You can usually tell a real Hoyo by the texture of the crown centerpiece. Intricate and gold-embossed, the genuine article seems to be almost hand-hewn, while most knock-offs look at best like well-traced duplicates. The real band has defined borders between the various elements and rigid lines.

This genuine band has been placed on the Counterfeit Gallery to display some of the differences between two real bands. First and foremost, the complete pattern is drifting upwards and to the left, so much so that the top of the centerpiece is bleeding off the band. This contrasts the primary genuine band's centerpiece, which drifts down and to the right. Another difference between the two bands is the lack of the number "1" on the left wing. Again, this is not a factor in determining authenticity.

Also, the embossing on both of these bands is fairly accurate, but a large number of genuine Hoyos are poorly embossed, with the raised outline extremely askew. The real determinant between a genuine and a fake Hoyo is in the design pattern and the paper quality. Look for the inconsistencies there.