Indeed, HankPank.

This is very worrying. It can completely undermine people's trust that a Banksy print is authentic on the basis of a POW stamp and edition number.

If someone has gone to the trouble of faking a blindstamp, then everyone here should be concerned. Any doubt as to the genuineness of some stamped Banksy prints will cast a shadow of suspicion over all other prints, including the real ones.

Although we love our art for the sake of art, it is also an investment - the amount of time, effort and cash many of us have put into building up a Banksy collection is not to be underestimated.

Speaking from a purely financial perspective for a moment, if the confidence of buyers and potential buyers is rattled by a load of credible stamped fakes flooding the Banksy market, this will result in a significant drop in the value of our collections. Now, some here will laugh with glee. I suspect that many others will be truly saddened.

Those who have not got bullet-proof provenance for all their Banksy prints should especially take note. This will include everyone who did not keep their receipts from years ago, or who bought prints on eBay or traded with others when provenance was not nearly as much of a concern. Probably a good 80% of us.

I look forward to seeing the photos of this print, and the blindstamp in particular.

The tail is fine

more pics coming...give me 5 mins

provenance will never be a problem if you wanted to cheat someone. just get an old email from POW -pandas rock- anything, paste it into word, change the date, time and print to signed laugh now or whatever. print it out and hey presto!

99% of the time the buyer wouldn't bother contacting POW to confirm.

Done it before Bombhugger?

Size is exactly 33 1\2 cm x 50cm

They look a little better but it would be good to check with POW as they will be the older ones and the stamp must have changed during the run (Nothing to worry about its happened on other prints) Love rat hung around on POW for a long time before selling out.

Cheers, artyfarty.

From the photos provided, the 'Love Rat' print and blindstamp actually look ok to me, but my concern relates to the paper used. [Although query why someone would go to the trouble of faking a print and blindstamp but not a signature.]

I don't think we on this Forum can, categorically and with 100% certainty, say that your print is a fake. It would be unwise to do so.

There were a total of 750 of these prints (150 signed and 600 unsigned) in the proper editions. They were not all printed at the same time. I have seen different colour variations for the heart, in red and orange. Perhaps that was just Ben experimenting with different colours, or perhaps POW ran out of one ink and used another. If POW could run out of ink (and, remember, it's a small operation), it is not impossible that POW could momentarily run out of the catridge paper they would normally use for this print.

Ben would know for certain. I suggest you contact him at POW with all the relevant details and photos.

My stamp is on the Left but that doesnt mean a lot Im sure i could be on either side depending when and who did them

I'm not going to comment on this particular print - there's little to add that hasn't already been said. As others have suggested, contact POW and see what they say.

Though, I think we all have to accept that there will come a time at some point in the future when there is sufficient return in the market for people to start producing near perfect Banksy fakes (perhaps that point has already arrived).

Compared to other works of art, forging a two colour POW screen-print is one of the simplest artworks to copy. Professional forgers are knocking out copies of renaissance paintings which experts can't tell apart. There's no doubt these individuals could knock out a fake Banksy print with little difficulty. The effort may not be worth it for a £500 print or even £1000 print, but with signed Banksy's now reaching £10,000s there's much more incentive.

Take the amount of Warhol fakes in the market, many of which are indistinguishable from the real thing. The problem has become so bad that a Warhol Authentication Board has been set up. Maybe one day we'll see the same for Banksy's works. I'm sure there are a few members on this forum and on the Wall Candy forum, who'd be front of the queue to join the board.

Ben at POW is the ONLY person that can say for sure anything else is just guess work really

Agreed Silky, but more or less educated guess work.

I will not be able to say if it's fake or not, but i will be able to tell if it differs significantly from my two that is bought one and a half years apart.

No - There wasn't any consistency as to the location of the blindstamp, other than it being at the bottom-right or bottom-left of the print. That location could differ even for prints stamped by the same person; it depended on their mood and how hung over they were.

Someone even had a print with the edition number written upside-down. Call it part of the POW charm.

jeez..looks fine. You think anyone who could fake this would do a unsigned love rat ?