[rhettyeakley]

A back scan would have been nice as that will tell you more than just an image of the front. Cigar bands often survive in almost pristine condition so that doesn't throw up a major red flag to me. Cigar bands were made on extremely thin paper and were made "embossed" which would be very hard to replicate (although not entirely impossible). Thus, a back scan showing the embossing would indicate that the item was/is in fact real. On the flip side if the item is completely "flat" then it is probably fake.