THE MODERN FAKE 1985 85TH BIRTHDAY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER STAMP ISSUES

I have recently discovered that modern fake souvenir sheets from every issue as imperforates are being flooded onto the market. I can tell you that real dangerous fakes or some call forgeries are being flooded on the market as I write this page in January of 2016.
I recently purchased numerous lots on eBay from a Latvian based seller and can now confirm that the 85th Birthday souvenir sheets from the following list of countries have been forged.

British Virgin Islands Scott 517 SG MS587A
Montserrat Scott 562 SG MS644
Nevis Scott 431 SG MS317
Saint Lucia Scott 786 SG MS840
Saint Vincent Scott 865 SG MS918
Saint Vincent Grenadines Scott 500 SG MS411
Saint Vincent Union Island Scott 210

Not verified but probable
Saint Vincent Bequia Scott 210

UPDATE August 2017

I have recently acquired a number of the single stamp set forgeries and have or will be creating pages for them which will include the souvenir sheets as well. Please view the links on the introduction page for new editions. The forgeries for this issue are still being sold with no end in sight!

END OF UPDATE

My research into the printer has enabled me to discover modern fake stamps have been created in 2014!! The gum type is different in it being yellowish in color and smooth. This gum type was not used until much later years, long after Format went bankrupt. This gum is inferior and is already having severe gum curling. If you were to leave the fakes out long enough they will curl completely into a "tube"! Because the imperforates exist it is certain that the normal issue has also been forged. All fakes have a very shiny surface on the face unlike originals. All are being offered online right now as I write this on January 22, 2016.

I can also tell you that I have discovered that many more "modern" issues for these countries are being forged. Mainly varieties and "errors" of the issues which bring in higher profits although normal issues are also being faked in now many cases. All are being produced by the same source which is unknown at present. All are dangerous forgeries because the perforation sizes are correct. Images shown on auction sites cannot be trusted because they cannot be defined by counting perforations and unless you have a comparable image of the originals they cannot be recognized by the images given by sellers. This includes the Audubon Birds issues including inverted frames, Dogs inverts, Flowers inverts, Michael Jackson inverts, imperforates and many more.

ANY INFORMATION TO TRACE THE SOURCE OF THESE FORGERIES WILL BE POSTED TO THE PROPER RESOURCES

At present sellers on eBay, Delcampe, Bonanza, and Amazon are offering them. I am sure other sources are now selling them also. A list of these sellers is being compiled and at some point the source may be revealed. At this time unless the sellers stop selling them (which is doubtful) it is up to you as a buyer to refuse to buy them without proper identification. In other words, make the seller send you 1200dpi images of the front and back of the stamps and then compare them with my images. I have posted more pages on the issues I have discovered to be forged and have included an index page listing them with links.

New information is welcome and you may contact me through this website anytime.

The main mover of these forgeries is user asrm10 aka armi777 aka raimissss who is based in Latvia which is one of the main sources for all these forgeries. This seller uses multiple accounts on eBay and is the one most responsible for the massive contamination of all Leaders of the World stamps issues and many many more stamps printed by the Format Printers. Connected directly with the source. At this point trusting any stamp dealer based in Latvia on eBay is not advised!
These Latvian based sellers have moved thousands upon thousands of these fake reproductions to buyers all over the world through eBay with no end in sight.

This is a bit different than other issues I have written about. I am bulking together these countries because I do not have time to make individual pages for the countries and the problem is so huge now because of the ignoring of it by your "respected leaders" of the stamp community to the point that the market is now saturated with these fakes. On December 19, 2015 I purchased from large volume Latvian seller user name asrm10 on eBay numerous lots of the imperforate 85th Birthday issues in bulk lots of five souvenir sheets. I got them for around $2.00 each lot. Just bought them along with other Format related issues that I suspected as forgeries. Many are now verified as fakes.
Here is an image of what I got.


This dealer is playing dumb and is persisting in selling these and many other forgeries.
So far I have alerted the APS, American Philatelic Magazine editors, Scott catalog editors about these forgeries. At this point they are tending to ignore it. Are you going to ignore it also? They are now being offered by many smaller dealers from $2-10.00 each!

To show you differences I have scanned an image of the forgeries and then went on eBay and got images of perforated genuine souvenir sheets to compare. You see, once you know what to look for it is quite simple to define the fakes just by images. This is not to say that some shady sellers will try to enhance, modify or give you a bad image so as to cover the fact they are selling you fakes. It is up to the buyer to beware of these sellers.
Ask for clear scans of the souvenir sheet. Look for the obvious differences when you receive it.

DO NOT BUY IMPERFORATE 85TH BIRTHDAY SOUVENIR SHEETS WITHOUT CLOSE INSPECTION!

The first and basically the only reason the imperforate souvenir sheets of the 85th Birthday issues as imaged are fakes is because until now they did not EXIST!!!. They never were on the market until this last year. Only archival examples from some countries have ever been offered on the market. Those being from press sheets or in presentation folders by the printer. All of a sudden 30 years later these appear! So you don't smell a rat?

Here are comparison images with notes. You can use these images to compare perforated souvenir sheets as well.

