SAINT THOMAS AND PRINCE ILLEGAL STAMPS
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE ILLEGAL STAMPS
São Tomé e Príncipe Illegal Stamps
2004

Information and Reference of illegal stamps for Saint Thomas and Prince Islands dating 2004

It is in 2004 that the mayhem started for Saint Thomas and Prince Islands. In 2003 Stamperija gained the full contract with the country to produce stamps in their name. Immediately a massive number of abusive issues not having anything to do with the countries history or culture were produced and flooded onto the market. What is interesting is the styles used. Here are a couple examples of them.

Stamperija 2003 Mushrooms and Orchids Souvenir Sheet of 6
Scott Catalog Number 1493

The style of 6 stamps on this plain souvenir sheet has an uncanny resemblance to the British produced illegal stamps in the name of many countries yes?



Stamperija 2003 Mushrooms and Orchids Souvenir Sheet of 1
Scott Catalog Number 1497

The style of this souvenir sheet has an uncanny resemblance to the British produced or globalphila produced illegal stamps in the name of many countries yes?



The asking price range for these and the tons of other abusive stamps for the year 2003 ranges from $1.00 to $15.00 for one! This shows you that the abusive stamps really have no value as even at $1.00 they do not sell on eBay often. You can see bids on the abusive Mushrooms and Butterflies series (for instance) which contains 6 souvenir sheets of 6 being made at $1.80 for the whole set! Originally being sold at around $16.00 a piece! Still being offered on the Stamperija website at 4.80 EURO for just one! Is reality of what is going on sinking in yet?

All of the major catalogs except Stanley Gibbons listed the issues for 2003. In 2004 that changed.

2004

In 2004 Stamperija continues at full speed. This, along with the stamps still being listed in the Michel catalogs shows us they had the legal contract with the Saint Thomas and Prince Islands postal administration. Scott Catalog stopped listing them because they were only being sold through the agency and not available over the counter in St. Thomas and Prince Islands. Here are a couple examples of 2004 stamp issues.

Stamperija 2004 Olympic Games in Athens Souvenir Sheet of 4
Michel Catalog Number ST 2639-2642KB

Again, the style of 4 stamps on this plain souvenir sheet has an uncanny resemblance to the British produced illegal stamps in the name of many countries yes?



Stamperija 2004 Olympic Games in Athens Souvenir Sheet of 1
Michel Catalog Number ST BL516

Again, the style of this souvenir sheet has an uncanny resemblance to the British produced or globalphila produced illegal stamps in the name of many countries yes?



It was at this time that Mr. Juan Carlos Montero came onto the scene. Claiming he has the only "official" contract to print stamps in the name of Sao Tome e Principe and flooding the market with illegal stamps dating 2004. The introduction page shows you his webpage he created to promote the sale of those illegal stamps as if genuine. The documents are either fabricated forgeries or were illegally obtained and signed by someone with no authority to authorize a contract. I go with the former because of the number one and obvious rule followed in legal terms by all postal authorities who are members of the UPU. You cannot have two competing stamp agents making stamps for the one country. That rule is specifically outlined in all stamp contracts by the agent in charge. You have to ask, why would Stamperija allow Montero to print stamps in direct conflict with them?

According to this guy just about every African postal authority is corrupt and out to cheat him. All the major catalogs are against him. The UPU is corrupt and against him. The major stamp agencies (at the time) Impressor S.A. and Stamperija and IGPC were all making illegal stamps according to this guy. But he.....is squeaky clean.
Here is an item he linked and posted on the page shown in the introduction.

The Montero "Full Story" Bit



Let's see....did the UPU accept the stamps? Nope. Did St. Thomas and Prince Islands pay $1,000,000.00 to this guy? Nope. Have the illegal stamps ever been listed in the catalogs? Nope. Has St. Thomas and Prince Islands ever changed their opinion on the status of them being illegally produced?
NO!

