History Main / MockGuffin

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': At the end of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel "Magic Duel"]], Trixie relinquishes her [[AmplifierArtifact Alicorn Amulet]] in exchange for a green amulet that's supposedly even more powerful. That green amulet turns out to be just one of Zecora's doorstops.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': At the end of "Magic Duel", Trixie finds out, after unwittingly relinquishing the [[AmplifierArtifact Alicorn Amulet]], that the supposedly more powerful green amulet she acquired from Twilight was just one of Zecora's doorstops.

--> '''Yogurt:''' The ring is poppycock. I found it in a Crackerjack box. The Schwartz is in you Lonestar, it's in you.

* {{Invoked|Trope}} in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' by a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demon]], in the hope that people invading its [[TempleOfDoom vast underground dungeon]] in search of the legendary Blue Orb of Bloodlight will cut a DealWithTheDevil in exchange for "the Orb" -- in this case, an ornamental hunk of rock floating behind it. [[spoiler:Dies Horribly and Saves-a-Fox fall for it hook, line, and sinker.]]

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' that parodies the film ''Film/{{Titanic}}'', Bender's love interest gets sucked into a black hole, leaving him with only her bracelet (a parody of "The Heart of the Sea") to console the saddened robot (with its monetary value). Upon request, Hermes promptly inspects it and informs Bender that "It's fake, mon," sending him into even greater despair (about its monetary value).

* In the fifth season episode of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' entitled "Destiny," Angel and Spike beat the living crud out of each other in their race to drink from the Cup of Eternal Torment. If my memory serves, the cup turned out to have a "Made in China" sticker on the bottom and was filled with Mountain Dew.

* Inverted in ''Treasure Of The Sierra Madre''. Veteran prospector and miner Howard mocks Fred and Bob for going wild over some pyrite- fool's gold. Real gold, before it's refined, looks like a funny coarse sort of sand. Later, in the film's climax the banditos from before capture a mule loaded heavily with raw gold, which they contemptuously pour out into the desert sands.

* There are fake [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Master Swords]] littered all over the Lost Woods[note]these woods do not fit the proper trope description, they simply have the ominous-sounding name because it's considered "lost" InUniverse despite being right next door to Kakariko village[/note] in ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''. The game even starts to remark on how amazing it is that you retrieved it for a moment before revealing the fake. You're not likely to be fooled, though, especially after seeing what the ''real'' Master Sword looks like.

* There are fake [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Master Swords]] ''all over the place'' in ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''. The game even starts to remark on how amazing it is that you retrieved it for a moment before revealing the fake. You're not likely to be fooled, though, especially after seeing what the ''real'' Master Sword looks like.

* ''Series/BlueBloods'': The titular [[CoolCar]] in ''The Film/{{Bullitt}} Mustang''. The owner, who purchased the ''real'' Bullitt Mustang soon after the movie, bought a second '68 Mustang from a used-car lot a week later and had it modified to be identical to the Bullitt car to be used as a decoy to prevent it from being stolen. When he died, he willed the real car to his wife, swearing her to secrecy over it. He then (separately) gave the decoy to his son while also keeping him oblivious to the fact that it was just a decoy in case his rather needy son decided to blab about his ownership of the car for attention, sell it for some quick cash or have it "stolen" to collect the insurance payout, [[ProperlyParanoid all of which the son did later in life]].

* After a life-threatening quest to recover [[spoiler: Slytherin's locket, one of Voldemort's horcruxes]], Literature/HarryPotter is devastated to realize [[spoiler:it's a fake]]. Also inverted: [[spoiler: the real locket had previously [[GrailInTheGarbage been mistaken for worthless junk lying around Grimmauld Place]], and thrown away.]]

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' there are a number of students taking advantage of the fifth and seventh years' panic over upcoming exams by selling fake potions and items said to [[ScrewLearningIHavePhlebotinum ensure good test scores]]. Ron mentions that taking powdered dragon claw is supposed make someone clever for a few hours, though he does not seem fully convinced, but whether or not this is true is never examined in series as the individual selling "powdered dragon claw" was actually selling dried Doxy droppings which are toxic and luckily Hermione confiscated them.

* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' had the armoire of invincibility, which is just regular old heavy furniture. Technically, the armoire ''itself'' is invincible, in that it cannot be destroyed. However, the invincibility does ''not'' extend beyond the armoire, so it's pretty worthless. Also, the bottom is made of cheap cardboard. And it's ''not'' the artifact Fighter was looking for in the first place. Matoya had the Armoire and Armor of Invincibility, and gave Fighter the wrong one.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/StrokerAndHoop'' plays it straight, then subverts it at the very the end. Ninjas are trying to find and assemble the pieces of an ancient Chinese sword with vaguely defined mystical powers. When put together, it turns out it just lights up like a flashlight, which Stroker notes was probably mind-blowing in ancient China. [[spoiler: After the protagonists abandon the sword and leave the scene, a random person stumbles across it and accidentally discovers that the sword's beam of light can ''resurrect the dead.'']]

