The Serrane Guide

It is my understanding that Serrane has fairly extensive coverage of Italian States and German States forgeries, true? (For anyone that has a copy) I've noticed that Album Weeds-Spud Papers is now available online, I don't know if the Serrane copyright has lapsed but it would be a godsend if that was electronically posted. Or...if APS would do a reprint. In only 12-13 years since they reprinted it, its now $125 and up on used book sites. I want a copy, but not at that price. John

I searched ebay under 'sold' listings, and found only one over the last 3 months ...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Serrane...#ht_44wt_988

It obviously sold for way less than the two buy-it-now books that are listed at the moment. If you use ebay, I would recommend setting up a search and 'follow' with email notifications.

Brian

That's my nice price.... I've been looking in the usual places Ebay/ALibris/Abebooks.....will just have to be patient, or lobby APS to do a reprint!

That's an incredible price. I paid way more for mine, but I'm glad to have it (I ashamed to admit it was more than $125).

I consider Serrane the 'best' of the classic forgery literature. I wouldn't call the German & Italian States coverage extensive though. Although there are some illustrations, most of the information is presented in written form.

If you can find it used for less than 100$ I think you should buy it. If you collect classic worldwide it is a good starting point.

I would suggest that instead of wasting money on literature regarding old forgeries, you spent a little extra on your purchases of stamps and covers by seeking out dealers who actually know what they are handling. Best way to learn forgeries is to know the genuine. And, to know the genuine, particularly with Italian States and German States, you have to deal with dealers who know what they are doing. No more buying on ebay and thinking "it is almost as good as genuine."

PS - Serrane will not be able to help you identify extremely good repairs and fakery which is much more prevalent now than the old-timey forgeries covered in Serrane.

"Wasting money on literature", no such-a-thing. I just looove reading stuff about stamps even if it's absolutely nothing to do with my collecting areas, it all adds up.

In my neck of the woods in Australia there are no "dealers who know what they are doing", there are no dealers in fact, so I've become self-reliant when it comes to forgeries & literature, be it books or periodicals, is vital. Nowadays the net is important for information, post a request on this forum & you will get learned opinions galore.

My classic story. There is a dealer who specialises in Eastern Europe, lovely fellow, met him once at a stamp exhibition here. As well as selling stamps he publishes valuable literature pertaining to my interests. Years ago I sent away for a booklet identifying Polish air stamp forgeries & I also ordered one stamp to complete my used set of that series. Got the booklet & the stamp &, yup, it was a forgery. Even knowledgeable folks make mistakes. No problems, though, as the forgeries are as valuable as the genuine (Polish airmail 1925) & that example then forced me to go for a complete set of forgeries, as I already had some, & it took close to 10 years before I finally got the last one.

This is becoming more and more common. There just aren't that many brick-and-mortar dealers left in the world. I will stick my neck out there and state my belief that the majority of "dealers" now work from their own homes, and store-fronts are a rarity. There's only one store-front dealer left in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area (serving ~1.5 million people), and I refuse to stand in the same room as that dealer ...




I certainly agree with your sentiment, Richard, but it's extremely difficult to find dealers or advanced collectors who have the time, patience, or experience to teach us "young people" (under the age of 49). As you, no doubt, are aware, people have learned to seek information first on the web - and philately is no different.

Free websites like SCF, USPCS, Swedish Tiger, your website rfrajola.com, etc, are hugely popular not necessarily because they are the best way to learn, but because they are often the only way to learn! Additionally, the web is increasingly becoming the preferred way to purchase (or sell) stamps, so who will mentor us?

This past Saturday, my club, the Oregon Stamp Society, held our monthly event "Stamp collector's Corner" - which I run. I setup two tables full of my duplicate classic US, Canada, and Germany stamps to sell or trade. What started off as a way to help me make a few bucks to fund my collecting interests has turned into a deluge of collectors asking me questions. That is, I have unintentionally become an "expert" in my areas of collecting to all who visit the club every 4th Saturday. Being considered knowledgable or an "expert" doesn't bother me, but the thought of making a mistake scares the hell out of me! What bothers me is that there's no one for me to turn to for advice on those days - which is why I always have my laptop with me to seek information online!

That brings me full-circle. I love to read. I seek out philatelic information daily. And sometimes that means investing in out-of-print books in order to ensure I have the best information available to me - lest I irritate our community with incessant questions!

What's missing from this conversation, imo, is a comprehensive review of books like the Serrane guide, et al. Some of these books are expensive and, often times, all we know about them are gleaned second-hand.

If you aware of an Italian States forgery guide that's even a fraction of the quality & quantity of the German Philatelic Society's guides to forgeries, I think there are many here who would love to hear about them.

Thanks!

Brian

Well, I will be publishing a +300 page book on the forgeries of the Italian States later this year

A sample page: