Cautions When Buying Guatemala Overprints

I was just looking at Guatemala stamps on ebay and noticed that there are several counterfeit, forgery or bogus overprints. One "buy it now" item is even asking $350.00 for a very questionable overprint. The alleged Scott #143a has a tete-beche overprint. The Scott #140 stamps with the overprint are not tete-beche.

There were also other stamps listed by Yvert that Scott does not list. Anyone interested in buying Guatemala stamps should beware of any listing that claims to have an unlisted overprint. I highly recommend that you check the Scott catalog over other catalogs. If it is not listed in Scott it is not genuine.

Why do I say this? Well, in Scott's, you will find numerous warnings about forgeries, counterfeits and surreptitiously made overprints. Guatemala expert, Col. Romeo Routhier told me to reject any unlisted overprint. Now, I was not a close friend of the Colonel, but I did visit him a number of times at his apartment in Guatemala City. He researched every Guatemala stamp ever printed and with the International Society of Guatemala Collectors identified all genuine Guatemala overprints up to his passing in the late 1990s.

Col. Routhier was Scott catalog's man in Guatemala and a personal friend of the director of Guatemala's Tipografia Nacional which did the original overprints. Of course, he was not a personal friend of the director in the 1800s and early 1900s but he did learn a lot about genuine overprints.

So if you are considering a Guatemala overprinted stamp, bear in mind that there exists large quantities of forgeries.Some are relatively inexpensive and I even bought a few just to have copies of these fakes. However, I would recommend that high catalog value overprints be expertized.

Marty, I joinned the I.S.G.C. in 1998 so I am not familiar with the Colonel...i do have the following reference books Guatemala 1, Guatemala 2,The Postage Stamps of Guatemala 1871-1999 and Guatemala Philately 1971-1990.issues and special studies. unfortunately most people who see a Guatemala souvineer sheet that was never overprinted in red on the internet they do not have these books..what can we do..shake our heads and wonder does the guy who is selling the item even know its a fake ? For me the simple answer is if I were to buy an expensive item.i would buy it from a fellow society member..i have heard it said that in the case of Guatemala the best material is not in the hands of dealers but belongs to the serious collectors...

Phil, you would have loved to have met Col. Routhier. He had an incredible knowledge of Guatemala stamps and a collection that would make anyone drool uncontrollably. For example he had a full unbroken pane of Scott numbers 26-30 overprints. I don't think he was missing any Guatemala stamp in his collection.




You are most likely right, especially with trusted catalogs like Yvert listing some of these fakes and apparently listing them as genuine. But I've not seen an Yvert to see if they make notes warning of counterfeits. The red overprint you refer to (#C523 I assume) has a note in Scott indicating that the red was not authorized which reinforces the importance of using the Scott catalog.

I'm afraid that the hope of having a rare unlisted stamp can blind the best of intentions of some sellers.

Marty, I have drooled over society members exhibits...some people dream of zepps, I would dream of a cover with the "Indian woman" or even with one of the small Quetzals..its all relative..many of the society members were with the U.S. embassies or had big engineering jobs in Guatemala and could indulge in their hobby..folks like you and I do the best we can !!

I hear ya, Phil.. Many of my HCV Guatemala have faults. Indulging is not a luxury we have, is it?

Marty you are not kidding..i have friends that get fantastic buys..because they buy large lots...i am a bottom feeder forever !