FAKES and QUESTIONABLE plates (170 so far) ....
The following plates were purchased over a period of approx. 25 years, from the early 1980's, through to the late 1990's. At this point in time, there hasn't been a sighting of this person's fakes, either in a private sale, or on eBay - the usernames from eBay have gone cold, and no one has heard from the seller in many years.
Here's the facts about these plates. All photos shown are either from on-line listings, former photos from my collection, and a few are from a handful of other collectors and ALPCA members. Judging from the amount of plates offered over the years, this is a tiny percentage of plates sold by the seller in question, and there are probably hundreds of other questionable plates out in collections around the world.
The only purpose of this page is to offer photos of plates that were offered or sold, or are currently being offered by the seller in question. My opinions and comments are shown after each plate, but YOU have to be the final judge on these. I eventually will have an expanded fake plate site with all of the known issues pictured.
This seller, at the time of this writing, was not an ALPCA member. At
this time, efforts are being made to have him listed as a "suspended" former
member, since he's clearly doing what he can to negatively impact the hobby,
despite no longer "officially" being a member.
This latest update has all of his issues broken down alphabetically, as well
as by "type" of fake. Since my last update, some spectacular proof
of even more severe offenses has surfaced, including some fake letters that
the seller has used to "authenticate" his items. I've also added letters
from residents on various islands who have confirmed that plates shown as
representatives from places are not currently in use, or were not in use
at the time of the offering.
Bottom line - YOU be the judge.
NOTE - This seller has apparently ceased selling license plates on on-line sites, but an automated daily search will keep an eye on things. This seller has been known to fake plates, enhance plates, fabricate proof letters and wrapping paper, rinsed fake plates in muddy water for realism, drilled or punched extra holes in plates, and when a plate is returned to him, he will quickly re-list and re-sell any plate, no matter how concrete and undeniable the evidence might be, showing a plate to be fake. He's also sold a large quantity of phony autographed posters and rock memorabilia (nice authentic memorabilia, but much has been defaced with phony sigs) - I'm no expert on the items that have been signed, but I do know autographs, and have experts who have confirmed my finding. If you choose to buy a questionable item from this seller, please don't bother writing to me with a complaint if what you've bought shows up on this page.
ABAIANG ISLAND - This one just showed up in a collection of plates,
and it's one of the best examples of a "west coast fake" I've seen in some
time - Abaiang is one of the islands in Kiribati chain - referring to Abaing
as "Abaing Island" is like saying having a plate that says "GUAM ISLAND"
- just another indication that the person who made up this plate isn't
geographically savvy. Flat topped "A"s, bad "n"s - the works. Some
sort of non-metal, probably wood.
AFGHANISTAN - plates are fully embossed, older ones have attached
characters on a flat base. This one is neither - sloppily painted,
and doubtful at best.
ANGAUR ISLAND - Angaur, Republic of Palau - Two different plates
from the same island, and one number apart.
Hmmmm - seems strange that the design would vary this much from one plate
to the next - oh that's right - THEY DON'T!
At the very least, this is most likely something someone overseas source
provided. If you accept ANYTHING that someone overseas says is a plate,
then this is the sort of junk you'll get.
Chartpak/pinstripe - Incorrect
format
ANGAUR ISLAND - This was offered as an Angaur Island motorcycle.
The sticker is an authentic date sticker for an Aimeliik, or possibly
Peleliu plate, but doesn't belong on this item, which looks like a rejected
metal blank, complete with misaligned bolt slots. Also another unlikely
"lower case" legend.
Lower case - FAKE plate, with
real add-on to enhance value
ANGAUR ISLAND - This is an amazing fake I've just seen for the
first time. This is supposed to be stencilled, and even the STENCILLING
has the flat topped "A" and really unusual "N" found on some many of these
fake plates.
S-N-A style lettering - Incorrect
format
ANGAUR ISLAND - State vehicle - You gotta love this one
- besides using the standard "SNA" style lettering, the lettering was painted
on the reverse side of a movie prop plate - most likely a plastic embossed
issue, this one says DEALER at the top, and NEW YORK at the bottom. Gee
- who would have easier access to an old TV/Movie prop plate - a dealer living
in California, or someone living on the island of Angaur. Classic fake,
although the date sticker looks good, most likely pulled off a scrap Aimeliik
plate.
Incorrect format - FAKE plate,
with real add-on to enhance value
ANGAUR ISLAND - Another one of the fake Angaur issues, this
one was offered as the Governor's plate - hey, why not!
Chartpak/pinstripe - Incorrect
format
 |
 |
ANGAUR ISLAND - This is a REAL issue from Angaur, and as far as I know, the only real series ever used to date. This plate is from the collection of Rolf Helbig, who WENT to Angaur to get the plate! |
ANTARCTICA - Another made-up plate from a place that doesn't use plates.
Very tiny as well - actually like 1 x 3 inches in size. What
would this be used for?
ARGENTINA test plates - for a short period, there was a flood of these
embossed steel "Argentinian" plates. The types were not known before,
and many featured full colored crests and legends, and many had errors, like
inverted numbers and misaligned letters. I've talked to a lot of collectors
who know South American plates, and none of them have ever seen plates of
this type that were actually USED. I only have photos of this plate,
but there are others know - most of which are dark blue or black on white.
ASCENSION ISLAND - Purported to be a motorcycle plate - this plate
is hand painted on a piece of scrap metal, standard square "A" letter in
number. This actual plate resides in my "fakes" collection.
Muddy Water issue - S-N-A style
lettering
AZERBAIJAN - This is a perfectly good Azerb diplomatic plate that
I bought from the seller back when the country first went independent - the
top photo shows the plate how it looked in the listing when I bought it.
As it turns out, the crest wasn't actually a crest, it was an "ink
on paper" printed crest from some letterhead, which was cut out, and stuck
on the plate with scotch tape. I was disgusted, but not surprised -
when I tried to remove the decal and tape, it took some of the red backing
coat off the plate, marring the upper left corner of the plate. I returned
it, and years later, the same plate showed up in someone else's collection.
For the record, the crest that the seller taped to the plate was the
military "roundel" used by the Azerb Air Force on their planes - it obviously
had no connection with a diplomatic license plate.
Real plate, enhanced with fake add-on to increase
value.
BANABA ISLANDS - white on black sloppily painted, with overly fancy
divider.
BANABA ISLAND - This one recently surfaced in a collection of foreigns
that has been boxed for more than a decade. Fake stencilled, with remnants
of some other countries plate on the reverse. This is one of a dozen
"west coast" fakes that had shown up on a collector's table in Rhode Island,
2004.
BERRY ISLANDS, BAHAMAS - Anyone with a basic knowledge of Bahamas
plates can spot this one as a fake - looks like a porcelain tip tray with
affixed numbers of some sort. Real Berry Islands motorcycle plates
are embossed metal, and the name BAHAMAS are found on the plates.
BOSNIA and HERZOGOVINA - wrong format, all flat characters.
CALIFORNIA - if these were advertised as fake plates for use on the
front of an Antique car, hey no problem - but they were being offered as
"special" plates, as if they were real issues. These are two of a number
of known "year" series, made solely for use on the front of an antique car.
CAMBODIA - early series. Made on a piece of siding, hand painted.
This actual plate resides in my "fakes" collection.
