A dealer in Australia has been selling fake padlocks on eBay. Even a lock expert was fooled. Robert Dix, writing in the September/October issue of the Journal of Lock Collecting, explains how he was hoodwinked into buying a fantasy railroad lock marked “NSW Railways” (NSW stands for New South Wales, a state in southeast Australia). As soon as he received the lock, he knew it was new. The brass rotary dustcover on the front didn’t even turn. Dix has decided to go back to his old rule: don’t buy a lock unless you can handle it in person.

German regimental beer steins have been reproduced for decades. Originals, made between 1890 and 1914, were souvenirs made for men in particular units of military service. Clues to tell a genuine old porcelain stein from a repro made since the 1960s: Most repros have bumps in the inside curve of the handle; original handles are smooth. The bottoms of repros have poorly designed or erotic lithophanes; lithophanes on originals are well designed and usually feature a man and wife, two women or tavern scenes. Lids on repros are stamped metal, thin and the same “aged” color inside and out; original lids are heavy pewter and darker inside than out. Also make sure the finial on the lid matches the branch of service depicted on the stein. (Mark Chervenka, ReproNews.com)

A New Jersey company called Repro-Depot is running ads in antiques publications. The ads say the company deals in “wholesale reporductions and antiques by the piece or truckload.” Its website has links to items it’s selling on eBay and GoAntiques. We didn’t see any antiques for sale, but at least the glass, ceramic, wood and metal reproductions we looked at are listed as “new” and dating from 2007-08. Check out what’s being offered so your’re not fooled by the repros.

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