GUINEA REPUBLIC ILLEGAL STAMPS

Information and Reference of illegal stamps for the Republic of Guinea according to U.P.U. Circular 421 and other resources

On December 8, 2003 the postal administration for the Republic of Guinea by request to K.J.S. McKeown (Director of Markets) posted to the Universal Postal Union a circular warning of the discovery of a large number of illegal stamps created with their country name that are on the market. The circular is number 421. You can view it in the linked file below:

UPU Circular Number 421

The Republic of Guinea is an extremely difficult country to work out what stamps are real, what are abusive stamps and what are counterfeit illegal stamps. In the research on this countries problem it is found that the illegal stamp producers and certain stamp agents who print their own stamps were working in some sort of consortium during certain periods. In numerous cases shown via major illegal stamp dealers websites and stores in the online auction venues the bad agents would either give the illegal stamp producers the plates and printing materials needed to reproduce certain sets of "issued" stamps to make counterfeit deluxe sheetlets, imperforates and other forms of the issues that were never authorized by the country to be made. Or they printed them themselves and disbursed them among their illegal stamp peddling buddies. In this time (2021) the philatelic market is in a complete mess which has all been caused by these criminal elements.

The circular only describes several 2003 counterfeit sets that were produced. Many more were missed even for that year. No earlier sets documented and they did not even research the documented sets far enough to know the year date inscribed on them! Sadly it is the only circular they produced and due to the abusive nature of the agents they have become involved with past and present it is most certain they do not know the extent of damage and abuse this has caused against their countries reputation as a stamp issuing entity.

The following pages will help you define what stamps are real, what are abusive and what are illegal. The abuse really started in the 1990's with the Impressor issues. The first illegal stamps produced were in 1997. In 1998 this Juan Montero and his corrupt Mayfair International printing company along with his deep ties with the late Clive Feigenbaum assaulted the market with a massive number of criminally produced garbage made in the name of the Republic of Guinea. An explanation of this character in detail can be found on the introduction page for the Niger illegal stamps. Some of the junk is listed in Michel and Yvert catalogs wherein the controversy lies with them listing illegal stamps as if genuine. This clown and others including certain corrupt editors are surely hoping that as time goes on they will be forgotten so they and their children can continue to happily rip you off to the end of time! Yet another reason these reference pages are being produced to expose the truth and help all collectors and legitimate stamp dealers learn who and what to avoid in the stamp market. For the Republic of Guinea, sadly, it is almost irreversibly damaged. It has been recommended by experts who are judges in the international stamp exhibitions that the stamps of the Republic of Guinea from 1982 forward should be avoided.
For the most part I am in agreement....

Just about every stamp from then until now has dropped considerably in value. Don't rely on the catalogs as to the real price they are selling for. The differences in sale offers is extreme to say the least between dealers. One dealer asking $10-20.00 for a souvenir sheet whereas another asking 50 cents for it AND NOT SELLING IT! This is exceptionally the case with Stamperija issues. Selling them at extreme prices in the beginning of issue and SOON after, pricing has a dramatic drop. Older issues now selling for just a dollar or two. Yep, real good investment there folks!

Let us begin!

Because there is so much confusion on this country you should use a respectable catalog like Scott or Stanley Gibbons. Do not listen to these dealers trying to convince you the following displayed stamps (that are watermarked "ILLEGAL STAMPS") are something other than counterfeit illegal stamps. Because in many cases Michel is the only catalog listing certain issues I do not trust them as a reliable source. The same goes for Yvert. In the majority of cases with this countries stamps that are suspect of being illegal, just try to find a genuinely used one on a cover. You will find it.....impossible.

None of the Republic of Guinea stamps are listed on the UPU's WNS system. This is because none of them follow the rules set forth by the UPU for stamp printing.

I have found the Colnect online catalog to be helpful but confusing. Over 12,000 listings there now caused by the abusive stamp agencies.

The Colnect Online Catalog for Guinea Republic

Check out their Illegal Stamp section as well. It is far from complete but will help you verify many as well.

The Colnect Online Catalog for Guinea Republic Illegal Stamps

I have found the Stampworld.com Catalog to be helpful as well. Noting they stopped listing after 2013. This is probably because all the Stamperija issues are sold directly through the agent and not used in the Republic as stated on the Colnect site for the later years.

The Stampworld Online Catalog for Guinea Republic

Many of the following illegal stamps can be found as imperforates and as color proof sets as well. Many exist on fake First Day Covers too.
Most times now (2021) the souvenir sheet sets and sheetlet sets are sold individually. Many times the stamps have been removed from the sheetlets and souvenir sheets. All of these "tactics" are used to avoid detection by UPU circular descriptions.

Sellers that call these "private", "locals", "Cinderella's", "unauthorized" are deceiving you. They are illegal stamps produced by a stamp dealer that is bent on ripping you off! Some sellers state "we offer them because they are on the market". Well how about you use a different dealer because that seller is "on the market"? If the stamp societies, auction sites and all other venues kicked these sellers off of their sites then they would have to comply or lose their ability to sell anything.

