Forgeries and Fakes Exposed
by Audrius Brazdeikis | Aug 31st, 2010 | Category: stamp collecting, stamp forgeries
Every week we compile list of stamp and cover forgeries found on eBay and other online auctions. Please help us to maintain this page by sending your thoughts, ideas, suggestions and also posting links to websites and online auctions that sell such stamps and covers.
Fake stamps are sometimes knowingly purchased so that experienced collectors can study the stamps and learn valuable information about the fakes. There are many respected sellers that sell fake and forged stamps on eBay and honestly describe their listings as FAKE or FORGERY are generally excluded from this list.
Close co-operation is being provided by Raimundas Lapas, Antanas Jankauskas and Dr. Vytautas Doniela.
Caveat Emptor – Buyer beware
- Expensive or rare items should always be purchased subject to certification
- Check the feedback of the seller but don’t get into a false sense of security by a high feedback rating
- Ask any questions
- Improve your knowledge
- Fakes begin with a genuine stamp and alter it in some way to make it more valuable to stamp collectors, e.g. by adding false postmarks or forging overprints
Note
eBay removes old listings. Listings that have ended 45 or more days ago will not be available for viewing. Visitors will be redirected to eBay search page.
| Date | Origin | Seller | Lot No. | Comment | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-09-09 | Earl P.L. Apfelbaum Inc. | Sale - 1087 | 4563 | Scott 2 forgery |  |
| 2010-09-02 | eBay | sreedy | 380218208211 | fake |  |
| 2010-08-30 | eurofila.hu | EUROFILA Auction No 45 | k45156059 | Mi 404 forgery |  |
| 2010-08-19 | eBay | hans-christ05 | 320576839163 | fake postmark |  |
| 2010-08-16 | eBay | garykun | 130424079326 | fake cover - blue postmark; air post Mi 105 (Sc C1) |  |
| 2010-08-11 | eBay | phila-service | 120604753330 | postmark forgery |  |
| 2010-08-11 | eBay | phila-service | 120604752700 | postmark forgery |  |
| 2010-08-11 | eBay | phila-service | 120604752069 | postmark forgery |  |
| 2010-08-03 | Aukro | sauker | 1167185042 | Mi 404 forgery |  |
| 2010-07-31 | eBay | garykun | 360282267598 | fake cover |  |
| 2010-07-22 | eBay | garykun | 130411567928 | fake postmark |  |
| 2010-07-18 | eBay | garykun | 360282212118 | fake cover |  |
| 2010-07-13 | eBay | kurland*77 | 290453949568 | fake Suwalki postmark. Postgebiet Ober.-Ost SUWALKI post office closed on 26 Dec 1918. The stamp Mi 2 (pos 9) is also a forgery. |  |
| 2010-06-27 | eBay | philgems | 230478552942 | fake "Lietuva Zarasai" overprint |  |
| 2010-06-27 | eBay | philgems | 230492617504 | fake "Laisvi Telsiai" overprint |  |
| 2010-05-31 | eBay | joao192 | 230481866017 | forgery (see details) |  |
| 2010-05-31 | eBay | joao192 | 230481865798 | forgery |  |
| 2010-05-10 | eBay | 2009hauswart | 320529035248 | Seller has many lots with fake overprint "Laisvi Alsedziai" |  |
| 2010-05-10 | eBay | 2009hauswart | 320529035558 | Seller has many lots with fake overprint "Laisvi Alsedziai" |  |
| 2010-05-10 | eBay | 2009hauswart | 320529035800 | Seller has many lots with fake overprint "Laisvi Alsedziai" |  |
| 2010-05-10 | eBay | 2009hauswart | 320529033122 | Seller has many lots with fake overprint "Laisvi Alsedziai" |  |
| 2010-04-21 | Raritan Stamps | Auction #44 | 660 | fake |  |
| 2010-04-20 | eBay | ph4uv | 120556693336 | fake |  |
| 2010-04-08 | eBay | scheee12 | 110516587324 | fake overprint "Laisvi Alsedziai" |  |
| 2010-04-08 | eBay | ph4uv | 120553782202 | fake 1938 Lithuania scout cover |  |
| 2010-04-07 | Delcampe | Aps180782 | 86710067 | fake - listing has been closed by Delcampe |  |
| 2010-03-31 | eBay | victorgg | 360249083002 | fake |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | franyak | 170464822194 | A very crude forgery of Lithuania #3 |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | franyak | 380219070826 | A very crude forgery of Lithuania #4 |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | litlew | 230454378156 | fake cancel |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | jgrigs | 190383171353 | questionable |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | cream1904 | 400110870705 | fake |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | ph4uv | 120547007881 | ph4uv frequently sells forged Lithuanian covers |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | ph4uv | 120546996148 | another ph4uv fake cove |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | mykiev | 350329630684 | fake cover |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | mykiev | 260568488078 | fake cover |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | mykiev | 350333866246 | fake cover |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | mykiev | 260576506812 | another fake cover |  |
| 2010-03-27 | eBay | louiserb2 | 320506656013 | stamp and PSC OK, but everything else - faked, including C. Grinius handwriting |  |
I get a lot of info from this site and helps me to find some forgerys in my collection
Hi Keimpe,
Thank you for your comment – please visit us again. You can also email us your images of forgeries an fakes.
