Winchester Fakes and Fantasies

There are so many Winchester fake and fantasy items being produced today for fishing tackle collectors that it is hard to keep up. There seems to be one new item put up every week on eBay auction, and bidders are scrambling to pay huge funds to purchase them. I'm sure these dollars are the motive that keeps these counterfeiters going. Of course the answer is to educate yourself.

With today's computers, copy machines and scanners it is a simple matter to copy the Winchester logo and attach it to all kinds of labels. If these guys were really smart they would copy genuine articles, but I guess they are making so much money as it is that they don't need to get very sophisticated. Here are some of the items I have pulled from auction sites, or photographed at shows. All photos are thumbnails, so just click the picture to see a full size photo.

	This one really gets to me. This counterfeiter not only took one of those small sample canoe paddles and added "Compliments of Winchester" to it, but he also added "Abercrombie & Fitch" to the logo in the oval. There were 7 bids and this fake sold for $66.
	This is a fine example of a metal stamp being used to fake a Winchester product, in this case a Daredevle type spoon. Note the poor results. It was gratifying to see that it didn't fool many people. However there were 6 bidders and this lure sold for $29.90.
	Fake Reel Box. There have been lots of fake Winchester boxes over the past few years, but this one takes the cake. This rubber stamped box was sold on eBay as a "spinning reel wooden box". Now anyone with a lick of sense knows Winchester did not make spinning reels, and also knows that a box that is only 1-7/8" tall is much too small for any reel. However, there were about 10 bidders and this fake sold for $78.77.
	This is a pretty nice engraving job. Someone engraved "Winchester ~ Trade Mark" into the back plate of this aluminum fly reel and figured that it should fool a bunch of people. It didn't fool a bunch, but did fool enough to reach $51 on eBay.
	Would you pay $90.99 for a color copy? Someone did, thinking this cardboard mounted easel backed copy was an original Winchester Poster. Winchester provided dealers with their own easels and the signs were two sided.
	Now here's a new one. Just because you stamp Winchester on the side of this trolling rod/reel combo it doesn't become genuine. However a bunch of people seemed to think so, as this fake was bid to $305. Lucky for the winner he didn't meet the reserve.
	Now we're manufacturing line spools. Of course they look nothing like any original Winchester line spools. It is encouraging to note that only three ~~suckers~~ people bid on this eBay item. It sold for $33.50 on 4/2/03.
	"Winchester Lures" gold pin. This one has been seen on eBay several times since 2000. But it was never seen by any collector before that time. hmmmm...
	The eBay description read: "What a great old sign. This is an old Winchester Lures sign. It was an old display sign at the bait house. I don’t know the age but it is no doubt OLD. This is NOT a modern reproduction. This sign is original. The fish is carved from wood and the fins are metal that have naturally rusted over time. The paint has slight cracking and peeling that adds to the wonderfully rustic appearance. This thing is full of rustic charm. The overall length is 31” - the height is 11.5” - and the thickness is 1.75”." Sorry, nice sign, but not Winchester, nor old.
	Take a Shakespeare "#23035 Treble Multiplying Reel", which is never marked, get out your trusty Winchester stamp, and strike away. Note the way the metal is pooched in around the stamp - a sure sign it was stamped after production. That's what you call counterfeiting.
	Here's another new one. Just take a cigar box (or whatever) and put a Winchester reel picture on the top with a few images stolen from catalogs on it, and voila! a reel box.
	This fantasy Winchester postcard was made by printing various Winchester cuts onto one of those 1920s exaggerated fishing postcards. Very crude, it still brought $78.51 and had 11 bids. This card has come up several times in the past few months. The latest (1/2002) says "this card is guaranteed old". The card may be old, but the Winchester parts are new.
	Take one of those new unmarked Orvis molded glass minnow traps, and have "Winchester" etched on the glass with a sand blaster, and vola! you have a Winchester minnow trap. If Winchester was going to sell a minnow trap (which they didn't) they'd have their name molded into the glass, just like everyone else. It brought over $400 on eBay. Click the image to see a full size photo.
	Fantasy Frog. Here's the newest item (August 2000) to appear on eBay. The reverse is the same copy of a genuine Winchester ad that has been used by these counterfeiters over and over. Note that the bottom reads "compliments of..."
	Fake Winchester Sign. These signs are quite common, and come in almost every species.
	Fake Winchester Anti-Hitler Lure. Sold for over $200.
	Winchester Fake Calendar. Dated 1908, before they ever were in the tackle business. Even though this was pointed out to the seller and posted in the description, this counterfeit sold for over $200.

	Winchester Fishing Reel Oil Bottle. Sold for over $200.
	Winchester Bait Box. Where have I seen that image before?? I wonder how many more round lids that copy can fit on? This one sold for over $200 once.
	Winchester Clock. Who would fall for that one? - Sold over $300.
	Another Winchester Clock - sold for $312. Also came from Ohio.