Hello JanSimon.
It is real FAKE!!
I tracked it down to a seller in the U.K.
The seller in the U.K. gives this as the description and I quote :
"Germany Nazi 1944 Stamp MNH KURLAND Hitler's Birthday Unissued SS Block Swastika Eagle WWII Third Reich German
MNH** Mint Never Hinged Reproduction"
That last word says it all : REPRODUCTION
The seller calls himself YHSHOP at ebay.
I searched a little bit further and I have a strong suspicion that all these types of stamps are made in Slovakia.
Below I collected some of them.
The Dutch seller on Marktplaats calls himself Apeldoorn59 and specializes in stuff like this. His safety net is "geen garantie" / no guarantee. In other words a guarantee that it is a fake or forgery.
Here is an example, sold for just 13 euros.
I am no expert and cannot point out why it is a forgery, but noone in his right mind would accept such a bid or have it as a fixed price.
If it seems to good to be true, it probably isn't.
FAKE Bohmen und Mahren
FAKE Deutsches Reich
FAKE GeneralGouvernement
FAKE Gross Deutsches Reich
The stamp is a duplicate of Michelnr 865. (If the stamp is stand-alone it will be difficult to detect if it is genuine
FAKE Guernsey
and last but not least the overprints (KURLAND 1945) on the Hitler-stamps
FAKE Kurland
Well JanSimon, I believe the 10 Gulden stamp is a little bit blurry.
Below is a picture of the genuine
NED 80A
Look that this stamp is much clearer
And here the certificate :
But we digress.
Here are the one and only stamps of the Kurland pocket.
From these stamps are only Type differences.....
Because the russians had besieged the bridge-head at Kurland the Germans were unable to secure new supplies of the OSTLAND stamp from Berlin.
That is why the stamps that were still in the Kurland pocket were overprinted.
This overprinting was done at the local newspaper printing shop KURZEMES VARDS.
And for the people who don't know where Kurland is, here is a map :
This discussion is exactly why I am here
That was informative and fun ( yes )
The souvenir sheet with Mi. 865 has a few red flags. Most importantly the German regime would never use the word "Machtergreifung" as it suggests a violent coup or revolution. They would probably have referred to it as "the appointment of A.H. as chancellor of Germany" or in German "Machtübernahme". The real seizure of power followed later, when A.H. became president and chancellor, or simply "Führer" when Hindenburg died.
"This discussion is exactly why I am here
That was informative and fun ( yes )"
So I have a bunch of Hitler Head overprints. How do I know if they are fakes or reproductions?
Here is an example:
100% fantasy. Fake would be too much honour for this thoughtless creation.
Rule 1: check the specialized Michel Germany. catalogue. If it is not listed, forget it.
Rule 2: check when this stamp was supposed to be issued. If it is after 1941 and the font used for the overprint is Fraktur ("German gothic), it is a fake. Hitler banned the use of Fraktur that year. Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland was created in 1943...
Rule 3: use Google for a quick fact check. In this case you will find the name of the army division was Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland, so the name used on the stamp is shorter but.also wrong.
Rule 4: this is in fact the most important one. Always assume stamps like this one are fakes / fantasies or whatever you want to name them. Chances of finding genuine material are very small.
Here is another creative fantasy, a souvenir sheet with the final third Reich stamps, Michel 909/910 (Scott B292/3)
1. Not listed in Michel
2. Cancelled 6 days before the official and accepted issue date?
I could go on a bit, but the overall message is buyer beware.
Thanks Jansimon! This really helps.
Another stamp I have. FAKE! See what I found in second pic with a simple Google search.
In a way it is quite ironical that the person who created the Generalgouvernement fantasy used the Windsor font. I wonder if they realized this.
"Another stamp I have. FAKE! See what I found in second pic with a simple Google search."
As always, especially when JanSimon & HockeyNut weigh in, this was fascinating reading and leads to more research.
Even if they are fake, I think it would be interesting as an historical talking point to have such items in your collection. I'm hoping to stumble across something similar some day.
In the meantime, a multi-layered question. Were these issued contemporaneously or after the war? Were they intended to deceive or just to put out something unique collectors could add to their collections?
Many thanks for this great discussion!
