MOROCCO ILLEGAL STAMPS
SAHARA REPUBLIC
Information and Reference of illegal stamps for Sahara Republic according to U.P.U. Circulars 129, 414, 69 and 71
The Universal Postal Union published the following Circular on April 10, 2000 denouncing illegal stamps at the request of the Postal Administration for Morocco.
This Circular was validated by 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 129. You can view it in the linked file below:
UPU Circular Number 129
Here is what was stated in the circular.
Dear Sir/Madam
The postal administration of MOROCCO asks me to inform you of the following:
"Our administration has been informed of the existence of postage stamps bearing the inscription 'République Arabe Sahraoui Démocratique' and various designs.
"We would like to point out that this so-called republic does not exist, that all these stamps are illegal and that their circulation does harm to the international postal service and to collectors.
"In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Acts of the Universal Postal Union, these stamps may not be accepted as a means of prepayment of postage for mail."
Yours faithfully,
M S RAMAN
Assistant Director-General
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
Sahara Republic 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.
In the dossier I found Circular 129 which describes that all stamps entitled 'République Arabe Sahraoui Démocratique' are counterfeit illegal stamps.
We can see the spelling of the inscription is wrong. It should state 'République Arabe Sahraouie Démocratique' This is French for "Democratic Republic
of Saharaui". In the annex of the circular it shows images of the sales of illegal stamps inscribed "Republic Saharaui" The description of the inscription in the
circular causes a bit of confusion as there are no illegal stamps inscribed with the quoted inscription. The description of the "inscription" is actually the
description of the revolutionaries that were thought at the time to be behind the production and distribution of the illegal stamps which they were not.
All Western Sahara and Saharan Republic illegal stamps were produced and distributed by outside sources who had nothing to do with the conflicting forces in Morocco.
A future circular made in 2002 number 414 by the Morocco postal administration confirms and was probably partially made to correct the confusion caused by
the description in circular 129, states that all stamps inscribed REPUBLICA SAHARAUI and SAHARA OCC. R.A.S.D. are counterfeit illegal stamps. R.A.S.D. standing
for "Democratic Republic of Saharaui" Here is what circular 414 states:
Dear Sir/Madam
The postal administration of MOROCCO asks me to inform you of the following:
The postal administration of Morocco deplores the fact that illegal postage stamp issues inscribed "République Sahraoui" (Saharan Republic) or "Sahara Occidental"
(Western Sahara) are still circulating on the international philatelic market, and being sold through various Internet sites and philatelic publications. We wish
to stress once again that this alleged republic does not exist, and that all these postage stamps are illegal. The illegal issues of which we are aware are summarized below:
– Three souvenir sheets commemorating various aspects of the life of the singer Elvis Presley. Each sheet contains one postage stamp with a face value of 200 ptas.
– One miniature sheet of nine postage stamps commemorating various aspects of the life of the singer Elvis Presley. The face values are 20, 29, 40, 58, 105, 136, 148, 163 and 175 pesetas respectively.
– Three souvenir sheets commemorating various aspects of the life of the actress Marilyn Monroe. The face values of these sheets are not known.
– One miniature sheet of nine postage stamps commemorating various aspects of the life of the actress Marilyn Monroe. The face values are 20, 29, 40, 58, 105, 136, 148, 163 and 175 pesetas respectively.
– One souvenir sheet (with a face value of 200 ptas) and six individual stamps (with face values of 28, 29, 40, 68, 105 and 136 ptas) depicting various breeds of dog.
– One souvenir sheet (with a face value of 200 ptas) and six individual stamps (with face values of 28, 29, 40, 68, 105 and 136 ptas) depicting various types of fire-fighting vehicles.
– One souvenir sheet (with a face value of 200 ptas) and six individual stamps (with face values of 28, 29, 40, 68, 105 and 136 ptas) depicting various types of old cars.
– One series of five postage stamps on the theme of Galileo and space.
– One miniature sheet and a series of five postage stamps on the theme of the 1996 Olympics.
– Another series of five postage stamps depicting various athletes from the 1990 Olympics.
– One series of five postage stamps depicting various desert cacti.
– One miniature sheet depicting camels.
– One miniature sheet depicting a football world cup.
– One miniature sheet depicting scenes from Ancient Egypt.
These stamps have been issued in contravention of the Universal Postal Convention and the Letter Post Regulations and are prejudicial to the integrity and sovereignty of our country.
Consequently, we regard these illegal issues as null and void and worthless whether for postal prepayment or as philatelic or collector's items.
The postal administration of Morocco would be grateful for any information leading to the identification of those responsible for these illegal issues so that appropriate action may be taken.
We also take this opportunity to confirm that the official postage stamps of Morocco are to be found on our site www.bam.net.ma.
Yours faithfully,
K J S McKEOWN
Director of Markets
The Universal Postal Union published yet another Circular on February 23, 2004 denouncing illegal stamps at the request of the Postal Administration for Morocco.