On this guys stamp-scandal.com defunct website I found a huge article he wrote stating how the owner of Stamperija produced all the illegal stamps for Benin, Djibouti and so forth and was in "cahoots" with the Saint Thomas and Prince Islands postal authorities involving money laundering of profits from the illegal stamps. The problem with this page is that it shows a bunch of the illegal stamps on it supposedly made by Stamperija. So, I went onto Delcampe and looked up a few of them in the history. Low and behold who was selling them back in 2011. None other than Montero as the proven user isabeldelatour1949 kicked off for selling illegal stamps! Not selling them now on Hipstamps because I have his number. I Have the proof needed to show the whole stamp-scandal site was a sham developed to deflect people away from seeing who the real illegal stamp producer was. It is all coming together now 10 years later. It is why the site was taken down. Full of false allegations and lies as a real illegal stamp seller/producer would do. That is why nothing that comes out of the guys mouth is to be believed....period. Yes, the site has been preserved for documenting just like the page on the introduction for Saint Thomas and Prince Islands illegal stamps.

So, first, let us see who is selling these 2004 illegal stamps in the name of St. Thomas and Prince Islands. As of May 27, 2021. On eBay.

customimpressions located in the USA
rigaud40 located in France
azuckuss located in the UK
dave19725 located in the USA
karen8743 located in the UK
filkasol located in Spain
aaa8807 located in the USA
1983patric located in Germany
pinchito94 located in Spain
janhenrikse0 located in Norway
brumstamp located in the UK
prophila located in Germany
stampsforyou located in the USA
bmh-essen located in Germany
marnix22 located in the Netherlands
sammlerposten located in Germany
europost-stamps located in the Netherlands
polmar48 located in Spain
stamps-docs located in Belgium

On Delcampe past and present.

lavalery located in Russia
philasport located in France
phildom_domfil located in Spain
filateliadelahabana1 located in Spain
blocfan located in Germany
Paper-Heritage located in the UK
outletstamps located in Spain
fatamorgana1956 located in Italy
12345_12345 located in the Netherlands
amamou located in Tunisia
acr4preston located in the UK
xavier9351 located in France
pianiano located in Italy
euridice77 located in Spain
liophilnet located in France
bernat19 located in Spain
yeled134 located in Canada
philaviami located in Belgium
soa located in Russia
sery located in Russia
animskog located in Germany
boschuyl located in the Netherlands
combe located in France
chief_okoro located in Germany
chessfan located in Belgium
schaken located in the Netherlands
liophilnet located in France
collect4all located in the Netherlands. Kicked off for selling illegal stamps
ezoo located in the USA
renabo located in Italy
jis located in France
sammlerposten located in Germany. Kicked off for selling illegal stamps
ted8491 located in Poland
vpernin71 located in France. Kicked off for selling illegal stamps
blondi001 located in Germany
bernat19 located in Spain
scriba47 located in Italy. Kicked off for selling illegal stamps
world_philatelie located in France
audimin located in Germany
wuliangshen located in China
gazmito located in Poland
concepcion located in Spain
stampgroup located in Switzerland. Kicked off for selling illegal stamps
andris777 located in Latvia
isabeldelatour1949 located in the UK. Kicked off for selling illegal stamps. This is Juan Montero.
vangelisam100 located in Greece
wassel2005 located in France. Kicked off for selling illegal stamps
lepapou located in France
alphajet62 located in France
martinezsmith located in Spain
jartimbre_04 located in France
titophe0513 located in France
alesk located in France
wakko15 located in the USA, Kicked off for selling illegal stamps
prigastore located in France
thematics4u located in the UK
bullterrier located in the UK
robling located in the Netherlands
jrstamps50 located in the USA. Kicked off for selling illegal stamps
tihivech located in the USA
madloose located in the USA
fredutoit located in France
cas6215 located in Portugal
bigbird1011golf located in China
rogerpo99 located in the UK. Kicked off for selling illegal stamps
bentley1stamp located in the UK. Kicked off for selling illegal stamps

On Hipstamps.

artstamps located in the UK. This is Isabeldelatour-Artstamps aka Juan Montero who dominates sales of these illegal stamps on Hipstamps.
Bentley1Stamp located in the UK. Associate of artstamps. Tries to look like a competitor but....is not.
baystatestamps located in the USA
albumguy located in the USA
2Cheshire located in the USA
rogerpo99 located in the UK
kiliu located in Taiwan

You can see that even though the following stamps are deemed counterfeit illegal stamps that there is to this day in 2021 a serious problem with the sale of them. Of course the dominating factor is the persistent sale of them by the British "group" of illegal stamp dealers who have made major profits from them for over two decades now and are responsible for the mess. Until the main dealers are permanently removed from the market, they will persist in selling these and many other counterfeit stamps.

