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Rest in Peace
720 Posts |
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In the October 29, 2019 issue of Canadian Stamp News concerning postal counterfeits, Jim Phillips, Canada Post director of stamp services "...pointed a finger at bigger markets like the U.S. and the U.K. where counterfiets have caused significant losses in recent years.
"While upwards of 20 per cent [boldface added] of the stamps used to pass mail in the U.S. are counterfeit, Phillips said, there's 'no estimate' for their Canadian counterparts."
Has this number been reported in the US stamp news?
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Valued Member
224 Posts |
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Where does this estimate come from? Seems awfully high to me. You'd think that if 20% of stamps in use were counterfeit, USPS would be all over it. Are they? |
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Pillar Of The Community
528 Posts |
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If 20% of stamps are counterfeit, then wouldn't there already be mass incarceration of people prosecuted 18 U.S. Code §#8239;501? Think of the hundreds of sales on ebay daily and what percent might be counterfeit. If there are laws on the books, please enforce them to get rid of the counterfeit problem. |
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Valued Member
189 Posts |
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Obvious nonsense, I say! It's probably off by an order of magnitude. So either 200% or 2%, take your pick. Even then, I would guess 2% is a little high. And another thing, how would this Canadian Mr. Phillips know what percent of US or UK stamps are counterfeit, but have "no estimate" for Canadian stamps, for which it's his job to know? |
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Valued Member
224 Posts |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
5460 Posts |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
4094 Posts |
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20% is not close to accurate - I know someone what is a mixture sorter who looks out for counterfeits and they are not common. Even 2% is too high. |
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Valued Member
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
4094 Posts |
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Valued Member
276 Posts |
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I stand corrected.
So, at least 20% are fakes in US? Absurd. In that case collectors would be posting all sorts of counterfeits here to illustrate. |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
5460 Posts |
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Less than 1% are actually counterfeits. Much less.
According to another post the USPS loses are $135 million per year due to counterfeiting. A smallish amount compared to the multi billions the USPS is involved with handling.
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| Edited by redwoodrandy - 10/17/2019 12:37 pm |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
7239 Posts |
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I have found many printing freaks and at least one imperforate in modern U.S. kiloware, but to my knowledge I have never seen a counterfeit in any of it. |
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| Edited by bookbndrbob - 10/17/2019 12:35 pm |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
527 Posts |
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Collecting counterfeit stamps might be an interesting and amusing topical area to pursue - if it's legal. I've always been interested in the bogus copies of US Scott #807 that may have been the most significant counterfeiting of US postage in history. Wouldn't mind having one in my Prexies collection. Are they sold on ebay?  |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
527 Posts |
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Oh, my goodness! Just checked ebay and am totally gobsmacked. Literally hundreds of bogus US stamps - singles, pairs, PNC strips, sheets, and one #807 for sale. Something about this doesn't seem right. Where is the Treasury Department and the FBI while evildoers are flooding the market with bogus stamps for many, many times their face value? I am shocked! |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
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Valued Member
276 Posts |
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Many fakes might be legal due to the way laws and rules are written. For example, pre-copyright stamps might be legal to copy and sell. Perhaps it's only the use of them for postal services that's illegal. |
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Replies: 18 / Views: 2,752 |
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Posted 10/15/2019 5:53 pm
