Collectors report that a Scott Fitzgerald counterfeit can be recognised by the nib and discolouration, since the original is a piston filler, the fakes, on the other hand, cartridge fillers; a Cervantes fake stands out through non-gilded rings and clip of brass as well as a flaking surface. Pure fantasy products without a real model also occur. Writing instruments with the imprint "West Germany" on the cap ring come from the period before 1991 and are, provided no further oddities are present, generally genuine.