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Modern Fake Stamps are Flooding the Market

 

Hello everyone,

 

My name is John and I am the lead research specialist on the Format International Security Printers Ltd.

Because of my research I have discovered that many of the Leaders of the World (and other issues) printed by the Format printers in the 1980's are being "reprinted" and are being flooded onto the stamp market starting in mid 2014. I have produced an introductory page with links to pages that describe and show you how to define these new fake stamps on my website.An example is attached...I hope.

 

These stamps are being produced on a massive scale by a yet unknown source. Many are normal issues that are very hard to define from images by sellers on eBay. Many are varieties of the issues such as imperforates, color proofs and "errors". Examples are Michael Jackson inverts, Dogs inverts, Flowers inverts, Nevis Spitfires with missing country name, Imperforate 60th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth souvenir sheets, Audubon Birds issues, Century of Motoring, Leaders of the World Trains and Cars series. The list is getting longer as I write this.

 

These fakes are being sold here on eBay, and are being sold on Delcampe, Amazon, Bonanza and many other places now. Sellers are buying them and reselling them not knowing they are fake reproductions of the originals. Some may believe there is no demand for these issues. I am afraid you are wrong as they are selling like crazy.

 

Once you visit my introductory page on the Modern Fake Stamps and view some of the linked pages describing them with 1200dpi images you will be able to know what to look for. It is pretty much impossible for the forgers to duplicate the originals. The gum is no longer produced. The paper is no longer produced. The inks are no longer produced. And even if all of that were still around...the presses that produced the originals would cost millions now of which the forgers do not have.

 

These fakes are now in collections and dealer stocks everywhere and more are being flooded onto the market as I write this. We probably cannot stop this flood of forgeries but we can be aware of what to look for when you buy them. If you get them...return them. If the seller refuses to accept and refund you....report them.

 

Anyone who has evidence of the source or evidence of issues not yet discovered to being forged is welcome to contact me. I cannot afford to buy them all so a lot of them I do not have in my posession. I do have examples of most of the original LOW issues to compare and also 60th Birthday, 85th Birthday, Royal Wedding etc. I have studied the printer for many years.

 

Either Google "Modern Fake Stamps" which is #1 there or here is the direct link to the introduction page.

Please get the word out! These forgeries are detrimental to the stamp market as a whole!

Thank you.

Here is the link.

 

Modern Fake Stamps

Message 1 of 25
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24 REPLIES 24

Re: Modern Fake Stamps are Flooding the Market

Note the country name is missing on the top two stamps. How obvious does it have to be folks???
Message 16 of 25
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Re: Modern Fake Stamps are Flooding the Market

Well here I go talking to the wall again.

 

It is now July 2016 and the flood continues. There is no telling what is fake and what is real as far as all stamps printed by the Format International Security Printers. It is now a sure thing that basically ALL LOTW Cars and Trains issues from Saint Vincent, Saint Lucia and Nevis have been reproduced recently on a massive scale.

 

You ask why anyone would want to reproduce stamps that don't sell for a lot? It is simple. Reproduce them on a massive scale cheaply, sell to unknowing sellers for say a couple hundred dollars for 10,000 sets in "panes", they in turn sell in lots of 5 and 10 pairs for a couple dollars to unknowing sellers and topical collectors.

It adds up to thousands of dollars very quickly and it is exactly what is happening under all of your noses.

 

The latest flurry of these sets are for Saint Vincent Bequia, Nevis (again) and now Saint Lucia.

 

The image is a comparison of Nevis 1985 4th series Locomotives Scott# 192 SG# 297-8, the 5c Snowdon Ranger Locomotive.

 

Which one would YOU want? A clear impressioned genuine stamp pair or a blurry inferior fake. You can get the fakes for dirt cheap right here on eBay!

Just search in the stamps category for Nevis trains or Nevis cars or lucia trains or vincent trains on and on. Basically any lot containing 4,5 or more pairs attached and offered at a 99c start bid is guaranteed to be a fake! These sets as originals have never been offered in such quatities at that price. So if you like getting ripped off, buy em up! Wow! imperforates ta boot!

 

nevis_1985_locomotives_snowdon_ranger_original_and_fake_cab_comparison.jpg

Message 17 of 25
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Re: Modern Fake Stamps are Flooding the Market

Well as time goes on still not a peep from the outside world.

You can now add the 1986 Royal Wedding issues to the mix.

Here is a comparison of the St. Lucia 60c Sarah Ferguson stamp

with a forgery.

Purchased right here on eBay. Dirt cheap I might add for fake strips

of pairs!

St. Lucia 1986 Royal Wedding Forgery ComparisonSt. Lucia 1986 Royal Wedding Forgery Comparison

Comes in perforated and imperforates too!

You now have to be wary of both types of the St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Dependencies, Nevis, Montserrat and BVI 1986 Royal Wedding issues. Tuvalu side not effected.....yet.

Message 18 of 25
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Re: Modern Fake Stamps are Flooding the Market

John - Thank you for the heads up. I just scanned some of these sorts of sheets for listing, so It's good to know what is out there.

 

I assume you have reported the fakes to eBay but have got nowhere?

Message 19 of 25
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Re: Modern Fake Stamps are Flooding the Market

Indeed Sheryll, I have numerous times with absolutely no luck. this last go around I left nuetral feedback on the seller stating they are forgeries and to quite buying the junk from a bad wholesale dealer.

