Western Sahara Illegal Stamp Not In Album

Why there is a poll ........................................................100% ...............................................1 vote

The trash formerly known as SAHARA OCC. R.A.S.D.

Morocco implored the world stamp community to eschew these issues. Dealers took the money.

Whether or not your album system includes illegal/unauthorized stamps, if you have supplements up to 1992, a stamp from 1998 won't be included? Perhaps I misunderstood your point.

ETA: There are collectors who will say that R.A.S.D. controlled territory and may have offered mail services, therefore validating these issues. Not my fight.

Western Sahara is an old Spanish protectorate in the northwest of Africa. You will not find it in South Africa. It lies on the North Atlantic coast, neighboured by Morocco and Mauritania that both claimed it. The independence movement started a war. Morocco controls most of it and its status remains contested. Because the country, officially did not exist, the stamps are illegal.

I am not sure how colonies are treated, but the older (legal) stamps of Sahara Occidental (Sahara Español) were issued by Correos of Spain.

Here is a link to a Universal Postal Union notice about R.A.S.D. and illegal stamps:

https://www.golowesstamps.com/refer..._Morocco.pdf

basically;
should I hinge this stamp in a 'blank' area of my world albums - which obviously does not go up to 1998 as stated - and is yes where should it go in said album

poll; please ignore

thank you

You can put it wherever it makes sense to you. Morocco might be a good spot?

To put it simply, it is not a real stamp.

It's printed to look like a stamp from a real country but there is no such country which makes it a bogus stamp. That's what makes it "illegal". Stamp catalogues usually don't like these things and stamp album makers don't include spaces for fake stamps which aren't, after all, "stamps".

These sort of pretend stamps are common from many phony, and even some real, countries and are designed and printed by scammers looking to make a quick buck from the suckers who buy them. No offense to you who probably just ended with it somehow. I have some pages of fake stamps, myself, somehow from somewhere but who knows? That's fine, but that does not make them real stamps so no self-respecting stamp album will provide spaces for them.

On the stamp itself, it says "1998". Your Harris album only goes up to 1992, so I'm not sure why you think it would have a space in your album, but it's easy to miss tiny dates. And being not real makes it even less likely it would have a space as I'm sure you understand.

As for where to mount it, some collectors do mount even fake stamps as colorful oddball additions to their collection, and that includes me. Just pick a likely spot. I'd probably put it with either Spanish Sahara which is what that strip of barren wasteland was once called -- or Morocco which now claims those sand dunes, probably hoping they'll find some oil there. Wherever it looks best. Strange and weird stamps are part of stamp collecting, so why not?

Anyway, have fun with your stamps!

ok I understand - not a stamp = does not go into the stamp album

thank you all for the information
there is so much to learn...

As some say "one man's terrorist is another man's hero."

Morocco had these stamps classified as illegal. They, however, were issued by a local liberation movement that did control part of the territory for some time. The purpose, likely, was to raise funds for the liberation war. Unlike fantasy stamps issued by scammers, these are stamps that were issued by a country few countries recognised. Hence the stamps were illegal.

Currently, the occupied Donetsk of Ukraine is in a similar situation.

Personally - and if I would be interested in former Spanish colonies -, I would ignore them. However, if you like the stamps, mount them on a blank page. You could put the page after Spanish Sahara or Morocco.

There is just one rule in collecting stamps: Your collection is yours to decide on.

i have decided to postpone any decisions on what to do with these illegal stamps for now
there is no rush anyways right

thank you all for the input