THE MODERN FAKE BARBUDA 1981 ROYAL WEDDING STAMP MINIATURE SHEETS

The Barbuda 1981 Royal Wedding of Prince Philip and Lady Diana Imperforate Mini Sheet Forgeries
Scott Catalog# 493-495 Stanley Gibbons# 566a

WARNING!

These forgeries are very hard to detect from online images. This is because most sellers enhance the colors of images or use different color settings on their scanners and other image taking equipment.

I have discovered that modern fake stamps of this issue are being flooded onto the market. I can tell you that real dangerous fakes or some call forgeries have and are being flooded on the market as I write this page in May of 2016.

My research into the printer has enabled me to discover modern fake stamps have been created in 2014!! They are being spread across the world through online auction sites like eBay and Delcampe. Everything about them is fake except for one dangerous fact, they have the correct perf size. The gum type is different in it being white in color and very shiny. This gum type was not used until much later years, long after Format went bankrupt thus proving they were not produced by the Format International Security Printers. Obvious differences will be shown below. So far I have discovered forgeries of the Imperforate miniature sheets. Are there forgeries of the perforated stamp issues? Most likely....yes. How about other stamps from the other countries involved in this series? Again, although I have not seen any other country issues yet, it is possible now.
They are being offered online right now as I write this on May 22, 2016.

I have not found if the normal stamp issue or the souvenir sheet have also been forged but suspect they have. This stamp issue is very popular for Royal Wedding collectors, Princess Diana collectors and many other types of collectors.

I can also tell you that I have discovered that many more "modern" issues for many and other countries are being forged. Mainly varieties and "errors" of the issues which bring in higher profits although normal issues are also being faked in many cases. All are being produced by the same source which is unknown at present. All are dangerous forgeries because the perf 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 Audubon Birds issues including inverted frames, Dogs inverts, Flowers inverts, Michael Jackson inverts, 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.

Suspecting the Barbuda 1981 imperforate mini sheets were fake I purchased a set from the Latvian sellers on eBay from which I have received the other forgeries from in the past. I won the lot for $2.25 against 5 bids. Again showing how easily these are flooding the market.
I then went and got one of the "error" miniature sheets I have that are the 1983 surcharged issue. I quote the word error because indeed the error sheetlet is indeed a "made for collector" error. To understand and learn the truth on it you can visit my page on them. Here is the link:

The 1983 Barbuda Surcharge Error Stamps

Right away I could see the differences. I then went and got one of the original uncut press sheets and compared and sure enough all the colors are wrong on the fakes!
The colors, screens, fonts and gum completely differ.

The gum is very important to note here. You can compare the original with tons of other original Format produced issues and find it is exactly the same no matter what country it was made for. The fakes are not. Here are the differences.

Here are gum comparisons.

Close up Gum Comparison of a Fake Souvenir Sheet Gum with Original Souvenir Sheet Gum
You can see there is complete difference in type. These are dangerous forgeries because the forger used a yellowish tint gum that without close inspection can slip by.


Gum Comparison of the Original and Fake 1981 Royal Wedding Miniature Sheets
Again there is an obvious difference in color and texture. Note how can see through the forgery. It is because of the thinner cheap paper used and because of the opacity of the gum.


Screen and Color Comparison of the Fake Souvenir Sheet with Original Souvenir Sheet
the following images taken at 1200dpi and not enhanced.

First let us look at the stamps on the mini sheets. This one compare's one of the towers. Note the difference in color on the fake stamp. The loss of much of the details. Many of the solid lines are dotted and broken on the forgery. Someone collecting these stamps is not going to want one with less detail are they?
You can see the inferior screen usage in the larger black areas.


Now here is a comparison of the top left corner red border design.
You can see that the original is a darker pink versus the fake. The pattern is bolder on the originals.


Now here is a comparison of the fonts.
Here you can see the original has bolder fonts. The letter "a" differs slightly.


Comparison of the Barbuda 1981 Royal Wedding Fake Rose-pink Miniature Sheet with an Original Rose-Pink Miniature Sheet
Originals are imaged from an original press sheet.
Now that you know what to look for you can see the difference yes?
Still you can see most people will not even know!



Comparison of the Barbuda 1981 Royal Wedding Fake Lavender Miniature Sheet with an Original Lavender Miniature Sheet



Comparison of the Barbuda 1981 Royal Wedding Fake Turquoise-green Miniature Sheet with an Original Turquoise-green Miniature Sheet



Which would you want in your collections?

You can now define the fake Barbuda 1981 Royal Wedding of Prince Philip and Lady Diana miniature sheets easily and can now possibly avoid being ripped off! Sadly, many have been ripped off already!

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

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