 

I have been dealing with a wall on these for two years now. We know who is the producer of them which should be quite obvious to anyone who knows the history of the Format Printers and the Leaders of the world stamp issues and who took over the company in the end.

 

The only way to stop this flow is to get the word out to everyone. So far no magazines (other than the Exporter), societies nor catalogs are responding to the call. Ebay will do nothing unless forced to by for instance Trading Standards in the UK. Trading standards can't do anything without hard evidence of who is doing it. This "person" has decades of deceit and training in the art of deceit in the stamp world under his belt. Caught red handed at Gaertner auctions yet because of the anonymous factor remains at large thanks to Gaertner doing nothing but stating they will not accept consignments from the seller anymore.

 

I have just received all of these fake 1986 Royal Wedding strips so a bit more time to create the pages. The image above is from the first page on the St. Lucia forgeries.

Again here is the link to the introductory page.

You can see that the list of links to the pages is getting bigger and bigger namely because the sellers of these forgeries along with illegal stamps and unauthorized reprints have been emboldened by the fact that eBay and other sites will do nothing to expose nor stop them.

 

Modern Fake Stamps

 

And here is a comparison image showing how difficult these are to detect when they are not next to an genuine issue.

 

Comparison of Genuine St. Lucia RW stamps with ForgeriesComparison of Genuine St. Lucia RW stamps with Forgeries A very bad problem. Thank you for your response to this Sheryll. Hopefully more will get involved and the right people will come along and end this!

Message 20 of 25
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Re: Modern Fake Stamps are Flooding the Market

Indeed Sheryll, I have numerous times with absolutely no luck. this last go around I left nuetral feedback on the seller stating they are forgeries and to quite buying the junk from a bad wholesale dealer.

 

I have been dealing with a wall on these for two years now. We know who is the producer of them which should be quite obvious to anyone who knows the history of the Format Printers and the Leaders of the world stamp issues and who took over the company in the end.

 

The only way to stop this flow is to get the word out to everyone. So far no magazines (other than the Exporter), societies nor catalogs are responding to the call. Ebay will do nothing unless forced to by for instance Trading Standards in the UK. Trading standards can't do anything without hard evidence of who is doing it. This "person" has decades of deceit and training in the art of deceit in the stamp world under his belt. Caught red handed at Gaertner auctions yet because of the anonymous factor remains at large thanks to Gaertner doing nothing but stating they will not accept consignments from the seller anymore.

 

I have just received all of these fake 1986 Royal Wedding strips so a bit more time to create the pages. The image above is from the first page on the St. Lucia forgeries.

Again here is the link to the introductory page.

You can see that the list of links to the pages is getting bigger and bigger namely because the sellers of these forgeries along with illegal stamps and unauthorized reprints have been emboldened by the fact that eBay and other sites will do nothing to expose nor stop them.

 

Modern Fake Stamps

 

And here is a comparison image showing how difficult these are to detect when they are not next to an genuine issue.

 

Comparison of Genuine St. Lucia RW stamps with ForgeriesComparison of Genuine St. Lucia RW stamps with Forgeries A very bad problem. Thank you for your response to this Sheryll. Hopefully more will get involved and the right people will come along and end this!

Message 21 of 25
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Re: Modern Fake Stamps are Flooding the Market

Well another year goes by and the rampant sale of these fake reproductions continues.

I have now discovered that Tanzania stamps are effected. Namely the 1985-1986 issues produced by Holders Press.

Here is an image of one of the trains issues compared side by side with a genuine stamp.

tanzania_1985_trains_5l_original_and_fake_stamp_comparison.jpg

The original screens and plates used. They can never match the colors nor the paper nor the gum. The forgeries have greenish tinted gum or very white gum showing there have been several reproductions of this issue over the years. They are now everywhere thanks to a few greedy sellers connected hand and foot with the producers of these fakes.

Message 22 of 25
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Re: Modern Fake Stamps are Flooding the Market

Were there any imperfs/inverts/missing color ect errors in the Format liquidation sales, or are all the "errors" fake from this unknown source?

Message 23 of 25
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Re: Modern Fake Stamps are Flooding the Market

I listed a bunch thinking that they were proofs from the liquidation but I am assuming (now that they have been removed) after reading this thread that they are fakes of the 1982 Diana issue.  If you would like some for this site, I can send them to you.

Message 24 of 25
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Re: Modern Fake Stamps are Flooding the Market

Hello hamsterstamps,
I would first like to say I am sorry for your loss in this. do not feel alone as there are now thousands of dealers and collecors effected.
I do have interest in acquiring samples of them for the site. I only have the one example as described in the update on the page. I would like to get images of the rest and present more detailed 1200dpi images on them including the vignette in between.
If you can send me examples I can take the images and return them. Please contact me directly through the site and we can exchange info there. I am also interested in where you acquired them but keep that out of this thread please. Naming names here is ground for legal action.
Anyone who suspects they have forgeries of stamps that were originally printed by the former Format International Security Printers that are NOT listed on the site is welcome to contact through the site.
I suspect other country issues are effected.
More and more people know about this but there are many more who still do not. This started in 2014 and it is not stopping. It is now a catalog changing event.
Message 25 of 25
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