INDIA (FAKES)

DEERE & COMPANY
MOLINE, ILL.

JOHN DEERE
MOLINE, ILL.

MADE IN INDIA - MODIFIED IN THE U.S.A.

The lock on the left is a current production (new) import from India. Despite the many sales claims to the contrary, it is not old, nor is it a "reproduction." Locks such as the one on the left, are available through various importers and on-line retailers in nearly any desired quantity, and unfortunately - with a few simple tools - can be turned into the lock on the right. It is only necessary to attach the brass tags of your choice, chemically darken them a bit, and leave them outside to attain a rusty patina suggestive of age. Voila! Your $6.29 imports are now $250.00 antiques!

Regardless of your level of expertise, it almost always pays to do some research before investing your hard-earned cash in "antiques" or "collectibles." In this case, after only a few minutes searching the internet, I was able to find that the unaltered lock on the left, is available in no less than 9 sizes. I also learned, that depending on my choice of vender, I could pay as little as $6.29, or as much as $135.00 for the size most often targeted for "modification" (5"x3").

The usual method used to alter these inexpensive imports, is to affix a brass plate bearing the name of a real or fictitious company, to suggest some attribution which would make the lock desirable to collectors. The most prolific producers of these fakes, use small, easily fabricated, rectangular brass plates - as in the example on the right. Following, are pictures of the most common of these, although there are many more.

Note: Please forgive the poor quality of the images on this page. I do not own any of the items pictured, having culled most of the following images from eBay, where - incredibly - more than half of the items pictured below were offered as "rare" and "genuine" - and priced accordingly. Caveat emptor, indeed!


ALCATRAZ DEATH ROW	ALCATRAZ PRISON 45	ALCATRAZ SAN FRANCISCO 18	ALCATRAZ SAN FRANCISCO 38

ALCATRAZ SAN FRANCISCO 43	ALCATRAZ SAN FRANCISCO 54	ALCATRAZ SAN FRANCISCO 56	ALCATRAZ SAN FRANCISCO 57

ALCATRAZ SAN FRANCISCO 59	ALCATRAZ SAN FRANCISCO 72	ALCATRAZ SAN FRANCISCO 85	ALCATRAZ SAN FRANCISCO 88

ALCATRAZ SAN FRANCISCO 305	ANDERSONVILLE PRISON	CENTRAL UNION & PACIFIC 20	CENTRAL UNION & PACIFIC RR 18

CENTRAL UNION & PACIFIC RR PROPERTY	CHICAGO ROCK ISLAND RAILROAD	COLO. STATE PENITENTIARY CANON CITY, COLO.	COLT FIREARMS FACTORY 3

COLT FIREARMS FACTORY 30	COLT FIREARMS FACTORY 32	COLT FIREARMS FACTORY 35	COLT FIREARMS FACTORY 43

COLT FIREARMS FACTORY 63	COLT FIREARMS FACTORY 92	COLT FIREARMS FACTORY 92	COLT FIREARMS FACTORY 310

CUMBERLAND MINING COMPANY	FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT	FORT SMITH PRISON, ARK 12	FORT SMITH PRISON, ARK 37

FORT SMITH PRISON, ARK 39	FORT SMITH PRISON, ARK 43	FORT SMITH PRISON, ARK 46	FORT SMITH PRISON, ARK 56

HANNIBAL ST. JOE RAILROAD	HUNTSVILLE TEXAS STATE PRISON 21	HUNTSVILLE TEXAS STATE PRISON 50	HUNTSVILLE TEXAS STATE PRISON 69

LEAVENWORTH FEDERAL PRISON 26	LEAVENWORTH FEDERAL PRISON 28	LEAVENWORTH FEDERAL PRISON 55	LEAVENWORTH FEDERAL PRISON 64

LEAVENWORTH FEDERAL PRISON 84	LEAVENWORTH FEDERAL PRISON 88	LEAVENWORTH PRISON	PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD

PROPERTY OF NEW YORK INSANE ASYLUM	PROPERTY OF PONY EXPRESS STATION / 3	PROPERTY OF PONY EXPRESS STATION / 4	PROPERTY OF PONY EXPRESS STATION / 5

PROPERTY OF PONY EXPRESS STATION / 6	PROPERTY OF PONY EXPRESS STATION / 9	PROPERTY OF PONY EXPRESS STATION / 40	PROPERTY OF PONY EXPRESS STATION / 99

REMINGTON AMMUNITION FACTORY 26	REMINGTON AMMUNITION FACTORY 39	REMINGTON AMMUNITION FACTORY 74	REMINGTON AMMUNITION FACTORY 80

SAN QUENTIN DEATH ROW	SAN QUENTIN DEATH ROW 6	SAN QUENTIN DEATH ROW 49	SAN QUENTIN DEATH ROW 86

SAN QUENTIN DEATH ROW 97	SANTA FE RAILROAD	STILLWATER STATE PRISON MINN.# 7	STILLWATER STATE PRISON MINN.# 44

STILLWATER STATE PRISON MINN.# 52	SUNNY SIDE MINING CO.	U.S. CUSTOMS EL PASO, TEXAS	U.S. MAIL

WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY	WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 15	WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 18	WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 38

WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 43	WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 46	WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 50	WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 58

WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 64	WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 87	WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 89	WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 93

WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 95	WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 248	WINCHESTER FIREARMS FACTORY 382	YUMA TERRITORIAL PRISON 1

YUMA
TERRITORIAL
PRISON
77

Although the small, rectangular plates pictured above are the modifications most often used to fool novice collectors, they are by no means the only ones. Here is a variety of non-rectangular plates. The Pullman and Wells Fargo plates - having been produced in large quantity - can be found affixed to many new items being manufactured overseas, including kerosene lamps and spittoons. Of course, nearly anything with a name or logo can be pressed into service in a pinch. The John Deere plate appears to be a cut-down key fob, while the Winchester oval looks to have been removed from another product. Fakers can be quite creative.



ABRAHAM FUR CO. ST. LOUIS U.S.A.	ADAMS EXPRESS COMPANY NEW YORK	ADAMS EXPRESS COMPANY SAN FRANCISCO	(Bulldozer)



CATERPILLAR MOLINE, ILL.	GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD	HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR CYCLES	PONY EXPRESS 1857 1860 PROPERTY OF C.O.C.&P.P. EXPRESS COMPANY



PROPERTY OF PULLMAN SILVER PALACE CAR COMPANY	PROPERTY OF WELLS FARGO & CO EXPRESS SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION	WELLS FARGO & COMPANY EXPRESS TOMBSTONE ARIZONA TERRITORY	RAILROAD RAILWAY EXPRESS



SAN QUENTIN DEATH ROW	SOUTHWESTERN STAGE COMPANY	WINCHESTER - W -

It is a rule of thumb in lock collecting, that if a lock has a company's name or logo stamped or embossed on a metal plate which is attatched to the lock, it was put there by someone other than the manufacturer. Manufacturers mark locks by stamping, incising, or embossing the lock directly. It is practically unheard of to find a lock so marked, which is legitimate. As this is becoming more widely known, fakers are - unsurprizingly - beginning to mark these locks directly. Here are a few examples.



A&T RR	N.Y.C. SECURITY	TEXAS-MEXICO R.R.	UNION PACIFIC

Unfortunately, the one thing we can count on, is that fakers will continue to
produce new "old" products to tempt the unwary to part with their money.

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