History Main / FakinMacGuffin

* ''Literature/NickVelvet'': In "The Theft of the Crystal Crown", Nick deduces that the glass crown he has stolen is a fake when he realizes that he was hired to steal the crown as a publicity stunt and his employer would never endanger the real crown that way.

->''"Ugh!!! I see. She's taken a barnacle and she's covered it in bio-luminescent algae... as a diversion!"''
-->-- '''[[GiantEnemyCrab Tamatoa]]''', ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}''

* ''Film/{{Ronin}}'' has the protagonists attempting to steal a silver briefcase. The first time they try to steal it, it turns out to be a decoy with a bomb inside, as one of their team has swapped out the real one. Their leader only realizes JustInTime when fresh silver paint comes off on his hand.

* Played with in the first ''Film/MissionImpossible'' movie: The protagonist hands a disk over, then convinces his rival that it was a fake so he throws it away, then picks it up from the trash, revealing that it was real after all.

* In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', Sonic tries to slip Eggman a fake Chaos Emerald Tails made, but Eggman is able to detect the two separate emeralds with a scanner, and bluffs Tails into blowing the secret. The fake has "the same wavelength and properties" as a real Chaos Emerald, but is "less powerful". This allows Sonic to perform a Chaos Control with it, and even Shadow is impressed when they meet again.

* Happens in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' when [[BigBag Soto the saber-tooth]] thinks he found the human baby, but it's revealed to be a snow replica of it made by Sid (this makes him throw his VillaniousBreakdown and go full-on AxCrazy).

* In the ''Series/BloodTies'' episode "Norman", the heroes Vicki and Henry are forced to give a magic dagger to the demonic villain Norman when he kidnaps Vicki's secretary and holds her hostage. Norman needed the dagger to complete a spell to release the uber demon Asteroth into the world. However, unknown to the audience, Vicki and Henry had first taken the dagger to a priest to have it blessed before they gave it to Norman, so that when he used it, his spell of summoning failed and he was sucked back down to Hell.

When someone wants an important PlotDevice, one trick is to make a replica of the object, with the intent of tricking the opponent into thinking that the phony is the real [=McCoy=].

* In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', the Crystal Star in Poshley Heights is displayed in plain sight and is the only one like that. Beldam and her sisters, who had spent the previous three days trailing Mario, nab it before Mario can get to it. It turns out this one is a fake; Inspector Pennington, who runs the display, actually let them take it to get them away from there, then leads Mario to the real one. Earlier in Chapter 3, the Crystal Star on the Glitz Pit Champ's Belt also turns out to be fake; the real one is [[spoiler:used by Grubbs to power his machine that drains fighters' power to power himself up.]]

* In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'', the heroes create a false Beanstar to give to Fawful and Cackletta... but they don't fall for it, instead discarding the fake and taking the real one by force.
** However, one that actually does work is at the very start of the game, although it's not revealed until later - the Princess Peach whose voice was stolen by Cackletta was a decoy, and the real Princess was hidden.

* In ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'', Carol Danvers pretends a lunchbox she is holding contains [[spoiler:the Tesseract]] to distract the bad guys while her friends escape with the real one.

* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', the orb Quill hands to Yondu in the end does not contain the Infinity Stone but a troll figure. [[StolenMacGuffinReveal Quill later reveals the real orb to his team mates]]. Yondu finds this ActuallyPrettyFunny.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', [[BigBad Hawk Moth]] wants the heroes' power sources, their Miraculous. In two separate episodes, Ladybug surrendered fake Miraculous:

* In ''Film/TheConIsOn'', Harry and Peter make a copy the $5 million ring they are planning to swipe from Jackie. At the end of the film, Harry throws the fake to Irina to distract her while she and Peter get away. [[spoiler:However, when they reach the airport, she realises that she has the fake and had thrown the real ring to Irina in the confusion.]]

* In ''Film/TheScore'', Nick Wells (anticipating a double-cross) swaps out the sceptre he was hired to steal for the axle they used as a stand-in during their trial runs, meaning that Teller ends up with nothing when he does betray him.

