La Corona is no longer produced, but Belvederes are made by a couple of Marcas. For sure it is worth $100 if the box is not warped.
[Reply]

Could you X-ray the box to see without opening it?

Maybe an MRI?
[Reply]

I could see a cigar manufacturer buying the box, grinding up the dust and sprinkling a 'generous helping of Pre-Embargo Cuban tobacco!!' in cigars and selling them as over priced novelty PE smokes.

fwiw I love that show.
[Reply]

LA Corona is still produced - in Honduras. The cuban version made a revival in the late 80's and were discontinued in the late 90's IIRC. When Fidel Castro visited NYC in the late 50's he bought a La Corona from the JR store. At least that is how I remember reading the story.

JR's sells them for about $50 for box/25.
[Reply]

:-):-) Funny yet true!

I love the show as well.
[Reply]

Not the same La Corona and no relation to the Cuban marque.
[Reply]

Not very nice to talk about Kelly and Tyr that way... :-)
[Reply]

The latest expert they bring in for hand writing/signature analysis kinda bugs me. Carries that big case and only pulls out a magnifying glass. Every time he does that, it reminds me of the one scene from "Top Secret". If you've seen the movie, you'll know what I'm taking about.
[Reply]

Image
[Reply]

The bottom should read, "I know an expert who will buy this thing once I rip you off." :-)
[Reply]

yes, of course.
[Reply]

I like watching that show but I am pretty sure 90% of those fools who get ripped off go gamble away all their money. Seriously, if you have something of value the last place in the world you should try to sell it would be at a pawn shop.

saw this episode but those cigars have to be dust by now. Not a gamble I would take.
[Reply]

Aren't the original cuban brand names (Montecristo, RyJ, H. Upmann, etc) actually owned by US companies? In other words, when the Cuban gov't took control of the cigar factories, didn't the US based owners of the brand names come to the US and start to make their cigars with Dominican, Honduran, and Nicaraguan tobacco? That would make the current cuban montecristo, partagas, and RyJ illegal in the US right? Copyright infringement and all that jazz.
[Reply]

Yes and no. That's a big mess that's been debated ad nauseum on most forums. Some of the names might be in question at some point in the future due to the original owners fleeing Cuba and restarting operations elsewhere, but others, namely those owned and produced by Altadis USA, will likely be a non-issue as the parent of Altadis USA, Altadis SA (now a part of Imperial Tobacco UK) is majority shareholder in Cubatobacco.
[Reply]

Sorry, I missed it. I'm sure it's on my dvr because my son doesn't miss an episode. I'll have to look.

The handwriting expert who pulls just a magnifying glass out of the huge case bugs me too. Why the big case if you only have the glass in it?
[Reply]

Big mess with regards to who owns what brand names. Cohiba and Punch is a very good example.

Not sure which brand of cuban cigar were USA based at that time. I think majority of them were owned by Cubans and were based in Cuba.

Infringement is not the reason why Cuban cigars are illegal in the USA.
[Reply]

My daughter and I dvr this show and watch it religiously. We laugh our asses off every time the magnifying glass comes out of the giant box. We had honestly thought that was the only thing in there, but we saw some papers strapped to the inside in an episode we watched a few days ago.

And I wouldn't buy the box of worthless cigars even for five bucks. But now that I know that there's really guys that'd pay 50 bucks for unsmokable cigars, I'd do it. On second thought, I should have already known. You guys buy Paratagas all the time... :-)
[Reply]

A little clarity - I know that copyright infringement is not the reason why cuban cigars are illegal in the US. But if the embargo were lifted tomorrow, that would cause problems one would think.
[Reply]

Hey all. This isn't exactly related to the Pawn Stars episode, but is loosely connected anyway. I just bought (yesterday), a 1912 Romeo Y Julieta Cuban cigar box. Inside the box are a bunch of cigars, most with bands. Not all are R y J, but there are other Cuban brands in there as well. All appear to be from the same time period (1910's). I have no idea how they've been stored, but they are in amazingly good condition. I'm not a cigar aficionado, so I'm hoping someone here might be able to give me an idea of what they might be worth? Thanks!
Image
Image
[Reply]

Looks like they have been wet at some point. I would say they are worth next to nothing, but would need to see them in person to say for sure.

Also, I see you are new here. Please know that we do not allow the sale of Cuban cigars here, except by International Retailers. Not implying that you are trying to sell these, just making sure you have perused the rules here. :-)
[Reply]