MOROCCO ILLEGAL STAMPS
SAHARA REPUBLIC
1996

Information and Reference of illegal stamps dating 1996 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. You can view more details on it on the introduction page for Sahara Republic.

The Universal Postal Union published the following Circular on November 18, 2002 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 414. It 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.

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.

1996

In 1996 the British criminal producer continues production of counterfeit illegal stamps in the name of Sahara Occidental. It was in 1996 that he "blew it" when he produced the Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley sets. Those two sets attracted national attention in the U.S. when the now defunct International Collectors Society (ICS) promoted sales of them with bogus certificates of authenticity, claiming they were official legal tender postage stamp issues. This did not directly attract the Morocco postal authorities yet though as the circular 414 was not published until 2002. It did start the inquiries into their authenticity though and inquiries into the authenticity of all stamps inscribed "SAHARA OCC. R.A.S.D.".

It was still four years later before the Morocco postal administration requested and got published the first circular which affirms all stamps inscribed Sahara Occ. R.A.S.D. were and are illegal stamps. Apparently, because of some sort of argument, which is always the case with this goon and his crony batch of no good distributors, the postal authorities had circular 414 published in 2002 which specifically describes the Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley sets as you can see. Both sets again show us the extent that these criminals will take to legitimize sales of the counterfeits they produce. How they strike fast and fool tens of thousands of victims into buying them before they are discovered to be what they really are. They also show how slow response is with the U.P.U. in regards to alerting the world of their existence and the lack of determination to track down and punish the culprits that did it. It was obvious then and is obvious now who they are. Change within the U.P.U. must happen to counter this permanently. If they had stopped this freak then, we would not have this massive ongoing problem we see today.

1996 Animals Fauna Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 6



1996 Animals Fauna Giraffes Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



1996 Birds of Prey Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 6



1996 Camels Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 5



1996 Camels Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



1996 Dogs Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 6

Elvis Presley

As described above the following Elvis Presley set was widely distributed by the International Collectors Society. Who is selling this in current times (2021)? This list is not all inclusive as there are many more. The following taken from the U.S. eBay site in a "worldwide" search for "Sahara Elvis". In most cases they are being sold without the bogus certificates showing us there were tons more made than were distributed by the ICS. The purpose of showing you who is presently selling them is to show you just how bad the proliferation of these illegal stamps is to this day.

On eBay

filgestfilatelia located in Spain
sai7890 located in the U.S.
brumstamp located in the U.K.
sasha056 located in Australia
strandstampcentre located in the U.K.
marlen-stamps located in the U.S.
mmalu005 located in Canada (selling with bogus ICS certs)
johan-martijn located in the Netherlands (has 10 for sale and 14 sold. How many more over the years??
sammlerposten located in Germany
berndjosef61 located in Germany
prophila located in Germany
saul89009 located in the U.S.
8479smacma located in Australia

In observation of what is sold, not a lot in recent times. I guess people are more aware which is good. NONE should be bought and these sellers (most being known illegal stamp dealers) should be avoided.

On Delcampe

Present sellers

jp34000 located in France
chantal91 located in France
robling located in the Netherlands
laugo located in Slovakia
pmaire located in France

Past sellers

prophila located in Germany
laska13 located in Belgium
locis located in Latvia
zeil located in Belgium (kicked off for selling counterfeits)
liberty_one located in Belgium
jcbsellos located in Spain
lantiquere located in France (kicked off for selling counterfeits)
Phila-KDOS located in France
sensieboyke located in Belgium
member389845 located in Israel (a real winner)

Again advice is to avoid either for them knowingly selling counterfeits or to ignorant to be trusted as a stamp dealer.

On Hipstamps

msk239 located in the U.S.
mickb007 located in the U.S.
jumbofrancis located in the U.S.
marlen-stamps located in the U.S.
Newshop2012 located in Spain
2Cheshire located in the U.S.
rogerpo99 located in the U.K. (connected to the original source)

I note the actual source of them is avoiding selling them like the plague!

All but one of the listed sellers says anything as to what these illegal stamps are. Only one calls them "Cinderella". In the majority of cases these dealers are all using deception by omission portraying their sales of counterfeit illegal stamps as if they are real stamps. So avoid them!

1996 Elvis Presley Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



1996 Elvis Presley Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 Bogus ICS Certificate

If the criminal who made these bogus certificates even knew anything about the Sahara history, they would not have stated from the "Spanish Sahara"!