One last interesting note is that the ones saying the 2004 Stamperija issues are illegal....are selling them as well! What hypocrites!

To find out what stamps are real and legitimate for St. Thomas and Prince Islands you can visit the online catalogs linked below. One should not buy any issues later than the year 2000 unless only paying pennies for them. Issues between 1977 and 2000 should be purchased only after a thorough amount of research is done on the issue(s) of interest. Again, sadly, the country like some others has gone "rouge" against all UPU guidelines for philatelic best practices in regards to stamp production and issuing. I for one would kick them out of the UPU if they continue on this path. The stamps produced to this day are not anything but made to profit from collectors and are 99% excessive of postal needs.

I have found the Colnect online catalog to be very helpful.

The Colnect Online Catalog for S#227;o Tom#233; e Pre#237;ncipe

Check out their Illegal Stamp section as well. It is upgraded as of 2024 and shows many counterfeits that are missing here.

The Colnect Online Catalog Illegal Stamp Section for São Tomé e Príncipe

I have found the Stampworld.com Catalog to be very helpful as well.

The Stampworld Online Catalog for Sao Tome and Principe

Here we go!

Many of the following illegal stamps can be found as imperforates and as color proof sets as well. Many exist on fake First Day Covers too.
Most 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 experts and savvy collectors.

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.

2004 AIDS in Africa Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1

You will notice the Mayfair International logo on many of the following illegal stamps. All of them have been deemed as illegally produced. None are allowed listing in the major catalogs. The UPU nor the Saint Thomas and Prince Islands recognize any of them as valid postage nor legally produced. Even though this Montero has threatened everyone under the sun, to this day nobody and nothing has happened in regards to those threats. Yet his little "group" continue to rip off unknowing collectors with these counterfeit illegal stamps. Avoid them all and the dealers that sell them!



2004 Butterflies of Africa Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 Butterflies Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



2004 Chess Players Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 With 3 Labels



2004 Cinema Actors and Actresses Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 9







2004 Conference of the Portuguese Countries Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



2004 Cricket Players Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 With 3 Labels



2004 Cricket Players Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 1 (example)



2004 Dinosaurs Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 Dinosaurs Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



2004 Dinosaurs Counterfeit Illegal Stamps on Fake First Day Cover

Fake because it was never issued and therefore there is no "first day of issue".



2004 Domestic Cats Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 Freemasons Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 4



2004 Golf Players Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 With 3 Labels

HISTORY SERIES

In 2004 the illegal stamp producer started his usual "series" creations this time entitled "21st Century History". It is in Portuguese but the producer could not even waste his time using the proper hyphens and such used in the Portuguese alphabet. So he thinks that they would just accept such trashy and incompetent work?

2004 History Events Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 History John F. Kennedy Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 History Mother Teresa Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 History of Concorde Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 History of Flight Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 History Pope John Paul II Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



Most of the above have these "deluxe" souvenir sheets made to increase profits. All should be avoided.

2004 History Pope John Paul II Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Deluxe Souvenir Sheets of 1 (example)



2004 History Space Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9

Here we have full proof and evidence of collaboration and association between Mayfair International and the infamous Space topical counterfeit illegal stamp dealing Lollini (espacelollini.com) company. Both having their logo's placed right on the sheet!



2004 History Space Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheets of 3

Then they created these bogus souvenir sheets of three just to rip you off even more! All this garbage including fake First Day Covers can be found on that site.



2004 History Vehicles Transportation Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 Marilyn Monroe Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 Milan Football Winners Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Set of 8

These counterfeit stamps were produced in the name of Sao Tome e Principe, Afghanistan and Benin. All are verified counterfeit illegal stamps. Full panes of them are offered in bulk lots showing they have no rarity factor at all! Avoid!



