Help me Identify this box of Cohiba Esplendidos?

[cigar smoke]

Not to beat a dead horse but all of the markings and stampings have problems.......Too many to list..........

Bob

 

[grateful1]

Not to beat a dead horse but all of the markings and stampings have problems.......Too many to list..........

Bob

:thumbs:

 

[BobbyRitz]

Hi Lakai and welcome to cp....as you can see I am fairly new here too.....I can tell you that the last thing I would want to do is make fun of someone who bought fake cigars.......The truth is we all need to put these jurks out of business......The more knowledge we have the less likely we will purchase fakes.......It an up hill battle, but I for one came here to share my knowledge with the guys and gals here........I take no pleasure telling someone there cigars are fake.......Congrats on your new born

Bob

Well put Bob.

 

[Ginseng]

Not to beat a dead horse but all of the markings and stampings have problems.......Too many to list..........

Bob

Bob,

For my edification and those who might be watching, would you mind listing the things you see? I have a box of fake Espléndidos in a cooler somewhere and I will go dig it out this afternoon.

Wish I had a box of the real thing.

Wilkey

 

[lakai]

I think this is a good example of how emotion can be lost through typing. It was my mistake of sounding too direct and was clearly misinterperted. So please do not take me the wrong way. I'm not here to sound like I know everything, I dont. That is why I came for your opinions. I am not trying to argue my point, but to point out things that confused me about this box, and hopefully get not just an opinion about what is wrong about it, but an explaination for those of us who do not understand, myself included. All this is making me want to open it up right now, but I am seasoning a new humidor because my other one is too full. It would be great to get some more opinions and later on I will put more pictures up with the parts you guys requested, and when I actually open the box up in a few days I will take many pics you can examine so we can see the real deal.

I'll post some more pics tonight after I leave the office.


Jerry

 

[drew_goring]

This picture gave it away for me. Notice on the portrait how dark the leaves of the trees are, and how you can see very dark spots on the hats of the workers. These are actually microprints that show up this way on copies. The shade of the warrenty seal appears suspect to me as well, although it could just be the lighting...

 

[drew_goring]

For comparison here is a closeup of the portrait on an authentic box of '05 Siglo IVs. Sorry for the poor pic, my camera is getting tired. :laugh:

 

[lakai]

Lakai,

Hey, first of all, congratulations on your new boy. I'm expecting my second daughter in a few weeks and I know this is a scary, tiring, exhilarating, amazing time. Worrying about cigars was the last thing on my mind when I was insane with sleep deprivation.

Normally I'm not so easy to take offense. The last few days have been rough though. This intestinal bug got me bad and yesterday it improved to the point where it felt like Mike Tyson used my midsection for a heavy bag.

If you like the community enough to lurk regularly, I invite you to introduce yourself and get involved. In many ways, you get back what you put in and this place has a lot to offer.

Wilkey

Thank you and Congrats to you too! Goodluck on "labor" day. I swear it has to be the most tiring few days for a male in which I have no right to complain. haha It's all worth it, But it's good to know that everyone here is open minded and jump to flame me for my immature comment. Now that all that morning drama is out of the way, I hope to be more involved in this community and be able give back in some way.

Jerry

 

[cigar smoke]

Not to beat a dead horse but all of the markings and stampings have problems.......Too many to list..........

Bob

Bob,

For my edification and those who might be watching, would you mind listing the things you see? I have a box of fake Espléndidos in a cooler somewhere and I will go dig it out this afternoon.

Wish I had a box of the real thing.

Wilkey

Hi Wilkey........I cant believe I just spent 30 writing to answer you and my computer went down.......Having an ice storm in New York it the 3rd time today power went out........Im so mad.......I cant write all that again........When I have more time.....darn it
Bob

 

[lakai]

For comparison here is a closeup of the portrait on an authentic box of '05 Siglo IVs. Sorry for the poor pic, my camera is getting tired. :laugh:

Hey i never noticed that. I'll go home and dig up my 2004-2005 boxes and compare.

 

[drew_goring]

According to the box code, those are from 04/99, which is a little odd given that it is using the new style of Cuban seal (which dates it at 2000 or later) -- some items of concern, though.

The "Habanos" chevron is in the wrong place (should be upper-right).

The Cuban seal is in the wrong place (it should be lower-left on this box)

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but... color me skeptical on these.

Actually I believe that the seal was changed in 1999. I may be wrong though.

edit: and I think they then changed the seal sometime after that to the seal we currently see today. (ie: the seal in the picture that I posted)

 

[cigar smoke]

Ok Wilkey......The short version.....1) green habanos label too light In 2000 or so labels were dark green
2) No varnish on exposed edges of lid......