CAMP WOLTERS - I just don't like the look of this one. Doesn't
look old enough, and the dies are too modern. I'm not even sure where
this is supposed to come from.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - These two Central African Republic "plates"
are off types - the blue plate is a standard Bangui passenger, but the BG
code is BB, and the missing "G" is floating up in the right corner. The
second plate is just junk - four letters and some sort of crest.
CHAD - A Chartpak fake - see the EVIDENCE section below for more info
on these phonies.
CHINA - 1920's Royalty. One of the "MUSEUM FAKES". Hand
painted in cream white on black scrap metal.
Muddy Water issue - "Museum"
fake
CHUB CAY, BAHAMAS - this is a fake plate from Chub Cay - an island
in the Bahamas which only had one semi-official issue in 1983. This
is a made up plate, with "nibbed end" lettering, and a sticker pulled from
another plate and then applied to this one. Green and white OI plates
were long out of use by the time this sticker was used.
S-N-A style lettering - Incorrect
format - FAKE plate, with real add-on to enhance
value
COCOS ISLAND - COCOS ISLAND FAKES - Similar to the North Korea
plates, these were produced sometime in the 1980's, when Cocos Islands plates
were impossible to come by, and information was sketchy. Since then,
data has proved these plates to be fakes.
COCOS ISLAND - COCOS ISLAND FAKES - Similar to the North Korea
plates, these were produced sometime in the 1980's, when Cocos Islands plates
were impossible to come by, and information was sketchy. Since then,
data has proved these plates to be fakes.
COCOS ISLAND - with squared "O", SNA series, on heavy piece of scrap
steel.
COMOROS ISLANDS - I had this plate in my dupe box
for years, until Vincent Moens identified it as another "west coast" fake
- although "Comore" is the French spelling of the main island, apparently
this isn't a standard issue of any type. Thanks for the tip, VM!
(This actual plate resides in my "fakes" collection.)
MAYOTTE-COMOROS ISLANDS - These are nice 1995-1996 series Mayotte
plates, but the seller added a COMOROS sticker in the middle, to add
a little "uniqueness" to the plate. Unfortunately, Mayotte became
independent from the Comoros Islands in 1975, 20 years before these
plate were issued ("H" series was 1995-1996).
Incorrect format - Real plate, enhanced
with fake add-on to increase value.
CURACAO - I had a dozen or so of these red Curacao plates, and a few
black issues - almost all passenger car plates. This one is a
motorcycle.... I had no problem with them, but Bob Bittner spotted some in
my dupe box, and informed me that the stickers don't belong in the middle.
Not surprisingly, since the seller is known for enhancing plates with
decals and crests that he finds here and there. The plate is fine,
but the sticker is not supposed to be on the plate.
Real plate, enhanced with fake add-on to increase
value.
EBEYE ISLAND - I had this one in my collection for years, before I
was emailed by more than one Kwajalein resident telling me that there were
no plates in use, or at least, nothing like this one. Spray stencilled
white on a scrap of particle-board. (Ebeye is a small, densely populated
section of atoll, a short distance from Kwajalein, in the Marshall Islands
group, populated by low-level Kwaj Atoll employees and their families)
TAP HERE to see letter about lack of plates on Ebeye.
FALKLAND ISLANDS - a plate pieced together from scraps. Bad
"S" in number, and square "O".
FRANCE - This is an odd type - it includes an authentic French military
sticker, but the rest of the plate is hand painted, in the standard "SNA"
lettering style. This is an unlikely issue at best, with odd yellow
on white color scheme - most likely just a made-up base in which to use a
sticker.
FAKE plate, with real add-on to enhance
value
FRESH CREEK, BAHAMAS - I'm not even sure what this pair is supposed
to be. Out Islands series, but no OUT ISLANDS legend, "T" prefix (which
was never used), and a FC suffix (should be a prefix). Also has the
"square A" lettering found on "SNA" lettered fakes, which is the real giveaway.
S-N-A style lettering - Incorrect
format
THE GAMBIA - Diplomatic plates - obviously made to order fakes,
because 1. the color are reversed from the proper yellow on green, and 2.
the two MOST unlikely embassies are represented - Palestine Liberation Org,
and North Korea.
THE GAMBIA - Two conveniently numbered plates, both with the "Chartpak"
style lettering, and telltale pinstriping found on so many of these fakes.
See the EVIDENCE section below, which shows all the Chartpak plates
and pinstripe plates together.
THE GAMBIA - Another pinstripe/Chartpak beauty - oops - seller wasn't
happy just offering fake plates, so here's a low numbered AA1 Presidential
plate! Lighter blue, but the same "THE GAMBIA" legend and striping.
Again - check the EVIDENCE section below.
GILBERT and ELLICE ISLANDS - a terrible fake, complete with sailboats,
looks like it's made on cardboard or some sort of wood.
GILBERT and ELLICE ISLANDS - true GEG plates tend to be 1950's-60's
U.K. design in layout, not this modernistic font seen here.
GILBERT and ELLICE ISLANDS - Junk. This one recently surfaced
in a collection of foreigns that has been boxed for more than a decade.
One of a dozen "west coast" fakes that had shown up on a collector's
table in Rhode Island, 2004.
|
|
GILBERT and ELLICE ISLANDS - A REAL Gilbert and Ellice Island Govt - with the proliferation of phony GEG plates, I thought it would help to show what a real GEG issue looks like. This is a former Klotz collection plate. The unfortunate thing is, with some scrap UK plates, any boob could put together a passable phony GEG plate, so be sure to get whatever paperwork you can with offered plates of this type. |
GOVERNOR'S HARBOR, BAHAMAS - Another bad fake - too modernistic in
the dies department. Out Islands issues are pretty much standardized,
usually 6 x 12 metal. This is cute, but sure looks like something someone
in the Bahamas made up to please a buyer.
GRENADA - SNA fake lettering - how many more digits like this does
ANYONE need to see? This one didn't ever start out as another curved
motorcycle, it looks to me a piece of scrap automotive brake material.
Note from island expert Bob Bittner - "Never has there ever been any mention of the capital city "St George" on a plate. Seller must have looked on a map to get that on a plate."
S-N-A style lettering - Lower case
- Incorrect format
GUAM - colors are right, but no known actual 1927 Guams exist. This
one is also light metal, with fake stencilled "9". Real plates are
all made on galvanized steel, and the paint was very weak. This is
a well made recently made plate. A good way to tell if a stencilled
fake is fake, is to see if it was hand painted - if there are stencil "breaks",
like in the loop in the "9" on the plate above, it must be a fake, as there's
no reason to use stencil breaks in a handpainted character - except of course,
to try to MAKE it look stencilled.
HATOHOBEI (or Hatobei, depending on the mood of the guy making
up the plate) - this is another island in the Palau group, and I believe
there ARE one or two examples of this issue that AREN'T fake - they look
a lot more like the one on the left. Here's a real variety of homemade
beauties, all different types, layouts, sizes. If you want to add this
island to your set, I would work on contacting someone in Palau you can trust,
and work from there. These are junk. although there are a few with authentic
date stickers from other islands.
Incorrect format - FAKE plate,
with real add-on to enhance value
HOME ISLAND, KIRIBATI - plate, with HOME ISLAND legend. Obvious
fake, with SNA series lettering, hand painted.
