tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005756131065514338.post4486038683627775368..comments2024-03-27T15:49:28.147+00:00Comments on Commonwealth Stamps Opinion: 899. Bangladesh Commemorates Its 45th Victory DayWhite Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17968199477827266643noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005756131065514338.post-10407816368604019802017-01-19T12:15:41.000+00:002017-01-19T12:15:41.000+00:00Dear John, I am not aware of a site which identifi...Dear John, I am not aware of a site which identifies all the bogus stamps currently appearing on the market - I've drawn attention to some of them myself in the past but there is just too many to mention them all and I also concentrate on the issues from Commonwealth countries and so I do not cover all territories which are affected by these items.<br /> Anything from Stamperija is NOT bogus since the agency produces its products according to contracts it has entered into with the countries whose names appear on its products. However, there's little to suggest that their products are actually sold in ordinary post offices in most of their client territories and Stanley Gibbons Catalogue usually relegates their products to the Appendix and does not give such items full Catalogue status.<br /> Stanley Gibbons also relegates a proportion of issues sold by IGPC on behalf of various client territories to the Appendix but the Catalogue editor is rather inconsistent and unpredictable in his choice of issues which he places in the Appendix. Many issues not relegated to the Appendix are just as likely to not be available across ordinary post office counters as the sets banished to the Appendix.<br /> The bogus stamps can be identified because they very frequently are imperforate, are crude in design and printing and are often irrelevant to the countries whose names are printed on the items. Many respectable territories, often with conservative new issue programmes, have been affected by bogus issues in recent months. There is an internet dealer based in Russia who has been selling bogus issues recently - ice hockey stamps from Malawi and Kenya and so on. <br /> I hope this is helpful.White Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17968199477827266643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005756131065514338.post-65847108872483631092017-01-18T21:24:02.789+00:002017-01-18T21:24:02.789+00:00Wow, I didn't realise the scope of the problem...Wow, I didn't realise the scope of the problem until I checked out Stamperija website. It seems I have been suckered into buying some of these bogus stamps, which is a bit of shame as some were bought for me as gifts. I am now faced with the unhappy task of screening out these fakes from my collection.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04869171085819571833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005756131065514338.post-50252910426037958192017-01-18T20:42:59.870+00:002017-01-18T20:42:59.870+00:00Hey Everyone. I am very grateful to you all for br...Hey Everyone. I am very grateful to you all for bringing to my attention the fact that Mali and other African state stamps are mostly bogus. I was completely unaware of this fact. I chose not collect them purely because the expense and the possibility that they were not issued for mailing purposes. Can anyone supply me with a website I could go to to learn more? Best regards, John.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04869171085819571833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005756131065514338.post-69777837356322074572017-01-13T19:25:59.734+00:002017-01-13T19:25:59.734+00:00Hello Stewie1911 - I do not usually look at Mali i...Hello Stewie1911 - I do not usually look at Mali issues but when I saw your message I looked at what was for sale on Delcampe and the circular "stamps" there clearly are bogus stamps. Collectors must be very careful of what is being sold on Delcampe - there are numerous bogus issues on offer especially from African countries including a number of Commonwealth territories. Collectors beware!White Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17968199477827266643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005756131065514338.post-64296251510059365252017-01-13T18:00:00.359+00:002017-01-13T18:00:00.359+00:00John, good choise not including those stamps inscr...John, good choise not including those stamps inscribed 'Mali'. Those are all illegals. Not issued by Mali and not by an agency. Stewie1980https://www.blogger.com/profile/17215449288925099410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005756131065514338.post-44170005674527808432017-01-12T21:28:24.933+00:002017-01-12T21:28:24.933+00:00Dear John, Thank you for your interesting comment...Dear John, Thank you for your interesting comment. As regards the status of Sierra Leone "stamps" issued by Stamperija I like to think of them as "philatelic collectibles with theoretical postal validity". These philatelic items are produced by the agency according to contracts agreed with the postal administrations whose names are printed on these items. Generally they do not appear to be sold across ordinary post office counters so that ordinary members of the public can buy them for use on their mail. However if the various national Post Offices chose to do so I presume that the Stamperija-produced items could be sold for use as receipts for the pre-payment of postage - that is - "postage stamps" providing they were made available to the public in reasonable numbers.<br />I visited Uganda when Stamperija was producing philatelic items for Posta Uganda and such items seemed to be sold only from the philatelic counter in the main post office in Kampala and nowhere else. Last year I visited Mozambique and visited some small post offices and did not find any Stamperija-produced items for sale but I did not have the opportunity to visit the main post office in Maputo.<br />I think you are right that these are not (postage) "stamps" and, like you, I do not spend any of my money in obtaining such items and do not include them in my collection. As regards the Commonwealth territories (Mozambique, Solomon Islands and Sierra Leone and previously Maldives and Uganda) Stanley Gibbons does not give these "stamps" a Catalogue number and merely lists them in the Catalogue appendix.<br /> As Mali is not a Commonwealth territory I do not write about any of the items with its name printed on them in this Blog.<br /> I do not think that you should have any doubts about your decision not to include such items in your collection. <br />Best wishes.White Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17968199477827266643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005756131065514338.post-5323872888512244752017-01-12T20:53:58.559+00:002017-01-12T20:53:58.559+00:00Can the Sierra Leone issues really be classed as s...Can the Sierra Leone issues really be classed as stamps? Since it is quite clear they are not being issued with postal use in mind. I just wonder where the line can be drawn between genuine postage stamps and revenue raising labels. Do you cover Mali here? They issue a lot of Round stamps and as a collector of these shaped stamps I have had to make the decision not include Mali in my collection.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04869171085819571833noreply@blogger.com