The first adhesive postage stamp was issued in may 1840. Art forgery books on the old masters, vincent van gogh, and more, with a little bit of fiction thrown in, all for your reading pleasure. Examine them and see if you can tell the differences. He started his career when he bought over the forgeries of another forger, mercier in 1904. With an active marketplace of over 175 million items, use the alibris advanced search page to find any item you are looking for through the advanced search, you can find items by searching specific terms such as title, artist, song title, genre, etc or you can narrow your focus using our amazing set of criteria parameters. Each list was prepared by the experts at psadna, based on our observations in 2015. The most famous and prolific forgery expert of german, german states, and german possession stamps was francios fournier 18461917 modern german forgeries. By the early 1860s, stamp forgery had become so rampant that several books. Pat herst was a world famous philatelic figure, remembered best for his series of anecdotal books about stamp collecting, stamp collectors, stamp dealers, and the famous and infamous personalities of philately.
Today there is an extensive literature on the forgers and their work, and examples from the most accomplished forgers sometimes sell for more than the original stamp. Well illustrated history of postage stamp forgery with accounts of the forgers as well as descriptions of their work. Five pioneering books from the 1860s in one volume. Ironically, they include some of the worlds greatest poets and artists. Forgeries general philatelic works philatelic books hh. Feb 22, 2019 selling fakes and forgeries is illegal on many auction sites e.
How to detect them, which was published to help collectors differentiate between forgeries and genuine stamps. Showing genuine characteristics like the example in the left pane is especially time consuming. Forgeries of tuscany peter winter has made forgeries of all the lion stamps of tuscany issued in 1851. Persiphila is dedicated to the philately of iran persia and middle east. There are impressive lists and descriptions, for each stamp issue, of both major and minor varieties, flaws and errors, often with sheet position. Click through the list to see some of the greatest forgers and their forgeries. The first postage stamp was issued in great britain in 1840, and by the early 1860s or earlier the first postage stamp forgery in the sense of a stamp created to fool philatelists into thinking that it is a genuine one appeared on the market.
The names of famous forgers such fournier and spiro come to mind. Stamp forgers run the gamut from famous and skilled engravers who considered their forgeries to be works of art to unknown hacks cranking out mediocre products in relative obscurity. It also includes famous cinderellas that appear constantly. In many cases, essayen cut the outer frames too far at the corners and the. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. The stamps of cook islands and how to identify forgeries b.
Fournier was a stamp forger in the early 20th century. Expertising stamps as protection edit as an expert can falsify stamps often quite easily, it is advisable particularly when dealing with stamps of value to have them examined and expertised. Index for postage stamps forgeries, fakes, reprints and. Holmesthe stock exchange forgery from the philatelic journal of great britain, vol. As picking out stamp counterfeits, and the systematic collecting and studying of them, has become a branch of philately, this book is useful both to those who like and those who fight stamp forgeries. Many stamps have been forged, not only the rarities but common issues as well. Russian postage stamps 19171923 pocket forgery guide all except vol. Stamp community advertisers only active stamp community advertisers may start topics here to share sales, promotions, etc.
Peter winter and the modern german forgeries on ebay article. List of books and articles about forgery online research. I also show a model for estimating the likelihood of forgeries, and list, where possible, my estimates of the probability of finding a genuine stamp on the common market. He said when it comes to forgeries or completely bogus stamps its easier to determine their true nature. The first book about the topic was written in 1862 by jeanbaptiste moens from. At first, forgers were just trying to make money off selling the counterfeit postage. Because the story is so famous among collectors, sperati forgeries are now highlycollectible and are sometimes worth more than an original. The following is an excerpt from postage stamps, puffin picture book 69 1951 by l. The first stamp to be copied was the famous penny black, the original version of which cost a lot of money. Dec 22, 2015 below are the lists of the ten most dangerous autographs in two distinct categories. The forged overprints and surcharges have usually been applied to genuine stamps. A notorious forgery and how to recognise it in 1872 and 1873 thousands of forgeries of the british is stamp were made, and were sold over the counter by a clerk at the stock exchange postoffice in london.
