THE FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINTS OF THE SAINT VINCENT 1985 LEADERS OF THE WORLD ELVIS PRESLEY STAMP ISSUES

The following revised article was written and sent to various stamp dealers in 2009. Since then it has come to light that what has been determined to be forgeries of the Saint Vincent 1985 Elvis Presley set of stamps and souvenir sheets was done under bogus legal grounds. For some time now, some have called them fakes or forgeries. In essence, that is what they are. The forged unauthorized reprints were made by/for a stamp dealer named Clive Feigenbaum after the Format International Security Printers went bankrupt and closed down forever.

Unauthorized reprints means that the country that issued the stamps originally never requested nor authorized the stamp agency and/or printer to reprint the stamp issue in question. The reprinting of stamps under these conditions is considered illegal and therefore done for only one reason. Greed.
In this case and because of what was printed at the time and because of what has been printed recently (2014), which are considered to be forgeries of the original issues, all of these reprints should be considered illegal and forged. Therefore counterfeit.

In Stanley Gibbons catalogs under this issue is noted the existence. The noting states:
"St. Vincent Philatelic Services Ltd. report that unauthorized reprints of Nos. 919/27 exist, poorly printed on whiter paper."
This is where the term "unauthorized reprint" came from. It was defined as such in error. Over 50% of the stamps of this issue are these "reprints". With the new forgery reprints that have been flooding the market since 2014, now over 75% of the stamps for this issue sold online are not genuine!!

In attempting to alert dealers and your representatives who lead your stamp societies to the rampant sales of these reproductions, My words and evidence fall on many deaf ears. I even contacted the American Philatelic Society Stamp Store because almost every offer for this issue sold on the site were either the unauthorized reprints or the bogus modern fake forgery stamps. I simply asked for them to put the magnifier symbol on this issue which alerts collectors to the fact that unauthorized reprints exist for the issue. On December 27, 2017, I received an email from them that shows the statement from Mr. Ken Martin who is the Chief Operating Officer authorizing the Director of Circuit/Internet Sales to put the symbol on them.
I made a direct phone call to Mr. Martin to thank him and to tell him that unauthorized reprints of the Michael Jackson set for this country were also in the same status and that new fake stamps of the issue were flooding the market. Be it because he did not like the tone of the conversation or because he is being influenced by powerful dealers within the APS, to this day, April 16, 2017, no symbol has been placed on this stamp issue! Even though Ken Martin was told by me to check the Stanley Gibbons catalogs in the APS library. Even though Mr. Ken Martin stated over the phone that if indeed the unauthorized printing is noted in Stanley Gibbons that the APS would put the warning symbol in the stamp store for these issues. NO SYMBOL! This is how deep the corruption goes in even your highest societies. Allowing major illegal stamp sellers to remain members. Turning a blind eye to stamps that have no validity whatsoever. All in the name of greed and profits made from you, the victim and collector who depend on these people to keep our hobby safe.

I am attempting to "go over Mr. Martin's head" on this and maybe with the fresher membership elections in the future something will happen. we will see....
Should the appropriate changes be made within the Stampstore and the Scott Catalog notes the existence of these reprints and forgeries so that all U.S. collectors and dealers can be fairly warned of the existence and avoid them....I will delete this part of the page.

According to the reprint agreement started in 1987 the artwork and all other materials including the Format Printers Company Logo were still held under the legal ownership of Clive Feigenbaum who had the forged unauthorized reprinting done. The reprint agreement gave sole right to the owners of said materials to reprint at their discretion even under a different companies name. Even though the reprinting was done long after the Format Printers closed their doors the Company Logo found on the panes of the reprints was apparently legally applied.
At least in the United Kingdom. Not in Saint Vincent, Tuvalu or any other country stamps were printed for though!
The ownership extended beyond the time of the Format Printers existence. Apparently....in theory it is still possible according to Jonathan Feigenbaum applicable today!
Is it legal to do such a thing? Absolutely not! Not without describing them as what they are. Copies of the genuine stamps with no postal validity at all!
One thing about this reprint agreement. It was signed between the last owner of Philatelists Ltd. who was and always has been in association with Clive Feigenbaum. It was signed by Clive Feigenbaum as the last owner of PDC (Philatelic Distribution Corp.) to himself, the last owner of London and New York International Stamp Company Limited. In other words it is a scam to try to legitimize criminal activity!

The reasons why the forged unauthorized reprinting was done at a later date is a mystery. One rumor has it that it was out of revenge for the originals being suspiciously sold outside the liquidation procedures at the time of the liquidation of the Format Security Printers. There was certain animosities between the owner, Mr. Clive Feigenbaum, and certain stamp dealers associated with Philatelists Ltd.. It is only rumor and we will leave it at that. It is interesting though as the stamps at the time really did not have a huge selling record and plenty of the original stamps were already available. Thus....why reproduce them? Of course Elvis Presley on stamps is a hugely popular thematic and possibly they were reproduced for the purpose of future sales of thematics which, of course, brings us back to the greed theory.