1996 Elvis Presley Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 1

Young Elvis


Young Elvis Bogus ICS Certificate


The Shiek


The Shiek Bogus ICS Certificate


Family


Family Bogus ICS Certificate


1996 Flowers Orchids Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 6



1996 Football Soccer Francia 1998 Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 6



1996 Football Soccer Francia 1998 Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1

Marilyn Monroe

Again, as described above the following Marilyn Monroe set was widely distributed by the International Collectors Society. Who is selling this in current times (2021)? Again, this list is also not all inclusive as there are many more. The following taken from the U.S. eBay site in a "worldwide" search for "Sahara Marilyn". In most cases they are being sold without the bogus certificates showing us again that there were tons more made than were distributed by the ICS. The purpose of showing you who is presently selling them is again to show you just how bad the proliferation of these illegal stamps is to this day.

On eBay

chesproperties located in the U.S. (selling with bogus ICS certs)
2013jjparshall located in the U.S. (selling with bogus ICS certs)
andylevan located in the U.S. (selling in Mystic Stamp created sale group)
filgestfilatelia located in Spain
finish.540 located in the U.S.
aaa8807 located in the U.S. (selling with bogus ICS certs)
antiquecollecting.com located in the U.S.
sasha056 located in Australia (selling numerous copies)
the4wisemen located in the U.K.
crosswds316 located in the U.S.
mahon692 located in the U.S.
mmalu005 located in Canada (selling with bogus ICS certs)
gelbeelkenelke located in Germany
doglover949 located in the U.S. (selling with bogus ICS certs)
manueduc located in Spain
higuy692ruc located in the U.S.
rycran_64 located in the U.S.
123marat located in the Russian Federation
saskconnection located in Canada
kennys-nyc-apt located in the U.S.
adriangomezaviles located in the U.S.
andylevan located in the U.S.
Note how many are in the U.S.. Seems a lot more were conned with the Marilyn sheets yes?

On Delcampe

Present sellers

45jean located in France

Past sellers

phil_bea_melo located in France
prophila located in Germany
laska13 located in Belgium
nino located in the U.S.
capucines located in France
danmarly located in France
jcbsellos located in Spain
lantiquere located in France (kicked off for selling counterfeits)
rogerpo99 located in the U.K. (kicked off for selling counterfeits)
freddymmra located in Belgium
member389845 located in Israel
johndin located in the U.K.

Again advice is to avoid either for them knowingly selling counterfeits or to ignorant to be trusted as a stamp dealer.

On Hipstamps

baystatestamps located in the U.S. (selling with bogus ICS certs)
Newshop2012 located in Spain
jumbofrancis located in the U.S.
kiliu located in Taiwan (selling with bogus ICS certs)
rogerpo99 located in the U.K. (connected to the original source)

I note the actual source of them is avoiding selling these like the plague as well!

All of the listed sellers says anything as to what these illegal stamps are. In the majority of cases these dealers are all using deception by omission portraying their sales of counterfeit illegal stamps as if they are real stamps. So again, avoid them!

1996 Marilyn Monroe Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



1996 Marilyn Monroe Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 Bogus ICS Certificate



1996 Marilyn Monroe Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 1

Young Marilyn


Young Marilyn Bogus ICS Certificate


Young Love


Young Love Bogus ICS Certificate


Mature Marilyn


Mature Marilyn Bogus ICS Certificate


1996 Military Aircraft Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 6



1996 Military Aircraft Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



1996 Olymphilex Stadiums Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 5



1996 Olymphilex Stadiums Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 6



1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



1996 Sailing Yachts Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 6



1996 Sailing Yachts Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



1996 Wild Cats Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 7



You can see the people behind this charade are exceedingly cunning with full criminal intent to rip collectors off. It seems to me that the Elvis Presley and the Marilyn Monroe counterfeits being promoted in the way they were by the owners of the International Collectors Society would allow for a class action lawsuit against them for doing this. They are still around and are involved in numismatic investments and such. I would not trust anything they are involved in and would run should they attempt to get you involved with them! But it looks like they got away with it leaving behind their dirty mess for others to clean up afterwards.

In 1997 a dramatic change happened. Perhaps caused by the attention given by this last years fiasco. The changing of the country name inscriptions from Sahara Occ. R.A.S.D. to Republica Saharaui....

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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