The following images are free for the use of all to use to alert the public to them. If anyone wants to make a public list of users on eBay, Delcampe and elsewhere who are selling these issues....fine by me since the UPU, PWMO and others appear to have given up or have not been updated in years.

If you have purchased any of these stamps from a dealer or if that dealer offers them, you should avoid that dealer! You will only be supporting illegal stamp makers who are only ripping you off.

1997

In 1997 a set of three large souvenir sheets of 9 were produced by Impressor S.A. commemorating Princess Diana. Already a conflict arises among the catalogs. Scott catalogs saying they were issued in 1998. Michel catalogs saying they were issued in 1997. Dealers saying other sheets are these numbers and so forth. It would be nice if the catalogs could get on the same page! All of these have 1997 inscribed on the stamps, soooo, cannot figure it out? They are:

Guinea Republic 1997 Princess Diana Portraits
Scott Catalog No. 1438, Michel Catalog No. 1680-1688
Issued November 1997 Printer is Impressor S.A.


Guinea Republic 1997 Princess Diana Portraits
Scott Catalog No. 1439, Michel Catalog No. 1689-1697
Issued November 1997 Printer is Impressor S.A.


Guinea Republic 1997 Princess Diana Portraits
Scott Catalog No. 1440, Michel Catalog No. 1698-1706
Issued November 1997 Printer is Impressor S.A.


So what is illegal about it? You will not find the following offered by anyone except Avion Stamps owned by Roger West. Yes a few may be around elsewhere but since 1998 the full set has never been offered except by West and Feigenbaum. The database used is the original Stampdile/JustWendy/Avion one used and supposedly maintained (which I doubt it during those years of operation) by Avion Stamps. Stampdile was owned (still is) by the Feigenbaum's. Yes direct connection. Anything that looks like them is illegal. Admitted to in many cases in the name of other countries these were produced using the exact printing materials used to make the Scott No. 1438 sheetlet without authorization! therefore collaboration between Impressor S.A. and the Feigenbaum's....again.

1997 Princess Diana Portraits Deluxe Imperforate Souvenir Sheets of 1

1998

In 1998 The appearance of a mass of stamps occurred. Many have the Mayfair International Ltd. logo on them. Some do not. A point I am finding quite interesting is how this Montero and this Mayfair International would ever even possibly gain contracts with all the countries they made illegal stamps for all at the same time?!? I do not recall anything like it happening with any other stamp agency ever! Why would all of these different mainly African countries just "line up at the door" in 1998 to give this guy contracts to print stamps all the while when they already have stamp agents producing them? Why would they allow this clown to print stamps in direct conflict with the proven agencies stamps in many cases being of the exact same topic? It is bogus and you can smell a big rat in the room yes?

So why are some listed (mostly in Michel and Yvert) and others fully denounced as illegal? Why do some that are listed have the exact same style/design/topic as others in the name of other countries that are fully denounced as counterfeit? My take is they are all illegal stamps and the people behind getting them listed were "bought off" with kickbacks and incentives. We are talking about a "savvy" group of criminals who knew and know how to work the market. They have infiltrated the societies and associations to gain control over silencing dissent and dispersing these counterfeits. They work with corrupted editors, corrupted experts who certify stamps, corrupted owners of societies like the International collectors society that of course no longer exists. You can see this just by what follows.

For 1998 a few of the illegal stamps are shown on the Colnect "Cinderella" section. It is nothing compared to what you are about to witness.

In 1998 IGPC stamp agency dominated. We see that numerous sets produced by Impressor S.A. are being listed by Michel and Yvert and not listed by Scott and Stanley Gibbons. Only a couple of the Mayfair stamps are listed and those only in Michel and/or Yvert. This shows us there is a huge problem with the catalogs listings. I theorize that as Impressor has done in the past with a number of countries, they were continuing to produce stamps in the name of the Republic of Guinea without authorization because IGPC held the contract. This Mayfair following the same pattern.

Here is a "small" list of current (2021) sellers of the 1998 verified Guinea Republic illegal stamps found using the simple search term "Guinea 1998". It is but a fraction of the dealers out there selling these counterfeits. Many will not use the year or even the country name in their listings to hide from stamp experts. Many of the prominent illegal stamp dealers are in this list.....again.