ICELAND - "Royalty" plate - this is a small metal crest that was attached
to a truly ugly hunk of galvanized steel - as if anyone in the Icelandic
Royal Family would be caught dead with something this ugly on their Benz.
Thanks to Herman Hallo for confirming that no actual issue of this
sort exists.
ICELAND - TWO recent issues, and the plates themselves are real.
Unfortunately, chances are these plates had the validation crests removed
before the plates were sent to the USA - the IS flag stickers are phonies
that don't belong on the plate. The plate on the right still has the
original validation sticker on the right - the plate on the left has two
phony stickers added.
Incorrect format - Real plate, enhanced
with fake add-on to increase value.
IRAQ- standard fake style hand painted, similar to the others in this
"museum" group.
JOHNSTON ATOLL - "Souvenir" plates are now being distributed for use
on two or three vehicles on JA, but this isn't one of them. Personnel
on J.A. have confirmed that this type of plate was never issued or used on
the island.
JOHNSTON ATOLL - more convincing than most, but sources on the island
confirm that issues of this type don't exist. The "GS" code on the
plate is a common "west coast fake" gimmick, usually found on island issues
from US military islands. Sort of like offering plates from "transport
vehicles", as a way to explain why a plate doesn't look like a standard car
or truck plate.
KAYANGEL - When this plate surfaced, there were NO plates on Kayangel, and Kayangel Goverment plates were only used on the main island, with a limited amount of plexiglass issues (see authentic issue below) - when actual plates came into use, they were professionally made EMBOSSED issues. German collector Rolf Helbig is one of the VERY few collectors to visit the island, and plates like this were never used. This is a typical, overly-ornate fake.
|
|
KAYANGEL - Here are two Kayangel issues - the plexi is a series used on Government Vehicles on Palau. The second photo shows the plate actually in used on the vehicle. The number 0009 is the current series embossed metal plate. Up until a few years ago, there were NO plates used on Kayangel. |
KIRIBATI - This one is actually shown in RPW3, although an obvious
fake, with clear "SNA" lettering - note the clear similarities of the type
style to other plates in this category.
S-N-A style lettering - Lower
case
KIRIBATI - motorcycle, on particle board - "5" in number looks
like "S", typical "SNA" lettering style - note similarity to lettering on
Out Island plate "T66FC", shown above.
|
|
KIRIBATI - Thanks to Craig Jeffriess for turning up this photo of one of my old Kiribati mc/car plates - it's important to remember that even some of the WORST looking plates CAN be authentic. Some were TUC, other were BTC, and all were various condition used issues. At left is shown TWO things that you should always keep with your world plates - the letter that came with them, and the original wrapping paper. If your seller doesn't have it, and you have doubts, you might want to consider passing on the plate. |
KURIA, KIRIBATI - Not sure what this even is - probably some sort of Kiribati issue - fake "SNA" style lettering, same white paint, scrap metal or rubber.
S-N-A style lettering - Lower
case
LINE ISLANDS, KIRIBATI - A plastic issue, looks like part of a spare
tire cover - white characters are white vinyl tape. Someone must have
asked the seller for a "Line Islands" issue back in the 1980's, and he was
happy to comply with this little made-up item.
LORAN STATION, BONIN ISLANDS - One of probably seven or eight "LORSTA"
plates that the seller produced in the 1980's - no number at all on this
one.
LORAN STATION, BONIN ISLANDS - A real key plate - this is one of a
number of known fakes - made from a metal door, complete with intact
lock. Supposed to be a Bonin Islands plate, from the Loran Station.
This originally came from the seller with a REAL embroidered Loran
Station Bonin Islands shoulder patch - another case of authenticating a fake
plate with a real item. Blatant "SNA" series lettering, with both the
"S" and "A", as well as a distinct "R" in the number. This also came
with a fake letter, hand written, with bogus envelope xerox -
TAP HERE TO SEE THOSE LETTERS.
MALDIVES - "Navy" issue - stencilled on VERY thin metal - the yellow
anchor has been hand painted onto the plate. See the
EVIDENCE section below to show how this
plate was made with the same stencil as a "Tahiti" plate.
TAP here to see the closeup of this plate, and a Tahiti
plate.
MALDIVES - Here's a good example of a "junkyard" plate - put together
with scraps from a few other plates. British size, with attached numbers,
and a painted crest added to finish it off. This is one of a dozen
"west coast" fakes that had shown up on a collector's table in Rhode Island,
2004.
MALDIVES - This one has been on my "questionable" list for years,
but recent sources in the Maldives have noted that there are no types like
this, and considering the typical "made from loose pieces" style of plate,
this is clearly not an autentic plate. I believe there's a similar
plate out there, being presented as the "mate" to this one.
MALI - A nice Mali Tech Staff plate - the little religious
sticker is an add-on - it doesn't belong, but it bumped the status of the
plate up to "unique". Since the seller often posed as a religious figure
to garner stock from overseas churches, getting the sticker was probably
no problem.
Real plate, enhanced with fake add-on to increase
value.
MALTA - This standard Maltese plate was offered as a "Bishop's
plate" - the Bishop doesn't use a numbered plate like this. The white
on black plate is a standard passenger series, the blue stickers on the corners
were added later.
Real plate, enhanced with fake add-on to increase
value.
MAURITANIA - Not much to say about this - someone had some
imagination.
Muddy Water issue - Lower case
- Incorrect format
MIDWAY ISLAND - more convincing than most, but sources on the island
confirm that issues of this type don't exist. The "GS" code on the
plate is a common "west coast fake" gimmick, usually found on island issues
from US military islands. Sort of like offering plates from "transport
vehicles", as a way to explain why a plate doesn't look like a standard car
or truck plate. There's also a Johnston Atoll plate shown with a similar
stencilled GS code.
MONGOLIA - One of a group of "museum" plate fakes. See the
EVIDENCE section below for more info.
MONGOLIA - this plate was offered as a "SPECIAL" passenger plate,
with the country name on the plate. Not quite - this is a real plate,
with a large frame attached that SOMEONE had the word "Mongolia" printed
across the bottom. News flash - they use Cyrillic over there, and it's
not too likely that they're going to have MONGOLIA in English on their plate
- pretty pathetic.
Real plate, enhanced with fake add-on to increase
value.
NAURU - Here's a new addition - sometime in the 1990's, Nauru started
using motorcycle plates which had an embossed island name and border, but
the plate number (they ran in a five-digit series) was affixed with
narrow white plastic adhesive numbers. There's nothing more boring
than a REAL motorcycle plate, so the old numbers were peeled off, and this
large red cardboard "2" was glued in place, and the plate was offered as
a special VIP or Government/Elected Official series plate. Best of
all, there's ANOTHER known #2 motorcycle plate from the seller that I've
seen, with a different style number 2, so the seller actually made more than
one of these "number two phonies". Thanks to Craig Jeffriess for providing
these photos.
Incorrect format - Real plate, enhanced
with fake add-on to increase value.
|
Here is a photo of an AUTHENTIC Nauru motorcycle from the same series, with the actual adhesive numbers that were used. I believe the plates in this series started at around the number 10001 or 10002. Photos from a German auction site. |
MONTSERRAT - This is supposed to be a "Prime Minister" issue - problem
is, there's a signmaker on Montserrat who will pretty much make up any kind
of plexi issue you could imagine, and this is one of his plates. This
one was offered with the original envelope, which doesn't make the plate
any more real. The real Minister's plate is a black plate with a silver
crown, and unless you get it FROM the Minister himself, it's probably a
fake.
