(Modified by Moderator on 2019-09-04 01:38:40)
Russia #1
A 1943 RPSL certificate for a forgery of Falkland Islands SG13a or 14a
Germany, 1919, Michel 105a.
Germany, 1919, Michel 109 II (variety). Dot on Oval between first 1 and 9 of 1919.
I received this letter with a "post office" sheet of Canada #587, Caricatures definitive series showing previous Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier. The plate info has been trimmed, and has no gum on the back, or front. I bought it in the late 70's, early 80's. I can't remember how much I paid for it. I'd post a photo, but it is just a sheet without gum.
Germany, 1920, Michel 115d.
Germany, 1923, Michel 244c.
Allenstein
Cape of Good Hope
Ivory Coast
Peru
Gabon
Gambia
Liberia
Uruguay
Zanzibar
Would it be possible to set this up as a separate Topic and then have all of the certificates listed alphabetically by country? This could be set up much like the auctions where each country can be listed individually.
It would also be very good to have a separate image of the certified stamp, large in size. If the image is sharp and large, it could be used as a way to judge whether one's own stamp has a good chance of being authentic. If find the pictures of the stamps on the certificates to be not useful in this regard.
This would probably entail a lot of work on one person's part, but the result could be very useful. I would certainly find it useful. Since I am now selling worldwide stamps, I could use such a library to help weed out forgeries without having to send them off to the APS for their examination. As an example, I have been working through a few of the first issues of Guatemala, with most described in Scott as having been heavily forged. The catalog values are too low to justify having them authenticated.
If there is already an library similar to this available online, I would like to know about it. There are just so many issues that have been forged that it makes it difficult to determine whether your own stamps are authentic when you don't have an authentic copy as a comparison.
I have a number of additional certificates that can be posted. I will be sending more stamps off to the APS for examination before I list them for sale. In most cases it will be stamps having a catalog value of at least $200 and noted in Scott as being forged or their overprints being forged. I will also have stamps examined that appear to have Mint-Never-Hinged gum and have a high catalog value.
We do not have another location on this site where we have such a library. There are many sites that show forgeries and genuine stamps.
My idea was similar to what you're suggesting. I did not expect to see so many certificates listed so quickly. That's great, by the way. I think the idea of also including a picture of the associated stamp (front and back as one person has done) is a good idea.
I have asked our Web Wizard if it is possible to force this thread to remain at the top of this topic so that it doesn't get lost as new threads are created. I don't know if this can be done. It is all contingent on the site's programming. We shall see what he thinks/says.
"As an example, I have been working through a few of the first issues of Guatemala, with most described in Scott as having been heavily forged. The catalog values are too low to justify having them authenticated"
I just did a quick Google search for Guatemala stamp forgeries and came up with a lot of hits. The site I found the best was as follows:
http://stampforgeries.com/
Nice clear and large pictures of the stamps. Happily, my first issue Guatemala stamps appear to be authentic. When I list them for sale, I will include a link within the auction description so that a potential buyer can go to this site and check out the authentic versus forged examples. They can make up their own mind whether the stamp is authentic.
The one area where I have been searching for help is on the overprinted French Equatorial Africa airmail stamps. There are two high values that are noted in Scott as having forged overprints. I tried getting expert opinions on them from the APS, but they don't have an expert in the area of French colonies to render an opinion. No hits when performing a Google search. Any ideas other than just a comparison to the other stamps from this set assuming that their overprints are authentic?
Roman States #14 MH
Germany, Michel 226aU, imperforated pair.
Danzig, Michel 16 I, Plate flaw ( Brocken "5")on the center stamp.
Danzig, Michel 178 U, imperforated pair.
Germany, 1920, 40pf (2x), Michel 145 F, off-color (porous print).
Germany 1919, Michel 104c (color variety)from cylinder print.
RW15
1921 , Mi.159b (color variety)Blackish olive. WMK. lozenges.
1922, Mi.204 2S, Gutter pair, Color variety (Red on Pink). This color can variety can also be identified by the gum which has horizontal waves.
Papua New Guinea 1960 SG.D1
A bit of background on this stamp. To understand what it is, you first need to understand how the Washington/Franklin stamps of the era were perforated. Most W/F flat plate stamps were printed and gummed in sheets of 400 and then perforated and cut into 4 panes of 100 for distribution to the post offices. The sheets looked like this
In 1914 the Bureau of Engraving and Printing made a changeover to perf 10 from perf 12. The perforation process involved use of straight-line perforating and separation equipment. Each machine had a set of perforating pin and die wheels and center cutting wheel, so in one pass either the horizontal or vertical perforations were produced and the sheet slit in half. These half-sheets were then fed into a second perforating machine, completing the process of perforating the subjects and separating the sheets into 100-subject panes.
