"Counterfeits Exist"

Working on my C1-C10 airmail collection and I often see on the old airmails that just have overprinting (e.g. a small airplane) that Scott frequently notes "counterfeits exist". What's a guy to do - I am not an expert at identifying bogus stamps? Should I worry about buying that Switzerland C1? Takes the fun out of it doesn't it? Seems to be a common issue with overprinting and I suppose I could see why. What sayeth the forum?

There are certain stamps I would buy that I would only buy from dealers I know are trustworthy AND know their stuff when it comes to stamps. I pay the dealer a premium because he has spent 40+ years in the business, and knows what he is doing.

Find a buyer you trust. Or stick with minimal value stamps with intersting/appealing designs. Seems unlikey that somebody would churn out a bunch of counterfeits of a cheap stamp.

Carbon dating is expensive and hard on the stamp, so really not practical for the small time stamp collector...

Most of these low value Forgeries are "Postal Forgeries" made to defraud the Postal authority of income.

Interesting...

Do you know of any examples where this has happened? (Seems like it could be used almost as a form of warfare even, say country A prints up a bunch of fake stamps of country B to deny them income)...

It's been done! WW2 German Hitler Heads are a well known example.

You might want to check out the following.


http://www.psywar.org/stamps.php