Actually, I do not agree with your statement that there ought to be a place for such items in a collection, because a. it is a form of fake history and b. it would legitimate the work of those who make these items. Most of these items were created quite recently when it became much easier to make these items (all you need is a good printer and some skills using a program like Photoshop) and a wonderful market full of people with enough money and unfortunately not enough knowledge and/or common sense emerged in the form of Ebay. The overprints require less skills, just take cheap, widely available stamps and practice until it looks decent. When you look carefully, it becomes apparent that most of these overprints are made with an inkjet printer. At the same time, these are the most "dangerous" ones, because they could be passed on as the real thing - like those Togo stamps.
The others are just outrageous phantasies that are completely over the top.
Someone with in depth knowledge of typography would have no difficulty concluding that most of the items shown here have been created on Photoshop using fonts that didn't exist in the 1940s.
By the way, the rapid development of AI systems poses a new danger. Here is something I asked a random AI image generator to create: a stamp of A. Hitler dressed up as Josef Stalin. As this was the unpaid version, there is a bit of gibberish instead of real lettering, but it just shows how easy it has become to create something that might fool someone who does not look carefully.
I agree with Jansimon. If I know 100% that its a fake, I'm destroying it to take it out of circulation and be happy knowing it's one less out there. Kinda like picking up litter and putting it in the trash can at a park.
I have quite a few of overprints, so I bought the Michel book in English. Hope to weed more out.
Thanks to everybody here. I'm new, but this has been a wealth of information!
I said "interesting ... to have" (a personal opinion for ME), not "ought to have" as a general dictate for others.
And destroying something to take a fake out of circulation (where others like me might be able to use them for educational purposes) is too much like the book-burning ethos for my liking.
Just a personal opinion - no rebuttal required.
"And destroying something to take a fake out of circulation (where others like me might be able to use them for educational purposes) is too much like the book-burning ethos for my liking."
Not surprised by your comments Joe. Having met you personally, and even perhaps arguing about contentious issues, I think we agree that being open to discussing controversy rather than shutting it down (or destroying anything subjectively offensive) - and allowing that different people may be different - is a good (not bad???) thing.
This is not a comment on any other commentators - just sending you some love!
I saw this on our marketplace site in the Netherlands. Somehow I have doubts about the authenticity and somehow I think out friend Hockeynut will be able to tell us more about it...
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
Hello JanSimon.
It is real FAKE!!
I tracked it down to a seller in the U.K.
The seller in the U.K. gives this as the description and I quote :
"Germany Nazi 1944 Stamp MNH KURLAND Hitler's Birthday Unissued SS Block Swastika Eagle WWII Third Reich German
MNH** Mint Never Hinged Reproduction"
That last word says it all : REPRODUCTION
The seller calls himself YHSHOP at ebay.
I searched a little bit further and I have a strong suspicion that all these types of stamps are made in Slovakia.
Below I collected some of them.
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
The Dutch seller on Marktplaats calls himself Apeldoorn59 and specializes in stuff like this. His safety net is "geen garantie" / no guarantee. In other words a guarantee that it is a fake or forgery.
Here is an example, sold for just 13 euros.
I am no expert and cannot point out why it is a forgery, but noone in his right mind would accept such a bid or have it as a fixed price.
If it seems to good to be true, it probably isn't.
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
FAKE Bohmen und Mahren
FAKE Deutsches Reich
FAKE GeneralGouvernement
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
FAKE Gross Deutsches Reich
The stamp is a duplicate of Michelnr 865. (If the stamp is stand-alone it will be difficult to detect if it is genuine
FAKE Guernsey
and last but not least the overprints (KURLAND 1945) on the Hitler-stamps
FAKE Kurland
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
Well JanSimon, I believe the 10 Gulden stamp is a little bit blurry.
Below is a picture of the genuine
NED 80A
Look that this stamp is much clearer
And here the certificate :
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
But we digress.
Here are the one and only stamps of the Kurland pocket.
From these stamps are only Type differences.....
Because the russians had besieged the bridge-head at Kurland the Germans were unable to secure new supplies of the OSTLAND stamp from Berlin.
That is why the stamps that were still in the Kurland pocket were overprinted.
This overprinting was done at the local newspaper printing shop KURZEMES VARDS.
And for the people who don't know where Kurland is, here is a map :
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
This discussion is exactly why I am here
That was informative and fun ( yes )
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
The souvenir sheet with Mi. 865 has a few red flags. Most importantly the German regime would never use the word "Machtergreifung" as it suggests a violent coup or revolution. They would probably have referred to it as "the appointment of A.H. as chancellor of Germany" or in German "Machtübernahme". The real seizure of power followed later, when A.H. became president and chancellor, or simply "Führer" when Hindenburg died.
