CONGO REPUBLIC ILLEGAL STAMPS

Information and Reference of illegal stamps for Congo Republic Dating 2002 and 2003

The Universal Postal Union published Circular 64 on March 3, 1997 denouncing illegal stamps at the request of the Postal Administration for the Congo Republic. This circular is noted in a list of circulars posted by the U.P.U. between the years 1996 through 2003. Research is ongoing to find the actual circular.

From that time forward no more circulars have been presented by the Congo Republic. This may be due to the political unrest over the years or lack of confidence that the circulars were doing anything to stop them.

I could not find any illegal stamps dating in 1996-7 for the Congo Republic. There were many made for the Democratic Republic of Congo though in 1997. The reference sections for both countries will show you a pattern that once again shows Impressor S.A. in control of the illegal stamp producers having them stop production of illegal stamps when Impressor gained contracts, allowing them to run them after they lost the contracts and so forth. The history will unfold and will amaze you as to how incredibly devious these producers and dealers of counterfeit illegal stamps are.

As of now (2019) they are still producing them in mass. This year we are going to make a difference that the producers and dealers of illegal stamps are going to hate!

I have found that for the Congo Republic, the illegal stamps actually started in 2002. Already the same producer was making counterfeits for the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1997. They stopped in 1998 and then started again in 1999. Still all were for the Democratic Republic of Congo until 2002.

In 2002 the first counterfeits were produced for the Congo Republic. They were "experimental" as they only used the name "CONGO" with no other words. All stamps for the Congo Republic say "Republique du Congo". For the Democratic Republic of Congo they say "Republique Democratique du Congo". None say simply "Congo".

Many more have and are being produced since that time. Most of the illegal stamps described here are still on the market today. 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 the Congo 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 Congo Republic. Please remember that the producers of these illegals 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 Congo Republic visit the UPU WNS website and look at the Congo Republic section.

The Universal Postal Union WNS website

I have found the Colnect online catalog to be helpful as well although there are "conflicts" between what is listed there and what is on the WNS system.

The Colnect Online Catalog for Congo Republic

Check out their Illegal Stamp section as well. It is upgraded as of 2023 and shows counterfeits that may be missing here.

The Colnect Online Catalog for Congo Republic Illegal Stamps

I have found the Stampworld.com Catalog to be helpful as well although again there are "conflicts" between what is listed there and what is on the WNS system.

The Stampworld Online Catalog for Congo Republic

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.

You will find the styles and designs of the following illegal stamps completely different.

Here we go!

All imaged illegal stamps on this page are for the years 2002 and 2003.

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.
Most times now (2019) 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.

2002

The WNS System was developed and started in 2002.

According to the WNS System the Congo Republic officially issued 10 stamps. Both the Colnect and Stampworld catalogs are in agreement.

Congo Republic 2002 Wild Fruits
Issued June 25, 2002 Printer is Cartor Security Printing


Congo Republic 2002 Birds (Long-beaked)
Issued July 23, 2002 Printer is Cartor Security Printing


Therefore any stamp dating 2002 in the name of Congo or Congo Republic other than the above stamp issues is a counterfeit illegal stamp!

Following are images of the illegal stamps I have found offered for Congo Republic dating 2002. There may and probably are more. All of these I found in searches on eBay and Delcampe and all are illegal stamps made by producers bent on ripping you off!

I present them in alphabetical order of titles as there is no logical order for illegal stamps.

2002 Dogs From Sheets

These counterfeit stamps are exclusively offered in this form only on the Avion Stamps website. The stamps are an "experimental" series produced by Clive Feigenbaum as the evidence proves he was the source as they have only been offered by himself and his associates all these years. I note that they only say "Congo" on them. Apparently not working out too well as most savvy collectors know there are two Congo's and therefore there is no way of defining which one they are from.
Very few have been offered by other sellers over the years and when they were/are they are just singles from these sheet pieces. Sorry the images are so tiny but they are the only images I could get like this and are taken from the Avion site. As you can see....no Dogs stamps were ever issued by either Congo in 2002.

2003

In 2003 the barrage of illegal stamps in the name of the Congo Republic really began. All being the Feigenbaum Stampdile "styles" used in the name of so many countries during this time period.

According to the WNS System the Congo Republic officially issued 8 stamps. The Stampworld catalog is in agreement. The Colnect catalog only shows the Mammoths issue and does not show the Decorative Plants issue. Why?

Congo Republic 2003 Mammals with Trunks
Issued June 20, 2003 Printer is Cartor Security Printing


Congo Republic 2003 Decorative Plants
Issued July 6, 2003 Printer is Cartor Security Printing


Therefore any stamp dating 2003 in the name of Congo or Congo Republic other than the above stamp issues is a counterfeit illegal stamp!

Following are images of the illegal stamps I have found offered for Congo Republic dating 2003. There may and probably are more. All of these I found in searches on eBay and Delcampe and all are illegal stamps made by producers bent on ripping you off!

2003 Chess in Souvenir Sheets of 8



2003 Chess and Walt Disney in Souvenir Sheets of 4



2003 Concorde in Souvenir Sheets of 4



2003 Dogs From Sheets

Here we go again with a massive onslaught of the dogs. These are now in many collections and packets all over the world.



2003 Dogs in Souvenir Sheet of 6



2003 Fire Engines in Souvenir Sheets of 4



2003 Lighthouses in Souvenir Sheet of 4



2003 Lord of the Rings in Souvenir Sheets of 6



2003 Marilyn Monroe in Souvenir Sheet of 6



2003 Matrix in Souvenir Sheet of 6



2003 Motorcycles in Souvenir Sheets of 4



2003 Paintings in Souvenir Sheet of 5

The top portion of this souvenir sheet imaged is missing.



2003 Penguins in Souvenir Sheet of 4

A horribly tiny picture. Exclusive to the Avion/Stampdile sites. Must have been pretty shoddy as I can find nobody else selling it.



In 2004 counterfeit illegal stamps continue to be produced in the name of Congo Republic. All appear to be coming again from the same source.

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References taken from:
WNS Stamp System
Major Online Stamp Catalogs
Major Stamp Catalogs
Internet Research

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