Buyers Beware

of Fake "Antique" Cannons!

FAKE VOC cannon being offered in Indonesia (July 1, 2012)

Two FAKE VOC cannons being offered in Malaysia (May 5, 2011)

Don't buy these two obvious fakes.

Huge FAKE Bronze cannons now being offered in the Philippines (2/20/2011)

These 8.5 foot "Dutch" pieces are being offered all over as originals. They are NOT! Beware!

Huge fake (6 foot 10 inch) Dragon Cannon above were recently offered to us in SE Asia (3/9/2010)

Fake bronze cannons predominate in the Philippines! 

There are so many there now that we do not buy ANY Philippine cannons anymore.

Warning DO NOT BUY ANY cannons

or guns from Argentina due to Internet fraud!
Two of our customers recently purchased the following reproduction cannons that were never delivered! 

They are still being advertised on the Internet on Guns America and other places!
 

Vintage C. C. Galbraith Solid Brass Bow-Chasing Cannon!

Fake and very Dangerous cannon on eBay NOW!

People have been killed firing these!

 

See more of these "Made in Asia" fakes below.

 Real ones have NO wheels and the barrel it about 5 times thicker.

News article August 20, 2007

Avoid Fake Antiques
By Malcolm Katt
Special to TheStreet.com
8/20/2007 10:46 AM EDT

"A pair of reproduction bronze cannons, manufactured for the Dutch East India Company (with a mark of VOC on each cannon), supposedly dating from the mid-1700s sold online for $15,000 just this past month. Their worth as reproductions is about $5,000 -- and had they been genuine, the price would be closer to $50,000."

Fake Iron Cannons

Don't Buy these FAKE VOC cannons!

   

These five "fake" and very HUGE VOC cannons recently turned up in Jakarta, the Philippines, Mexico, in Bali. and three are being offered to us by email too! Priced from $15,000 to $50,000 US$.  Worth about $5,000 as reproductions.

 

A Pair of these were offered to us for only $15,000 each - when worth about $50,000 US$.  When a deal is too good - it is too good to be a deal! Be careful as these are being offered on the Internet in emails now from the Philippines.

Note the "perfect" vent hole on the above two reproductions. Trunnions also were too good and the "carvings" are way too weak.

         

 We have also come across other fake cannons in the USA, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Singapore! Buyers please beware!

 

Our buyers have come across a number of fake cannons in our extensive search to acquire antique bronze and iron cannons worldwide.  We will display photographs of known fakes and reproductions here and attempt to provide information on determining the "real antiquities" from the reproductions.  There is nothing wrong with reproductions - if that is what you want - we just want to help you make sure that any "old" cannon that you purchase is really an old cannon and not newly constructed and represented to buyers as an original antique!

This 27 inch reproduction Dragon cannon only weighs 7.5 lbs!

These eight foot cannons are currently being represented as originals and weigh almost a ton!

Things to watch out for in cannon buying!

• The weight is usually the first giveaway that a cannon is a reproduction. The "new" cannon is usually MUCH lighter in weight then an original cannon. This is often due to the fact that they are NOT solid bronze, but of sandwich construction with cement at the center.  Size (In this case weight) does matter!  Recently we have come across several that are solid cast brass and bronze too! (See below!) So this criteria does not always hold true.

• Check the barrel with a flashlight - fakes often have a pipe for the tube.  Also, see if the bore is too smooth or too rough to fire!  Stick something down the barrel and see if it goes past the touch hole.  If it does not, it may be  fake or just blocked with something (Like the charge!).

• 

• Check the touch hole with a flashlight!  Will "air" pass through it?  Sometimes the touch hole does not go anywhere!  Is it very smooth and very straight, like in drilled with an electric drill?   That is very, very bad!  Is the opening flared from firing?  Yes?  That is very good!  See pictures below of the touch holes on the real and fake VOC-A.

• Patina - is it "real" patina or instant antique with "floor polish", urine, or whatever?

• Check the casting!!!  Originals do not look like the one below from Indonesia!