Sorry to say but a major percentage of thematic (topical) collectors have little knowledge in regards to what is genuine, illegal or a forgery because they put to much trust in the dealers that are to this day selling them this junk. At the time when the forged unauthorized reprints were made, British dealers were already wary of dealing with any more Leaders of the World issues being sold by Mr. Feigenbaum, and so, these "reprints" were sold in bulk to certain American Dealers who joyfully spread them across the world.

So, to finish the story apparently the original plates were lost, stolen or destroyed and thus new plates were made with the images of Elvis Presley being slightly larger than the originals. This then classifies them as illegal stamps AND forgeries. All experts have stated that if the stamp is not reproduced from the original plates then it cannot be classified as a reprint. It HAS to be classified as a forgery. The perforations differ and many other factors are different as you will see. As far as the question of it being immoral and/or unethical? Yes, both apply because it does and has damaged the hobby in that the market is now saturated with these forgeries of low quality which were never used as valid postage.

Are they forgeries? YES, because they are not made from the original plates and are therefore completely different than the originals.

As of 2016 a new wave of these and many more Leaders of the World "forgeries" are flooding the market. They are even MORE dangerous forgeries because they have recently been printed using correct perforation sizes to deceive collectors. They are being sold by numerous sellers on all auction venues and the problem is now a huge one due to your philatelic leaders wanting to turn a blind eye. Nearly half and in some cases more than half of many of the issues offered are now these new forgeries. To learn how to define them please visit my section I have titled Modern Fake Stamps.

TO THE SELLERS

I present this page so all stamp collectors and sellers will know what to look for accordingly and will describe the forgeries accordingly. You are basically ripping off collectors if you sell them as if they are genuine stamps. I do not have information on the quantities produced but do know that it is a larger quantity than the originals. Most "errors", many progressives color proofs and proofs themselves are from the forged unauthorized reprinting. Without full comparison to the following defined descriptions, you as sellers should take the responsibility of describing these forged unauthorized reprints with accurate descriptions and stop selling them with vague and/or no description. You need to describe the issues as either the originals or the forged unauthorized reprints. If you do not, and you are selling them, it is unethical and unfair to collectors and dealers of stamps as a whole.
Supposedly upstanding members of the APS, PTS etc. are selling this junk and breaking Codes of Ethics in the trade by not describing these forged unauthorized reprints properly and/or destroying them.

AUCTION SITES

They cannot be trusted to police this. These forged unauthorized reprints and forgeries are being sold daily on eBay and other online venues. The most trusted auction venues in the world have moved this junk over the years because they don't police this type of material. Because of the anonymity factor they hide behind, they have allowed this junk to permeate the market all in the name of profits and to this day allow the producers to get away with it by not reporting them and exposing them.

TO THE BUYERS

Please be aware before purchasing this issue. If you purchase it, be sure to compare them as soon as you receive them to be sure the seller did not fool you with an image of the originals and then sends you the forged unauthorized reprints. This has happened to many collectors including myself because some dealers are just plain out to rip you off! Request a refund and return them. If the seller continually does this then they need to be reported and exposed. I am sorry to say, but because of the immoral actions of one person, it is up to you as a buyer to make sure you don't get ripped off! Apparently most dealers, leaders of stamp societies, auction sites and so called "experts" want to ignore the problems caused by this individual and so now over 50% of this issue offered on the market are either unauthorized reprints or forgeries of bad quality printing in all regards.

STAMP CATALOG MAKERS

You have failed miserably in describing these forged reprints. Scott catalog does not even note them at all! You need to redefine these in your notations about their existence. Your descriptions at this time are inaccurate and helps nobody in the collecting community to figure out what they are nor how to define the differences.

I must state at this point, that on the quantities of the original printing the standard would be the same as on the Leaders of the World Automobiles and Locomotives series. Basing on the printers practices at the time for the original printings.
1.) The original and reprinting done by the Format Printers themselves (which would still have the 24 holes) would be 75,000 sets perforated.
2.) 5,000 sets of imperforate proofs.
3.) 2,000 sets perforated with specimen overprint.
4.) 1,000 sets imperforate with specimen overprint
5.) 3,000 sets of Progressive Color Proofs.
6.) A possibility of made for collector errors as in missing colors or misperfs, of which standard practices would produce 3,000 of a given value or values.

The first printing of course was probably in the range of 250,000 to 500,000 sets.

NO INVERTS OF THIS ISSUE WERE EVER PRINTED BY THE FORMAT PRINTERS
It has been proven with the genuine progressive color proofs that it is impossible to "invert" the frames as they have been done on the forgeries.

