
Modern technology has its good points and its bad points. Unscrupulous individuals (a.k.a., “goniffs”) can photocopy or laser-print ribbons and pawn them off as originals. In the past, we have seen fake Lincoln and Eugene V. Debs ribbons. Just recently, we saw a fake Lewis Cass ribbon that sold for $3,400, but the buyer was alerted to the fraud and was able to return it for a refund. Despite this set-back for the seller, we did not expect him to “fold up his tent” and sneak off into the night. We just spotted this Lincoln ribbon being offered by a vendor with no feedback and an undisclosed locale. We must assume it is the same fellow who tried to foist the fake Cass ribbon upon an unsuspecting collector, who simply opened a new eBay account. The vendor with the Cass ribbon had sold a fake Custer CDV for $500 previously and, by some strange coincidence, he refers to this ribbon as a CDV in the description, pleading, as is often the case with such scams, total ignorance of the item he is offering and soliciting input from the collecting community. Such disclaimers on the part of vendors should constitute a red flag. As of this writing, the 1 1/2″ x 5″ ribbon has received an opening bid of $99 (another red flag). We hope that eBay will be alerted to the deception and take appropriate action. In the meantime, be on your guard!