At the time, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the USPOD did not consider the gauge of the perforation important beyond whatever made the stamps easiest to separate. So within the few weeks it took to transition from perf 10 to perf 12, a few sheets of each the 1¢, 2¢ and 5¢ issues received perf 10 in one direction and perf 12 in the other. These are not considered ‘errors’ and are exceedingly rare.
The 423B shown here is one of 33 known and I found it misidentified and hiding among a collection I purchased out of Europe. Because compound perforation stamps are so rare, they are often faked by reperforating part of the stamp. I assumed this to be the case but held on to the stamp as reference and marked it as ‘fake’ for a number of years. It was only when one day after I made a high resolution scan that I revisited the legitimacy of the stamp and decided to send it in for a cert. At the time, this stamp had a catalog value of $25,000; lightning had stuck and the stamp came back as real.
While one of the best finds I had made, this had occurred in the middle of my battle with cancer and kidney failure. Forced into retirement and having made a significant impact to the family savings with nearly $2 million spent on my healthcare, my wife told me the furnace needed replacement. So while lying in the hospital bed I made arrangement for this stamp to be sold at auction so she would not have to be concerned about this unexpected expense. The stamp was sold at a Siegel auction and added to their census as Census No. 423B-CAN-33.
I do miss having this stamp as a center piece of my collection but to be honest I do not regret the decision at all. I was able to remove a bit of stress from my wife at a time where she was dealing with a lot of pressure.
Don
Faroe Scott # 1 Forged Overprint.
Japan Scott # 1 Counterfeit
It's fascinating to see the different styles of certificate.
Note how the RPS distinguishes positive certificates with one signature on the certificate from negative ones which have multiple signatures.
Hi dell4c,
From the APS web site:
"No opinions: a refund is provided if an item is returned to the owner without an opinion by the committee, less an $8 administrative fee.
Items where the original fee is above $30 (or $50 for non-APS members): if an item is determined by APEX to be a counterfeit or identified as a less expensive item, the fee is adjusted to a minimum of $30 (or $50 for non-APS members) and a refund for the difference is provided."
I'm confused about something. I quite often see stamps on sites with certificates where the stamps are only "worth" (CV) about $50. To me that seems to be a huge waste of money or the certificate itself is a fake. I would not have a stamp authenticated unless the selling price was at least $200. Any comments?
Diego-Suarez Scott #7 Used Genuine
"I'm confused about something. I quite often see stamps on sites with certificates where the stamps are only "worth" (CV) about $50. To me that seems to be a huge waste of money or the certificate itself is a fake. I would not have a stamp authenticated unless the selling price was at least $200. Any comments?"
Danish West Indies #1 (yellow gum) with Blue 5-Ring w/Small Dot cancel alongside DWI #2 having cancel in similar position. The blue cancel was only used in St. Thomas from April-May of 1856. St. Thomas, Christiansted, and Fredriksted all used the same style of cancel at this time.
I have Hundreds of certified stamps of the old German states, in particular Helgoland.
If there is anything someone wishes to see in particular, let me know.
Heligoland is definitely a problematic area. It would be nice to see items from this area. Thanks.
"I'm confused about something. I quite often see stamps on sites with certificates where the stamps are only "worth" (CV) about $50. To me that seems to be a huge waste of money or the certificate itself is a fake. I would not have a stamp authenticated unless the selling price was at least $200. Any comments?"
"?For some it may be worth the cost just to be sure it is genuine"
Danish West Indies #4. This stamp was used for mail sent to Europe via German ships. It had a short life, being in use for less than 12 months, and there were only 11 departures during the time it was valid for use. The stamps were withdrawn and invalidated, and a new 4 cent bi-colored issue replaced it (old 4 cent could be exchanged for the new 4 cent for a short period of time). The majority of canceled stamps of this issue were fiscally canceled and never saw postal duty and often feature multiple cancel strikes, while issues used on mail were to be well-centered. There are four known postally used covers with this issue affixed.
Only 120 exist, compared to the 996,600 regular stamps.
Only 2 exist.
Only 10 exist, compared to 1,659,878,080 of the regular stamps.
