Siglo V again

[Bijan]

Got this box with scratched off serial. Micro code serial is still there and checks out and is in the right range for the date. Box is definitely real. But I get an off feeling about the cigars.

I've attached some pictures. Let me know what you think and if you'd like to see any more pictures. (Last picture is comparison with real CCE).

[Bijan]

Here's a picture of same factory code but August 2012 box from a few years ago:

 

[JohnS]

Gee @Bijan, they look very good to the naked eye (then again, don't mind me, as I've just woken up as I type this). Need some more people to 'weigh in' on this...

P.S. I just noticed, is that in German on the warranty seal?

[Bijan]

5 minutes ago, JohnS said:

Gee @Bijan, they look very good to the naked eye (then again, don't mind me, as I've just woken up as I type this). Need some more people to 'weigh in' on this...

P.S. I just noticed, is that in German on the warranty seal?

Thanks John. Yes German, the warranty seal has English, Spanish and on the bottom French and German, that is standard, not something you notice unless you really stare at it.

The main thing that throws me off is that it's a Grey market box, from a vendor that I wouldn't expect to be dealing in Grey market goods.

The second thing is that I weighed each cigar and compared to a box of Siglo I and Siglo III and the distrbution was much more towards the heavy end on this box. Might just be a bad box, or maybe overhumidified (though they don't feel that way), but I've found suspect cigars to be off on weight (though they'll be good on size).

The third thing is subjective look and feel, but that could be anything from my imagination to bad storage (which according to CCW fake cigars page can cause you to end up with cigars as bad as fakes).

[99call]

Sadly anything is possible these days. Everything about the box, bands, glassine, labels etc etc,  could all be real.   but the cigars may in fact be a rebanded Lonsdale of another marca.   Big money, makes people do crazy things

If I were inclined to buy Cohiba, I would only buy from FOH...... no if's,  no buts...........but thankfully my tastebuds have spared me this fate  Ha!

That mold looks almost borderline green. I would send these straight back, pay the re-stocking charge, and sleep well at night. 

[Meesterjojo]

3 hours ago, Bijan said:

Thanks John. Yes German, the warranty seal has English, Spanish and on the bottom French and German, that is standard, not something you notice unless you really stare at it.

The main thing that throws me off is that it's a Grey market box, from a vendor that I wouldn't expect to be dealing in Grey market goods.

The second thing is that I weighed each cigar and compared to a box of Siglo I and Siglo III and the distrbution was much more towards the heavy end on this box. Might just be a bad box, or maybe overhumidified (though they don't feel that way), but I've found suspect cigars to be off on weight (though they'll be good on size).

The third thing is subjective look and feel, but that could be anything from my imagination to bad storage (which according to CCW fake cigars page can cause you to end up with cigars as bad as fakes).

I can't help much in this case, but I'm following it- these are all very interesting. 

However, I'd say that if you trust the vendor then trust the sale. There's a primary vendor I use where I got a box and they were complete rummaged through. At the bottom of the box was a side tab from a cardboard box.  My guess is they ran short, had a box of the type I was buying, and fulfilled it with a cardboard box. 

My point is that I trust the vendor enough that it doesn't bother me. Were it a grey market vendor I'd have chalked it up as some scam.

Also, how long after you got the box did you weigh them? How much +/- weight could they have changed? Curious. 

Finally, there's no blacklight boxes on those?

I think we're nearing a point when cigars will need some DNA scanner to prove they're real. Or some sort of verifiable chain of delivery. It might justify the prices anyway.

[Bijan]

4 minutes ago, Meesterjojo said:

Also, how long after you got the box did you weigh them? How much +/- weight could they have changed? Curious. 

I weighed them about an hour or two after I received them. And they would only have fluctuated down not up if they were overhumidified, since my living room is about 40-50% humidity and my cooler/humidor is 65%.

I was ok trusting them when I thought they got their cigars from the regional distributor (as does another similar vendor I've dealt with before). When asked why they removed the main serial, they said it was their supplier (not the regional distributor I expected) that did that.

Blacklight would apply to the warranty seal, which I'm convinced is genuine already. The pre-holographic bands don't have UV/blacklight marks I don't think.

[99call]

18 hours ago, Bijan said:

But I get an off feeling about the cigars.

One thing that I would consider doing,   Take that cigar that looks a little moldy,   slide it's band off, and see if the internal paper appears white and clean, or a little stained and moldy + mimicking the mold patterns that are on the cigar.   It will give you nothing conclusive, but if it looks super clean and white, the possibility of rebanding could appear more likely. 

It amazes me that you see these Chinese billionaires on instagram buying bullshit Dunhill/Davidoff stuff, and they seem to be unconcerned that the band in their ashtray is 80yrs old,  but still icy white internally. 

[Chibearsv]

Aside from the condition of the cigars, I don't see any obvious red flags.  Perhaps they just weren't stored in optimal conditions.

[Bijan]

On 9/21/2021 at 10:03 AM, Chibearsv said:

Aside from the condition of the cigars, I don't see any obvious red flags.  Perhaps they just weren't stored in optimal conditions.

Yeah I'm going to assume poor storage and maybe poor box too (in terms of the cigars being heavy). I returned it. 🤞for the refund.

[99call]

7 minutes ago, Bijan said:

I returned it. 🤞for the refund.