2001 box code authenticity help

[ilubtv]

Hi guys,

I come across an old box which dated 2001. But to my limited experience of vintage Cuban cigar, I am not sure if the box code is right. I never saw this style of box code before.

Do you guys have seen any similar box code?

Or is it just a fake one?

Thanks

 

[NSXCIGAR]

The stamp font and form is highly irregular. By 01 most if not all codes looked identical to today. The square was used almost exclusively from 98-99.

[KavalanWhisky]

https://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/packaging/information

According to this site there is a factory with code EAR and ABR 01 is possible as they switched over in 2000 to the new format.

BUT I've never seen a box from that vintage so would wait for other more experienced folk to give their expert opinion.

[ilubtv]

6 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

The stamp font and form is highly irregular. By 01 most if not all codes looked identical to today. The square was used almost exclusively from 98-99.

Thanks. Yes, I heard that from 99-02, the cigars were over-produced. The codes changed during that period.

4 minutes ago, KavalanWhisky said:

https://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/packaging/information

According to this site there is a factory with code EAR and ABR 01 is possible as they switched over in 2000 to the new format.

BUT I've never seen a box from that vintage so would wait for other more experienced folk to give their expert opinion.

Thanks. I never came across this kind of code but the month and factory did match. 

[bayala]

Does the box have a warranty seal?

[ilubtv]

1 hour ago, bayala said:

Does the box have a warranty seal?

I am asking for more photos. Will get an updated soon.

[NSXCIGAR]

Looking at some more boxes of that era I believe the OP code not genuine. The last use of the square was the CODIG UNETA days (99-early 2000). By August 2000 at a minimum codes had changed to modern font and style. No other style would have been used from that point forward, especially 2001 codes. They all would look like modern code font and style.

[Mickey D]

Is the Hecho En Cuba correct?

Should it be embossed?

[ilubtv]

Some more photos for reference 

 

 

[ilubtv]

15 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Looking at some more boxes of that era I believe the OP code not genuine. The last use of the square was the CODIG UNETA days (99-early 2000). By August 2000 at a minimum codes had changed to modern font and style. No other style would have been used from that point forward, especially 2001 codes. They all would look like modern code font and style.

Thanks. The last square code I saw is also from 2000. I shown to some others but some did say that this square code did exist. Not really sure.

[Edicion]

Interesting topic. Do you have any photos of the cigars and bands? 

I am not an expert, but those stickers with the needles look new. To the experts on this forum, were they added back in the early 00's? 

Would there be many counterfit San Cristobal out there? Look very elaborate if it was a fake, and don't know how much or if it would fetch that much dinero at auctions. But maybe that's just my personal view. San Cristobal has a lot aficionados I'm sure. 

[ilubtv]

10 hours ago, Edicion said:

Interesting topic. Do you have any photos of the cigars and bands? 

I am not an expert, but those stickers with the needles look new. To the experts on this forum, were they added back in the early 00's? 

Would there be many counterfit San Cristobal out there? Look very elaborate if it was a fake, and don't know how much or if it would fetch that much dinero at auctions. But maybe that's just my personal view. San Cristobal has a lot aficionados I'm sure. 

Thanks. The needle was relocated as the old hole is broken.

Here are the photos of the cigars

 

 

[Corylax18]

On 5/6/2021 at 5:37 PM, ilubtv said:

Thanks. The needle was relocated as the old hole is broken.

Here are the photos of the cigars

 

 

Fake or not. RUN!!! 

Those cigars and the box have gotten wet, very wet. Not over humidified, but saturated with water. The Warranty seal in the first group of photos looked to me like it had been poorly steamed off of another box and glued to this one. Then I saw the cigars. Obvious water damage. I wouldn't buy these with someone else's money.  

[Ryan]

As Corylax says, something strange has happened to that box in its history. Very likely involving excess moisture, given the wrinkles in the wrappers as visible in the pictures.

Having said that, getting back to your original question. I know that square stamp was used at least until December 2000, and I'm nearly sure I have seen it used later too. I was going through some of my storage over the weekend and came across a few of my boxes of Cabañas from 2000. There is no chance these were faked. They're too cheap. Photos below. The code on my boxes "EOG" and the code on yours "EAR", both of those codes were used by the same factory, La Corona, in that time period.

If that stamp existed in December 2000, there is every possibility it was still around 4 months later, as on that box of San Cristobal you have pictured.

I don't think that box has been faked, going by the pictures I think it's authentic. If you own them, smoke a couple, see how they are. Who knows, they might be very good. If they are for sale, they are probably worth a punt, depending on what is being asked for them.  I've had older cigars with wrinkly wrappers like that before and they have been very good.  

Your pictures look like El Morro. If it was my money, and if I was in the market for these, I'd take a gamble on them up to about $350-$400. I don't think I'd go higher than that, depending on the story behind them.

I know many people will think that's just silly. But to me, $16 on a 20 year old discontinued double corona is worth the risk.

 

[ilubtv]

On 5/10/2021 at 9:47 AM, Corylax18 said:

Fake or not. RUN!!! 

Those cigars and the box have gotten wet, very wet. Not over humidified, but saturated with water. The Warranty seal in the first group of photos looked to me like it had been poorly steamed off of another box and glued to this one. Then I saw the cigars. Obvious water damage. I wouldn't buy these with someone else's money.  

Thanks. Yes, there seems some storage problem with it.

On 5/10/2021 at 5:59 PM, Ryan said:

As Corylax says, something strange has happened to that box in its history. Very likely involving excess moisture, given the wrinkles in the wrappers as visible in the pictures.

Having said that, getting back to your original question. I know that square stamp was used at least until December 2000, and I'm nearly sure I have seen it used later too. I was going through some of my storage over the weekend and came across a few of my boxes of Cabañas from 2000. There is no chance these were faked. They're too cheap. Photos below. The code on my boxes "EOG" and the code on yours "EAR", both of those codes were used by the same factory, La Corona, in that time period.

If that stamp existed in December 2000, there is every possibility it was still around 4 months later, as on that box of San Cristobal you have pictured.

I don't think that box has been faked, going by the pictures I think it's authentic. If you own them, smoke a couple, see how they are. Who knows, they might be very good. If they are for sale, they are probably worth a punt, depending on what is being asked for them.  I've had older cigars with wrinkly wrappers like that before and they have been very good.  

Your pictures look like El Morro. If it was my money, and if I was in the market for these, I'd take a gamble on them up to about $350-$400. I don't think I'd go higher than that, depending on the story behind them.

I know many people will think that's just silly. But to me, $16 on a 20 year old discontinued double corona is worth the risk.

 

Thanks. I also found a few square box code in the Instagram, and one of them happened to be a Cabanas too. And I did take the gamble and also happen to be similar to your suggested budget.