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': At the end of "Magic Duel", Trixie finds out, after unwittingly relinquishing the Alicorn Amulet, that the supposedly more powerful green amulet she acquired from Twilight was just one of Zecora's doorstops.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' that parodies the film Titanic, Bender's love interest gets sucked into a black hole, leaving him with only her bracelet (a parody of "The Heart of the Sea") to console the saddened robot (with its monetary value). Upon request, Hermes promptly inspects it and informs Bender that "It's fake, mon," sending him into even greater despair (about its monetary value).

An object of absolutely no significance that the protagonist mistakes, either through misunderstanding or excited imagining, as something of great importance, be it a magic sword or mysterious briefcase. Its importance to the overall plot is usually negligible, though an entire side plot can crop up because of it. All it turns out to be is completely worthless, and not plot-relevant like a real MacGuffin would be.

Compare with ItsAllJunk, WorthlessYellowRocks. Not to be confused with AllThatGlitters or ItsTheJourneyThatCounts, which are often materially worthless but at least impart [[AnAesop a valuable lesson]]. See AMacGuffinFullOfMoney for a plot device that can end in this.

->'''Gutman''': Fake. It's a phony! It's lead! It's lead! It's a fake!
->'''Cairo''': You. It's you who bungled it. You and your stupid attempt to buy it! Kemidov found out how valuable it was! No wonder we had such an easy time stealing it! You... you imbecile!

* One of the recurring gags in ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'' is the players mistaking some piece of random dungeon dressing for a powerful magical artifact. The longest running of these jokes was Dave's 'magical' cow Chelsie.
** And thanks to their Bag of Holding having a nigh unlimited capacity, they would clean out everything in a dungeon including toe nail clippings.
* One ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' arc had Calvin trying to find dinosaur bones in his yard. He ended up digging up a bunch of random trash, but until his mother pointed it out, he had ''no idea'' that there was something fishy about the "Calvinosaur" having a bottle for a skull, tin cans for a spine, and forks for arms.

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* In ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'', the four spend three chapters trying to get the Cloud Horn, which can be used as one of the pieces of the Nine-part Key. However, when they finally manage this, it turns out that [[spoiler: the thing had been destroyed a while ago and is actually a hologram. They do get a consolation prize of sorts in the form of a rare instruction for putting the Key together.]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/FlushedAway'', both Rita and Toad fight for possession of what they think is a priceless gem. Roddy recognizes it as a cheap glass bead and proves it by smashing it to bits, which doesn't sit well with Rita.

--> '''Barber''': ''But he'll find it is not gold and will not make him bold and brave ...''
--> '''Sancho''': ''Well, at least he'll find it useful if he ever needs a shave.''
* In the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse, the novel ''Millennium Falcon'' is an extended homage to ''The Maltese Falcon.'' Guess what the "Lost Treasure of the Old Republic" turns out to be.
** In the case of ''Millennium Falcon,'' it's even more annoying than usual. This "lost treasure" was supposedly left in the dying days of the Republic as something that would critically undermine Palpatine. Once the treasure is revealed, it pretty clearly demonstrates how inept and impotent Palpatine's opposition must've been.
** The quest to locate the "lost treasure" ends up being an ItsTheJourneyThatCounts moment for Han, Leia, and their granddaughter, however.
* In the [[StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] Enemy Lines duology, the New Republic forces make use of a Mock Guffin to lure the Yuuzhan Vong into a trap, by creating a quartet of flyable, but otherwise nonfunctional ships, and faking a test firing so that they appear to be a new superweapon.
* After a life-threatening quest to recover [[spoiler: Slytherin's locket, one of Voldemort's horcruxes]], Literature/HarryPotter is devastated to realise [[spoiler:it's a fake]]. Also inverted: [[spoiler: the real locket had previously [[GrailInTheGarbage been mistaken for worthless junk lying around Grimmauld Place]], and thrown away.]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', Wess sends Duster into a castle to retrieve a magical artifact critical for the safety of the world. Unfortunately for him, he's not told specifically what it is. He finds an interesting urn of some kind and brings it back to Master Wess. It turns out to be something else completely useless (the Noble Spittoon) and Wess is furious. For the record, it WAS Wess's own fault for not mentioning that the item was magical, protected by a doorway that can only be opened by a special dance Duster was taught in his childhood, or '''anything''' other than the thing Duster was supposed to get was shiny.

[[folder:Webcomic]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheKamics'' Gertrude & Brunhilda [[http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/The_KAMics/5062574/ thought they had found something valuable]], [[http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/The_KAMics/5087906/ then were told otherwise.]]

* Inverted in ''Film/{{TreasureOfTheSierraMadre}}''. Veteran prospector and miner Howard mocks Fred and Bob for going wild over some pyrite- fool's gold. Real gold, before it's refined, looks like a funny coarse sort of sand. Later, in the film's climax the banditos from before capture a mule loaded heavily with raw gold, which they contemptuously pour out into the desert sands.

* In the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse, the novel ''Millennium Falcon'' is an extended homage to ''The Maltese Falcon.'' Guess what the "Lost Treasure of the Old Republic" turns out to be. For that matter, a similar story was written thirty years ago, ''Han Solo and the Lost Legacy.''