Hey Rob,
Hope you're doing well. Do you know anything regarding the history provenance of this stamp? Was the strip of 10 purchased by a postal patron through the normal course of business? Thanks. Great looking item. Rarity is always attractive.
Hi Ernie
So far I'm doing well, staying one step ahead of the virus. There is not much of a provenance on the 5d blue imperforate to date, only that a sheet was found with 10 stamps with this error.
There is a booklet stamp that looks like this, but the imperforate side is on the right, I have seen stamp dealers selling the stamp for a few thousand dollars, the stamp is worth about $200, the stamp shown is worth a few thousand dollars, this is invoice value (what I paid for), not catalogue value, the ACSC value is $5,000.
I'll see what I can find about the stamp tomorrow, the specialists I bought it from may know a little more about the stamp, normally I would know everything about the stamps in my collection, but there are some that has very little history, not enough to understand the cause of the fault and how it was discovered by whom.
Rob
Examples of the "space between 1 and 9" in 1902. The overprinting on this issue is full of varieties, with the "straight foot" on the 2 of 1902 being fairly well-known. This variety is less well-known, and tougher to find. There are examples for sale purporting to be this variety, and the way to confirm is to look for the small blue dot above the "N" in "VESTINDISKE."
Below is both a pair with the left stamp featuring the variety, and a single. Note the blue dots above the "N." There were 500 sheets of 100, and this variety is position 21, thus 500 examples can exist.
These overprints are quite common, but the variety isn't. If you have some DWI stamps, check for this variety!!!
Oke,
I will throw in a couple of these.........
Ans some more.............
Well the following handles about the occupation of the US Army of a part of the CSR.
The stamps were only valid for 2 days ...........
Even cancelled so very very rare.......
Some more............
The inside of the certificate...
Oops...
Posted the last one twice.
But very rare stamps here too.
From ESTLAND (RAKVERE = WESENBERG auf deutsch)
I don't think they are in the Michel anymore.
The stamps are drawn back from the office just before the would be released.
Faroe Islands Scott # 1 Forged Overprint
Doug
Japan Scott # 1 Counterfeit
Doug
If you have stamps that have been authenticated by a competent authority, and have a certificate to show regardless if the stamp was found to be genuine or not, please share a good, clear copy of it in this thread. This will become a sort of reference collection of authenticated stamps.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
(Modified by Moderator on 2019-09-04 01:38:40)
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Russia #1
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
A 1943 RPSL certificate for a forgery of Falkland Islands SG13a or 14a
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Germany, 1919, Michel 105a.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Germany, 1919, Michel 109 II (variety). Dot on Oval between first 1 and 9 of 1919.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
I received this letter with a "post office" sheet of Canada #587, Caricatures definitive series showing previous Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier. The plate info has been trimmed, and has no gum on the back, or front. I bought it in the late 70's, early 80's. I can't remember how much I paid for it. I'd post a photo, but it is just a sheet without gum.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Germany, 1920, Michel 115d.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Germany, 1923, Michel 244c.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Allenstein
Cape of Good Hope
Ivory Coast
Peru
Gabon
Gambia
Liberia
Uruguay
Zanzibar
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Would it be possible to set this up as a separate Topic and then have all of the certificates listed alphabetically by country? This could be set up much like the auctions where each country can be listed individually.
It would also be very good to have a separate image of the certified stamp, large in size. If the image is sharp and large, it could be used as a way to judge whether one's own stamp has a good chance of being authentic. If find the pictures of the stamps on the certificates to be not useful in this regard.
This would probably entail a lot of work on one person's part, but the result could be very useful. I would certainly find it useful. Since I am now selling worldwide stamps, I could use such a library to help weed out forgeries without having to send them off to the APS for their examination. As an example, I have been working through a few of the first issues of Guatemala, with most described in Scott as having been heavily forged. The catalog values are too low to justify having them authenticated.
If there is already an library similar to this available online, I would like to know about it. There are just so many issues that have been forged that it makes it difficult to determine whether your own stamps are authentic when you don't have an authentic copy as a comparison.
I have a number of additional certificates that can be posted. I will be sending more stamps off to the APS for examination before I list them for sale. In most cases it will be stamps having a catalog value of at least $200 and noted in Scott as being forged or their overprints being forged. I will also have stamps examined that appear to have Mint-Never-Hinged gum and have a high catalog value.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
We do not have another location on this site where we have such a library. There are many sites that show forgeries and genuine stamps.
