Teaching moments

[Mr. Zipper]

There are a few different levels of fakes.

The mass-produced fakes we commonly see are typically slowly drawn with signs of hesitation or wobble. They all look nearly identical and repeat the same exact flaws. There isn't much risk in pointing these out because these forgers are not out to fool experienced collectors. They make their money fooling casual buyers who don't do their homework. These are often accompanied by worthless COAs from "forensic experts"... another part of the ruse to fool uneducated buyers.

Then there are much more deceptive, well-executed fakes. These usually don't have any significant outstanding flaws, but they are detected by those with trained eyes because they "look off." Certain forgers adopt a "look" over time and those who have been watching closely pick up on the subtle characteristics that identify this type forger. But asking someone to describe it is much like asking someone to describe in words the difference between purple and blue.