On eBay

anneraff located in the UK
anneraf2 located in the UK
armi777 located in Latvia
stampsinternational2010 located in Poland
aniramtanya located in Canada
clacarca-88 located in the UK
taxi2021-2 located in the UK
richtaximan4 located in the UK
taxi2021 located in the UK
amiata2012 located in Italy
smare14 located in the UK
taralluccio2014 located in Italy
marlen-stamps located in the US
daviddee.2007 located in the UK
brumstamp located in the UK
kamalmedicine located in India
afroditadama located in Spain
arkofstamps located in the US
rogerpo99 located in the UK
world_phil located in the US
goodman777-2008 located in Latvia
segells located in Spain
algerc43 located in the US
scoutsonstamps located in the US
div_style located in the US
iral located in the US
pcstampsfr located in France
polmar48 located in Spain
xavante767 located in the US
nordbroker located in Latvia
disneytopicals located in Spain
gs.phil located in Italy
d.p.stamps located in Ukraine
tomstampshop located in Italy
thor-alberto located in Spain
fire5003 located in Canada
stampsforyou located in the US
eren3049 located in the UK
lostcreek3 located in the US
pat25timbres located in France
francobolli-stamps located in Italy
collectlt located in Lithuania
flashharry80 located in the UK
euroisfil.sa located in Spain
mickyboo2a located in the UK
blueboy8111 located in the UK
sellosmo located in Spain
i-stamps located in India
stampjoyenterprise located in Malaysia
dige55-6 located in Italy
duzur located in Ukraine
elconto located in France
israeselling located in Israel
osdo2010 located in the Netherlands
albatros-70 located in Italy
philaland* located in Germany
fil_mag located in Belgium
julies-collectables located in the UK
norita20132013 located in Romania
candipro located in Canada
paulette48qd located in the US
mariotti_filatelia located in Italy
cibafil located in Italy
etabetapitagorico located in Italy
alexunitrad located in the US
johnp5805 located in the UK
paulhua3 located in the US
vicmorgen located in the US
jia1511n located in Germany
taralluccio2014 located in Italy
primestamps located in Germany
beddaustamps located in the UK
filgestfilatelia located in Spain
stampbabe located in the US
hamsterstamps located in Canada
larrdunh located in Canada
gsnumi located in Italy
pgraeme2 located in Canada
danaphil2010 located in the US
poundcovers located in the UK
dianamart1994 located in the US
pa_patv_dvmduj6eod located in France
coyotte118 located in France
europolstamps located in Poland
stevelferrett located in the UK
joseantonio1779 located in Spain
el-filatelico located in the US
dalwyn located in the UK
nunpleb located in the UK
matthijs_philatelie_big_lots located in Belgium
jozef1809 located in Belgium

Wow! Well I am not going to do Delcampe on this page because it would be as long as your arm! You can see this is a huge problem yes?

On Hipstamps

On Hipstamps the same group of clowns keep coming up on the lists. I call them the little stamp mafia. The source of the problem. Get rid of them and you get rid of 50-75% of illegal stamp sales on the market. Get rid of them on Hipstamps you get rid of 80%!

alexunitrad located in the US
countrybearstamp located in the US
Bentley1Stamp located in the UK (Main illegal stamp seller in the little mafia group)
2Cheshire located in the US
hebuehne located in the US
artstamps located in the UK (Isabeldelatour aka Juan Montero. Main illegal stamp dealer in the little mafia group)
W4Stamps located in the UK (eren3049 on eBay. Another main illegal stamp dealer in the little mafia group)
jumbofrancis located in the US
rogerpo99 located in the UK. (Avion Stamps yet another main illegal stamp dealer in the little mafia group)
City-Collectables located in Poland
hamstercovers located in Canada
i-stamp located in India
philindia01 located in India
marlen-stamps located in the US. (Another main illegal stamp dealer in the little mafia group)
billkoby located in Canada
Stamps2019 located in Israel
antakves located in Lithuania
stampjoyenterprise located in Malaysia

A formidable nightmare on that site of which the little mafia group covers 75% of the 1400+ sales going there just in a search for "Guinea 1998".
Don't take my word for it, just go there and punch into any of their "stores" and see for yourself what they sell.

Some images that follow are not determined to be illegal stamps because they are being listed in Michel and/or Yvert. In research on the Avion Stamps website, who would know better than they what was legal and what was not? Considering they are the original main distributors of them. For a number of the following listed stamps, I show a snapshot image from that site that shows you they themselves say the stamps were "privately produced" which is a "soft" way of saying they are
ILLEGAL STAMPS

There are a few exceptions to the rule. Several are listed in one catalog and not the others. Yet not listed on any of the online catalogs (Colnect, Stampworld, Postbeeld, ect.), or documented as unauthorized on those catalogs. Those I do watermark with the dreaded "ILLEGAL STAMPS" watermark.

Why doesn't Michel and Yvert look into this and clean up their confusion?

Guinea Republic 1998 Animals of the World Birds of Prey Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1787-1795, Yvert Catalog No. 1213-1221
Said to be issued March 20, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Here is a snapshot from the Avion Website permanently recorded. I show similar throughout this page.

Guinea Republic 1998 Animals of the World Birds of Prey Souvenir Sheet of 9 Stated to be Privately Produced



These next two souvenir sheets are not listed in any of the four catalogs according to the two online catalogs. You will find that almost none of the souvenir sheets of 2 of this style made by this company are listed in the catalogs. The Birds of Prey sheet is stated to be listed in Yvert by a dealer in Canada. If it is it would be shown on the Stampworld catalog. It has been shown that certain sheets listed in Yvert alone (not the other three catalogs) are unauthorized printings and are therefore not shown on the Stampworld catalog. This appears to be the case with the Birds of Prey sheet of two. Therefore determined to be illegal until proven it is not!