2004 Mushrooms and Cactus Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9

I have seen this souvenir sheet and pieces from it being sold all over the place at rip off prices. Avoid!



2004 Mushrooms Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



2004 Napoleon Coronation Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



2004 Olympic Games in Athens Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 4



2004 Olympic Games in Athens Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Deluxe Souvenir Sheets of 1

There are many sets of deluxe souvenir sheets like these for many illegal stamp sets. I have seen some also made from Stamperija issues. All claimed to be "privately produced" by several notorious major illegal stamp dealers. They should know right?



2004 Olympic Games in Athens Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



2004 Orchids and Mushrooms Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 Owls of Africa Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 Rolls Royce Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 Ronald Reagan Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



2004 Rugby Players Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 With 3 Labels



2004 Scout Jamboree Scouts and Orchids, Scouts and Butterflies, Scouts and Birds Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 Scout Jamboree Scouts and Orchids, Scouts and Butterflies, Scouts and Birds Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Deluxe Souvenir Sheets of 1 (example)



2004 Scout Jamboree Scouts and Orchids, Scouts and Butterflies, Scouts and Birds Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 on Fake First Day Cover

Fake because it was never issued and therefore there is no "first day of issue".



2004 Scout Jamboree Scouts and Orchids, Scouts and Butterflies, Scouts and Birds Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 With Gold Overprint



2004 Scout Jamboree Scouts and Orchids, Scouts and Butterflies, Scouts and Birds Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 With Silver Overprint



2004 Sir Peter Scott with Animals Founder of WWF Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 Sir Peter Scott with Pandas Founder of WWF Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



This next one is interesting in that Montero rants about the legality of making this souvenir sheet. All the way to the point of showing this "document" on the webpage shown on my introduction page. It makes me laugh to think he thought by shutting down the pages, they could never be retrieved.



In English it read:
Dear Friend, I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your letter of April 30, concerning the request of the Ministry of Public Works, Infrastructures and Planning of Territory of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, for the issuance of 5,000 numbered sheets of postage stamps commemorating the marriage bond of the Royal Highness of him the Prince of Asturias with Dona Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, of which the collection of 3,000 would be donated to the Association Victims of Terrorism.

In this regard, I am pleased to inform you that on the part of the House of Su Majesty the King there is no problem for the issuance of the aforementioned seal, for which I enclose a photograph of the Royal Highness of him and Dona Letizia for the elaboration of it.

Receive a cordial greeting,

Now the first thing that caught my attention is the fact that there are no numbers on the souvenir sheets being sold (see below). The second thing is that nobody in Spain needs to authorize anything in regards to this sheet. I picked up the image off the internet the fake stamp was made from. Here it is.



The Coat of Arms has no trademark nor copyright laws that would stop the usage of it on a stamp as long as it is not being portrayed in a commercial sense as coming from Spain. This is why the author of the letter cheerfully explained there is "no problem".

What is "revealing" is the fact that Montero lied in stating the souvenir sheets would be numbered, limited to 5000 and 3000 would be used as a donation to the Association Victims of Terrorism. I am quite certain they have never seen a red cent from this guy. Therefore, the presentation of this letter is virtually meaningless and does not out weigh the fact that he was not authorized to make the souvenir sheet with the country name of Sao Tome e Principe on it ever! The letter is not "official permission" to make the souvenir sheet at all! Therefore it is deemed and always will be deemed a
counterfeit illegal stamp...period!

2004 Spanish Royal Wedding Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1



2004 Spanish Royal Wedding Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 1 on Fake First Day Cover

Fake because it was never issued and therefore there is no "first day of issue".



2004 Table Tennis Players Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9 With 3 Labels



2004 UPAEP Fauna and Flora Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 World War II D-Day Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



2004 Year of the Child Counterfeit Illegal Stamp Souvenir Sheet of 9



In 2005 Stamperija stopped production of stamp issues in the name of Sao Tome e Principe, then started again in 2006. The reasons are unclear. Montero continued to produce illegal stamps including fake EUROPA stamps and fake stamps that look similar to Stamperija issues of 2004. Again, none honored by any catalog, the UPU nor Saint Thomas and Prince Islands.

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References taken from:
Major Stamp Catalogs
Internet Research

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