Did Cohiba stop putting UV codes on their bands in 2023? myth or fact

[B44]

12 hours ago, El Presidente said:

I will have the team take a peek tomorrow/Monday.  I am currently away for a few days. 

Thanks my friend, safe travels. 

[Cigar Salute]

On 10/27/2023 at 4:49 AM, jfestrelabr said:

 In this Box that I received the UV squares are present but the CHBXXXXX not.

Are you sure those bands aren't trimmed short?  Cohibas missing the CHB are sometimes trimmed down to fit the cigar better if they use bands that are typically designated for a larger vitola.  You can confirm this by removing the band and separating it and compare it to a band with the CHB.  I can already see the bands in the photo above appear to be trimmed.  

 

On 10/26/2023 at 3:34 AM, Lamboinee said:

How much time does it take for the professional counterfeiters to modify their packaging to account for these changes? Is habanos trying to cover-up a mistake with this explanation? Or, is this a viable strategy in the war against counterfeiting? How long till we have transparent bands with zero text?  

I can tell you from my own experience that It doesn't take long.  About 3 months turnaround from the time the defects in counterfeits were exposed to corrected examples being found.  This has happened 2-3x over the last 18-20 months.  They change up quick.  Makes public discussions about current counterfeit tells almost impossible now.  

[vladdraq]

I'm a member of a couple of cigar groups on FB (keeping a very low profile though) and I'm blown away to see the quantity of Behikes, Cohibas along with other high end Cubans being posted for sale. They look perfect. 

[El Presidente]

It appears to be all over the place. The team checked this morning. 

 

Cohiba Robusto SLB 25's         PTE ABR 23       No Blue Squares. No CHB

Cohiba Robusto 3x5 Tubos       ESM MAR 23     No Blue Squares. No CHB

Cohiba Siglo II SLB 25's            UEM ABR 23      Yes Blue Squares.  Yes CHB

Cohiba Siglo II 5x5  Cardboard  GES MAY 23      Yes Blue Squares.  No CHB

[B44]

24 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

It appears to be all over the place. The team checked this morning. 

 

Cohiba Robusto SLB 25's         PTE ABR 23       No Blue Squares. No CHB

Cohiba Robusto 3x5 Tubos       ESM MAR 23     No Blue Squares. No CHB

Cohiba Siglo II SLB 25's            UEM ABR 23      Yes Blue Squares.  Yes CHB

Cohiba Siglo II 5x5  Cardboard  GES MAY 23      Yes Blue Squares.  No CHB

Wow, this is unreal. I wonder what PCC will blame it on - if memory serves the bands are (were?) printed in Europe. I guess the 3rd world has officially invaded the old country. 😂
 

Thanks as always @El Presidente! Hope you’re having a great trip. 

[El Presidente]

4 hours ago, B44 said:

Wow, this is unreal. I wonder what PCC will blame it on - if memory serves the bands are (were?) printed in Europe. I guess the 3rd world has officially invaded the old country. 😂
 

Thanks as always @El Presidente! Hope you’re having a great trip. 

I honestly doubt PCC will care . This one is not on them. 

[Edicion]

4 hours ago, El Presidente said:

It appears to be all over the place. The team checked this morning. 

 

Cohiba Robusto SLB 25's         PTE ABR 23       No Blue Squares. No CHB

Cohiba Robusto 3x5 Tubos       ESM MAR 23     No Blue Squares. No CHB

Cohiba Siglo II SLB 25's            UEM ABR 23      Yes Blue Squares.  Yes CHB

Cohiba Siglo II 5x5  Cardboard  GES MAY 23      Yes Blue Squares.  No CHB

We didn't need it, but here's another reason why... With all these irregularities ... Only buy from a trusted source.

[MagicalBikeRide]

Very confusing

[brassyhorn]

On 10/26/2023 at 3:49 PM, El Presidente said:

I will have the team take a peek tomorrow/Monday.  I am currently away for a few days. 

Any follow up on this? I have some robustos from a grey market retailer that do not have the codes either... 

[NSXCIGAR]

2 hours ago, brassyhorn said:

Any follow up on this? I have some robustos from RSVP that do not have the codes either... 

Box date?

[brassyhorn]

3 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Box date?

I emailed and I'm awaiting a response.

[Ryan]

The word from Habanos, not in print, is that some batches of bands got out without the UV security details. And that the UV features have not been discontinued.

[brassyhorn]

On 5/9/2024 at 12:41 AM, brassyhorn said:

I emailed and I'm awaiting a response.

July 2022

[NSXCIGAR]

On 5/10/2024 at 5:18 PM, brassyhorn said:

July 2022

That would be far earlier than anyone has identified to this point. If the blue squares aren't present I'd say these are cut down bands. 

[brassyhorn]

Blue squares present

[Justin B Jordan]

On 9/5/2023 at 4:47 PM, NSXCIGAR said:

I haven't seen any Cohiba bands that new but I will in about 4 weeks. I can confirm then. 

I'm not sure I buy the explanation that Cuba stopped doing it because the counterfeiters are doing it. That really makes no sense. 

Update?