Possible Fraud??

I am negotiating with someone on a mug that says orchids of hawaii on the bottom but there is no R-23 which I think is the model number on the bottom. He says they just have "Orchids of Hawaii" molded into the bottom. Did they ever come without the numbers??

Thanks for any advice.

Craig

[ Edited by: Kamaina Kraig 2009-03-18 21:38 ]

There are many Orchids pieces that do not have numbers on the bottom. Is this the mug you're referring to?

Duke Carters book "Tiki Quest" is a must have for the mug collector and filled with tons of information and photos. A great book.

Thanks LOL Tiki and Uncle Trav. I will get the book. Sounds like a great investment. Here is a pic of the one I'm looking at.

Thanks again.

Craig

Try Orchids of Hawaii R-73

Yes, there were many Orchids mugs with no number; some mug molds evolved over time.

That may be an early OOH mug. I have seen paper labels on OOH mugs as well.

It's unlikely that someone's gone to the trouble and expense of knocking off Orchids pieces. They're just not valuable enough.

tell that one to the Chinese!!

On 2009-03-19 15:18, ron-tiki wrote:
tell that one to the Chinese!!

You're right in that there are numerous examples of OMC and Orchids designs that have been infringed by Chinese manufacturers. But they're not producing them with the OMC or Orchids markings. That was ultimately my point; I don't think - at least I haven't seen any evidence of - manufacturers are producing copies of OMC or Orchids designs and passing them off as originals.

I don't know the entire story on early production mugs, but I think most of the unmarked mugs were initial production test examples that eventually became numbered and catalogued series mugs for general sale in the mainstream market. Some later versions from Taiwan did indeed have paper labels. If you compared the one in question side-by-side to a numbered mug, you will probably find it is a little larger than the numbered one.

Anyone else know?

PTD

[ Edited by: Psycho Tiki D 2009-03-19 16:41 ]

Craig,
You say you're "negotiating with someone" for that mug. Just to let you know that it comes up on ebay quite often and its not very valuable.

Do you know about this website? http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/all/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=44

[ Edited by: TikiPhil 2009-03-20 08:59 ]

Yes...that is where I found the number of the mug. Thanks for the heads up. Being new to all this, any wisdom from others who have done it longer is greatly appreciated.

"The loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean" Mark Twain on Hawaii

[ Edited by: Kamaina Kraig 2009-03-20 17:12 ]

I've got 2 of them. One is just like yours that says Orchids Of Hawaii-Japan on the bottom, but no number. The other one has much better paint & black hair & on the bottom, besides Orchids Of Hawaii-Japan, it has R73A on it, as well. I definitely didn't pay more than $10.00 for either of them. Be patient, this stuff is out there. Don't listen to anyone telling you how rare they are. There's very few mugs that should require any "negotiating" & this isn't one of them. Check out the Collecting Tiki thread & you'll get an idea of what is out there & what you should pay.
Mahalo,
Rick

I guess negotiating was the wrong word. This guy has 4 of them and I can get them for $22.00 including shipping so I think it sounds like it is a pretty good price. That comes out to $5.50 apiece. I sounds like folks do some tiki mug horse trading on here and this would give me my first mugs and a couple to possibly do some trading with. Thanks everyone.

Craig