Case #1:

The Ol' Bit Ornaments

This one is very common on eBay.com where any number of sets of these can be found at any given time.

These little gems are invariably found attached to cheap import  cardboard (as shown) with these split-shank binder clips, and usually have this thick cruddy green "patina" material.  The xeroxed tag is always the same. 

These are fakes, made in some third world antiques-faking (excuse me, I meant "nostalgia decor") factory.   The originals have very clean, sharp edges to letters, and a definite swirled/stippled background.  These fakes are "drop-cast" into sand, polished and more than likely buried in a compost pile for a while.  The lettering and edges are very rounded and smooth.