Fakes, reproductions, replicas, an investigative report, by Harry Ridgeway

Fakes, reproductions, replicas,

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FP1485     CS two part buckle "ball serifs" style

 

Editor note:  yep relicman got stuck with this one!  Plate was originally purchased from Cal Packard, Mansfield Ohio, at the Charleston SC show in 2000.  The plate was determined to be fake in 2006.  Cal does not believe he should accept this plate back, he paid $500 toward the original purchase price of $2,000, I do have a written receipt from him, in his handwriting at the time of the sale.  It matches the Hanover Brass example in every detail so I have to eat it so I am left with the loss, not Cal.  There are no maker marks on this plate, never were that I can find.  Cal says he "guarantees" the items he sells, I guess that means we are supposed to simply accept his authority, it means he guarantees that it is his opinion that the item is good, but it does not mean he will refund money when his judgment is proven wrong!   That seems like a rather hollow "guarantee" to me.  I should note that I have had items returned to me, which I have honored, and I have returned other items to other dealers. 

Additional note:  This plate has been handled, scraped, rubbed, smelled, tasted, hundreds of times.  By now there are spots of raw brass passing through, but I can assure you none of this was present in 2000 when I bought this plate.  This had a patina to kill for.  You cannot authenticate or condemn a plate based on patina alone, you have to use other clues.

Apparently this plate was manufactured originally by Hanover Brass.  There are no maker or other distinguishing marks on this plate, so was this intended to be a "repro" as suggested or was this made to be placed into the fakes market from the beginning?