I found this site very, very interesting. There are some names on it from whom I had purchased Baltic States items – now I wonder if they are genuine. It would help imensely if you could explain the forgeries against real ones. Is there a publication available re forged stamps?
Maria Kanas
Hi Maria,
Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive printed textbook on Lithuania forgeries. Such information is fragmented and scattered across specialized philatelic publications (LPS journals, Club Lituanica bulletins, etc.) or available only via personal contacts. An absolute majority of stamps sold via online auctions such as eBay marketplace is genuine. Sellers often rely on the buyers to be able to tell if the stamp they are buying is genuine item. Some dealers and collectors wisely seek expert advice to determine the status of a philatelic item. This is good practice and works well for expensive or rare items.
Comment or request about Forgeries or Fakes
Super helpful – thanks
Could be even better if 1-2 lines could be added as to why it is fake that would help those of us to learn more –
comments like:
overprint lettering incorrect
spacing between letter A and B too large
canceller stolen or known to be used for fakes
Color of overprint incorrect
Greetings from Freezing Adelaide!
Thought I better let you know that I bought a Lithuania C5a Imperf Pair MNH from lorripl (Lorri Platek) on July 5, nearly a month later I still did not receive my purchase. Sent him/her couple of e-mails, but did not get any reply. Had no choice but to inform eBay. After that I had my purchase price refunded with a lot of false Seller’s Note replies. One stated that he has sent me the stamps the next day, so that by the end of July I should already have them. No – nothing arrived. Now I wonder, as all of a sudden all these Imperf Lithuanian stamps appeared on the internet, where they forgeries? Has any other member of your club reported anything similar? Would dearly like to know.
Maria Kanas
Hi Maria,
Greetings from hot and humid Washington DC. I am truly sorry to hear about problems with your ebay purchase. I occasionally sell my duplicates on ebay and personally know that letters mailed to overseas buyers are regularly lost. US Postal Service will lose a percentage of our stuff. Regretfully that is fact of life. Fortunately, ebay offers buyer protection. It takes time to get refund but it does work.
I regularly see C5a offered on ebay but haven’t seen any C5a forgeries lately. I haven’t heard anything from other collectors. If you have any questions about specific ebay listing, do not hesitate to contact me by email with the auction number. I will respond within a day or two.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for your email. The intention of this section was to provide the “Buyer Beware” alerts to other collectors. Only very obvious fakes to the trained eye
can be told from these scans because of poor resolution. We are working on expanding this section with more of information. Make sure you stick around because I am sure you wouldn’t want to miss it.
Dear Mr. Brazdeikis,
The sale you are reporting has been closed on our Delcampe. Thank you very much to have report this item. Do not hesitate to contact me for any other items you find suspicious. Continue your good work. You site is very interesting.
Regards.
Michel, Collectibles Manager for Delcampe.net
Dear Michel,
Thank you for your response. We applaud you for taking a stance against fakes and forgeries on the Delcampe marketplace.