Fake Strip Of 4 Penny Blacks On Cover?

The bidding has crossed £1000 for this cover and I find the 4 stamps on the cover rather dubious. They look like printouts and the MCs are also not tied to the cover with a questionable smudge at the side. The scans from the ebay seller are not fantastic but maybe it was deliberate (who knows).

It was flagged as a forgery on another message board (yahoo Mulready group)
see: https://www.ebay.com/itm/253974819300

But it's now moved from Miami to London ...

Unfortunately, a victim has fallen for it and what a painful lesson costing a thousand over pounds.

Wow. There is SO much wrong with that 'cover'. Thanks for putting this up, pennyblackie. I for one believe the poor scan is part and parcel of the whole effort to defraud, at very least by attempting to pass it along.

I really can't imagine the number of people falling prey to fraudsters on ebay daily. Just yesterday, an ebay seller going by the name of principalityauctions put up tens of high value items for auction for just a day including the rare 1980 international stamp exhibition imperf miniature sheet, and today, this seller has zero items in his listings. I think generally when you get sellers listing many high value items for just a short time, it should raise alarm bells.

Yes - certainly a fake cover. I can do (and have done) so much better! Michael Aldred

Yes, pennyblackie, if you are looking at a particularly rare/expensive item offered by a dealer - you should ask yourself is this the kind of material that this dealer routinely sells? If a dealer who routinely sells philatelic wallpaper is offering a FDC of the Penny Black then BUYER BEWARE!

Timeless advice.

When the winner (and I use the term loosely) of this abomination receives the item, lets hope they spot it for the fake that it is and gets their money back.

It is good to expose fraud like the 4 X 1d cover. Thank you for posting it.

I would advise, though, that principalityauctions is a legitimate seller. It's possible they were just selling some unsolds from a mail auction. It's a bit unfair to bring them up in this thread.

I'd respectfully advise posters to check their facts first before making such insinuations.