deepbluedigger
Posts: 365
Joined: 1/12/2006
From: Yorkshire, England
Status: offline
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Not sure if word has reached the US yet, but there's a scandal brewing here in the UK about cleverly faked higher value ($800+) British antique bottles. Something to be aware of on the N American side of the pond, but not necessarily worried about.
It started here about 18 months ago but has only recently started to come to a head. Most of the suspect bottles will be of little or no interest to US collectors because they are UK-specific types (mostly rare coloured codds patent variations, with one or two British inks as well) but there are some to be aware of, particularly a numer of 2-pint amber London Warners. There has even been a single instance of a rare British poison (a large size amber star) being faked.
There are two categories of 'fakes' involved.
1) Some appear to have been blown from scratch. These include rare dark colored burst lip cottage inks, and the 2 pint amber Warners.
2) The others are genuine antique bottles that have had the original embossing removed, and new embossing engraved using relatively high tech flowjet methods (really, I'm not kidding).
None of the fakes so far are likely to fool experienced collectors so long as they have been forewarned. But experienced collectors were caught out initially, and some prominent UK collectors lost large amounts of money. More inexperienced collectors continue to be caught out. Luckily the Warners are obviously wrong to anyone who has handled the real thing, and were immediately spotted.
It is expected and hoped that this problem will be resolved soon. But be aware of it, until it is.
< Message edited by deepbluedigger -- 7/18/2009 3:30:52 PM >
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Bottle fakes intended to deceive (not repro's) - 
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