NEVIS - heavy steel box lid, stencilled and hand painted - "SNA" lettering
fake - with "N" and "S" letters clearly from the fake series.
Note from island plate expert Bob Bittner: "Until the last few years, NO one put "Nevis" on a plate, and if they did, it would be neatly done reflecting island pride. Nevis people are very slow to put words on plates unlike some other Brit places."
NEW HEBRIDES - REALLY bad fake, unusually sloppy - this is one of
a dozen "west coast" fakes that had shown up on a collector's table in Rhode
Island, 2004.
NEW HEBRIDES - A low numbered plate, not in any style ever seen from
New Caledonia/New Hebrides. Where I have I seen that yellow
on white paint before? How about the French military shown above?
NEW SUDAN- Fake stencilled plate, with phony "verification" letter
- TAP HERE for more information on this plate.
NEW YORK CITY POLICE - This is a recent addition - was offered as
a real NYPD police plate. Plate is actually a flat lightweight plate,
with an added decal in the center, and four added sticker numbers. I
contacted the NYPD, and they have confirmed that the plate is fake, and they
will be looking into the sale.
Incorrect format -
Chartpak/pinstripe - FAKE
plate, with real add-on to enhance value
NGARCHELONG - motorcycle plate. I just don't know about this
one - the only guy I've ever seen selling these "short" format plates is
this seller alone - they look to me like some sort of plate cut down to size.
I have a Ngarch motorcycle in my collection, and it's perfectly scaled
- this one looks to be made up - the others offered were either a low single
digit, or something like this, with an unlikely number.
FAKE plate, with real add-on to enhance
value
NGCHESAR STATE - This plate just surfaced in a collection - a prime
example of the "west coast lettering", in this case, the N, S and A - all
on one plate. Authentic Ngchesar plates are hand painted, BUT they're
done in a precise style, and always by the same shop. This one is sloppy,
with the usual poorly hand painted characters. FAKE
NGERBAU - Fake plate, real sticker from some other Palau issue - hey
- would it be a good idea to use a 1999 sticker on the plate of an island
that had NO vehicles at that time?
FAKE plate, with real add-on to enhance
value
NIGERIA - This one I would consider to be a possible real plate, but
the yellow added legend is certainly in the same style as other fake plates,
in the "SNA" genre.
NIUE - This is a very nice current plate from the island of Niue
- the seller "improved" the plate by adding a little sticker
to the right of the number, and calling it "a unique issue".
Real plate, enhanced with fake add-on to increase value.
NORFOLK ISLAND - offered as an "early" issue, but not like any early
issue. Interesting note - as of this latest update, the seller has
RE-offered this plate at auction, this time he's referring to it as a "temporary"
- another interesting ploy to explain off why the plate isn't like any known
issue. I'm also not sure, but this apparently is the same plate as
was offered a few years ago, same number as well, but the condition is different,
with different nicks and dents.
NORTH KOREAN FAKES - These plates were offered for sale in the 1980's, when plates from North Korea were virtually unknown. Prices ran high on these plates, as there was no contradictory information concerning the layout and design. In the 1990's, when info on North Korea plates came to be known, these plates stood out as fairly obvious fakes - most being far too ornate or decorative to truly have been issued or used in North Korea.
NORTH KOREA - This is the plate that really broke things open. Various world plate collectors swore this plate was real, because there was "real Korean" writing on the right side of the plate - something about "the revolution of the people's party, blah blah blah"... What people don't realize is, any boob can dig up a Korean phrase and add it to a plate. It was also "verified as a real plate" by someone who lived in Korea. What people don't mention is, the person who said it was real did so only because the Korean phrase was real. Ask the average shmoe in the USA what the colors were on a plate from a certain state in 1946, and they probably won't know. Just being Korean doesn't make anyone an expert. Of course, since the time this plate was sold, various other proof has surfaced which has shown the seller's PDRK plates to be fake. This plate was made on a metal plate blank, with a debossed border. All the characters are poorly done flat stencilled characters, except the symbol in the upper left corner. This is hand painted over a "debossed" image, which consists of two long strokes that look like they were added with a chisel and a hammer. - Check the EVIDENCE section below, to see the "proof" letters that attempt to authenticate these plates.
Muddy Water issue - Incorrect format
NORTH KOREA - This plate is nice to look at, but brown on tan plates
is a long shot. Scrap metal, painted over. - Check
the EVIDENCE section below, to see the
"proof" letters that attempt to authenticate these plates.
Muddy Water issue - Incorrect format
NORTH KOREA - The brass ring is a nice touch, but hardly believable
on a plate from a purely utilitarian state like North korea.
Check the
EVIDENCE section below, to see the "proof"
letters that attempt to authenticate these plates.
NORTH KOREA - Hand painted scrap, wrong size and format.
Check the
EVIDENCE section below, to see the "proof"
letters that attempt to authenticate these plates.
NORTH KOREA - Some sort of something - made on a long sized European
base - Check the
EVIDENCE section below, to see the "proof"
letters that attempt to authenticate these plates.
NORTH KOREA - Motorcycle plate - Check the
EVIDENCE section below, to see the "proof"
letters that attempt to authenticate these plates.
NORTH KOREA - Ecch. Unreadable, and unlikely. This might
have started out as some sort of blank auto plate, but I'm not sure where
it would have been from. Check the
EVIDENCE section below, to see the "proof"
letters that attempt to authenticate these plates.
NORTH KOREA - Overly ornate again - why would anyone believe that
this "dash" style numbering was ever used. It also has a fake debossed
Korean character in the lower right corner, but upon closer inspection, is
revealed to be two screwdriver gouges. The thing in the upper left
is a metal button attached to the plate. Check
the EVIDENCE section below, to see the
"proof" letters that attempt to authenticate these plates.
NORTH KOREA - Overly ornate - this is a black/white version of
a multi-colored plate, with various codes, and the wrong character as
a prefix letter. Check the
EVIDENCE section below, to see the "proof"
letters that attempt to authenticate these plates.
"Museum" fake - Incorrect format
NORTH KOREA - Just a sloppy issue, inexistent series.
Check the
EVIDENCE section below, to see the "proof"
letters that attempt to authenticate these plates.
OCEAN ISLAND - Phony "bits and scraps" plate - SNA lettering, junk
- see the EVIDENCE section below.
OCEAN ISLAND - Phony "bits and scraps" plate - SNA lettering, junk
- see the EVIDENCE section below.
OCEAN ISLAND - Phony "bits and scraps" plate - SNA lettering, junk
- see the EVIDENCE section below.
PALAU - This was isn't a bad looking plate, just a very unlikely issue
to be found on Palau. The number "2" is clearly a metal or plastic
number from a British style plate, which is unlikely to be found on a Pacific
Island with no ties to the U.K. It's likely that the sticker was real,
probably a decal of some type, and a plate was made to go with it.
PALAU - Just awful, but another great example of building a plate
AROUND something. The seller got a nice colorful "games" decal, and
then stuck it to a metal plate, and glued on some plastic numbers.
PARAGUAY - This one is a Paraguay "motorcycle" plate, noted
as vg condition. When I got the plate, it was a passenger plate that
someone had chopped in half, and repainted the wrong colors.
PEMBA ISLAND - Chartpak (adhesive vinyl lettering) on a flat plate.
That's a nice seal on there, but the EAT code hasn't been used on Zanzibar
OR the dependency of Pemba in many years. Looks nice, but fake.
PITCAIRN ISLAND - again, a non-issue - this plate came with a small
assortment of island articles, in an attempt to validate the plate. SDA
is supposed to stand for "Seventh Day Adventist", as if an island with NO
plates would have a special "church" issue. Check out the
EVIDENCE letter below for more info.
TAP for letter about Pitcairn plates.
PITCAIRN ISLAND - Simply put, there has never been a standard plate
used on Pitcairn. There ARE licenses, and this "plate" is a made up
item, with various numbering and graphics hand painted on the plate, with
a souvenir license stuck to the plate. Contacts on Pitcairn have confirmed
that plates of this type were NEVER used. Check out the
EVIDENCE letter below for more info.
TAP for letter about Pitcairn plates.
PITCAIRN ISLAND - This is the same "SDA" plate shown above, with all
the items offered WITH the plate. Nothing like some authentic
pamphlets and other paperwork to go with a fake plate - doesn't really add
to the authenticity at all - there are no official or unofficial plates in
use on Pitcairn. Check out the
EVIDENCE letter below for more info.
TAP for letter about Pitcairn plates.
PONAPE - TAP HERE to go to the EVIDENCE listing
for more info on this fairly obvious fake.
RODRIGUES - Another REALLY bad fake, unusually sloppy - this is one
of a dozen "west coast" fakes that had shown up on a collector's table in
Rhode Island, 2004.
RODRIGUES - Primitive, scrap metal, number noted on an old list as well.
RODRIGUES - SNA lettering fake, with block lettering. Unnecessarily
ornate.
ROTA - There is only one known authentic Rota plate, and this
isn't it. The real giveaway on this plate is the yellow and red "1970"
date oval. Darned if I can place it, but I've seen it before, maybe
on a Suriname or Bermuda issue. As soon as I figure out what it is,
I'll add the notation. What is ISN'T is a Rota date tab. Try
to imagine why an embossed, professionally made date tab was ever necessary
on a plate from a jurisdiction this size.
Incorrect format - FAKE plate,
with real add-on to enhance value
RUM CAY, BAHAMAS - This one's an insult - Rum Cay only issued
plates to the 10 or so cars on the island since 1983. Plates are
professionally made, embossed - there are no plates like this flat.
RUSSIAN SVALBARD - This one might almost pass, if it wasn't for the
stacked number 0110 (if that's what it's supposed to be). I'd like
to see a letter with something like this.
SABA - motorcycle? Naw. Made up. Saba plates are
pretty much either embossed 6 x 12, or long, almost UK in
design. This one isn't, and it has the old giveaway "A" in
the name. There also were never pairs used on Saba (as per Island plate
expert Bob Bittner).
Additional note from Bob Bittner: "You say that Saba has had some long Euro-style plates... NEVER! (St. E did, though). And, any MC replacement plates there would be the past issue, without repainting, and definitely nothing that sloppy. Saba is the NEATEST and cleanest Carib island. I've never seen a hand-painted plate there in my 7 trips there. Even the gov't would not allow a hand-paint. They would (and do) order higher-numbered plates, even if from a different mfr."
S-N-A style lettering - Incorrect
format
ST. HELENA - This was listed as one of the seller's phony TDC plates,
as there was a sketch of a number 12 plate on one of his flyers, but
Jim Fox recently contact me, and told me it originally came from an island
source. This is why you need to authenticate your plates whenever possible.
Even the crappiest looking plates can be the real thing, so be careful!
ST. PIERRE et MIQUELON - A phony "TRAIN" plate - house numbers, and
a dealership frame. See the EVIDENCE
listing below for the details.
TAP HERE to see details of this item.
FAKE plate, with real add-on to enhance
value
ST. PIERRE et MIQUELON - Another one of the "SNA" plates. Supposed
to have been found at a flea market. The "S" is exactly like the fake
"S"s found on other plates above. It's a lot more likely that
this person got stuck with a bad fake, and then tried to move it off on someone
else.
SANDY POINT, BAHAMAS - Sandy Point spelled out (never made this way),
blatant SNA lettering across top.
S-N-A style lettering - Incorrect
format
SAO TOME e PRINCIPE - Chartpak lettering issue - no known issues with
flag, and sources on STP say no such plates were ever produced.
Chartpak/pinstripe - Incorrect
format
SAO TOME e PRINCIPE - - Chartpak lettering issue - no known issues
with flag, and sources on STP say no such plates were ever produced.
Chartpak/pinstripe - Incorrect
format
SARK - REAL disk, but large metal frame made to enhance disk - this
"plate" was pictured in an ALPCA Newsletter article. Hand painted letters
are clearly SNA fakes.
S-N-A style lettering - Real DISK,
with fake add-on metal frame to increase value.
SAUDI ARABIA - Some sort of "royal family/ VIP/etc" issue - all flat,
with various added on seals and stickers, some made of gold leaf, etc - another
case of the plate faker adding seals, decals, and pieces of letterheads to
a plate to help make it believable.
SEBORGA - As above - this "Seborga" plate consists of a very
nice crest decal, on a not-so-nice flat metal metal plate, with what
looks like sticker numbers or painted numbers to the right. There are
no standard plates used in Seborga, and the few "unofficial" issues look
nothing like this.
Incorrect format - FAKE plate,
with real add-on to enhance value
SENEGAL - "Motorcycle" plate - wrong size and layout, Chartpak style
- see EVIDENCE below.
Chartpak/pinstripe - Incorrect
format
SOLOMON ISLANDS - Terrible motorcycle plate, standard "west coast"
style - this was offered up by someone other than the seller, but when questioned
about where HE got the plate, avoided answering. Not surprisingly,
there aren't many people who like to admit they got stuck with fakes.
SOLOMON ISLANDS - This plate may have been made in the Solomons,
but it's unlikely. The "A" prefix came into use in 1986, after the
number 9999 was reached. This one is dated 1983, yet it has an "A"
prefix. So the number isn't right, and generally speaking, standard
Solomons passenger plates have no date on them.
SOMALIA - Another awful plate, made out of the same plastic as the
"LINE ISLANDS" plate, also on this page - This is one of a dozen "west coast"
fakes that had shown up on a collector's table in Rhode Island, 2004.
SOMALIA - The most entertaining fake I've ever seen offered. This
looks like some sort of award plaque, with hand painted accents. Real
plates are heavy steel, with stencilled characters, either light blue or
gray with white numbers. They CD - not DC. The country name is
spelled either SOMALIA or SOMALIYA - never SOMAILA. I don't believe
any one was dumb enough to buy this, but this is the kind of thing that really
ruins the value of the real items out there, and adds to the confusion of
what's real, and what's not.
SUDAN - fake CD plate - a bad copy of a real plate, right down to
the same registration number. "Block C and D" are SNA series giveaways.
SURINAME - ridiculous layout, with artificially "weathered" paint.
Another plate that I actually have in my "fake plate" box.
"Museum" fake - Incorrect format
TAHITI - This is supposed to be a Government series plate from French
Polynesia - unfortunately, it has the clearly phony "SNA" lettering, and
the stencilled section on the right matches another plate purported to be
from Maldives. See EVIDENCE below.
TRISTAN DA CUNHA FAKES - The problem with TDC plates is, anything is possible, but MOST non-standard issues are unlikely. TDC plates in the 1970s and 1980's were embossed aluminum, heavy, and ran up into the number range of T.D.C. 60 or so. The issue that followed were white on black plexiglass flats, with the legend TRISTAN DA CUNHA, SOUTH ATLANTIC across the bottom - motorcycle plates were also produced in this series. The catch is, I don't know if the car owners on TDC ever got to use these plates, as collectors besieged the tiny island for the plexi plates, and car owner seemed to prefer to just make up a plate for their car. Generally speaking, if you're going to get a real TDC plate, in most likely will be a number up into the 80s or 90s in number, and it should be accompanied with a proof letter, photo of the plate on the vehicle, or other piece of authentication. Anyone can crank out a stencilled TDC plate, and if you don't have the concrete proof, I'd leave it. If you're going to go through the trouble of getting a plate from Tristan, anyone would clearly keep the wrapping and paperwork with the plate. These do not have that.
TRISTAN DA CUNHA - Wrong format, wrong colors - as is the case with
almost ANY T.D.C. plate, it could have been made up for quick profit by a
resident, but it's doubtful.
TRISTAN DA CUNHA - Scrap metal, sloppily hand painted - if it's real,
let's see a photo of it on the car, along with some wrapping paper.
TUVALU - Close up of the Tuvalu Nurse plate - all hand painted, fake "N", "S" and "E" at top - a clearly spurious issue.
TUVALU - again, this time painted on a little wooden box. Fake
style "FTC" lettering, similar to other "SNA" series plates.
TUVALU - just a terrible little plate - standard "nibbed F" and
"T" in plate number, made on a pebble-finished scrap of duct metal. This
actual plate resides in my "fakes" collection.
TUVALU - another plate, doubtful design.
TUVALU - small square of rubber, hand sprayed characters.
TUVALU - Phony layout, with spurious "ID" number added on the left.
TUVALU - FTC - has the giveaway lettering, with the little "nibs"
seen on the ends of the straight slashes on some letters in the legend.
TUVALU - Another ridiculous issue. Tuvalu plates ARE primitive, but even a tiny government has basic rules for how plates are to be made. There are no RED on black issues. No to mention the standard "west coast" style "F" in the number. FAKE.
S-N-A style lettering - Incorrect
format
TUVALU - Scrap metal, supposedly a motorcycle plate (?)
TUVALU - "SNA" similar lettering, with block "C", etc - also has the
typical "muddy water" rinse, found on many "west coast" plates.
UBANGI - Right format numbering, but the manufacturer of this style
of plate didn't exist during the era of this now-inexistent nation/territory.
U.A.E. - (or something) - this is SOME sort of supposed Arabic
plate, but I'm not sure where it's supposed to be from The seal
on one is painted on, the other is a foil seal from a letterhead, that was
glued to the plate. Another case of something fancy affixed to a plate
to try to give it some credibility.
U.A.E. - (or something) - apparently a plate purported
to be the mate to the above plate. I wouldn't be surprised if there's
a third or fourth plate like this floating around out there.
U.A.E. - TWO fake UAE issues (the second one just surfaced
in a collection - I wonder how many of these number "7" plates are out there?),
modeled from an authentic plate. Has the "SNA" style lettering, including
the telltale "square A" lettering. OH - and of course, someone who
is actually IN the U.A.E. would probably know the colors of the flag. The
bottom bar is BLACK, not blue as in the second plate. (Second plate courtesy
of Dick Parker)
UNKNOWN - An unknown type, made on a stripped Portuguese or
Irish base - has the telltale "S" in the lettering as well as other
similar style lettering from "SNA" style plates. This is one of a
number of fakes, put together with some loose plate parts, and some paint.
UNKNOWN - Odd plate, no actual jurisdictional clues on this one, although
I'm sure it was offered as something exotic. This is one of a dozen
"west coast" fakes that had shown up on a collector's table in Rhode Island,
2004.
VIETNAM - Another overly ornate fake, in an odd numbering series,
with lower-case lettering no less. With fake distressing and muddy
water rinse.
Muddy Water issue - Lower case
- "Museum" fake - Incorrect format
(WESTERN) SAMOA - a very nice condition current Western Samoa
plate - orange on green, but they don't come with the island name on the
plate. Not a special issue, an enhanced issue - and on top of everything
else, the island name is spelled wrong.
Real plate, enhanced with fake add-on to increase
value.
WAKE ISLAND - A VERY recent issue, and typical, in that it was offered
with a standard postcard/photo showing a landing strip on Wake. Generally,
you're lucky to get the postcard, in this case, the seller offered the photo
as authentication. Currently, there are no plates used on Wake - metal
plates ceased in the late 1980's. This one was also described as a
"transport vehicle", another trick to explain why a plate doesn't look like
any previous known issues.
UPDATED INFO! - The guy who ended up with this "plate" wrote me, and sent a letter copy that the seller emailed to him, as a form of verification. Unfortunately, there are some holes in the letter. Here's a copy of the letter:
Here's the problems with this letter....
1. First, I have to wonder what's so secret that the seller needed
to cover up parts of the letter with correction tape.
2. The top part of the letterhead looks great - the bottom half was
done on a word-processor, which is unusual for someone at a military post.
It would be more believable if it was typed.
3. I did an extensive search on the Internet for a military man with
the name shown, but to no avail. He could be retired, but chances are
his name would still show up on a Google search. If anyone out there
knows this person, or has a contact on Wake, please
contact me!
Now - assuming the letter is real....
4. The original seller told the buyer that he got the plate in 1991,
and has owned it ever since. Anyone who has known the seller knows
he can barely hold a plate for more than a few days before selling it - it's
unlikely that he held onto this plate for 14 years.
5. The letter never mentions the actual plate offered by description
or plate number - the letter could be in reference to ANY Wake plate.
Here's an authentic Wake plate from the seller - you might notice that
it also has an Air Force validation sticker. Chances are, IF the above
letter is authentic, it was sent with this plate:
6. The plate offered (white on black #10) has an odd symbol on the
left side of the plate. It looks like a "half O" or "C" on it's side,
balanced on a stick. One of the seller's weaknesses have always been
adding to a plate, or making a plate overly decorative or overloaded with
symbols. The company that is purported to have used this plate is Piquniq
Management Corporation - "PMC" or even just a "P" would be more believable.
7. Finally, it has the unusual caveat "I don't know if it's what you
expected, but believe me, it's all that's available"... there have been other
"proof letters" with the same type of wording. There have also been
proof letters mentioning that the plate in question is now available because
the vehicle it was on is now "unserviceable" - not "out of service" or "broken
down". When you see enough of these letters, the patterns emerge.
I think the most common-sense answer in this case is as follows - back in the late 1980's/early 1990's, the seller got a REAL Wake plate from a military person on the island. He kept the letter, and has recycled it for use as a "verification letter" any time he gets the urge to make up a Wake plate. The black #10 plate is fake, the letter is probably authentic, but doesn't refer to the black plate. If I hear from the officer in question, or someone from Piquniq who actually RECOGNIZE this #10 plate, and can verify that it was used and sent to the seller in question, then I'll be happy to list this plate as authentic. As it stands, it's just another fake.
I'll repeat what's said at the top of the letter - there are
some plate collectors, and even ALPCA members (who should know better) who
are still buying plates from the seller in question. If you buy something
questionable, please don't waste time badgering me NOT to list it on this
page. Enough people know about this guy and his plates by now, that
there shouldn't be anyone still buying from this guy.
WAKE ISLAND - I had this one in my collection for years as an authentic
plate - but after hearing from more than a few people who were stationed
on Wake, I've added it to the fake list. It's a cute plate, with a
great slogan (that was actually used on Wake). My take on this plate,
is that someone on Wake MIGHT have supplied some of these plates to the seller,
but with the very small dies, and lack of wear of all known issues, it seems
unlikely that any were actually on a car.
WAKE ISLAND - Very fancy, although why a plate would be this HUGE,
not to mention red on dark blue, really casts doubt on this issue. If
it was from anyone else, and had some authentic paperwork to back it up,
I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it.
WAKE ISLAND -Another long time plate from my collection - just too
big to be realistic - very long British size, with very small dies - the
stacked US prefix seems unnecessary as well. Looks like a large hunk
of scrap steel with painted characters.
|
|
WAKE ISLAND - I owned this plate for many years - it's untreated galvanized steel, with yellow stencilled WAKE and ISLAND and left/right/top/bottom. It also has apparent wear, flaking, and aging that's nearly impossible to fake to this extent. The date sticker is an Air Force coded date sticker. This plate went to the Alan Betts stash in Oregon, but has since moved to the collection of Bob Bittner in Massachusetts. |
YEMEN - custom made, but not any series anyone knows about. Odd
graphics, hand painted features, overly ornate numbering.
YEMEN - similar to the above plate, using the same style of scrap
metal or plate blank from somewhere else. The above plate has a little
mysterious "four sectioned" logo added, this one has a little red "house"
image of some sort added.
YUGOSLAVIA - non-standard layout, improper colors and make.
YUGOSLAVIA - non-standard layout, improper colors and make.
ZAMBIA - Motorcycle (?) plate. The plate on the right is a real
issue with the seal - full embossed. The plate on the left is a flat
plate with Chartpak applied sticker letters and numbers - the seal was most
likely pulled from a junked Zambia license plate, and stuck on the plate
to help pass it off as the real thing. A white version of the AAX9866
plate was also offered, which would mean that a front and back plate was
needed for a motorcycle, which is an impossibility (both square as shown).
Chartpak/pinstripe - Incorrect
format - FAKE plate, with real add-on to enhance
value
NEW - This bottom section of the page is referred to as the EVIDENCE section of the page - it includes not only the close-up shots of certain parts and letters on plates, but also sections of letters and packaging that were used to "prove the authenticity" of certain items.
"S-N-A" FAKES - These are blatant fakes, all with clearly matching hand painted legends or numbers. "S-N-A" refers to the similarity of certain letters which appear on many different plates. It's not until you see plates side-by-side that the flaws become apparent. For photos of a large group of these, TAP HERE.
EVIDENCE - The letter
"S" that looks like a "5" (and one "5" that looks like an S) -
this is the flaw in the system that first tipped me off to a large number
of fake plates.
EVIDENCE - The "N"s - Letter "N"s
with a rounded top point, misshapen.
EVIDENCE - The "A"s - Square topped
letter "A"s. Interestingly, this is the same way the seller writes
his "A"s when hand lettering lists and letters. Hmmm.
EVIDENCE - Lower
case letters. For the record, I've been collecting plates for 30
years, and haven't seen more than one or two plates with lower case
lettering.
EVIDENCE - The
CHARTPAK and LINED fakes - These are four plates offered recently on
line. The Senegal is a plexi, with the country name with pin-striping.
The Gambia is a plexi as well, also with the country name, also with
pin-striping. Neither are standard design, and the numbering on the
Gambia is a real mystery. A coincidence that both are similar design,
with country names, and striping? The last plate is a Chad that uses
the same type of lettering. - the letters are known as Chartpak, which is
a brand name for dry-transfer lettering - basically a plastic-like vinyl
lettering on wax paper, which is applied by rubbing on the reverse side.
The font is almost always an "Arial" style font, no matter WHERE the
plate is purported to come from.
EVIDENCE - An interesting QUOTE
from the seller to long-time collector Dave Stratton at a Silver State
Regional plate meet in Reno in the mid 1980's. I've included the
exact text as I received it from Dave.
Dave Stratton is ALPCA number 3445 , and at the time, I'm sure he was still
a registered ALPCA member, although he's since dropped out to avoid becoming
a SUSPENDED ALPCA member. Here's the text....
Original email from Dave S. .... "Drew... I last saw him, it was at Little Joe Korosa's house coupled with the first Silver State Reno meet (1984---1986?) The conversation went like this:"
Dave: "...the business of these bizarre countries you've been getting lately (North Korea....Afghanistan) is it true you use religion to get them out of there?"
Seller : "Sure....it's no worse than our own almighty ALPCA members using the Boy Scouts or politics to get US plates.... Who gets hurt anyway? Besides I don't get that many anyway, and if I run out, I make 'em up. I fulfill dreams..."
Dave: "Well, I wouldn't be attending any plate meets with that philosophy, because the word is already out on that subject."
----
With all the info I've been working on to prove that this guy was faking plates, I really would never have thought that he would just come out and admit that he's made up plates. Sometimes it just drops in your lap - Ed.
EVIDENCE - The
fake TRAIN plate - Recently, longtime Alaska collector and foreign
plate aficionado Fred Agree bought a plate from the seller which was described
as a "special TRAIN license plates, number 2 - from the island of St. Pierre
et Miquelon". Not surprisingly, the plate turned out to be an obvious
fake. Below is the email from Fred describing the research and findings
in regard to this classic fake.....
Fred: "The SPM is another of the seller's "specials". He says it's off the #2 train. Its made of plexiglass plastic. The train quit running in the late 1930s. The "Ets DERRIBLE" attachment is from the 1990s. The #2 "plate" is from the local Canadian Tire hardware store and it's a house number (current vintage). Also, the thing is SAE (inches), not metric as one would expect on a French territory (SPM). Good news is the attachment with the SPM is worth the money alone!"
----
Again, just another great example of how
this guy will work with various pieces of this and that to try to put together
a believable item. This plate was a house number from 2004, a 1990's
dealer frame, coupled with some truly faulty data used to validate the plate.
It's important to mention that this seller's main defense in various
emails to and from Fred, was that he would refund his money at any time,
and that he had another buyer waiting for the plate. This is the main
way this guy operates - he offers/sells a lot of fakes, and no matter HOW
clearly you can prove something is fake to him, he will always offer a complete
refund, and will then have no qualms about turning around, and selling the
junk to someone else - Ed.
- TAP to read
letter.
EVIDENCE - This is an email sent to me
by long time foreign plate expert, and ALPCA archivist Dr. Roy Klotz. Roy
had just returned from a world tour, and had visited the island of Pitcairn,
home to the descendants of the Bounty mutiny. Although the seller has
offered various plates from Pitcairn, this info pretty much discounts the
existence of any real issues.
- TAP to read letter.EVIDENCE - This is an email from a former military man who was stationed on Kwajalein - it pretty much clears up the myth about plates on Ebeye.
The NORTH KOREAN LICENSE PLATE phony letter fiasco section!
I had these letters and plate lists in my file for YEARS, before finally noticing a similarity between two of them - with a little comparison, and some scanning, the following evidence surfaced. It's important to mention that these letters are in reference to North Korean plates, which are the main point of contention between supporters and detractors of this seller and his questionable plates. For years, people (mostly people who BOUGHT these plates), had stubbornly insisted that most of these North Korean plates were authentic issue, despite the fact that the designs and make of the plates were ridiculous. As the difficulty in obtaining authentic North Korean license plates has eased somewhat in the last five years, it was already becoming apparent that there were NEVER any plates similar to the oddly colored and numbered plates being offered by this seller. The information shown below will pretty much put the final nail in the coffin. Be sure to TAP on each small picture to see a large scan of the evidence in question.
-
TAP to see letter.
EVIDENCE - Korean World Refugee - two
letters - here are two scans of letter copies that were mailed to me from
the seller, as proof that all of his North Korean plates were authentic,
and were being provided by someone named T. Nanh, who worked for an organization
called the Korean World Refugee Commission. Both of these letters are
fairly convincing, although the masthead logo used is a bit odd, including
some rare "slash" symbols.
-
TAP to see large version of signature.
- TAP to see large version hand
written
EVIDENCE - This is a closeup of the signature
of T. Nanh, from the letters. Coincidentally, "T. Nanh" signs his name
exactly like the seller does, with a frantic, upward slashing style, complete
with flat topped "A".
- TAP to see original screen capture of Yahoo
lookup.
EVIDENCE - Back when I first started
to dig up background information on the "Korean World Refugee Commission",
it was in the pre-Internet era. I made dozens of phone calls to Vietnamese
operators, and had even more letters returned as "bad address" from various
post offices in Vietnam. When the Internet made informational searches
much easier, I did a search for "KOREAN WORLD REFUGEE COMMISSION" - now,
you would have thought that there HAS to be something like this out there,
but no soap. As I suspected, there is NO such organization. Tap
the small picture to see the final result of the search.
- TAP to read letter.
EVIDENCE - I was starting to piece things
together one day when I noticed something about one of the "North Korean"
letters - I couldn't put my finger on it, but the type font was familiar.
Here's a closeup of part of the letter from North Korean, typed by
"T. Nanh" (in "all caps", no less).
- TAP to read letter.
EVIDENCE - I then went through my collection
of hand written lists (and believe it or not, I have hundreds of these on
file), and for the most part, the seller hand-writes most of the messages.
On one list, he typed the header message. Check the photos on
the right for the close-up. Type font look familiar? How about
the unusual style of some of the letters - compare the two letters, and it's
clear that it's the same type-style. Now, check the next photo
below....
-
TAP to see comparison
EVIDENCE - Here's the letter section
from "North Korea/Vietnam", SUPERIMPOSED over the letter message. It's
one thing to see typewriter fonts that are similar, but these are exact,
AND the space between the letters and the spacing between each line is IDENTICAL.
Next....
- TAP for close-up.
EVIDENCE - The final nail .... here's
the ONE word that was used on BOTH the list, AND the "North Korean/Vietnamese"
letter. I scanned both letters in high-definition, and took a "negative
image" of the word "PLATES". It's a good thing that "T. Nanh" and the
seller both have the annoying habit of typing in all capital letters. Once
the negative image from the seller's letter was processed, I made the "white"
of the negative transparent, and simply dropped it onto the white positive
image of the word "PLATES" from the "T. Nanh" letter. This isn't just
a case of it being close, it's an IDENTICAL match. Both letters were
made on the same typewriter, which pretty much tells you that the seller
typed up his own "authenticating" paperwork whenever necessary. Still
think he got some authentic North Korean plates?
EVIDENCE - The Loran Station Patch, phony letter/envelope, example of "west coast fakes" hand lettering - the photo on the left shows the a xerox of the plate AND patch that was sold to me back in the 1980's. After I suspected the plate was fake, I contacted the seller for more proof, and the letter on the right was provided. This is a classic example of the seller stretching one authentic item, and adding to it. The patch is real, the plate is fake. Amazingly, the envelope shown in the xerox looks authentic, and it most likely the one used to mail the patch to the seller. When he got the patch, he manufactured the plate, and offered it as the main item, with the patch as a bonus. The actual letter is done in the seller's hand-lettering (see third image for example of his hand-lettering) - apparently he assumed people stationed on Loran Station were child-like idiots who would hand-scrawl a letter of this style. Also note that the familiar "this is as close as you'll get to a plate" line of thought - there's a Wake Island letter on this page with a similar line, and more than a few other letters that I've seen that use the same wording.
EVIDENCE - A shot of a "Ponape" plate, and a "New Sudan" issue - closecuts are shown, illustrating the problems with these plates, as well as proof that the same stencil pieces were used to make both plates. TAP HERE for more information.
EVIDENCE - A group shot
showing some similar "SNA" plate, including no less than THREE Ocean
Island issues, a "Tahiti", "Bonin Islands", Falklands OHMS series, and Tuvalu
"Nurse" plate. Notice the similarity between the lettering. All are
blatant fakes.
EVIDENCE - A very
close shot of two different plates - a "Tahiti" issue, and a Maldives
"Navy" issue - both are clearly fakes, but the close-up shots show the identical
stencils used to make both plates. These are identical stencils, paint,
and base metal. The seller insisted to me that they both came from
individual sources - the Tahiti from Tahiti, the Maldives Navy from his source
in the Maldives.
"MUSEUM" FAKES - These plates were all sold at approximately the same time - most have similar style and dies, matching fake "dirt", and other matching qualities. Originally the seller claimed these came from the countries of apparent origin, but later change the story to something involving an "automotive museum" in California that had these on display, and then sold them off. I would normally assume that the seller made these plates up in his garage, but they're off a different style, and most are of a superior quality than the average "west coast fake".
ENHANCED PLATES - Real plates with fake / inappropriate add-ons. These are generally real plates, that the seller attempted to enhance in value, by adding something to the plate, and claiming the issue to be something "unique" or unusual.
ENHANCED "PLATES" - Fake with real or off-function add-ons. These are plates that "came to be" from a sticker, crest or other type of form or adhesive label. The plates are unknown/unorthodox in design, and are obviously made up items with some sort of enhancement.
INCORRECT FORMAT FAKES - A good way to explain these? It would be as if someone offered you a 1976 Bicentennial Pennsylvania plate, and the one you get is a plastic plate, with sticker numbers, and a paper date sticker. It's just NOT what the plate should be. Some of these issues don't now, nor have ever exists, other are the wrong layout, still others are just plain made-up junk.
MUDDY WATERS - No, not the rocker - there have been dozens of plates purchased from the seller that have been dirty, but not "plate used on a car" dirty. Almost all of them have clearly been rinsed in a muddy water solution, which rather than leaving the plate looking used, usually results in the plate looking like it was unused, but swished around in a pan of muddy water. Almost exclusively, all of these plates have CLEARLY been rinsed in the same light-brown mud solution, regardless of where they were supposed to have originated.
I will be updating this site as I come across further information and photos. Have questionable plates from this dealer? Contact me here - I'm happy to appraise, and will look at all submitted photos and data.
LAST UPDATE - November 21st, 2005