Letter From the Editor
27 Oct. 2024
The Editor would like to remind readers that due diligence is advised before purchasing any high-budget item; Hetchins is no exception. Hetchins, Mercian, and other marques are known to have been forged. It is easy to verify authenticity of a Hetchins, as we are in possession of detailed records going back to 1935, listing frame numbers and dates of sale. Plug "fake hetchins" into any search engine, and you will land on this web site; we [that is, the editorial 'we'] are happy to assist. Be suspicious of any purported Hetchins which has no frame numbers. |
A collection recently changed hands consisting of many bikes of various manufacture, including the
Flying Farrago already listed here, and two purported Hetchins lacking frame numbers. While unnumbered Hetchins are known, they are extremely rare and were given to shop employees. Provenance is everything where an unnumbered frame is concerned, and given that no provenance is known for the frames which recently changed hands, they should be assumed to be replicas (if no badge or transfers are mounted), and forgeries (if so). One of the above-mentioned unnumbered frames has "HB" stamped into the bb shell. For those familiar with a former bike shop owner in Yorkshire, this will be no mystery.
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