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Illegal Stamps??

 
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Rest in Peace
United States
7097 Posts
Posted 05/19/2011   12:31 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this topic Add I_Love_Stamps to your friends list Get a Link to this Message
I found this while surfing the APS' site on a link called ask Phil.
here is the link but I'll copy & paste the info as I don't think it will automatically take you to the article I'm referring to.

http://www.askphil.org/

" Issues Believed by Collectors to be Illegal

Stamp issues thought by specialist collectors to have been illegally issued (i.e., without authorization of the government in power or, where the items were "issued" for a region without sovereignty and its own postal administration).

See article at end from Haiti Philatelic Society.

Azerbaijan

Nagorno Karabakh, John Paul II 6th Visit to Poland. 2 sheets + 2 S/S, July 15, 1999.

Nakhichevan, Dogs. Sheet of 12 x 1000.m, July 25, 1999.

Georgia

Abkhasia, Rabbits. 8 stamps: 100,200,300,400,500+ China'99 label, July 15, 1999.

Batum, Rabbits. Sheet of 8: 500,1000,1500, +China'99 label, July 15, 1999.
Batum, Basketball Player Michael Jordan. Comp. sheet of 9, July 15, 1999.

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan, Ferrari Cars. Sheet of 9 x 10c, July 15, 1999.
Kyrgyzstan, PhilexFrance'99: De Gaulle, Concorde, TGV.Sheet of 9, July 15, 1999.

Moldova

Gagausia, Dinosaurs. Comp. sheet of 4: 1.00, 1.50, 2.00, 2.50, July 24, 1999.

Russia

Altai, Dinosaurs/PhilexFrance'99. Comp. sheet of 4: 1, 1.5, July 25, 1999.

Buriatia, Dogs. Sheet of 9: 2.00 x3, 3.00 x3, 4.00 x3, July 17, 1999.
Buriatia, Dinosaurs/PhilexFrance'99. Comp. sheet of 4, July 7, 1999.

Chechenia, Dogs. Sheet of 8:2, 3, 3.5, 4, 5.5, 6, 7, 8 + China'99 lab, July 15, 1999.

Dagestan, Dogs. Sheet of 9: 2.00 x3, 3.00 x3, 4.00 x3, July 18, 1999.

Franz Josef Land, Dinosaurs/PhilexFrance'99. Comp. Sheet of 6v, July 25, 1999.

Ingushetia, Dinosaurs/PhilexFrance'99. Comp. sheet of 4, July 25, 1999.

Kabardino-Balkaria, Dinosaurs. Comp. sheet of 4v: 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, July 25, 1999.

Kalmykia, Minerals. Sheet of 12 x 2.50, July 25, 1999.

Karachevo-Cherkessia, Dinosaur/PhilexFrance'99. Comp. sheet of 4, July 25, 1999.

Karelia, Dogs. Sheet of 9: 2.00 x3, 3.00 x3, 4.00 x3, July 18, 1999.
Karelia, Famous Composers. Sheet of 9 x 2.00, July 25, 1999.
Karelia, Vanished Birds: Parrots, Strip of 6 x 2.00, July 25, 1999.
Karelia, Dinosaurs. Comp. sheet of 6: 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 5, July 25, 1999.

Kuril Islands, Dinosaurs/PhilexFrance'99. Comp. sheet of 6, July 25, 1999.
Kuril Islands, Dogs. 63 (21 strip, each of 3 x2.00). Philex'99, July 25, 1999.

Mordovia, Dinosaurs. Comp. sheet of 4: 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, July 25, 1999.

New Earth Island, Dinosaurs/PhilexFrance'99. Comp. sheet of 6, July 25, 1999.

Novosibirsk Islands, Dinosaur/PhilexFrance'99. Comp. sheet of 6, July 25, 1999.

Tatarstan, Cinema Stars (Marilyn Monroe). Sheet of 9 x 2.00, July 25, 1999.

Touva, Dogs with Glasses. Sheet of 9:2.0x3, 3.0x3, 4.0x3, July 18, 1999.
Touva, Teletubbies. Sheet of 9 (3 strips, each of 3:1, 2, 3), July 18, 1999.

Tajikistan

Tajikistan, Propeller Airplanes. Sheet of 9:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, July 15, 1999.

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan, Rabbits. Sheet of 8 x50.00 M + China'99 label, July 15, 1999.
Turkmenistan, Spice Girls. Sheet of 9 x50.00 M, July 15, 1999.
Turkmenistan, PhilexFrance'99: De Gaulle, Concorde, TGV. Sheet of 9, July 15, 1999.

Uzbekistan

Karakalpakia, Dogs. Sheet of 9: 2.00 x3, 3.00 x3. 4.00 x3, July 18, 1999.
Karakalpakia, Dinosaurs. Comp. sheet of 4v x 25, July 25, 1999.

Yugoslavia

Kosova, EUROPA'99-II (NATO, Pope,.) 2 sheets, each 16: A, B, July 15, 1999.
Kosova, Italian Forces/Maps, Pope, Pavarotti. Sheet of 6:A, B, July 7, 1999.
Kosova, French Forces/Maps, Concorde, TGV. Sheet of 6:A, B, 1999.
Kosova, British Forces/Maps, Diana, Golf. Sheet of 6:A, B, July 15, 1999.
Kosova, American Forces/Clinton, Monroe, Elvis. Sheet of 6, July 15, 1999.

----------

Haiti Philatelic Society identifies, condemns illegal issues

[From the Haiti Philatelic Society] -- In days gone by, the nefarious attempted to defraud collectors by altering existing stamps to make them appear as more valuable varieties and errors. In the 19th century, philately was plagued by a lack of information and many claims of "new" discoveries turned out to be nothing more than the work of an unscrupulous dealer and a nearby firm with easy access to a printing press. Many of these forgeries, fakes, and fantasies are now considered quite collectable.

Due to a variety of circumstances, at present new Haitian issues are not often released. The lack of new issues flowing from Haiti into the worldwide philatelic marketplace has proved too tempting for some. A number of fantasy issues are being marketed claiming to be from Haiti. Aptly termed "Album Weeds" by writers in the late 19th Century, these modern releases bear none of the charm of the old attempts, but have a similar goa: separating collectors from their money. The items seen appear to be primarily topical in nature. They are colorful, come unused or "used" (Canceled to Order) with a fraudulent, printed cancel purporting to be from Haiti.

While it is not the policy of this Society to advise collectors what they should or should not collect, we do wish to make certain that the philatelic community realizes these colorful issues are nothing more than privately-produced gummed or ungummed labels which were never sanctioned by Haitian postal authorities. The vast majority has never seen the shores of Haiti, but they have been denounced by the Haitian authorities to the Universal Postal Union, which has termed them as "illegals," items produced without authorization and claiming to be something that they are not.

The dissemination of these labels has been widespread in the stamp collecting hobby. So that you may better recognize these when you come across such offers by sellers who are not aware of the original source of such material, we report the illegals tracked to date. Additional items will be added as they become available.

The Ferrari Series
Chess Matches
Owls
Pope John Paul II
Pope Benedict XVI
Motorcycles
Scouting
Aircraft of World War II
Legendary Space Ships
Firefighters
Deaths in Space Exploration "
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2972 Posts
Posted 05/19/2011   1:24 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add stamperdude to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
There are many stamps issued that are for profit only and some of the countries you would be hard pressed to find an used example on cover. They prey on us collectors to boost their economy. Most are topical issues: Movie stars, pop culture, globally known historic figures, etc.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
7072 Posts
Posted 05/19/2011   2:37 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Cjd to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Stamperdude, I think you are referring to the "immoral" issues.

The illegal issues are supposedly not sponsored by the state appearing on the stamps, so someone has "borrowed" the name of a country, state or region and issued stamps for sale to collectors.

Occasionally, you'll see allegations that a state's minister of this or that supposedly arranged for the contract, but it seems like it is generally just straight misappropriation of a country's identity. For countries that do make some money on postal issues, the illegal issues arguably dilute their market.

The UPU maintains a list of these issues.

Clarifications or corrections are welcomed...
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Valued Member
Oman
72 Posts
Posted 05/21/2011   4:18 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add babateacher to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
I just can't see buying stamps commemorating an event or a person from a country which actually had nothing to do with it. Like the Beatles stamps from Nevis or whereever. I'm sure some people who collect topicals like them and my teenage daughter has a few of them, but there are very few that I like or would want to put into my collection. In my opinion, it makes a country collection look amateurish/cheap. Maybe they're ok in topical collections.
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Pillar Of The Community
Israel
6191 Posts
Posted 05/21/2011   4:33 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Londonbus1 to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
On ebay these Bogus most often turn up in the Cinderella listings...after all, that's what they are.
There is a huge bunch gone up on ebay tonight, all from Latvia. Yes, they are all in the Cinderella listing [they had the decency to do at least that], but individually there is nothing in the description about Cinderellas or the country that is inscribed on the Label.

But I wonder what is worse.
Below is a link to an ebay auction I have just found that if it's not 'illegal' [Bogus] then it is the next worst thing.
What you see up for auction is less than ˝ a label from a Miniature Sheet of 6, perforated.
Someone has cut around a small part of one of the [probably damaged] labels and is selling it as a "Nice Quality item Imperf.unused ognh,no hidden faults".
Frankly this disgusts me. So I have sent the seller an email telling him/her what he/she is. I will no doubt get abuse in reply, but I can handle that.
What is more amazing is that there are 12 bids and it is over $6 at present !
The whole sheet comes for less than that !

http://cgi.ebay.com/London-1940-Sta...em53e78dec64






Londonbus1
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Edited by Londonbus1 - 05/21/2011 4:42 pm
Pillar Of The Community
Israel
6191 Posts
Posted 05/22/2011   02:09 am  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Londonbus1 to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Still $6 bid, I am keeping my eye on it.
No abusive reply yet....but it will come.
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Rest in Peace
United States
7097 Posts
Posted 05/22/2011   05:41 am  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add I_Love_Stamps to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Well at least I know what these are now...lol Good luck on your "quest" Londonbus1.
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Pillar Of The Community
Israel
6191 Posts
Posted 05/22/2011   3:30 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Londonbus1 to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
At $8.27 now, almost double the cost of the whole sheet.
14 bids.

I did get a reply from the seller who said he did not know what it was and thanked me for telling him this information.

But it still leaves a bad taste in the mouth that some poor sucker is getting a highly damaged and degraded part-label when it should really be binned.

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Valued Member
United States
255 Posts
Posted 07/27/2011   12:28 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Yirmeyahu to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
This site also sells the illegal stamps: www.animalstamps.com


Buyer beware! Many of these countries are listed by the UPU as noted above.
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Rest in Peace
Australia
631 Posts
Posted 07/29/2011   03:41 am  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add huckles888 to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
burn em at the stake I say - a blight on on our hobby
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Valued Member
United States
255 Posts
Posted 07/29/2011   10:17 am  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Yirmeyahu to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
If they would try to show some semblance of honesty, say like advertising the stamps as Cinderellas, it might be acceptable. But, if you study the site I reference above, their marketing lingo is designed to fool you into thinking that these are legitimate stamps printed by the countries they supposedly derive from.

I have had an ongoing and rather unfriendly email exchange with the owner of that site telling her she's unethical in her business dealings. She seems to think that we philatelists are a bunch of losers.

I beg to differ on that opinion!

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