Fakes & Forgeries: Yesterday and Today

26 August - 9 December 2011

Beware of fakes!

Visitors got a chance to play detective and see if they could tell a fake or a forgery from the real deal—courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum’s exhibition Fakes & Forgeries: Yesterday and Today, on display at the Museum.

The exhibition featured 11 cases, each devoted to a different category of artifacts and their corresponding forgeries. Seven of these cases featured items from the ROM’s collection. Two displayed modern knock-offs, ranging from black market DVDs to designer clothing and accessories. Microsoft Canada and the Bank of Canada each contributed a case, on counterfeit computer software and the history of counterfeiting currency in Canada, respectively.

Photo Gallery

Exhibition title panel

Fakes & Forgeries was about a variety of “knock-offs” and not just money.

Exhibition displays

Produced by the Royal Ontario Museum, this was a solid, high-quality exhibition.

Exhibition case

There’s a big market for designer and label knock offs.

Exhibition case

The Currency Museum contributed a case on counterfeiting, of course.

Bank notes

You’d have to take a very close look to see which of these was a counterfeit.

Sculptures

Reproductions of classical art from the Royal Ontario Museum.

Sculpture

Reproductions of antiquities from the Royal Ontario Museum.

Fossils

Even fossils got faked.

Exhibition case

We may have all been fooled by items like these at some time.

Exhibition case

Software piracy is not as simple as burning a copy CD.

Exhibition case

You would have to be very learned to tell that these are counterfeits.

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