ANGOLA ILLEGAL STAMPS

Information and Reference of illegal stamps for Angola according to U.P.U. Circular 406 and other resources

On September 25, 2000 the postal administration for Angola by request to M.S. Ramon (Assistant Director-General for the U.P.U.) 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 406. It states the following.

Dear Sir/Madam

The postal administration of ANGOLA asks me to inform you of the following:

"Our administration has been informed of the existence of several sets of illegal postage stamps issued by three companies located in Belgium, Great Britain and Lithuania.

"We would like to point out that all the stamps produced by these companies in the name of our country are illegal and that their circulation does harm to the Angolan and international postal services and to collectors. A list of the postage stamps concerned is given in the annex.

"The illegal issue of these postage stamps is contrary to the provisions of the Detailed Regulations of the UPU Convention and to the laws of the Republic of Angola. These fake postage stamps must not therefore be accepted as a means of postal prepayment."

Yours faithfully,

M S RAMAN
Assistant Director-General

Information about the sheetlets

Type of issue Denomination of stamps Subject of stamps
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Flora: roses 2x
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: fish 2x
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Flora: bonzai 2x
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: Cats 2x
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Flora: flowers
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Flora: cactus 2x
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: Eagles
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: birds
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: lions
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: butterflies
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: panda
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Flora: mushrooms 2x
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Trains of Angola 2x
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: gorillas 2x
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Trains of Angola 2x
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto 2x
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto 2x
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: dogs
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: swans
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: turtles
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: owls
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: bees
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Animals: dinosaurs
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Trains of Angola
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Flora: flowers
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Flora: roses
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Flora: Mushrooms
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Flora: Bonzai
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Flora: Flowers
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 3500000 NKz (6 stamps) Flora: mushrooms
Sheetlet 2500000 NKz (6 stamps) Millennium 2000
Sheetlet 2500000 NKz (9 stamps) Ditto
Sheetlet 2500000 NKz (4 stamps) Millennium 2000 - Centenary of the film
Sheetlet 2500000 NKz (9 stamps) Papal visit
Sheetlet 2500000 NKz (6 stamps) Personalities of the 20th century
Sheetlet 950000 NKz (2 stamps) Cardinal John O'Connor
Sheetlet 2500000 (9 stamps) Cardinal John O'Connor

The circular describes numerous souvenir sheets that were found to be on the market in 2000. The majority of the counterfeits described are all dated between 1998 to 2000.

The Scott catalog has a noting on more of them as well. One set was actually listed until it was discovered that the set was also counterfeit illegal stamps.
You can find the note in the 1999 section of the catalog. It states the following:

The Flora and Fauna stamps, formerly Nos. 1067-1078,
were not authorized by Angola postal authorities.
Other items inscribed "Angola" that were not authorized
but which have appeared on the market include sheets
with the themes of Disney and History of Animation,
Millennium, Animals, Trains, Flora, Muhammad Ali & Lennox Lewis,
Bruce Lee, Albert Einstein / Moon Landing, Elvis Presley and other entertainers,
Great Personalities, John Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe,
Martin Luther King Jr., Payne Stewart, Colin Montgomerie,
Babe Ruth, Cardinal John O'Conner, Pope John Paul II / Mother Teresa,
and Queen Elizabeth II / Winston Churchill.

Many more have been produced at that time and since that time. Most of the illegal stamps described are still on the market today in 2021. They are available through private stamp dealers and their websites. They are available on eBay and Delcampe. They are everywhere! These illegal issues are fabrication of stamps that have never had any postal validity in Angola and have been denounced as fraudulent. They were and are created by certain greedy, unethical and immoral stamp dealers. Any stamp seller out there that offers these "stamps" either does not know they are illegal stamps or is deceitful and they should be avoided at all costs. The deceitful ones prey upon unknowing collectors new and old. They prey upon topical collectors mostly because the majority do not have the knowledge that they are worthless in the stamp market. Some are quite obvious because they have hundreds of lots available on eBay and other public auction venues.

For years now there has been arguments as to whether these issues should be imaged for public viewing. The against argument being that collectors that see images of them will want them for their collections. We can see by the availability on the market and the sales generated that this argument has not worked. By only relying on descriptions of the illegal stamps through the UPU circulars the majority of collectors don't even know what they are.

