Real or Fake?

[docpatlv]

Bob,

The reason I believe it to be fake is that on the close-ups you showed, it looks like it is embossed, but does not feel like it is embossed is because the image is printed from a legitimate band. The dots around his image and the wavy lines that extend out are produced from being embossed. If the band had not undergone embossing, the circle of dots and wavy lines would not be there.

Below are two legitimate band from REA or Mastro...



This third image will more precisely illustrate why I think it is fake...



You can see on the last image where the embossing is off centered. There is no circular pattern present without the embossing. The image you provided shows the circular embossing pattern and wavy lines extending from Wagner's image. If they were truly embossed, the indentations would be present on the reverse.

Also note the taper of the legit bands on the left side. They are more tapered upwards and down as they extend out. The one you pictured is more straight across. I know that if these were hand cut, there might be some degree of variance. But the fact alone concerning the embossing is enough for me to believe it is fake.

If you want, you can PM me and I can give you more details. I just don't want to see you get burned. I did provide this same info to Rob Lifson and we kind of agreed that they are not authentic. Whoever made them did a real nice job, but IMO not worth the monetary risk to hold on to it.

Mike