* ''Series/FatherBrown'': In "The Penitent Man", another convict steals the Medallion of St. Mark of Flambeau while they are escaping from prison. While they are in the tunnels, Father Brown manages to switch it for the worthless copy Flambeau was wearing earlier.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' episode "The Spy Who Rooked Me", the Joes are tasked with helping a [[TuxedoAndMartini British spy]] deliver a container of nerve gas to a secure facility. Cobra wants the gas and in the process the container is breached. Flint [[JumpingOnAGrenade throws himself onto the leaking container]], at which point the secret agent reveals their container is just a bottle of cream soda. The real nerve gas had been transported in a more conventional way, and the Joes were just a decoy.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' episode "Fallen Hero", Sinestro holds Richie hostage and demands Static hand over Green Lantern's Power Ring, which he had recently acquired. Static hands him a ring, but Sinestro then opens his hand and exclaims, "Captain Dwayne's Decoder Ring!?" right before Static blasts him.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel "Magic Duel"]], Trixie acquires the Alicorn Amulet, a [[ArtifactOfDoom corrupting]] AmplifierArtifact [[ClingyMacGuffin that can't be removed by anyone but the wearer]]. To get Amulet away from her, Twilight shows up wearing a green stone that she claims is an even more powerful amulet, and she backs up the claim with some impressive feats of magic. Sure enough, Trixie relinquishes the Alicorn Amulet and steals the green amulet. Then Twilight reveals it's just an ordinary stone--a doorstop, in fact--and those feats of magic were just smoke and mirrors.

* In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', there is a struggle over a case containing a relic that multiple parties are interested in. At the end, the Numbers seem to make off with it, to shock from all sides. Then, after they've left... Teana and Subaru reveal that, actually, they took the relic out of the case and hid it in Caro's hat -- all the Numbers have is an empty case.

* Villainous example: The Joker pulls one of these to get his hands on the all-powerful "worlogog" in a Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}} story.

* In ''Fanfic/DeadOrAlive4TheDevilFactor'', the bad guys require three magic gems for their plans. At one point, it seems as if they have acquired the third gem, but it is revealed to the reader that Eliot swapped it with an ordinary gem that looked similar.

* The climax of ''Film/TwentyOne'' has the professor take the bag of chips the team has just won while they are fleeing the casino. After he has apparently abandoned the other team members, he discovers the bag contains only chocolate coins.
* In ''Film/DudeWheresMyCar'', everyone is after the Continuum Transfunctioner. The only thing that everyone knows about it is that it is "a very mysterious and powerful device" and that "its mystery is exceeded only by its power". At the end, the protagonists need to find it in order to [[HostageForMacGuffin free their girlfriends]] from "space nerds". One of them suddenly realizes that no one has told them what the damn thing is supposed to ''look like''. So they redeem their arcade tickets for a flashing toy and call all the interested parties. The ruse is quickly revealed when the real Guardians of the Continuum Transfunctioner recognize it as a fake and when a bunch of kids walk past with the exact same toy.

* In ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'', the villains create fake Faberge eggs to swap out for the real ones they are selling to finance their schemes. After it becomes necessary to reclaim one of the real eggs, Kamal Khan claims it is one of the fakes only to wince in horror as his partner General Orlov smashes it.
* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', the orb Quill hands to Yondu in the end does not contain the Infinity Stone but a troll figure. [[StolenMacGuffinReveal Quill later reveals the real orb to his team mates]]. Yondu finds this ActuallyPrettyFunny.
* In ''Film/{{Leprechaun 2}}'', the protagonist tricks the evil leprechaun by giving him a chocolate coin wrapped in gold foil instead of his gold coin.
* ''The Bullion Boys'' (1993) when Creator/DavidJason's character swaps a fake gold bar for a real one, which is the only bar they end up keeping.
* ''Film/WhatsTheWorstThatCouldHappen'': At the end of the film, Kevin and Max are on a boat fighting over possession of the 'lucky ring', when they both look at the ring (which is on Kevin's finger) and realize it is not the original ring, and that someone has substituted a fake earlier in the caper.

* In ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'', Carol Danvers pretends a lunchbox she is holding contains [[spoiler:the Tesseract]] to distract the bad guys while her friends escape with the real one.
* In ''Film/AViewToAKill'', James Bond swaps a tape recording Pola Ivanova made of Zorin's plans with a tape of Japanese music.
* In ''Film/TheConIsOn'', Harry and Peter make a copy the $5 million ring they are planning to swipe from Jackie. At the end of the film, Harry throws the fake to Irina to distract her while she and Peter get away. [[spoiler:However, when they reach the airport, she realises that she has the fake and had thrown the real ring to Irina in the confusion.]]
* ''Film/{{Filibus}}'': Inspector Hardy attempts to trick the ClassyCatBurglar SkyPirate Filibus with a false jewel ([[SomebodySetUpUsTheBomb with a hidden camera, to boot]]). It works [[spoiler:exactly the opposite way he expects]].
* ''Film/SonOfAGun'': On the boat, Lynch opens the suitcases to discover that the gold bars have been swapped out for lead weights.

