MALI ILLEGAL STAMPS

Information and Reference of illegal stamps for Mali according to U.P.U. Circulars 165 and 238

The Universal Postal Union published the following Circular on May 22, 2000 denouncing illegal stamps at the request of the Postal Administration for Mali. This Circular was validated by Mr. M.S. Raman, Assistant Director General of the UPU Secretariat who was the senior officer at that time overseeing philatelic issues. The circular is number 165. You can view it in the linked file below:

UPU Circular Number 165

Here is what was stated in the circular.

Dear Sir/Madam

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

"Our administration was informed on 14 March and 18 April 2000 of the existence of nine different series of postage stamps bearing the inscription "REPUBLIQUE DU MALI" and various designs.

"We would like to point out that all these stamps are illegal and that their circulation does harm to the Malian and international postal services and to collectors.

"Consequently we would ask all postal administrations not to accept correspondence prepaid by means of these false stamps.

"Legal action has already been initiated to trace the forgers and bring them to justice."

Yours faithfully

M S RAMAN
Assistant Director General

Annex 1

Pirated postage stamps purportedly issued by the Republic of Mali

Trains 9 values 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F
Chess 9 values 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F
Prehistoric animals 9 values 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F
Magellan 9 values 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F
Mushrooms 9 values 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F
Computers 9 values 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F
Dogs 9 values 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F
C Columbus 9 values 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F
Minerals 9 values 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F

According to our information, these "pirate issues" were produced in Eastern Europe on behalf of a certain company in Great Britain.

We have now "connected the dots" so to speak as to what company it was and who ran it. The company located in the UK was France Philatélie 2000, run by a Juan Carlos Marino Montero. The printer was Mayfair International Ltd. located in France and also run by this Juan Carlos Marino Montero. You can view all the information on this development in the Niger section of this study.

UPDATE 2021

It has been revealed that a dossier has been found in the United States Postal Museum Archive that sheds more light on who the producer was and is of many of the Mali counterfeit illegal stamps. The name revealed is indeed Mr. Juan Carlos Marino Montero president of Mayfair International Printing Company at the time. I discovered this dossier exists through online research. Firstly here is an image of that discovery.



For years this guy spewed lies about the Feigenbaum's being evil and how he would have nothing to do with them. In reality through emails obtained and preserved through his own words it is now proven that they were (and still are) working together. A biography on this guy not only proves he was the president of the printing company that produced the majority of earlier illegal stamps but was also president of Urch Harris (wholesale) limited which was owned by the Feigenbaum's. Here is a snapshot of part of that biography which is readily available in numerous locations on the internet.



Because of the Covid-19 pandemic the museum was closed for over a year after I discovered the existence of the dossier. It was just sent to me in September 2021. The dossier did not have much in it that I already did not know except for an original document made for the Mali circular 165 which names him and his company as the producer of the counterfeit illegal stamps named in that circular. What the dossier does do is to connect the guy to the production of the illegal stamps in the name of Russian Federation provinces and territories, Mali, Niger, Morocco, Turkmenistan, Rwanda, Cyprus and the Ukraine. This is because the circulars and some of the original documents that were sent to make the circulars are all together and included in the dossier which as the title shown above implies and states "A French company has made illegal issue....".

It is quite obvious even though the counterfeit illegal stamps do not have the printer inscribed on them that this producer is indeed the one simply by comparing them. Same styles and subject matter give it away. The whole scam quite ingenious but at the same time quite simplistic. To this day the criminal producer and his buddies proliferate these counterfeits on the stamp market with minimal hindering. It is quite remarkable that they have been allowed to get away with this for over three decades now and that now millions of these counterfeits contaminate the stamp market in collections and dealers stocks all over the world.

The document found in the dossier for Mali is the original document requesting circular 165 be made. I note that in the published circular at the end it states,
"According to our information, these "pirate issues" were produced in Eastern Europe on behalf of a certain company in Great Britain.".
Here is an image of the "annex" page from the original document made by the postal authorities of Mali.



At the bottom you see a sentence written in French. The translation for it is:
"According to our information, these pirate issues would be made in a country in eastern Europe for the complement of FRANCE PHILATELIE (Montero) in Great Britain."

As you can see the name of the company and the name of Montero was left out in the published version. Probably because of some sort of fear of retaliation from this guy. I show elsewhere his idle threats against the UPU and its members of which absolutely nothing came of. This clown has threatened me with legal action some 4-5 years ago of which I have seen absolutely nothing happen. I am still waiting and will "gleefully" accept any challenge this goon or any of his buddies would like to attack me with as then he or they can be fully exposed to the world of what they have and are still doing. I said then and I say it now,
Bring it on!

This document fully establishes the fact that this guy is behind the production and distribution of the Mali counterfeit illegal stamps shown on this introduction page! As you will see this guy which I call the British producer (He is really from Argentina) has been highly involved in production of illegal stamps in the name of Mali through 2018! His latest Fiasco being 2018 counterfeits along with globalphila's and topnimarka's swarms of illegal stamps. This document is just one more document of now many showing who this guy really is.
Pure evil

END 2021 UPDATE

The Universal Postal Union published the following Circular on June 11, 2001 denouncing illegal stamps at the request of the Postal Administration for Mali. This Circular was validated by Mr. K.J.S. McKeown, Director of Communications and Postal Markets of the UPU Secretariat, who was the senior officer at that time overseeing philatelic issues. The circular is number 238. You can view it in the linked file below:

UPU Circular Number 238

Here is part of what was stated in the circular.