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
"This discussion is exactly why I am here
That was informative and fun ( yes )"
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
So I have a bunch of Hitler Head overprints. How do I know if they are fakes or reproductions?
Here is an example:
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
100% fantasy. Fake would be too much honour for this thoughtless creation.
Rule 1: check the specialized Michel Germany. catalogue. If it is not listed, forget it.
Rule 2: check when this stamp was supposed to be issued. If it is after 1941 and the font used for the overprint is Fraktur ("German gothic), it is a fake. Hitler banned the use of Fraktur that year. Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland was created in 1943...
Rule 3: use Google for a quick fact check. In this case you will find the name of the army division was Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland, so the name used on the stamp is shorter but.also wrong.
Rule 4: this is in fact the most important one. Always assume stamps like this one are fakes / fantasies or whatever you want to name them. Chances of finding genuine material are very small.
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
Here is another creative fantasy, a souvenir sheet with the final third Reich stamps, Michel 909/910 (Scott B292/3)
1. Not listed in Michel
2. Cancelled 6 days before the official and accepted issue date?
I could go on a bit, but the overall message is buyer beware.
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
Thanks Jansimon! This really helps.
Another stamp I have. FAKE! See what I found in second pic with a simple Google search.
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
In a way it is quite ironical that the person who created the Generalgouvernement fantasy used the Windsor font. I wonder if they realized this.
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
"Another stamp I have. FAKE! See what I found in second pic with a simple Google search."
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
As always, especially when JanSimon & HockeyNut weigh in, this was fascinating reading and leads to more research.
Even if they are fake, I think it would be interesting as an historical talking point to have such items in your collection. I'm hoping to stumble across something similar some day.
In the meantime, a multi-layered question. Were these issued contemporaneously or after the war? Were they intended to deceive or just to put out something unique collectors could add to their collections?
Many thanks for this great discussion!
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
Actually, I do not agree with your statement that there ought to be a place for such items in a collection, because a. it is a form of fake history and b. it would legitimate the work of those who make these items. Most of these items were created quite recently when it became much easier to make these items (all you need is a good printer and some skills using a program like Photoshop) and a wonderful market full of people with enough money and unfortunately not enough knowledge and/or common sense emerged in the form of Ebay. The overprints require less skills, just take cheap, widely available stamps and practice until it looks decent. When you look carefully, it becomes apparent that most of these overprints are made with an inkjet printer. At the same time, these are the most "dangerous" ones, because they could be passed on as the real thing - like those Togo stamps.
The others are just outrageous phantasies that are completely over the top.
Someone with in depth knowledge of typography would have no difficulty concluding that most of the items shown here have been created on Photoshop using fonts that didn't exist in the 1940s.
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
By the way, the rapid development of AI systems poses a new danger. Here is something I asked a random AI image generator to create: a stamp of A. Hitler dressed up as Josef Stalin. As this was the unpaid version, there is a bit of gibberish instead of real lettering, but it just shows how easy it has become to create something that might fool someone who does not look carefully.
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
I agree with Jansimon. If I know 100% that its a fake, I'm destroying it to take it out of circulation and be happy knowing it's one less out there. Kinda like picking up litter and putting it in the trash can at a park.
I have quite a few of overprints, so I bought the Michel book in English. Hope to weed more out.
Thanks to everybody here. I'm new, but this has been a wealth of information!
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
I said "interesting ... to have" (a personal opinion for ME), not "ought to have" as a general dictate for others.
And destroying something to take a fake out of circulation (where others like me might be able to use them for educational purposes) is too much like the book-burning ethos for my liking.
Just a personal opinion - no rebuttal required.
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
"And destroying something to take a fake out of circulation (where others like me might be able to use them for educational purposes) is too much like the book-burning ethos for my liking."
re: Kurland Souvenir Sheet 1944: is it real?
Not surprised by your comments Joe. Having met you personally, and even perhaps arguing about contentious issues, I think we agree that being open to discussing controversy rather than shutting it down (or destroying anything subjectively offensive) - and allowing that different people may be different - is a good (not bad???) thing.
This is not a comment on any other commentators - just sending you some love!