Comparison of the Fake British Virgin Islands 85th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth Imperforate Souvenir Sheet with an Original Souvenir Sheet


No imperforates of the British Virgin Islands souvenir sheet existed until now. Not even archival pieces.
Obvious difference:
Look at the background color of the images of the queen. On originals the shading of the Black and white photo has a lavender tint. On fake souvenir sheets it is just black and white. Also the Buckingham Palace is tinted lavender on originals. Not on fakes!

Comparison of the Fake Montserrat 85th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth Imperforate Souvenir Sheet with an Original Souvenir Sheet


Imperforates of the Montserrat souvenir sheet were only available with the color proof sets until now. Not even archival pieces were found.
Obvious difference:
Look at the background color of the images of the queen. On originals the shading of the Black and white photo has a greenish tint. On fake souvenir sheets it is just black and white. The yellow on the side borders of the stamps is deeper on the originals. The shading of Glamis Castle is much lighter on the originals.

Comparison of the Fake Nevis 85th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth Imperforate Souvenir Sheet with an Original Souvenir Sheet


Imperforates of the Nevis souvenir sheet were only available on presentation proof cards until now. Archival pieces were found but they are perforated and come from the press sheet as attached pairs or with large selvage (imperforate) around them.
Obvious difference:
Look at the background color of the images of the queen. On originals the shading of the Black and white photo has a lavender tint. On fake souvenir sheets it is just black and white. The country name and denomination bar is almost pink on the originals and a deep lavender on the fakes. The shading of Sandringham is much lighter on the originals being a reddish brown versus light brown on the forgeries.

Comparison of the Fake Saint Lucia 85th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth Imperforate Souvenir Sheet with an Original Souvenir Sheet


Imperforates of the Saint Lucia souvenir sheet did not exist until now. Archival pieces were found but they are perforated and come from the press sheet with large selvage (imperforate) around them.
Obvious difference:
Look at the background color of the images of the queen. On originals the shading of the Black and white photo has a reddish tint. On fake souvenir sheets it is just black and white. The grass on the lawn is much lighter green on the originals than on the fakes. The overall color is much darker on the forgeries.

Comparison of the Fake Saint Vincent 85th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth Imperforate Souvenir Sheet with an Original Souvenir Sheet


Imperforates of the Saint Vincent souvenir sheet did not exist until now. They were only found on presentation cards by only one dealer in the world.
Obvious difference:
Look at the background color of the images of the queen. On originals the shading of the Black and white photo has a lavender tint. On fake souvenir sheets it is just black and white. The frame colors are almost pink on the originals versus light purple shades on the fakes. The overall color is much darker on the forgeries.

Comparison of the Fake Saint Vincent Grenadines 85th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth Imperforate Souvenir Sheet with an Original Souvenir Sheet


Imperforates of the Saint Vincent Grenadines souvenir sheet did not exist until now. They were only found on presentation cards by only one dealer in the world.
Obvious difference:
Look at the background color of the images of the queen. On originals the shading of the Black and white photo has a lavender tint. On fake souvenir sheets it is just black and white. The overall colors are completely different on the forgeries.

Comparison of the Fake Saint Vincent Union Island 85th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth Imperforate Souvenir Sheet with an Original Souvenir Sheet


Imperforates of the Saint Vincent Union Island souvenir sheet did not exist until now. They were only found on presentation cards by only one dealer in the world.
Obvious difference:
Need I say more?

Because of the fact that a major portion of leaders in the stamp community wish to turn a blind eye on these forgeries. Because of dealers and buyers who are afraid to "step up to the plate" because of fear of being ridiculed by self proclaimed "experts" or because they don't want to get involved, the forgers will continue to forge more and more sets. They have already effected other issues that have nothing to do with Leaders of the World issues such as Nauru 1982 Scouts, Barbuda 1983 Manned Flight and others showing us the wide range of stamps they are capable of forging and possibly have already forged. Soon you will be the victim when you buy that fake high valued Orchid stamp or that high priced definitive set you have dreamed of getting or what you thought to be a genuine error or variety which in the end only turns out to be fabricated by these forgers and nobody wants it when you go to sell it or your children go to sell it.

You have a choice.

Continue to ignore this problem that the majority of stamp leaders and editors seem to be trying to do just like they have with unauthorized reprints and "illegal" stamps in the past. Or spread the word and complain to your contacts and leaders that these problems need to be exposed and described in magazines, newspapers and catalogs before every stamp issue made in modern times from the 1970's onward falls victim to being a suspected forgery and in turn you or your friends or associates will fall victim to it when trying to buy or sell them. These forgers are professionals and have been here for decades unseen. They will continue to harm us unless people like you stand up and take notice!

This problem effects everyone because now instead of the value being based on a set quantity of the issued stamp, we now have double, triple or even more in quantity placed on the market. It will therefore depreciate the stated value of them in the catalogs simply because they will not research them and "assume" there are tons available when in reality for many sets the originals are and have become difficult to find.

I am simply the one who discovered them because of my research on the printer.
Indeed several issues that I have researched and obtained the original varieties of are effected. Not much with these though because I only own what is imaged and a few archival pieces. I am a professional tradesman and have never depended on stamps to live on. There are many that do depend on stamp sales though and it is for them also that I have created this section of the website.

You can now define the fake 1985 85th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother souvenir sheets easily and can now possibly avoid being ripped off! Sorry to say this, a lot of you already have been fooled and more of you will be until the right people get serious about it!

Your friend and fellow collector and researcher,
JLowe RETURN TO TOP

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