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When beginners hear about forgeries, they think that only very expensive
stamps are forged. Wrong! Even very low priced stamps have been counterfeited.
These "album weeds" were produced as a
"filler" for low priced stamp packets. Unfortunately, these packets
were purchased mostly by beginners.
When you first start collecting stamps, most collectors try to get as much as
they can for their money. Packets serve many purposes. We learn to sort stamps
by country, become familiar with foreign languages to some extent, learn about
currency, etc. We often times feel compelled to try to fill sets. By this point,
any collector could benefit enormously if he could identify forgeries. Higher
denominations as well as lower ones were counterfeited and no one likes to be
cheated.
So what could we do about it? I recently purchased a book from Linn's called
"Focus On Forgeries." This book is a must for beginners who intend to move up to
the next stage of collecting. It identifies the most common phony stamps. After
using this book for a little while you'll soon learn to recognize the "weeds"
from the genuine items. When you start buying stamps from dealers either through
price lists, mail sales or auctions, you'll have a good guide and be able to
recognize counterfeits listed in this book immediately. Don't hesitate to return
these fakes to whomever you purchased them from and insist on a refund. "Focus
On Forgeries" can be purchased from Linn's Stamp News,
PO Box 29,
Sidney, Ohio 45365.
By the way, there is a subtle difference between the terms "forgery"
and "counterfeit." A forgery is a faked stamp meant to deceive a stamp
collector, whereas a counterfeit is a bogus stamp created to deprive postal
authorities from revenue.
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