Guinea Republic 1998 Animals of the World Birds of Prey Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 2
Stated by a dealer that it is Yvert BF132 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Animals of the World Horses and Roy Rogers Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 2
Printer not Inscribed



notes
This next souvenir sheet is shown on the Avion website as Sheet number 1. The Birds of Prey Sheet of 9 above is sheet number 2. You can see there is no Mayfair nor Impressor logo on it. Michel catalog does not even list it. The major illegal stamp dealers are the main source to buy it. So even though Yvert lists it, it is determined by this and by the following imaged statement by Avion Stamps that it is an illegal stamp souvenir sheet.

Guinea Republic 1998 Animals of the World Birds Souvenir Sheet of 9
Yvert Catalog No. 1473-1481
Only said to be issued in 1998 Printer is "unknown"


Guinea Republic 1998 Animals of the World Birds Souvenir Sheet of 9 Stated to be Privately Produced



With all this do you think the Birds of Prey souvenir sheet is legal or not? Of course it is again mainly the major illegal stamp dealers who sell them. Other dealers who sell them (because they are listed), more than likely obtained their stock from one of the major illegal stamp dealers. Pretty sick circulation yes? Advise is to avoid. Plenty of real birds related stamps out there that do not carry this kind of baggage.

Moving on!

Guinea Republic 1998 Dinosaurs Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 9
Printer is "unknown"

These two souvenir sheets are not listed in any of the four catalogs. These are one of the few items shown to be illegally produced on the Colnect "Cinderella" section.




Guinea Republic 1998 Dinosaurs ITALIA 98 Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 2
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.

Yet another unlisted souvenir sheet by this company. Apparently the ITALIA 98 Stamp Exhibition was a big money maker as this company produced a mass of stamps with the logo on them. So many were ripped off at that show! So many more since then!



Guinea Republic 1998 Dinosaurs ITALIA 98 Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 2 Stated to be Privately Produced

Events of the 20th Century Series

This was a major production of illegal stamps produced by Mayfair International. It is so huge that I would have to make a separate page just to show all of it! This guy made color proofs, imperforates, fake First Day covers, Deluxe sheets, errors on and on! This junk is everywhere now being sold by many dealers and collectors. Not one is listed in any catalog. Several individual stamps from one of the sheets of 9 are shown and verified as illegal on the Colnect "Cinderella" section. All of the "Eiffel Tower" souvenir sheets of one are verified as "privately produced" on the Avion site.
After you see this you will then really start to wonder about the listing of Mayfair International stamps made in the name of the Republic of Guinea. A major portion of these are still to this day being sold by this guy and his buddies. Can you imagine the numbers that have been sold over the past three decades??? No wonder the guy lives in a multi-million dollar mansion! This is just a tiny piece of what has been done to the stamp market by just one illegal stamp producer.

Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 9
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.

1900-1909


1910-1919


1920-1929


1930-1939


1940-1949


1950-1959


1960-1969


1970-1979


1980-1989


1990-2000


This I found being sold by Bentley1Stamp on Hipstamps. It provides yet more proof that Juan Montero ran Mayfair International Ltd. and is fully responsible for the production of the illegal stamps shown here. It is kind of funny in a way. A proof showing proof.

1900-1909 Events of the 20th Century Proof that Juan Montero is responsible for the Printing of this Illegal Stamp Sheet



I found this souvenir sheet of 6 on the topic of Hollywood Actresses.

Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Hollywood Actresses Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 6
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



I found these souvenir sheets of one that go with it. There are probably more.

Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Akira Kurosawa Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Death of Princess Diana Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Jean Marais Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century John Glenn Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.

Saw several dealers trying to pawn this one off as a 1999 John Glenn souvenir sheet that is listed.



Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Roy Rogers Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



You will find these counterfeits on fake First Day covers.

Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 on Fake First Day Cover
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



You will find them as so called proofs. They are not worth the paper they are printed on. They can be reproduced anytime...
I get a kick out of the color guides. Same type used on many illegal stamps in the name of many countries.

Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 so Called Proof
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Here is an "explosive" one. The following souvenir sheets with the Eiffel Tower background are all counterfeit illegal stamps. These people produced every single illegal stamp from the nine sheets of 9 shown above on them! Think of the cost of obtaining all of them. That's what these criminals have and are still doing. Hoping you try to obtain as many as possible. There are so many I will not fill this page with them as we have a ways to go. Here are examples. Anything that looks like them is fake!
Note the +500GNF at the bottom right corner. Made to make it "look" like they are semi-postals with intent to rip off buyers for more as if they are more valuable.

Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Here are examples of the same counterfeit souvenir sheets that were made in the name of Niger. Fully documented and denounced as illegal in one of their circulars.

Niger 1998 Events of the 20th Century Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Here are fake First Day Covers of some of them.

Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 1 on Fake First Day Covers
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Finally here is a snapshot from the Avion website stating they are "privately produced". Almost every one that is being offered there have the note. Yet when Mr. West puts them on the auction venues like Hipstamps the statement is removed from the description. This of course would not make any sales should he leave it on. This is how deceitful these illegal stamp dealers are.

Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1 Stated to be Privately Produced



Guinea Republic 1998 Events of the 20th Century Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1 Statement removed on Hipstamps Sale



Moving on!

This next sheet featuring Ferrari's is interesting. Apparently many including the catalog editors never even noticed. Or did they? That being the reason the second one is not listed or imaged in the catalogs!

Guinea Republic 1998 Ferrari Souvenir Sheet of 9
With Mayfair Logo and Ferrari Symbols
Michel Catalog No. 1977-1985, Yvert Catalog No. 1342-1350
Said to be issued October 23, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Guinea Republic 1998 Ferrari Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 Without Mayfair Logo and Ferrari Symbols
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Weird yes? Here is a snapshot from the Avion website. Yep, says they are "privately produced".

Guinea Republic 1998 Ferrari Souvenir Sheet of 9 Stated to be Privately Produced



So, do we believe Michel and Yvert? Or do we believe the closest source to the production and sales? I believe the latter of course. Looking on the sales venues we see a ton of the souvenir sheet without the Ferrari symbol in the background being sold. This tells us it is for certain an illegally produced "variety". Of course many of the sellers are major illegal stamp dealers. Avoid it and them!

Guinea Republic 1998 Ferrari Souvenir Sheet of 9 Without Mayfair Logo and Ferrari Symbols Huge Sale Lot

This illegal stamp dealer asking $1.75 for it and so far no bids! Who wants these curled up garbage sheets?



Then we have this illegally produced souvenir sheet. Of course with no Mayfair logo but we know who made it now yes?

Guinea Republic 1998 Ferrari Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 4



Here is a First Day Cover with both "legal" and illegal stamps on it.

Guinea Republic 1998 Ferrari Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 4 and Supposedly "Legal" Stamps on Fake First Day Cover



Finally, here is the single stamp souvenir sheet that is only listed in Michel. Scott and Stanley Gibbons do not list any of this set. Noting there is no Mayfair logo on this sheet either.

Guinea Republic 1998 Ferrari Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL543
Said to be issued August 20, 1998


Next is the Frank Sinatra problem.

Guinea Republic 1998 Frank Sinatra Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1753-1761, Yvert Catalog No. 1198-1206
Said to be issued February 23, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


But then we have this one! Not listed anywhere!

Guinea Republic 1998 Frank Sinatra Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Nothing listed for the following two souvenir sheets either. What does that make them?
Illegal Stamps.

Noting on the souvenir sheet of two the +1000F as if it were a semi-postal. No purpose for it except to get your money.

Guinea Republic 1998 Frank Sinatra Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 2
No Printer's Logo



Guinea Republic 1998 Frank Sinatra Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Frank Sinatra and John F. Kennedy Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.

Sometimes this one is listed by dealers as a John F. Kennedy souvenir sheet with no mention of Frank Sinatra.



Then we have the Macau Return to China problem.

Guinea Republic 1998 Macau Return to China Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Macau Return to China Souvenir Sheet of 9 Stated to be Privately Produced



Guinea Republic 1998 Macau Return to China Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd. (obviously)



Guinea Republic 1998 Macau Return to China History Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Macau Return to China History Souvenir Sheet of 9 Stated to be Privately Produced



Guinea Republic 1998 Macau Return to China History Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 2
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd. (obviously)



Now let us look at the Marine Life issues.

These first two are listed in all catalogs. They were produced for IGPC.

Guinea Republic 1998 Marine Life International Year of the Ocean Souvenir Sheet of 9
Scott Catalog No. 1460
Issued on September 8, 1998


Guinea Republic 1998 Marine Life International Year of the Ocean Souvenir Sheet of 1
Scott Catalog No. 1461
Issued on September 8, 1998


Now the counterfeit.

Guinea Republic 1998 Marine Life Whales Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 4
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Wishing to note that on the Avion website a group of souvenir sheets are listed in the 1998 section that are not 1998 issues. They are 2001 issues and they have placed them into the 1998 section with the little "Privately produced" note. Possibly to throw researchers off track as the stamps do not have a year inscribed on them. Most are titled "Vie Marine". Here is a snapshot of one.

Guinea Republic 2001 Marine Life "Vie Marine" Souvenir Sheet of 6 Falsely Stated to be Made in 1998 and Privately Produced



Now things get even more "murky". Again, they are not listed in the Scott or Stanley Gibbons catalogs.

Guinea Republic 1998 Mushrooms Souvenir Sheet of 4
Michel Catalog No. BL545, Yvert Catalog No. 1252-1255
Said to be issued on August 20, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Guinea Republic 1998 Mushrooms Souvenir Sheet of 4 Stated to be Privately Produced



Then we have all these souvenir sheets on the topic of paintings by famous painters. All made by Mayfair. All not listed in Scott nor Stanley Gibbons catalogs.

Most are entitled "Spanish History and Painting".

Guinea Republic 1998 Paintings by Joan Miro Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Paintings by Leonardo da Vinci Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1968-1976
Said to be issued on August 20, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Guinea Republic 1998 Paintings by Pablo Picasso Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1804-1812, Yvert Catalog No. 1231-1239
Said to be issued on April 1, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Guinea Republic 1998 Paintings by Pablo Picasso Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1813-1821, Yvert Catalog No. 1355-1363
Said to be issued on April 1, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Then we have this one only listed in Michel.

Guinea Republic 1998 Paintings by Pablo Picasso Souvenir Sheet of 2
Michel Catalog No. BL525
Said to be issued on April 1, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Then we have this one that is illegal as in not listed by anyone.

Guinea Republic 1998 Paintings by Pablo Picasso Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Paintings by Raphael Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1959-1967, Yvert Catalog No. 1324-1332
Said to be issued on August 20, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Guinea Republic 1998 Paintings by Salvador Dali Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1822-1830
Said to be issued on April 1, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Finally we have this one listed only in Michel.

Guinea Republic 1998 Paintings by Diego de Velazquez Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL527
Said to be issued on April 1, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Moving on to this one listed only in Michel.

Guinea Republic 1998 Pandas Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1778-1786
Said to be issued on March 20, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Next we have the Pope John Paul II fiasco. There are some Impressor made souvenir sheets that are listed by Michel and possibly Yvert. The following Pope related counterfeit illegal stamps were all made by yours truly....Mayfair International of which none are recognized by anyone. All made to rip off collectors at the Italia 98 Stamp Exposition. So avoid them!

Guinea Republic 1998 Pope John Paul II Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 9
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.




Here is one on a fake First Day Cover. Again the cons produced a massive glut of imperforates, FDC's, color proofs and so forth. All still being sold by them to this day.

Guinea Republic 1998 Pope John Paul II Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 on Fake First Day Cover



Every one of the illegal stamps on the two sheets of nine have been reproduced onto single stamp counterfeit souvenir sheets. Wow!

Guinea Republic 1998 Pope John Paul II Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.

From the 350GNF Sheet

From the 125GNF Sheet


Then they "threw in" this next counterfeit which is a "crossover" of the Pope set above and the Diana fiasco below.

Guinea Republic 1998 Pope John Paul II and Princess Diana Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Next we have the Princess Diana fiasco which is even worse! NOT listed in Scott nor Stanley Gibbons.

Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1723-1731, Yvert Catalog No. 1222-1230
Said to be issued on February 3, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1732-1740, Yvert Catalog No. 1153-1161
Said to be issued on February 3, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1741-1749, Yvert Catalog No. 1135-1143
Said to be issued on February 3, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


On the Avion Stamps website....all of them are noted as privately produced. Here is an example.

Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana Souvenir Sheet of 9 Stated to be Privately Produced



Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana Portraits Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 2066-2074, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on September 28, 1998 Printer is not inscribed.


Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana with personalities Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. no reference, Yvert Catalog No. 1144-1152
No issued Date Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana with personalities Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 Denounced as Unauthorized on Colnect



Now for the single stamp souvenir sheets.

Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana in Argentina Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL519, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
No issue date found Printer not inscribed.


Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana in Pink Dress Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL520, Yvert Catalog No. BF128
Said to be issued on February 3, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


This next group should probably all be denounced as illegal. Only Michel is listing them. All of them on the Avion website have the note stating they are privately produced.

Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana India Independence 2000F Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL521
Said to be issued February 3, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana India Independence 2000F Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1 Stated to be Privately Produced



This one I could not find listed anywhere.

Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana India Independence 3000F Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. ???
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana India Independence 3000F Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1 Stated to be Privately Produced



This one was produced from images taken from an illegal stamp souvenir sheet made in the name of Niger in 1997.

Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana with Elton John Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL552
Said to be issued September 28, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana with Elton John Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1 Stated to be Privately Produced



Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana Memorial with Pope John Paul and Fidel Castro Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL553
Said to be issued September 28, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Princess Diana Memorial with Pope John Paul and Fidel Castro Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1 Stated to be Privately Produced



You can see there is a huge problem here with the 1998 issues caused by this one printer yes? We move on!

Why is this one only listed in Michel? Are you beginning to see the pattern?

Guinea Republic 1998 Ronald Reagan Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 2077-2085
Said to be issued September 28, 1998 Printer not inscribed.



Guinea Republic 1998 Ronald Reagan Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL554
Said to be issued September 28, 1998 Printer not inscribed.



This one listed in Yvert yet denounced on the Colnect catalog. Is the catalog stating this? Then why list it?

Guinea Republic 1998 Space Flight Phases Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9
Yvert Catalog No. BF128
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.



Guinea Republic 1998 Space Flight Phases Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 Stated to be Unauthorized



This next one has the inscription, "Officially Licensed by De Tomaso Modena S.p.A., Italy". Yes, it is most likely licensed to Montero and his printing company. It does not mean that the Guinea Republic postal authorities authorized it to be issued though.
More on the "copyright" issues is shown further below.

Guinea Republic 1998 Sport Cars De Tomaso Souvenir Sheet of 4
Michel Catalog No. BL544, Yvert Catalog No. 1351-1354
Said to be issued on August 20, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Guinea Republic 1998 Sport Cars De Tomaso Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 4 Stated to be Privately Produced



This one is of interest because it is one of the only "Events of the 20th Century" series that is listed in any catalog! Or is it? According to the Colnect catalog and shown on the Postbeeld Freestampcatalogue it is as follows.