My idea was similar to what you're suggesting. I did not expect to see so many certificates listed so quickly. That's great, by the way. I think the idea of also including a picture of the associated stamp (front and back as one person has done) is a good idea.
I have asked our Web Wizard if it is possible to force this thread to remain at the top of this topic so that it doesn't get lost as new threads are created. I don't know if this can be done. It is all contingent on the site's programming. We shall see what he thinks/says.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
"As an example, I have been working through a few of the first issues of Guatemala, with most described in Scott as having been heavily forged. The catalog values are too low to justify having them authenticated"
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
I just did a quick Google search for Guatemala stamp forgeries and came up with a lot of hits. The site I found the best was as follows:
http://stampforgeries.com/
Nice clear and large pictures of the stamps. Happily, my first issue Guatemala stamps appear to be authentic. When I list them for sale, I will include a link within the auction description so that a potential buyer can go to this site and check out the authentic versus forged examples. They can make up their own mind whether the stamp is authentic.
The one area where I have been searching for help is on the overprinted French Equatorial Africa airmail stamps. There are two high values that are noted in Scott as having forged overprints. I tried getting expert opinions on them from the APS, but they don't have an expert in the area of French colonies to render an opinion. No hits when performing a Google search. Any ideas other than just a comparison to the other stamps from this set assuming that their overprints are authentic?
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Roman States #14 MH
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Germany, Michel 226aU, imperforated pair.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Danzig, Michel 16 I, Plate flaw ( Brocken "5")on the center stamp.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Danzig, Michel 178 U, imperforated pair.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Germany, 1920, 40pf (2x), Michel 145 F, off-color (porous print).
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Germany 1919, Michel 104c (color variety)from cylinder print.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
RW15
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
1921 , Mi.159b (color variety)Blackish olive. WMK. lozenges.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
1922, Mi.204 2S, Gutter pair, Color variety (Red on Pink). This color can variety can also be identified by the gum which has horizontal waves.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Papua New Guinea 1960 SG.D1
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
A bit of background on this stamp. To understand what it is, you first need to understand how the Washington/Franklin stamps of the era were perforated. Most W/F flat plate stamps were printed and gummed in sheets of 400 and then perforated and cut into 4 panes of 100 for distribution to the post offices. The sheets looked like this
In 1914 the Bureau of Engraving and Printing made a changeover to perf 10 from perf 12. The perforation process involved use of straight-line perforating and separation equipment. Each machine had a set of perforating pin and die wheels and center cutting wheel, so in one pass either the horizontal or vertical perforations were produced and the sheet slit in half. These half-sheets were then fed into a second perforating machine, completing the process of perforating the subjects and separating the sheets into 100-subject panes.
At the time, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the USPOD did not consider the gauge of the perforation important beyond whatever made the stamps easiest to separate. So within the few weeks it took to transition from perf 10 to perf 12, a few sheets of each the 1¢, 2¢ and 5¢ issues received perf 10 in one direction and perf 12 in the other. These are not considered ‘errors’ and are exceedingly rare.
The 423B shown here is one of 33 known and I found it misidentified and hiding among a collection I purchased out of Europe. Because compound perforation stamps are so rare, they are often faked by reperforating part of the stamp. I assumed this to be the case but held on to the stamp as reference and marked it as ‘fake’ for a number of years. It was only when one day after I made a high resolution scan that I revisited the legitimacy of the stamp and decided to send it in for a cert. At the time, this stamp had a catalog value of $25,000; lightning had stuck and the stamp came back as real.
While one of the best finds I had made, this had occurred in the middle of my battle with cancer and kidney failure. Forced into retirement and having made a significant impact to the family savings with nearly $2 million spent on my healthcare, my wife told me the furnace needed replacement. So while lying in the hospital bed I made arrangement for this stamp to be sold at auction so she would not have to be concerned about this unexpected expense. The stamp was sold at a Siegel auction and added to their census as Census No. 423B-CAN-33.
I do miss having this stamp as a center piece of my collection but to be honest I do not regret the decision at all. I was able to remove a bit of stress from my wife at a time where she was dealing with a lot of pressure.
Don
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Faroe Scott # 1 Forged Overprint.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Japan Scott # 1 Counterfeit
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
It's fascinating to see the different styles of certificate.
Note how the RPS distinguishes positive certificates with one signature on the certificate from negative ones which have multiple signatures.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Hi dell4c,
From the APS web site:
"No opinions: a refund is provided if an item is returned to the owner without an opinion by the committee, less an $8 administrative fee.
Items where the original fee is above $30 (or $50 for non-APS members): if an item is determined by APEX to be a counterfeit or identified as a less expensive item, the fee is adjusted to a minimum of $30 (or $50 for non-APS members) and a refund for the difference is provided."
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
I'm confused about something. I quite often see stamps on sites with certificates where the stamps are only "worth" (CV) about $50. To me that seems to be a huge waste of money or the certificate itself is a fake. I would not have a stamp authenticated unless the selling price was at least $200. Any comments?
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Diego-Suarez Scott #7 Used Genuine
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
"I'm confused about something. I quite often see stamps on sites with certificates where the stamps are only "worth" (CV) about $50. To me that seems to be a huge waste of money or the certificate itself is a fake. I would not have a stamp authenticated unless the selling price was at least $200. Any comments?"
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Danish West Indies #1 (yellow gum) with Blue 5-Ring w/Small Dot cancel alongside DWI #2 having cancel in similar position. The blue cancel was only used in St. Thomas from April-May of 1856. St. Thomas, Christiansted, and Fredriksted all used the same style of cancel at this time.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
I have Hundreds of certified stamps of the old German states, in particular Helgoland.
If there is anything someone wishes to see in particular, let me know.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Heligoland is definitely a problematic area. It would be nice to see items from this area. Thanks.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
"I'm confused about something. I quite often see stamps on sites with certificates where the stamps are only "worth" (CV) about $50. To me that seems to be a huge waste of money or the certificate itself is a fake. I would not have a stamp authenticated unless the selling price was at least $200. Any comments?"
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
"?For some it may be worth the cost just to be sure it is genuine"
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Danish West Indies #4. This stamp was used for mail sent to Europe via German ships. It had a short life, being in use for less than 12 months, and there were only 11 departures during the time it was valid for use. The stamps were withdrawn and invalidated, and a new 4 cent bi-colored issue replaced it (old 4 cent could be exchanged for the new 4 cent for a short period of time). The majority of canceled stamps of this issue were fiscally canceled and never saw postal duty and often feature multiple cancel strikes, while issues used on mail were to be well-centered. There are four known postally used covers with this issue affixed.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Only 120 exist, compared to the 996,600 regular stamps.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Only 2 exist.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Only 10 exist, compared to 1,659,878,080 of the regular stamps.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Hey Rob,
Hope you're doing well. Do you know anything regarding the history provenance of this stamp? Was the strip of 10 purchased by a postal patron through the normal course of business? Thanks. Great looking item. Rarity is always attractive.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Hi Ernie
So far I'm doing well, staying one step ahead of the virus. There is not much of a provenance on the 5d blue imperforate to date, only that a sheet was found with 10 stamps with this error.
There is a booklet stamp that looks like this, but the imperforate side is on the right, I have seen stamp dealers selling the stamp for a few thousand dollars, the stamp is worth about $200, the stamp shown is worth a few thousand dollars, this is invoice value (what I paid for), not catalogue value, the ACSC value is $5,000.
I'll see what I can find about the stamp tomorrow, the specialists I bought it from may know a little more about the stamp, normally I would know everything about the stamps in my collection, but there are some that has very little history, not enough to understand the cause of the fault and how it was discovered by whom.
Rob
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Examples of the "space between 1 and 9" in 1902. The overprinting on this issue is full of varieties, with the "straight foot" on the 2 of 1902 being fairly well-known. This variety is less well-known, and tougher to find. There are examples for sale purporting to be this variety, and the way to confirm is to look for the small blue dot above the "N" in "VESTINDISKE."
Below is both a pair with the left stamp featuring the variety, and a single. Note the blue dots above the "N." There were 500 sheets of 100, and this variety is position 21, thus 500 examples can exist.
These overprints are quite common, but the variety isn't. If you have some DWI stamps, check for this variety!!!
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Oke,
I will throw in a couple of these.........
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Ans some more.............
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Well the following handles about the occupation of the US Army of a part of the CSR.
The stamps were only valid for 2 days ...........
Even cancelled so very very rare.......
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Some more............
The inside of the certificate...
Oops...
Posted the last one twice.
But very rare stamps here too.
From ESTLAND (RAKVERE = WESENBERG auf deutsch)
I don't think they are in the Michel anymore.
The stamps are drawn back from the office just before the would be released.
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Faroe Islands Scott # 1 Forged Overprint
Doug
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps
Japan Scott # 1 Counterfeit
Doug
re: Exhibit of Certified Stamps