Buddhist Amulets: Real or Fake amulets?

Many Singaporeans worry about the authenticity of the amulet they are seeking. This is a common fear, due to the fact that the Singapore Thai amulet market is full of fakeamulets, and the fact that it is hard for Singaporeans to study up on how to recognize a real from a fake amulet.

For this reason i have decided to start posting articles on how to recognize real from fake amulets.The articles will be split into posts on general info for authentic amulet recognition, as well as other individual posts on how to discriminate real from fake with individual amulet editions.
Before i begin to publish the articles, here are a few basic tips which you must use when renting amulets.

Have seen, and/or held a genuine amulet oof the type you are going to rent is the best way to see a general difference.

To know about the mixture of the amulet, and how to see if a mixture is old or new.

Smell the amulet; If it is a supposedly old amulet (say, at least older than 3 years or so), the perfumed aroma of the wan 108 herbalmixture will no longer have a strong smell. If the amulet has a very perfumed smell, but has an old date on it, then it is likely to be fake.

Thai Amulet Jatukam Gao-na Maha Chohk Maha Saehtthee

The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of Amulets (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)

Luang Por Banlam Amulets Naga Land Tibet Sacred Stones Offering

With metal monk coins and medallions, the rim of the coin wil not have a sharp edge if old, and wil feel smooth and shiny to the touch when you run your thumb over it - if there is too sharp a ridge, then it cannot be very old. This depends a little on whether the coin was worn or stored in a case in a collection. It is more difficult to recognize fake coins than to see fake powder cement amulets.

With powder cement amulets, the details of the imagery will be a lot clearer on the authentic amulets than on the fakes. The details of the fake will generally look more blurred. A real amulet will also develop mould and surface texture changes in time due to humidity, whereas most fakes will not develop any growth on the surface, due to absence of rare sacred materials and herbs.

Check the person you are renting from has a good reputation - if the seller already has a name which could be ruined by news of selling fakes, it will be unlikely that the dealer would risk blemishing his reputation.

I hope the info i publish on how to recognize real amulets from fakes will prove useful to you and help avoid disappointment when you rent your amulets.