• 

• Who are you buying it from and where did it come from?   Providence and a buyers recourse - and a 100% return policy are very important! Pay with PayPal or a credit card if you do not know the seller so that you have recourse.  NEVER pay by Western Union or Wire Transfers to unknown sellers.

• Is there a certification of authenticity from a museum or cannon expert? Is there an export permit if coming from certain countries?  Note: Brunei and Thailand both ban the export of cannons now!  Many Brunei cannons that were exported before 1991 are perfectly legal to own - only "current" exports are banned.

• Does the seller guarantee 100% that the cannon in a genuine antique?

• Is the price too cheap?  Maybe the deal is too good to be true!

Just be careful and know what you are buying and enjoy the ownership of these fantastic antiquities. 

FAKE CANNONS!

 

Fake VOC - A  from Indonesia!

  

 Both of these are fakes!  The one on the left is much more obvious. The giveaways are the touch hole, the patina, and the crude crown on the one on the left.  The cannon on the right is the best "fake" one we have ever seen!

 

The lettering and the "lighthouse" and date are way too large!

Another fake VOC dated 1731 that is located in the USA- This 6' 9" cannon weighs over 600 pounds! Note: It was NOT offered to us as an original!

 

 

Reproduction of a Philippine Lantaka

         

Note the SMOOTH BORE, the way too large touch-hole (And too round!), as well as the "sharp" ridges all over the gun.  Also the swivel is way too long for this size cannon and the patina is too even!

Huge 9 foot fake Philippine Portuguese Lantakas.  Most bronze/brass cannons from the Philippines are fake these days!

    

Fake "Sandwich" cannon!  Bronze on the outside-cement in the middle-bronze on the inside!

More Fake cannons on EBAY!

  

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2591512529&category=1212

Latest eBay Fakes!

This one above has been on eBay MANY times with a $3,500 minimum bid and is still listed in a sellers store!  We would not buy it for $150!

 

  

And yet one listed on eBay in Germany more!

 

 

Important Notice!

We have very recently come across three fake VOC cannons at a shipping company in Jakarta where they were being prepared for export!   Two were  made from solid cast brass and the other one is solid cast bronze !

The photo above is  the one made out of brass (Note: The color is all wrong - way too brassy!).  The Dutch did not make brass cannons - only bronze - as it is MUCH harder!  The fakes are cast in brass as it is MUCH cheaper in Indonesia and easier to come by from scrap dealers.  This cannon, which is 120 cm long is EXACTLY the same as one being sold on the Internet now for $35,000 Australian dollars!

We do not believe that the company that is selling it knows it is a reproduction!  The selling price of the above cannon in Jakarta is $2,800 US$. These latest reproductions are VERY good copies and very hard to determine that they are fakes - if they are made out of bronze.  If you would like to buy a reproduction, we will be happy to get one for you at $3,500 US$ not $35,000 Australian dollars.   We will deep STAMP the bottom of the cannon "REPRODUCTION" and the current date!  We WILL NOT sell these without the stamp!

Below are photos of another of the "antiqued" brass cannon reproductions that was  sold as an authentic VOC cannon and is being crated for export to some unlucky buyer"

 

November 3, 2003

The cannon shown above and below is a reproduction of an original. About 200 of these were made 25 years ago, not in South East Asia, but in the United States! The original sold for a few thousand dollars. The copies were to have been sold for a few hundred. These are exchanging hands and circulating around the country. Many are now claimed to be originals. How does one tell? It isn't easy. Even museums are fooled. Only real experts know what to look for, and it's hard to describe. When you handle dozens of these over a period of several years, the originals have a certain "flavor" and you can then easily spot a forgery. Some unscrupulous people even go one step further and "antique" the pieces. This is done by putting acid on them to them to accelerate the oxidation. This gives the barrel a green patina. Rolling a barrel in the mud, letting it dry and brushing it off also "antiques" it.

Reproduction CC Galbraith & Son Life Saving cannons!

Note:  People have been seriously injured and killed firing these reproductions form SE Asia!

   

 

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Compare with an original below!

  Be careful out there!!!

  

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Last up-dated on  07/01/2012