Wired has an interesting story about the growing problem of fake holograms…
Fake holograms also undermine anti-counterfeiting practices erected by memorabilia and coin collecting groups, in which valuable collectibles — like comic books, coins and baseball cards — are sealed in bags with numbered holograms that a potential buyer can verify with special hologram reading-gear.
The biggest problem, Allen and others say, is that almost anyone can get a hologram printing machine now, often for less than $10,000, or simply order duplicates of a master hologram from dozens of hologram-making companies throughout the world.
Wired News: Fake Holograms a 3-D Crime Wave – Link.
I can care less about the counterfeiting, getting a home hologram machine for under $10k sounds awesome.
Pictured here fake hologram – Trademark Management Inc & Wired. Read the article and spot the differences with the real/fake ones.
Rob in the comments has an excellent point with all this —
No doubt it will become cool to have a “fake” hologram, and so manufacturers of “real” holograms will start to make them look “fake” for street cred, at which point china will produce fake “real” fake holograms etc, etc, until the whole idea of holgrams on baseball caps eats itself.
Memo to western culture: any “collectible” that needs a hologram to prove its collectability, isn’t collectable.
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