Counterfeit cigarettes become your problem on Day 3 of Probably Stolen: Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim. That is when the Mentor warns you that “A shipment of counterfeit cigarettes just got unloaded…” and leaves you the tools to catch them. Every Pack of Hemingway Cigarettes that crosses your counter after that is worth a look.
Quick answer: Inspect the pack with the Magnifying Glass and check its lettering, color, logo, and security seal against the handbook. A missing or broken seal always means the pack is fake.
Fake vs real Hemingway cigarettes
| Check | Genuine pack | Counterfeit tell |
|---|---|---|
| Lettering | Hemingway | HEMINGWAY (wrong font), Heminway (misspelled), misaligned, uneven or missing text |
| Color | Matches the color card | Color differs from the card |
| Logo | Matches the genuine emblem | Emblem differs from the genuine one |
| Security seal | Present and intact on the top flap | Missing or broken |
You only need to find one of these. The Mentor puts it bluntly: “A single discrepancy is enough.” The handbook pictures genuine and incorrect examples for each check and closes with “The differences should be obvious at a glance.” The seal rule is the cleanest test. Hemingway packs are never sold without a security seal, so a pack without an intact one is a counterfeit, no comparison needed.
What you need to inspect Hemingway packs
The Mentor hands over everything on Day 3, so there is nothing to unlock first.
- Magnifying Glass — it sits on your counter and opens the Inspection Tray.
- Hemingway Identification Guide — opens as the Station Trade Commission’s “Hemingway Cigarette Authenticity Handbook” with the reference pictures.
- “Mentor’s Note: Visual Inspection” — the short rules for confronting a client.
- Hemingway Color Checker (optional) — a Document item with a base value of 50, described as “An official Hemingway color swatch.”
You can tell a pack is checkable from its tooltip, which reads “Can be inspected with a Magnifying Glass.”
How to inspect a Hemingway pack with the Magnifying Glass
Challenge the client only when you can identify a genuine flaw. A correct call changes the price; a mistaken one costs you Reputation and could send the client to another business.
How a genuine pack shows up after the check
A real pack carries the label in its tooltip:
“(Not Owned) Pack of Hemingway Cigarettes, pastel Inc., [Substance] [Luxury Item], Est. Value: 100, Base Value: 100, Can be inspected with a Magnifying Glass, [Label] Genuine”
When a seller is offering the pack, the SELLING panel lists it under “Condition” as “-Genuine (0%)” once you’ve checked it. From there you can buy it as normal with “Buy 1 Items”.
What genuine and counterfeit Hemingway cigarettes are worth
On Mark Up difficulty, a genuine pack’s tooltip shows an estimated value and base value of 100. The pack is tagged as both a Substance and a Luxury Item. These are the deals from our Mark Up run:
| Deal (Mark Up difficulty) | Customer | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Buying one genuine pack | Scavenger | 100 credits |
| Selling two genuine packs | Upper Level Visitor (Interests: Substance, budget 304) | 115 credits each, 230 total |
Counterfeits are worth significantly less than genuine packs, which is why catching one matters. Confronting a seller over a real flaw makes them adjust their price.
Some items can be relabeled, and the Mentor’s note on Item Labels gives a counterfeit cigarette box marked as genuine as the example of raising a price. That carries risk. Most workers, Security Officers, and Lower Level citizens know common item fraud, and a failed scam costs you Reputation. Scavengers know it too, but they often don’t carry the gear needed to test authenticity. Tourists and Upper Level citizens are generally less aware, though the note warns that “sooner or later, people will find out.”
Hemingways are only one of the station’s faked goods. Our guide to spotting fakes covers Food Stamps, Immunivax Injectors, Ribwich and water, and how to use the Magnifying Glass walks through the Inspection Tray and Confront step by step. For every item’s base value, check the Probably Stolen items list, or start from the complete Probably Stolen guide.