Guinea Republic 1998 Titanic Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1901-1909? Yvert Catalog No. 1412-1420?
Only referenced as issued in 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


But then we see that the Stampworld Online Catalog only shows this one which has the mysterious "OPI" copyright on it. I would like to see the actual listings in Michel and Yvert to see if they put an image on the listings. This one is not shown on the Colnect catalog nor on the Postbeeld one.

Guinea Republic 1998 Titanic Souvenir Sheet of 9 (different)
Michel Catalog No. 1901-1909? Yvert Catalog No. 1412-1420?
Only referenced as issued in 1998 Printer not inscribed


What seals the conflict and shows that somebody is wrong is this last souvenir sheet. It is shown on all the sites and the copyright is again OPI. So who's sheet do you think is illegal and who's is not? Of course I vote that the Mayfair sheet is truly illegal.
But....I also vote that the OPI ones are illegal as well. You may be asking why.

Because the company (who printed the Titanic OPI copyright stamps) was involved in a number of Titanic issues for Mali and Central African Republic for instance. Both countries severely effected by illegal stamps. The Titanic stamps of similar design and layout. The same layout as the Mayfair stamps. Yes, I believe that Mayfair is behind production of many copyright sets and every one of them were never authorized by the country of issue. Prove me wrong. Try to find any of them officially used on commercial mail from the country in question. Ask yourself why none are listed in the Scott and Stanley Gibbons catalogs. More on the copyright issues of 1998 is presented below.

Guinea Republic 1998 Titanic Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL536, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on July 30, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Turtles Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 9
Printer not inscribed

These are not listed anywhere.




Guinea Republic 1998 Year of the Tiger Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1762-1770, Yvert Catalog No. 1162-1170
Said to be issued on February 23, 1998 Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.


Guinea Republic 1998 Year of the Tiger Souvenir Sheet of 9 Stated to be Privately Produced



Guinea Republic 1998 Year of the Tiger Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
Printer is Mayfair International Ltd.

Not listed anywhere.

Copyright Stamps

In 1998 numerous sets of stamps were created in the name of the Guinea Republic which gained Copyright permissions. In my research on them (which is still ongoing as of 2021) I found out for some from the representatives who own the copyrights that the permissions were purchased by none other than the now defunct International Collectors Society. Of course most of them were massively sold to the members with bogus certificates of authenticity stating they were limited editions. It is fact that many more were produced than they claimed and are being sold to this day with and mostly without certificates.

You cannot find a single copy used on commercial covers. I am quite certain that the Guinea postal service never received a dime from the sales of them. There were only two printers that could have made them as to the styles. either Impressor S.A. or Mayfair. Impressor would have definitely inscribed their logo on the sheets. As you can see, Mayfair has not on many of the stamps they produced and the evidence points directly to that company.

So the scheme was to produce a massive number of copyright approved sets on super popular characters and shows and reap in a ton of money. So the owners of the International Collectors Society went around buying the permissions, then got an illegal stamp producer to print the stamps. First selling them to their members (with the bogus certificates) and then the illegal stamp dealers that were associated sold and continue to sell them to collectors to this day. Knowing them to be popular topics that last the tests of time, they have succeeded in reaping in hefty profits from them.

You can see by how they are listed in the catalogs there is a huge problem. Not one is listed in Scott or Stanley Gibbons catalogs. It appears not one is listed in Yvert either! So only Michel is listing them. Why? The darkness fills the air again. You have to understand that these criminals that produce illegal stamps are ruthless in their quest to "legitimize" the counterfeits. Without catalog listings the sales plummet. Do not go by one catalog listing them. If the others are not....there is a problem with the stamps. Due to overproduction or....they are counterfeit illegal stamps! If it was overproduction then it is proof the certificates are a lie. If 5 or 10 thousand were made or even 50 thousand it would not meet the status of overproduced. 100 thousand to a million....yes.

It is sad to see this kind of rip off happen. One should always do the research before buying stamps. Especially from the 1990's forward simply because there are so many cons peddling fake stamps, illegal stamps and overproduced made to rip you off "legitimate" stamps that are never used in the country named on them. It is like baseball cards and collector plates. The greed caused by profits from them made a few bad apples flood the market to the point that their value became worthless in all regards. This is what is happening with abusive stamps. At some point the saturation caused by Stamperija for instance will implode. It is already happening. Sets being sold for $50-100.00 now being offered at $5-10.00 and not selling.

I will not mark the following sets as illegal but consider them to be just that. Until proof is provided (which it probably will never be) that the country authorized them and proof of the quantity produced and proof that the plates that made them were destroyed, none of the following sets can be trusted as worth anything. They should be avoided.