3)Top lid C and O in cohiba are touching.......

4)La Habana Cuba........The L in La and the C in Cuba........loops should enter the top enclosed portion of the loop..........The rest of the italic writing off coma etc.

By the way I have boxes from that time frame to compare..............

Bob..........I made it short.........Im tired

 

[cigar smoke]

For comparison here is a closeup of the portrait on an authentic box of '05 Siglo IVs. Sorry for the poor pic, my camera is getting tired. :laugh:

Hey i never noticed that. I'll go home and dig up my 2004-2005 boxes and compare.

The label from a 2000 box or so can not really be compared that well since the label size on the 05 box was way small then the on the one in in question.......The clarity of the newer label of 05 were not very good either ......Worn printing plates........I agree this label is fake.....

If you look at an authentic 2000 label you will see dark palm trees and workers ......the same as in the aledged fake

Bob

 

[grateful1]

Also - on the top lid...the image is offset from the words...AND...it is not burned in. It appears stamped.

Note the lid and bottom panel thickness...on the ones I've seen - they are usually closer if not the same.

 

[cigar smoke]

Also - on the top lid...the image is offset from the words...AND...it is not burned in. It appears stamped.

Note the lid and bottom panel thickness...on the ones I've seen - they are usually closer if not the same.

Good observation on the lower bottom thickness of the box.........you are right on.......The box shown is too thin s/b approx 1/2 thickness of the top lid........I can not determine whether the top lid has burned in stamps.....Would have to see it up close.

Bob

 

[Mr Peat]

Here is some nice close up pictures of a Cohiba Sublime EL 2004 box.

Enjoy and pay attention to the outside of the clasps he posts and mine. :thumbs:

 

[moki]

Went to go check the humidor -- right you are, Young Smoke, though it depends on the type of Cohiba box. My bad. I still find it strange that the box code is from 99 but the seal is the nuevo 2000-style though...

Yes, it does depend on the box type. Siglos are the way you describe in your initial post. It is a little strange about the warranty and box codes not matching up. I don't think this means they are automatically fake however. Its possible Cuba could have printed the warranty seals early or that the box was re-affixed with the warranty seal at a later date before being shipped. Who knows with Habanos.....

I'm so hopped up on NyQuil that I should probably refrain from commenting further anyway.

 

[moki]

I know for many people that it is your sole joy to tell a guy he got suckered, and I can admit that it is quite fun doing that haha, but i'm not trying to debate about wether these are real or not, my question was about the date :] Thanks for all your input guys. I appreciate it.

P.S. Sorry if I come off as a jerk, having a newborn ( as many of you know ) takes away your sanity due to lack of sleep.

I was just trying to help; I apologize for not being accurate in my initial postings. Got the lack of sleep thing going on here too, along with a NyQuil-enduced stupor. I love being sick. :/

Edit to add: I still suspect this box. Yes, the Chevrons and seal are indeed in the right place for Esplendidos, but there are other things that just are not quite right. I'm aware that Cuba used hybrid box codes for a while, but that's not what I mean.

The box code says it is from 4/1999 -- but the seal is of the type that they didn't start using until mid 2000 or so. That along with other issues noted here make me still leery of the authenticity of the box. I am not saying that couldn't possibly be real, but rather just that I would be skeptical at best.

If you're sure that it's right, well, then more power to ya. Enjoy the smokes.

 

[Ginseng]

Not to beat a dead horse but all of the markings and stampings have problems.......Too many to list..........

Bob

Bob,

For my edification and those who might be watching, would you mind listing the things you see? I have a box of fake Espléndidos in a cooler somewhere and I will go dig it out this afternoon.

Wish I had a box of the real thing.

Wilkey

Hi Wilkey........I cant believe I just spent 30 writing to answer you and my computer went down.......Having an ice storm in New York it the 3rd time today power went out........Im so mad.......I cant write all that again........When I have more time.....darn it
Bob

Bob,
I understand what you're going through. We lost power at least two times today in Delaware. The only way I keep things undercontrol is to work on my laptop which has its own power supply. Better luck and I look forward to your post.
Wilkey

 

[seadub]

Here is some nice close up pictures of a Cohiba Sublime EL 2004 box.

Enjoy and pay attention to the outside of the clasps he posts and mine. :thumbs:

Peat... clearly you have some fakes.

Send them to me for proper disposal :thumbs: