Expertized Stamps - German Colonies

I am considering dipping my toes into the world of German Colony stamps. For various reasons, I'm interested in these.

I have a lot of research left to do. However, one thing I had never seen before in my stamp collecting was this "expertizing" of stamps.

I realize this is a broad question, but with the following observations in mind, what is your no-nonsense understanding of this?

- Prices seem all over the place - expertized and non-expertized
- Forgeries are rampant and even the expertizing marks can be forged!
- Obviously buying from a trusted dealer is your best bet.
- I'm mainly focussing on German colonies (mainly Africa)

Thanks for any input!

Traditional expertizer marks on the back of stamps have been forged. But nowhere near the number of forged stamps.

Traditional expertizer marks have fallen significantly out of favor, and rightly so in this age of the internet. If you go to the trouble of getting something professionally expertized, there is no reason not to get a picture certificate. Yes, photo certificates can and have been forged. But more and more expertizers are now keeping their certificate database online; hopefully, that will put a damper on forged certificates.

Bottom line -- the best way to avoid a forgery is for YOU to know as much about the stamp as possible, because expertizers do disagree with one another and some certificates have also been subsequently revoked.

In most cases, certificates do increase the sale price. For the traditional backside expertizer marks, the sale price usually does NOT increase -- but it can be the decision-maker in a sale.

Thank you so much khj. This is exactly what I was looking for.

However, there are also a lot of stamps that are "expertized" that don't have certificates. In fact, it's most of the ones I see for sale. They're "old expertizations".

Oh... The cloud darkens..... People run for cover.....

Actually, I have a strong interest in the traditional backside expertizer marks. Please feel free to post any pics you may have. I love looking at the backside of stamps when they have expertizer marks!

Yes, the great majority of expertized stamps do NOT have a certificate; they have the traditional backside expertizer mark. Certificates did not become more common until the 1950s and afterwards. There may have been some earlier certificates, but I have not run into them.

Falkland Islands : Certificate (incorrect ship)

Excellent, Rod! That's the way it should be done, very profession for that time. Unfortunately, nowadays, the old-style RPS certificates are being forged. This is why some expertizers are moving toward the online databases where certificates can be viewed and verified in real time.

Indeed khj,
however, to satisfy the pedants
this certificate is in error.

As we noted on the lithostone of the Western Australian
"inverted frame" issue, the stamp in question here
received two passes in the printer.

The Vignette went through the press first,
so the stamp certificate should read "incorrect frame"