Famous forgers and forgeries who were the most frauds, forgers and and front men of all time. In fact, it was carter who likely penned one of wallaces most famousand incendiarylines, pledging, segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. There may be a very thin line between originality and plagiarism, which depends upon how artfully the artist conceals hisher sources. This book covers early postal arrangements, and a well written history of each stamp issue. He is most famous for discovering a possible second british guiana 1c magenta, which was eventually declared an altered. Soon after their introduction in 1840 postage stamps started to be forged. Fake cancels abound, especially on italian states stamps, german states stamps, early swiss stamps, german colonies stamps, and western european stamps of the 1920s, where the used condition prices are much higher than the mint condition prices. Many items that have been judged not genuine subsequently have been donated to the aps reference collection of fakes and forgeries. A stamp of a lynx indicated that the book came from the personal library of federico cesi, the founder of the accademia dei lincei, the scientific fraternity in rome to which. The first postage stamp was issued in great britain in 1840, and by the early 1860s or earlier the first postage stamp forgery 3 in the sense of a stamp created to fool philatelists into thinking that it is a genuine oneappeared on the market. Announcing the national emergency library, a collection of books that supports emergency remote teaching, research activities, independent scholarship, and intellectual stimulation while universities, schools, training centers, and libraries are closed. Forgeries of common stamps and information on who made them.
Forgeries general philatelic works philatelic books hh sales. The first postage stamp was issued in great britain in 1840, and it didnt take. In general, philatelic fakes and forgeries are labels that look like postage stamps but are not. All forgeries differ from the genuine stamps in some way. Below are some examples of know early issue forgeries. The history of stamp counterfeiting and how to spot a fake. These were all shown in detail in my book forgeries of common stamps after world war i, so i summarize them here. He is most famous for discovering a possible second british guiana 1c magenta, which was eventually declared an altered example of a damaged 4c magenta following expert examination by the royal philatelic. Many stamp dealers regularly contact us about lithuania philatelic items before placing these items for sale. How to spot a fake stamp or forgery download ebook pdf. Only two decades later, in may 1864, an edition of the stamp collectors magazine said forgeries had become so common as to necessitate a book, forged stamps. The society maintains two reference collections of philatelic material one for fakes and forgeries and one for genuine stamps and postal history.
Typical examples of forgery are making insertions or alterations in otherwise valid documents and appending anothers signature to a document without permission. They were familiar in the jewish schools and to all the pharisees, long before the time of christ, as they were familiar in all the civilizations of the earth egyptian, babylonian, and persian, greek, and hindu. Expertizing and certification of iranian philatelic items. Counterfeits are produced to defraud stamp issuing governments. Postage stamp forgeries and counterfeit identification. The author deals in great detail with the mysterious postage stamp issues of 1895, and investigates the handful of covers known to exist. Krantz sitting queen stamps made by spiro are different from each other in several aspects. We only display ebay id and auction id and do not comment on business practices. At least the forgers didnt ruin some of the most famous masterpieces. Forgeries of netherlands stamps and former colonies, i and ii. Stamp forgeries have been around almost as long as postage stamps.
Useful bibliography of books and magazine articles on locals, revenues and fiscals, railway letter stamps, proofs, essays, reprints, forgeries, and all other back of the book issues. The full original book with the following also included. His work was so welldone that even when he presented his stamps as forgeries, experts didnt believe him. It was decided that this happy occasion should be celebrated by a special stamp issue. All the sperati stamp forgeries listed on this page are all sold. A forgery made for the latter purpose is sometimes called a postal forgery. Earees album weeds, and serranes vade mecum are only two books in the vast literature about stamp forgeries. The sentiments attributed to christ are in the old testament. Please note that since 1998 a number of new forgery books have been published. The lives and products of stamps forgers have always held a great deal of fascination for many stamps collectors. On december 22, 1922, grand duchess charlotte of luxembourg gave birth to a daughter, princess elisabeth.
Eight of the biggest art forgeries of all time business insider. To avoid prosecution for forging legal and valid stamps, fournier concentrated on reproducing obsolete stamp issues for sale by tobbanocists, book dealers and stationers. How to detect them was published and by 1864, forgeries were being produced. Publisher of iranian philatelic books, catalogues and specialty album pages. The most famous of the forgers were sperati and fournier. This site primarily features counterfeit confederate stamps and other faked and forged items. Periodicals and lowcirculation specialist society papers etc. Information is provided so that the average collector has an online resource to help evaluate stamps either already present in a collection or potential new acquisitions. To make a perfect forgery one should be a real professional.