The postal administration of Mali asks me to inform you that a company based in the United States of America, along with certain other individuals, has introduced onto the philatelic market illegal postage stamps purportedly issued by the Republic of Mali.
Amongst the illegal postage stamps discovered (this list of stamps is not exhaustive), the postal administration of MALI cites the following issues:

International Red Cross: 9 values (Jane Dalano Henri Dunant etc.) 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F

Great Composers: 9 values (Haydn Chopin Beethoven etc.) 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F

Wild Animals: 9 values (tiger lion eagle etc.) 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F

Horses: 9 values. 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 F

The circulars describes a number of sets that were found to be on the market in 2000-2001. The issues described are all dated 1998 except the Red Cross one which has no year date inscribed but is claimed by illegal stamp dealers to be made in 2000. Again, exactly the same style as the illegal stamps described in circular 165. The "company" that is referenced to be in the U.S. is most likely Marlen Stamps. Many more have and are being produced since that time. Most of the illegal stamps described in this circular 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 Mali 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 Mali. 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 Mali visit the UPU WNS website and look at the Mali section.

The Universal Postal Union WNS website

I have found the Colnect online catalog to be very helpful to verify legal stamp issues.

The Colnect Online Catalog for Mali

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 Mali Illegal Stamps

I have found the Stampworld.com Catalog to be very 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 Mali

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!

All imaged illegal stamps on this page are in the order listed in UPU Circular 165 Annex 1 and Circular 238. The circulars covered all illegal stamps made in 1998. Mali did not produce any more circulars until 2014. They should have....

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.

1998

The WNS System was not developed until 2002 so we have nothing to go by for these earlier years except the catalogs.

In 1998 Impressor S.A. was producing tons of stamps for Mali. Certain sheets of 9 they produced in 1997-1999 are very similar to the following imaged illegal stamps.

In 1998 Mali officially issued 61 stamps made according to the Colnect Online Catalog.

The Scott Catalog lists around 152 individual stamps, many in sheets of 6 and 9. So there is a conflict between the catalogs.
The Scott catalog is concurrent with the UPU circulars in a note about which sheets of 9 are illegal stamps.

1998 Trains Sheet of 9



1998 Chess Sheet of 9



1998 Prehistoric Animals Dinosaurs Sheet of 9



1998 Ferdinand Magellan Sheet of 9



1998 Mushrooms Sheet of 9



1998 Computers Sheet of 9



1998 Dogs Wolves Sheet of 9

This should have stated they are wolves.



1998 Christopher Columbus Sheet of 9



1998 Minerals Sheet of 9



1998 International Red Cross Sheet of 9



1998 Great Composers Sheet of 9



1998 Wild Animals Sheet of 9



1998 Horses Sheet of 9



I discovered this souvenir sheet of 9 that was not caught by the officials at the time they wrote the circular. There may be others as well. They will be added here.

1998 Lighthouses Sheet of 9



The production of illegal stamps in the name of Mali ceased until 2005. My theory is, which is shown in other effected countries, that Impressor S.A. had influence over the illegal stamp producers in having them stop producing illegal stamps for Mali while they were under contract with Mali. They were producing stamps for Mali until 2001. That is when Postal Printer Tunis (Tunisia) took over.

Recently in 2015 new counterfeit stamps with fake dates for Mali have appeared on the market. These new illegal stamps are more recent productions with older dates placed on them. The low life scum that produce these counterfeit stamps will go to no ends to rip you off. This is why we must all be on guard as new productions like the following fake stamps can appear at any time on the market.

The following imaged illegal stamps with older dates were probably produced during the 2012-2015 time frame. They were discovered by Maria Libera who was a Philately Programme Manager at the U.P.U from 1997 until 2005, and who today continues to be involved in promoting best practices for philately.

2000 EUROPA Souvenir Sheet of 8 with Fake Date Added

This is a genuine common design stamp that was counterfeited and reproduced as an illegal stamp to include the name of Mali. There are at least 16 African countries altogether with similar counterfeit sheets. There were 55 countries that were involved in the EUROPA 2000 theme that year. This was not one of them.



A Genuine EUROPA 2000 Common Design Stamp Issue


2000 Sir Anthony van Dyck Painter Souvenir Sheet of 1 with Fake Date Added

Maria noted:
"MALI SHEET IMPERF VAN DYCK ART PAINTINGS ARTE PINTURA - Prix gagnant: EUR 1.60 - (Site en Espagne - dec 2014) - One of a series..
This was found in 2014 but the date of 2000 was arbitrarily chosen as such. In 2000, such an illegal stamps was not in circulation."

In my research I can note for this counterfeit stamp that the frame around the stamp is the same as other fake stamps made for other countries dating 2014-2016 which are originating from Spain.



2001 Skulls Souvenir Sheet of 1 with Fake Date Added

Again, the same "style" of the 2014-2016 Spanish made fakes.



2003 Parrots Souvenir Sheet of 1 with Fake Date Added

Made by a real rat producer.
BEWARE!!



Back to the true history......

Three years later (2005) the massive onslaught of counterfeit illegal stamps in the name of Mali began.....

View Next Page here!

References taken from:
U.P.U. Circular No. 165 and 238
Major Stamp Catalogs
Internet Research

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