This Circular was validated by K J S McKeown, Director of Markets of the UPU Secretariat. The circular is number 69. You can view it in the linked file below:
UPU Circular Number 69
Again The postal authorities condemn all stamps bearing the inscriptions SAHARA OCC. R.A.S.D. and REPUBLICA SAHARAUI and list more of the counterfeits in an annex.
The Universal Postal Union published yet another Circular on March 3, 2008 denouncing illegal stamps at the request of the Postal Administration for Morocco.
This Circular was validated by K J S McKeown, Director of Markets Development of the UPU Secretariat. The circular is number 71. You can view it in the linked file below:
UPU Circular Number 71
Again The postal authorities condemn all stamps bearing the inscriptions SAHARA OCC. R.A.S.D. and REPUBLICA SAHARAUI.
We can see a consistent verification of the fact that all of these counterfeit stamps are just that. They are counterfeit illegal stamps and anyone trying to say they
are something else using the conflicts between the Republic and Morocco as an excuse is not to be believed. None of these "stamps" ever saw the Western Saharan Desert
and were never used there for anything!
For three decades now these illegal stamps have been produced and circulated around the world by the criminal producers and their criminal stamp distributors. It
is about time that these illegal stamps be permanently defined as to what they are. Illegal stamps produced by a criminal who has only one intent.
TO RIP YOU OFF!
Excerpts from various online sources of a little history on the Sahara problem.
Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi
Arab Democratic Republic, while the remaining 80% of the territory is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometers (103,000 sq mi).
It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500,000, of which nearly 40% live in Laayoune,
the largest city in Western Sahara.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), also called Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic or Saharan Arab Democratic Republic, self-declared state claiming authority over the disputed territory
of Western Sahara, which is presently occupied by Morocco. The independence of the SADR has been recognized at various points by some 80 countries, although, beginning in the mid-1990s, a number
of them withdrew or suspended their recognition.
The region was a Spanish colony from about 1884 to 1976. After Spain withdrew from the region in early 1976, the Polisario Front—a politico-military organization based in Algeria and composed
largely of Sahrawis, the indigenous nomadic inhabitants of Western Sahara—declared the independence of the republic and the establishment of a government-in-exile and fought Morocco and Mauritania
for control of the territory. In 1979 Mauritania made peace with the Polisario Front and abandoned its territorial claims, whereupon Morocco annexed Mauritania’s portion and claimed the whole
territory. A referendum on whether the territory should remain part of Morocco or become independent was set for 1992 but was repeatedly postponed. After Muhammad VI succeeded his father, Hassan II,
to the Moroccan throne in 1999, plans for a referendum stalled altogether, as Morocco indicated that it was no longer open to the idea. Efforts by the United Nations to resolve the conflict from its
outset have been inconclusive, and the status of the region remains at an impasse.
End of Excerpts
During all of this time there has never been a postal system in the name of the Western Sahara. Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic does not have and never has had any post offices and no postal service
so there´s no need for any postage stamps. So any label even if officially issued as a postage stamp by that Republic cannot possibly be regarded as a postage stamp. Yet there are tons of them being
sold on the stamp venues as if they are real. Most of the dealers I recognize as major illegal stamp dealers and unscrupulous good for nothing dealers. A majority are already on my lists of illegal
stamp dealers.
The bottom line is that all the illegal stamps made in the above mentioned names were produced outside of the area in question and never used for any purpose within the territory
even as propaganda labels! Ask yourself....is Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe stamps used as propaganda labels? Those that argue against the fact that these stamps are illegal
and should not be bought and sold are just clown dealers who invest in this garbage simply to rip stamp collectors off and want to try to legitimize their criminal minded tactics
to profit from it.
The illegal stamps made for this "country" all have the same styles as other illegal stamps made in the name of other countries. Noting that this "country" is one of the first to be
victimized by illegal stamps and was the "prototype" for production of illegal stamps on a massive scale. I say this because they started in 1990. This is two years earlier than all
of the illegal overprinted Russian stamps that were produced in 1992 forward in the name of Russian Territories and Republics. These clowns which I call the British producers inspired
this plan and enacted it with sheer cunning and precision that astounds even the most hardened con artists. The testing of endurance was already proven with the Feigenbaum labels created
as far back as the 1960's with the production of massive quantities of bogus British Locals that to this day are being sold (many by these same criminals) all over the world.
A war needs to be fought to get these off the market.
The purpose of this section on illegal stamps is not only to provide a reference of what not to buy and to raise the awareness of what they are. The purpose is also to present
a guide for all stamp venues, be it online sites like eBay or Delcampe, to auction houses and dealers who sell stamps to reject and disallow the sales of them. It is a reliable source
to use to stop sales by the criminal dealers and in some cases, to remove the really bad dealers permanently from their venues forcefully. Be it removing the user from the online auction site
where they are profiting the most and harming the most to rejecting buying any stamps from them at all and/or to rejecting accepting consignments from them.
