Avoid Fake Antiques

	Is It a Real McCoy?

Two words describe the antiques and collectibles market -- caveat emptor (let the buyer beware).

As a collector, you must be wary of fakes and reproductions. Many items are made to deceive, and even the most knowledgeable collectors can get fooled.

So before you take out that wallet, ask yourself if you can recognize the real deal in an antique or collectible you're eyeing -- or even if you know the difference between a fake and a reproduction.

And keep in mind, even the experts can be fooled. I've collected Japanese WWII militaria for over 20 years, and recently purchased a rare Imperial Japanese Navy petty officer's cap that seemed authentic in every way, from the label with handwritten owner's name properly sewn on the inside lining and the correct rank patch on the front of the cap.

After getting it home and holding it under a black light, however, I noticed the thread around the label and rank patch glowed. Many modern fibers like rayon and polyester -- which make up today's sewing tread -- will turn fluorescent under a black light. The cap was old but obviously the label and rank patch were added later, making its value considerably less.

An Important Distinction

A fake, like the officer's cap, is deliberately made to deceive buyers and looks similar to an authentic piece, with analogous markings and price. It may be made by a company other than the stated manufacturer, and at a later period.

A reproduction, on the other hand, looks similar to a real piece but is not masquerading as an original. It isn't falsely aged to appear to be from an earlier time period, and it will bear the new manufacturer's mark. It also should be quite a bit cheaper and easier to find than the real thing.

A pair of reproduction bronze cannons, manufactured for the Dutch East India Company (with a mark of VOC on each cannon), supposedly dating from the mid-1700s sold online for $15,000 just this past month. Their worth as reproductions is about $5,000 -- and had they been genuine, the price would be closer to $50,000.

A genuine McCoy jardiniere -- a large decorative stand or pot for plants -- with pedestal made in the 1920s in the Roseville, Ohio, factory is worth about $325. A reproduction made in the 1950s has a value of about $25, while a fake is virtually worthless to a collector.

So how can you tell if the antique or collectible you're going to purchase is the real McCoy?

Educate Yourself

The best defense against being fooled by fakes and reproductions is acquiring as much knowledge as you can about your particular area of interest.

An expression I once heard from a long-time dealer, "Buy with your heart, but always buy smart," makes sense to me. If you can recognize authentic makers' marks and designs, and are familiar with the correct colors and patterns of the time period you collect, you're much less likely to be fooled.

Invest in some guidebooks on items you hope to collect -- the values of items in the books may fluctuate from year to year, but learning proper identification is priceless.