track was a jam.

[GoodStix]

On 6/14/2022 at 5:11 AM, anacostiakat said:

A good time to mention that I have to commend you on the stock that you do have available.

Absolutely.  @El Presidente must have some wicked photos of those PCC execs  😉

[Cigar Salute]

  The digits in the UV stamps have been found on several Marcas.  They were brought to my attention by a follower of my "Cigar Salute" blogs back in January.  After bringing this info to my FB group & asking members to inspect their boxes, we were able to compile MANY more examples than we initially anticipated.  Here are some of the cigars that were sporting these bogus UV stamps:

• Cohiba Robusto, Talisman, Piramides Extra, Novedosos, Siglo VI, Behike 52, 54, 56

• Montecristo Supremos

• Quai D'Orsay Senadores

• H Upmann Magnum 56 2015 EL, Sir Winston Gran Reserva   

• Partagas Lusitania Gran Reserva 

• Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill, Wide Churchill Gran Reserva 

Boxes bearing these bogus stamps were sold by at least one Online vendor that is known to deal in counterfeit cigars, but we checked HUNDREDS of boxes from all of the popular grey market vendors, and they all passed inspection thankfully.  

• Many of these boxes are being sold in  some of the FB groups.  In addition to the bogus UV stamps, we found examples with incorrect factory codes for the time period IE UAO FEB 2017 CoRo, TUA 2018 Siglo VI etc.  

• There were issues with serial numbers on some boxes that had the incorrect font, & many had an older number sequence than would be expected for the box date IE a serial number starting with 000043 on a box from October 2020.  000043 would be something seen in late '18/early '19, but October 2020 would have something like 000049 or 000050.

• At least one of these boxes was purchased at an LCDH in Cuba (Cohiba Behike ) 

• At least one box was purchased at a B & M in Canada.  

Stick with reputable sources friends!  If anyone is interested in seeing photos of these boxes, or cares to learn the particulars, then you can either reach out to me via PM, or you can watch this video here: