FAKE KO marked Ek1

[Chopperman]

We have recently discovered a new fake that
is making the rounds on ebay and other sites.

It is a one piece cross that is a very faithful copy
of an original KO cross. It is copied after one of
the more obscure versions of a KO and is marked
KO.

The most obvious tell on this cross is that it's
( one piece ) however that can be hard to judge
from some pictures. Slight differences in the date
and crown also give it away.

So when looking at buying that next KO cross, please
do your homework.

[Chopperman]

and--

[Chopperman]

All three of the crosses posted above are fakes.
With a little aging and the right photography these
things will fool some people.

[TrondK]

Thanks for this thread.

[Pavel]

Never trust a KO which hasn't lost some of its core paint. ;-)

It seems that the centennial has some side effects; it is worth to someone to put a lot of effort into making a copy which doesn't look outright wrong. Especially the hinge and needle setup look pretty convincing.

Luckily enough, there are still several red flags left, as Chopperman points out. Besides them I would also like to mention the different typeface used to imitate the maker's mark. (KO vs. KO).

Anyway, thank you for sharing these examples.

[Chopperman]

As Pavel mentioned, the makers marks are not right on these.
I did not highlight that because the sellers were careful not
to show the complete markings.

When I get some descent pictures I will add them here.

[AntonEbans]

Greg,

I want to really thank you for posting this, shortly after reading it, I ran across one of these and almost bought it. I had to pull the post up at the time to confirm and while I was in the process, a couple of other people came along to look at it. While they were there, I showed them the post (along with the vendor) they were quite impressed with your knowledge (as was the vendor who pulled the EK off his table.) So, again, Thank you!!

Anton

[Chopperman]

Thanks Anton.
To know that I actually did keep someone from buying
a fake makes me very happy.

[AntonEbans]

Greg,

You actually helped three maybe even four. As I said while pulling up your post on my laptop, Two others were interested in it, Plus had not the vendor pulled it off the table (and it stayed off the complete weekend) There could have been a fourth!

Anton

Here's a photo of the latest in the collection

[Miro]

As Pavel mentioned, the makers marks are not right on these.
I did not highlight that because the sellers were careful not
to show the complete markings.

When I get some descent pictures I will add them here.

And... KO never marked pin for silver content. KO´s were award pieces, which means without silver content mark (typical for private purchases).

Miro