* In ''Literature/SevenAncientWonders'' by Creator/MatthewReilly, the villain is trying to complete a ritual that will give him awesome power, in which a box of sand from his homeland will play a key part. The hero is a globetrotting adventurer who always carries with him, as a reminder of home, a jar of his own home soil. These two facts inevitably come together in the climax.

* In one of ''Literature/TheThreeInvestigators'' books the bad guy wants a journal that the boys have which was written in the mid 1800s, with potential clues to a BuriedTreasure. Jupiter hands it over, then after the bad guy leaves he reveals that he only gave up the oilskin cover of the journal, having taken the pages out first.
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' short story "The Warrior" Harry leaves a fake Sword of The Cross on the front seat of his Beetle. The 'Sword' gets stolen, then Harry uses a tracking spell to find it again.

* In ''The Burglar in the Rye'' by Laurence Block, BernieRhodenbarr is hired to steal the personal correspondence of a [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed very thinly disguised]] J.D. Salinger from the other correspondent by an even more thinly disguised Joyce Maynard. After the theft, other interested parties come looking for the letters. Bernie eventually colludes with the author to put together several fake sets of letters and distribute them amongst the group.
* Inverted in ''Literature/TheCrownOfDalemark'' by Creator/DianaWynneJones. Mitt goes to Aberath to steal the Adon's ring, which is reputed to fit anyone of royal blood. Alk gives him the ring and also a copy, which has no such magical properties. Mitt gives the real ring to Maewen (who is pretending to be the heir to the throne, but really isn't) and keeps the copy, which fits him. Later it turns out that Alk switched the two rings. Guess who ends up wearing the crown.

* ''Literature/NickVelvet'': In "The Theft of the Crystal Crown", Nick deduces that the glass crown he has stolen is a fake when he realizes that he was hired to steal the crown as a publicity stunt and his employer would never endanger the real crown that way.

* Hilariously {{inverted}} in Season 1 of ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}''. [=MacPherson=] enlisted a brainwashed Leena to take Harriet Tubman's thimble and an ear-splitting goblet from the Warehouse's shelves; he left behind an ordinary thimble and a plastic sippy-cup. It worked.

* ''Series/FatherBrown'': In "The Penitent Man", another convict steals the Medallion of St. Mark of Flambeau while they are escaping from prison. While they are in the tunnels, Father Brown manages to switch it for the worthless copy Flambeau was wearing earlier.
* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. In "Orbit", a MadScientist offers to exchange a DoomsdayDevice for MagicalComputer Orac. Avon however has created a fake Orac months before as a precaution (there have been numerous attempts by the Federation to seize it, after all. Strangely enough an editing mistake in an earlier episode made it appear that Orac was in two different places at the same time, causing fans to speculate that one was the fake). The fake Orac works [[NoHonorAmongThieves but the scientist has already sabotaged their shuttle]], planning to kill them and recover his superweapon.

* ''Series/OneHundredThingsToDoBeforeHighSchool'': In "Sit at a Different Lunch Table Thing!", CJ drops her worthless ring down the sink in order to trick Principal Hader into thinking she has dropped Mindy's mother's expensive ring down the drain. (ItMakesSenseInContext.)

* It's possible to OutGambit two parties of Drow in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIIShadowsOfAmn'' with a pair of Dragon Eggs. Whether or not you achieve this depends on your Int score however..

* One of the eggs in ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheAzranLegacy'' is mysteriously swapped out when it is time to use them. Naturally, the antagonists took it and use it to lure the heroes to their Nest.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', Mustadio's father is held captive and [[HostageForMacGuffin the ransom is one of the Zodiac Stones.]] Mustadio, however, had planned for something like this and had hidden a fake Zodiac Stone near his house.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]] guarding the legendary Blue Orb of Bloodlight keeps an impressive-looking sphere of rock on a pillar behind her, in hopes that she can convince adventurers to make a DealWithTheDevil for "[[ExactWords the Orb]]" without specifically bargaining for the actual artifact. [[spoiler:Dies Horribly and Saves-A-Fox fall for it hook, line, and sinker.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheDiamondCastle'', Liana leaves a normal mirror for Slyder to retrieve while Alexa keeps Melody's mirror safe.