These bad dealers are the worst kind of people in our industry. They will repeatedly lie about everything. They will defend their sales tooth and nail. When kicked out, they return
using different user names or company names. They use others to sell the counterfeits when they cannot do it themselves. They use every means possible to avoid describing the illegal
stamps for what they are, calling them Cinderella stamps, local issues, private issues, unissued and so forth. Never calling them what they are because as the circulars explain,
they are counterfeit stamps that are not to be sold anywhere. A lot of people are confused on the legal standing of counterfeit goods. It is not illegal to buy them as long
as the intent is not to sell them. It is selling them that is illegal and yes, should any country decide to, they can go after you and get you convicted of selling
counterfeit goods in the country you reside in! In other words, anyone making the grade to be placed on my little illegal stamp sellers list, is game for them to go after no matter
where you live. The evidence of what you are selling and/or have sold online is all they need to convict and all I need to put you on the list. I like to take a few snapshots of
the sales as insurance so they don't think they have any legal grounds to sue for defamation. Not really needed though as sites like eBay retain sales data for years. Really
shows how much some of the really bad dealers make a month!
Let's Begin!
Obviously, there is no listings in any stamp catalogs for these counterfeit illegal stamps. A major portion are shown in the Colnect online catalog in their Illegal Stamps section though.
In the past all of them were termed "Cinderella" in the emissions. Obviously this was by dealer influence to enable selling them. Another thing that I found was the fact
that they did not show the Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe counterfeits made in 1996. Why was that? Maybe because it would totally acknowledge the fact that the International
Collectors Societies certificates of authenticity are completely bogus as they state:
"This certifies that the accompanied souvenir sheet is an Official Legal Tender postage stamp issue of the Spanish Sahara, recognized by every Postal Authority around the world."
As of 2022, I have changed that by uploading all of them into the system.
Illegal stamps are not recognized by every Postal Authority as "official" anything!! The certificates they made for this named "country" proves the society was scamming
their members and also invalidates all of the certificates this society, which was owned by a private company, ever made. The connection between the owners of the International
Collectors Society and the producer of these illegal stamp souvenir sheets, Mr. Juan Montero is proven by this promotion alone. So what about all the other Betty Boop, Popeye,
on and on sheets with these certificates? Do you see it yet?
Many of the illegal stamps are shown in their Illegal Stamps section and are found under Spanish Sahara: Western Sahara.
The Colnect Online Catalog Illegal Stamp Section for Sahara Occ. R.A.S.D.
1990
The scam started in 1990. Because this section of the world was in complete turmoil and nobody in the stamp market really knew or understood the status of postal
workings within the area just like what happened with the Russian republics when the USSR broke up, thus the British producers saw the opportunity to produce the illegal
stamps using the confusion to cover their legitimacy in the stamp market. They used excuses like "the poor government in exile has a right to make their own stamps."
and so forth to cover what they were obviously doing which was to create illegal stamps in their name. It is with certainty that none of the gorilla fighters and such
knew or even cared about them. There is not one piece of evidence out there of usage of these illegal stamps. They were not used as propaganda labels even though several
early sets are related to the conflict. Those were produced in a cunning way to distort the truth of what these cons were really doing and also to promote the
production and sales of them for years. Just like the abusive stamp producing agency Stamperija does. Make a couple "local" sets that relate to the country to legitimize
the hundreds of topical sets made that have nothing to do with the country inscribed. Both scams go hand in hand. One made legitimate by a contract and one not.
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure this out.
First start out making a set related to the government and culture being inscribed on the illegal stamps thus "throwing off" serious stamp collectors.
1990 National Symbols Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 4
Then start pumping out topical counterfeits.
1990 Animals Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 5
1990 Birds Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 5
1990 Birds Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
1990 Explorers Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 5
Bartolomeu Dias, Christopher Columbus, Fernando de Magellan, Sebastian Cabot, Vasco de Gama
1990 Explorers Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
1990 Football Soccer Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 7
1990 Football Soccer Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
1990 Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 5
1990 Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1
In 1991 another group of illegal stamps are proliferated in the name of Sahara Occidental.
It is stressed that you must do the research before buying any stamps. As you can see these criminals will go to extreme lengths
to deceive you with lies just so they can rip you off! Do not empower them to do this to you. When you see them, run! You can see
by circular 129 that these are not Cinderella stamps by any sense of the word. You can also see that bad dealers will go to extreme lengths
to advertise and sell them as if they are real stamps as the images within the circular show this Global Philatelie G.m.b.H. has done. A German
company started in 1995 and ended in 2004. A real "fly by night" company claiming to be "Sole Agent at the International Market". Sole ripoff company is all I see there.
Did they specify anything like they are Cinderella stamps or local issues or anything like that? Of course not! Obviously because very few collectors
would have any interest in them if that were the case. Around 95% of the sellers of these will say nothing and portray these counterfeits
as if they are real stamps. Do not be fooled by them!
View Next Page here!
References taken from:
U.P.U. Circular No. 129, 414, 69 and 71
Major Stamp Catalogs
Internet Research
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