Current (2021) sellers of them found using the simple search terms "Guinea 1998", "Guinea Betty" ect. Some dealers out there have been selling many for years in lot sales containing 10 or more without certificates showing that they were not "exclusively" sold with them. If you really read into the news article on the Betty Boop sheets (shown below) it states the ICS was the "sole worldwide distributor of the stamps". Let us see here. So this stamp dealer owned society was now a stamp agent for Guinea Republic? I DON'T THINK SO! There was no announcement from Guinea on them. Only this article in some shady Newspapers and through the society. Again, you don't smell a big rat? Now, put it to the test with all of these "copyright" sets.

On eBay

europolstamps located in Poland
disneytopicals located in Spain
duke2wayne located in the US
paulette48qd located in the US
stampsforyou located in the US
actonap87 located in the US
peapod1166 located in the US
vmpetrol located in australia
amaham_3212 located in the US
irr.-8 located in the US
stamps-plus located in the US
mand9344 located in the US
3r3buni located in the US
actonap87 located in the US
peapod1166 located in the US
stormer19 located in the US
baahstun located in the US
oxfordnewton located in the US
imperialmintny located in the US

Is it not funny that most of the sellers are in the US? Trying to get their money back from the scam I guess. Meanwhile there is a couple dealers also in the U.S.A. dealing the bulk lots. For how many years have they been doing it? One lot says "4 available 7 sold" Each sold for around $6.00. That is just for one of the souvenir sheets of 9! Indeed it was over the past year and apparently none have sold in 2021. Shows the demand is really low yes? The dealer has only been on eBay for 3 years. Or has he? Perhaps was on as a different user before. How many have sold over the past 20+ years just on eBay?

On Hipstamps

rogerpo99 located in the UK
philatejas located in the US
aardvaark777 located in the US
Newshop2012 located in Spain

How many sold through the notorious illegal stamp dealer rogerpo99? How many in Spain? Neither selling with those certificates. The postal authorities in the Republic of Guinea do have the answer on them. We just need to find out what that answer is.

Guinea Republic 1998 Betty Boop Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1911-1919, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on July 30, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Here is an image of one of the bogus certificate of authenticity. It is not a plate block, it is doubtful it was recognized anywhere and the number on the certificate is meaningless as, if it was truly a limited edition, the number would also be on the sheet! The only thing "limited" I can see is the certificates themselves!

Guinea Republic 1998 Betty Boop Souvenir Sheet of 9 Bogus Certificate of Authenticity



Guinea Republic 1998 Betty Boop Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1920-1928, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on July 30, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Here is a bogus article written most likely by the International Collectors Society president (John Van Emden). Noting how he states they will become more sought after than the U.S. Elvis Presley Stamps....which they are not and never have been. Note the vague reference to "just thousands" which they are anything but that. Then what is funny is how the guy doesn't let you know in the article that there is a second sheet and three single stamp souvenir sheets. Each were sold individually at the same rip off prices.
I see one dealer on eBay trying to sell one with two of the single stamp souvenir sheets for $4.99 starting bid and getting no bids! Yep, really sought after there! Finally, you can see it is just an advertising scam at the end of the article. There is a lot of information on this society out there. Try looking up the lawsuit against them by Apple Corps. Ltd. and Yoko Ono. They forced them to stop selling any Beatles related stamps. All of these were produced under the same fashion and circumstances. There is even evidence of them ordering printing of stamps in New York for another country like a stamp agency would! Yet they claimed they were not an agent. So you have to ask.....were these also printed in the same way? Another reason they are not listed in Scott and Stanley Gibbons catalogs? Because they never left the U.S. except in sales to collectors and dealers? Never seeing the light of day in the Republic of Guinea? Thus making them in the status of Illegal Stamps?

Guinea Republic 1998 Betty Boop Souvenir Sheet of 9 Deceptive Article Made to Sell Them



Guinea Republic 1998 Betty Boop Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL537, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on July 30, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Betty Boop Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL538, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on July 30, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Betty Boop Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL539, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on July 30, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 I Love Lucy Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1942-1950, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on July 30, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 I Love Lucy Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. BL541, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on July 30, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Lost in Space Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1865-1873, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on May 18, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Lost in Space Souvenir Sheet of 8
Michel Catalog No. 1874-1880, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on May 18, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Lost in Space Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL531, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on May 18, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Lost in Space Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL532, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on May 18, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Lost in Space Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL533, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on May 18, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Muhammad Ali Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 2087-2095, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on September 28, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Muhammad Ali Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL555, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on September 28, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Popeye Souvenir Sheet of 9
Michel Catalog No. 1932-1940, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on July 30, 1998 Printer not inscribed


Guinea Republic 1998 Popeye Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog No. BL540, Yvert Catalog No. no reference
Said to be issued on July 30, 1998 Printer not inscribed


So, we can see the Betty Boop, Popeye and I love Lucy sets were all "issued" on the same date. Don't you think a run of letters would be mailed from the Republic if they ever were sent there? Interesting yes?

The production of counterfeit illegal stamps in the name of the Republic of Guinea slowed down considerably in 1999. Production of "copyright" topics increased considerably. Noting none of them are listed in Scott and Stanley Gibbons catalogs again! Why?

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References taken from:
U.P.U. Circular No. 421
Major Stamp Catalogs
Internet Research

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