Is this Prince 1999 target a fake?

Take a look at the Prince 1999 target shown below. I found it tonight on eBay. It looks like a fake. It's the Japnaese target with catalog number 38XD-105. Notice that the silver paint coating extends over the plastic ring. Also notice that the OBI strip has sharp corners. Every other copy I have seen has an OBI strip with rounded corners. Also, although the picture is small, it looks as though the OBI strip is not laminated. Every other copy I have seen has a laminated OBI strip.

The same seller has a bogus copy of the Japanese The Family CD with the wide mirror band that has been discussed here. He also has a Reprise Jimi Hendrix Crash Landing CD that looks suspect due to a wide mirror band.

The seller lists his location as Wilmington, IL, but he says on each auction page that the disc ships from Russia. No offense to our members from Russia, but the idea of the discs shipping from Russia is suspicious.

Here is a picture of the Prince target taken from eBay:

 

Here is a picture of the same seller's Hendrix Crash Landing CD. Notice the wide mirror band. I also suspect that this disc is a fake.

 

Very likely both are counterfeit.

 

I've got that version of Crash Landing - it is in fact a Russian fake. I got it for free.

 

Thanks for the confirmation.

 

By the way, notice that the pictures of the Prince and Hendrix discs show two copies. It does not appear as though two pictures, one showing the front and one showing the back, were merged into one. While it is certainly possible to have two legit copies, it's much easier to locate two fakes. Another reason to be suspicious.

 

Well spotted. I just looked up this disc on Ralph's site - the one pictured above looks like a fake.

 

KeithH,

I think you have spotted some counterfeit discs. The maker of that Prince Target should have stuck to hobnail boots!

 

The obi on the Prince looks wrong as well. As I recall, this is a sticky obi with rounded corners.

 

I think it would be worthwhile at this point to compile a list of confirmed counterfeits of early pressings. Here is a start:

* Prince 1999 38XD target
* Jimi Hendrix Crash Landing U.S. Reprise
* The Family Japanese WPCP
* The Beatles Abbey Road CP35-3016
* The Bee Gees Living Eyes West German Polydor
* Herb Alpert Magic Man Japan-for-U.S. A&M
* The Alan Parsons Project I Robot MFSL
* Herb Alpert Beyond Japanese D32Y

 

If it looks, quacks and walks like a duck...

Big chance that it's fake.

 

I didn't know there was a fake I Robot MFSL out there - how do I recognize it?

 

That was one of the first fakes to surface. It was discussed here a few years ago, and unfortunately, I am not up on the details. I'm sure the mirror band and matrix code are suspect.

 

Just double checked my 38XD-105 and it's the real deal.

 

I just checked mine and it looks a little suspicious:

The 1/4 red outer ring and the 1/4 black inner paint on the CD are not perfectly aligned - don't find this to be the case on any of my other silver MoFi's.

 

To identify a fake I Robot MFSL from the real thing.

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=24575

 

What about the mirror band? What information is stamped there?

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, that thread lacks pictures of real and fake discs.

 

I see the wide mirror band in the picture. Why is this suspicious? I'm not questioning the conclusion, I'm just looking for more info about why. Is that kind of mirror band a "giveaway" on any CD, or is it just that it's suspicious for this particular title...?

 

Wide mirror bands are indicative of newer CDs. Even some current CDs have narrower mirror bands. In any case, Crash Landing went out of print long before wide mirror bands came along. Ditto for The Family CD. The fake Abbey Road black-triangle disc is also found with a wide mirror band.

 

A commonly counterfeited disc is Captain Beefheart's Lick My Decals Off, Baby, even though it is not a target, or early Japanese, etc. pressing, but has been out of print for some time.

 

While lacking pics of the disc this thread did help. I have the rare LaserVideo version made in USA and some of the things that made me suspicious, like omitting the stripes on the front inserts, seem to be the real deal according to this thread.

The matrix on the mirror band reads MFCD 804.

The other thing that made me suspicious is the misaligned print on the disc which I have not seen on any other silver MoFi.

Sounds like the real thing and it seems it is the real thing.

 

Does anyone know of other counterfeits of early pressings to add to this list?

 

Depressing to see but also very good to know about. Thanks

-s1m0n-

 

I see more and more fake titles showing up on ebay...

 

Neil Young "Eldorado"