I am a firm advocate against illegal stamps and the creators of them and the sellers of them. Perspective buyers of them need more than UPU circulars to be alerted to the problem. They need to see them and be able to recognize them when they are searching for stamps to buy on the internet or at stamp shows or buying from local dealers.

Because I am independent and run a site that is very public for collectors, I have decided that it is time for someone to display images of these illegal issues that have and are being reported to the UPU. The countries that are being victimized by these fraudulent printers need help and the UPU is not enough. It is up to you and me to get the word out and to let everyone know and understand about them since auction venues, stamp societies and catalogs seem to want to ignore the problem. Some who sell these fakes are large volume stamp dealers with supposed impeccable reputations. Some are in high positions in the stamp societies and in the auction venues. They in turn are avoiding the very problem by allowing these kind of sellers to peddle this junk because they also sell legitimate stamps on a large scale. The only way to stop the flow is to hit them where it hurts.

If they are selling this junk then avoid them!
Even if they have legitimate stamps for sale. Buy from sellers that do not have these in their offerings. If you are buying legitimate stamps from them you are still supporting the illegal stamp trade because they are supporting it. Tell them that you do not want to buy from them because they sell illegal stamps. There is no excuse to make them available to anyone.

The following images are of illegal stamps produced for Angola. Please remember that the producers of these illegal stamps are not only greedy, they are crude and sometimes disgusting which is the nature of these people.

To find out what stamps are real and legitimate for Angola visit the UPU WNS website and look at the Angola section.

The Universal Postal Union WNS website

I have found the Colnect online catalog to be helpful as well.

The Colnect Online Catalog for Angola

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 Angola Illegal Stamps

I have also found the StampWorld Catalog an excellent resource.

The StampWorld Online Catalog for Angola

Or use a respectable catalog like Scott or Stanley Gibbons. Do not listen to these dealers trying to convince you they are something other than illegal stamps.

Here we go!

By request from numerous visitors I present this section.

Many of the following illegal stamps can be found as imperforates and as color proof sets as well. Some exist on fake First Day Covers too.
Many 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 and researchers like myself.

Sellers that call these "private", "locals", "Cinderella's", "unauthorized" are deceiving you. They are counterfeit 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.

1998

In 1998 the British producers began the onslaught of illegal stamp production in the name of Angola. To understand who they are please visit the Niger section of this study. Also look at the Congo Republic 2000 page to see counterfeit souvenir sheets of the exact same styles as the following. You will find these "styles" used in the name of other countries as well. Yes, all produced by the same people who have gotten away with it for three decades now and some are still blatantly continuing to sell them to this day!

I will place notes with illegal stamps that are described either in the circular or the Scott catalog above the images. Sheets without noting are obviously counterfeit because they are either not listed in the major catalogs, listed as counterfeit elsewhere, or have the same styles as the verified illegal stamps and are either not listed or listed as counterfeit elsewhere. If there is a conflict, provide proof of validity and the page can be changed accordingly.

1998 Dale Earnhardt Daytona 500 Sheet of 12



1998 Dale Earnhardt Daytona 500 Illegal Stamps Expertized

Here we have an authentic APS certificate that verifies these are illegal stamps. In other words....avoid!



1998 Dale Earnhardt Daytona 500 Illegal Stamp Color Proof Set

The dealers are asking for high amounts for these worthless pieces of paper!



1998 Disney Locomotives Trains Souvenir Sheets of 4

These are only "vaguely" described in the sources as trains sheets.




1998 Disney Locomotives Trains Souvenir Sheet of 4 Plus 2 Labels



1998 Disney Locomotives Trains Railroad Story Souvenir Sheets of 1

These are common style used in other country names like Congo Republic 2000 illegal stamps.



1998 Disney Locomotives Trains Railroad Story Souvenir Sheet of 4 Color Proof Set

Again these worthless pieces of paper made to rip you off! They are not color proofs of genuine stamps and are therefore not worth anything. Avoid!



The production of illegal stamps in the name of Angola by the British producers continued in 1999.

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References taken from:
U.P.U. Circular No. 406
Major Stamp Catalogs
Internet Research

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