New salesspecials must be in a new topic and comply with the 7 day. Such postage stamps are often definitive issues that are made to defraud the official postal service. This fact is not specifically mentioned in the listings, except for fournier, who commonly used both his own forged stamps and genuine ones as the basic stamp. In spain forgeries have a unique place and auctions regularly sell them. I could work full time on this for years and still not reach completion any time soon. Ranging from 50 to 150 pages each, his books constitute nearly 4,000 pages of reference material on philatelic fakes and forgeries from around the world. A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript. By 1863 forgeries were so common that the book forged stamps. Bogus stamps are fictitious stamps which purport to be produced by an entity that exists and might have produced them, but did not. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. Krantz messenger stamps, they also exist in bogus colours th. Lafrenz spiro forgeries, the stars at both sides are much too larger, compared to the genuine stamps the 1 sch and 2 sch forgeries of w. Fournier forgeries are among the most famous items in the stamp world. He has taken great pains to alert the philatelic community to stamp forgeries from around the world.
Fake is used to indicate the alteration of a genuine stamp to make it appear as something else. The 50 baj and 1 scudo stamp were forged by peter winter sorry, no pictures available yet. This exact stamp i have in stock is illustrated in the bpa superb book on the sperati forgeries. In the area of stamp forgeries, one has to be very careful when collecting postmarks. Famous forgers, forgeries and frauds the hypertexts.
This is index page for articles about articles index on postage stamp forgeries and counterfeit identification. Forgeries allowed a common person to buy and use the copies of this valuable item. Duveen, arthur hind, william beilby avery, alfred f. A forgery is an imitation of a postage stamp intended to fool a collector or to cheat a government of revenue. Tip tylers earliest interest was in the stamps of japan, which led him to study their forgeries.
His long series of articles on forgeries focus on forgeries in linns stamp news was issued in book form in 2000 as focus on forgeries. Counterfeiting of stamps immediately became a profitable enterprise for those daring enough to try it. Stamp collecting software inventory programs and databases, online stamp catalogs etc straight talk about stamp values both catalog and real world back of book stamps and other unusual stamp like items. I created to aid collectors with the problem of forged stamps. Never mark a stamp as fake, says canadas top forgery expert. These forgeries have been attributed to angelo panelli, who was known to market them and other forgeries, but it was likely handengraved on a copper plate at his request. The forged stamps are identified by year of issue, denomination and scott and michel catalogue numbers. Many books and articles have and continue to be written on these and related subjects. Established and managed by the late james beal in the. Confederate states of america, philatelic fakes, forgeries and fantasies of the.
A nother way of helping is by volunteering your timeexpertise. Used with a genuine circular cancel, hobart tasmania apr 1901, and is the only example of this stamp ever seen by most large dealers i have mentioned it to, or shown it to. Last updated 7 december 2006 scans from the r m phillips collection h. First essayen a history of stamp forgeries in post wwi. Spain may also be unique in that the most valuable stamp is a forgery. By that time, forgeries of both common and rare stamps from a wide range. Stamp forgeries of the world to 1926 serrane, fernand on. Advertiser replies in topics must be to answer questions related to that topic only. Many stamps, like the colombian exposition issue in fig. Disingenuous stamps counterfeits, forgeries and fakes. Peter winter and the modern german forgeries on ebay. A survey of counterfeits, forgeries and other questionable stamps. Fakes might refer to cancellations, overprints, added or clipped perforations, stamp design alterations. So to point out a few forgeries in this book of forgeries is like prosecuting a serial rapist for jay walking.
Bpa or collectors books also available to identify. Philatelic fakes and forgeries find your stamps value. However, the following stories are among those deserving special attention because they are often presented as factual history, particularly to the young. The stamps of cook islands and how to identify forgeries. Coster, had accumulated 1,200 different varieties of forgeries.
Contact me if you seek sperati forgeries from this region as i am the go to person for them it seems. Book a history of stamp forgeries in post wwi europe. Some of the forgeries, but probably not all, can be attributed to dr peter winter, an opera singer from bremen in germany. A famous producer of facsimiles was francois fournier. The history of stamp counterfeiting and how to spot a fake the first postage stamp was issued in great britain in 1840, and it didnt take long for the first fake postage stamp to appear as well. Stamp forgeries, philatelic fakes and other counterfeits. Occasionally, rare forgeries can exceed the value of modestlypriced genuine stamps. On this page you will see genuine stamps and forgeries side by side. I have sets of the roman imperial coinage, all of david sears books, and many.
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