One day while cleaning my collection, I happened to notice that one Zippo (John Deere design) did not have a Zippo insert. Upon further inspection, I found a few things which told me that this was a fake! Here's what I found:

1: Non-Zippo insert. ALL Zippo inserts say "Zippo" on them and usually say to use their flints and fluid, etc.. This one just says keep away from children and close lid to put it out. Also, the mount for the spring cam is way too wide, so the cam can move around too much from side to side. Obviously poor quality construction.

2: The "Collector case" does not say Zippo anywhere, either. In my experience, ALL Zippo manufactured packaging/cases say Zippo.

3: The single-shot bottle of fluid included in the case looks cheap/low quality, Zippo does better than that! The case itself is obviously low quality, too.

4: The ZIPPO stamp on the bottom of the fake lighter is slightly irregular. On real Zippos, the flame over the "i" is taller than the rest of the letters. On the fake, the letter Z is as tall as the top of the flame. (Looks like the word is capitalized). Also the stamping is faint, not deep like a real one.

5: The fake date code stamps are in very thin letters and numbers. Again, real stampings are deep and the lines are thicker. Where the fake says MADE IN U.S.A., the "USA" is taller than "MADE IN". On real ones the letters are all uniform height.

6: I've noticed the spot welds on real Zippo hinges are usually oval and not too obvious. The fake lighter's welds are deeper and almost perfectly round.

7: No orange safety sticker. All new Zippos for many years back come with a safety sticker.

This lighter set was purchased on ebay, and I only paid about $15.00 for it, which I thought was a good deal at the time! I'll try to get a photo up here soon. My advice is to stay away from John Deere Zippo gift sets with a single shot plastic fuel bottle in the plastic collectors case. Unless, of course, they will show you a close-up photo of the bottom stamps and inserts!

I've seen a few lighters recently that were described as "Zippo Style" or "Zippo-Like". This is pretty much a dead giveaway that it is not a true Zippo.

I hope this helps you avoid buying a counterfeit Zippo. Luckily, I only have the one fake out of a 110 Zippo collection! Happy collecting!

If you found this information useful, please click YES below! Also, check out my guide on sellers who have their Zippo dates completely wrong. Thanks!