An example of sellers in 2016 who were trying to rip you off with these inverts are:
On eBay.
billdanielssports wanting $250.00 for a set!
steelhouseauctions wanting $100.00 for a single pair!
alphaomegaphilately wanting $25.00 for a single pair!
oskariuk wanting $49.99 for a single pair!
marlen-stamps wanting $199.95 for a single pair!

On Delcampe.
jmmaesdeleon wanting $98.00 for four sets!
thematicstamps2014 wanting $49.99 for a set!
primarystamps wanting $200.00 for two sets!

On Hipstamps.
marlen-stamps wanting $199.95 for a single pair!

Some of these sellers have issues with other fakes and even sell illegal stamps. My advise is to avoid them as long as they are offering these forged unauthorized reprints. Most know exactly what they are and are hoping that you do not.

UPDATE 2018

As of 2018 we have managed to eradicate sales of the fake inverts from eBay and Delcampe. We maintain a constant watch for new listings of them and these unauthorized reprints and have gained some control in assuring they are listed with proper descriptions. Certain sellers remain persistent in offering them on Hipstamps and ebid. We are working toward correcting that problem as well with little success.

To clarify what a "genuine" invert error is for this issue. A number of press sheets containing "running" errors were released onto the market prior to and during the liquidation of the printing company. The quantity is unknown and seeing that the offers for them are in the rare category it can be that they have a rarity factor. One press sheet contains 25 pairs of each value and therefore if four were retained there would be 100 sets of the inverts. I have seen them offered numerous times over the years at prices ranging from a few dollars to over a thousand dollars!
Because the fact that there could be a large quantity of them retained and certain shady dealers past and present have sold them at extraordinary prices along with knowingly selling these forged unauthorized reprint inverts and other fraudulently made "errors", the buyer must be made aware and not buy them with "investment" in mind.

Here are images of the genuine invert "errors" that originally came from the Format Printers. There were no full invert frame errors ever produced by the Format Printers. The following imaged errors are what "inspired" Clive Feigenbaum, among other things, to have the forged invert frame errors produced after the Format Printers were liquidated.

Elvis Presley Genuine Color Proof of the 10c Values with Inverted Leaders of the World Logo Error


Elvis Presley Genuine Color Proof of the 60c Values with Inverted Leaders of the World Logo Error


Elvis Presley Genuine Color Proof of the $1 Values with Inverted Leaders of the World Logo and Inverted Wrong Color Signature Error


Elvis Presley Genuine Color Proof of the $5 Values with Inverted Leaders of the World Logo Error

END 2018 Update

It is possible that the same standard of quantity production has been followed with the forged unauthorized reprinting after the Format Printers closed their doors forever.
I personally believe it was probably double that or more due to the massive availability of the forged unauthorized reprints on the market.
As far as the forged inverts are concerned I have seen so many bought and sold over the years that it is with certainty there are thousands out there.

LET'S GET STARTED!

ALL THE FOLLOWING IMAGES WERE SCANNED AT 600dpi AND RESIZED IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY WITH NO COLOR ALTERATIONS.

How to Identify the Forged Unauthorized Reprints of the Saint Vincent 1985 Elvis Presley Stamps and Mini sheets

This guide was written with the purpose of:
(i) Helping buyers to identify the forged unauthorized reprint stamps which have been on the market for over 25 years now;
(ii) Protecting the interests of genuine dealers everywhere who don't sell fakes or forgeries or reprints without defining them as such;
(iii) Protecting the integrity and interests of the Saint Vincent Philatelic Bureau.

The forged unauthorized reprinted stamps first appeared in early 1990's but as British dealers were wary of these stamps, they were largely sold to American Stamp dealers, who bought up the stock in bulk (together with forged unauthorized reprints of the Saint Vincent Michael Jackson stamps and Mini sheets). The distributor, Mr. Clive Feigenbaum, had access to the original artwork transparencies and printing plates separations, so the forged unauthorized reprints are generally of a good quality. The forged unauthorized reprint stamps are more than capable of not being detected by most dealers, stamp collectors, and Elvis Presley memorabilia and topical collectors. There are however, a number of distinguishing features on the forged unauthorized reprints (that are illustrated below), which make them easy to identify from the original stamps.

By the way, the stamps illustrated above are all forged unauthorized reprints!

These are also found as imperforate proofs, progressive color proofs and in many cases as "errors" with misperfs etc;. The inverted frame errors are all from either the forged unauthorized reprints or are modern day forgeries. The Format Printers never made inverted frame "errors" of the Elvis Presley issue.

UPDATE August 6, 2016

I just lost an auction on eBay that contained the stamps in the following image. Either the competition was fooled by the sellers description that the inverts are rare or they realized this to be the proof that the forged unauthorized reprints were never made at Format! Here is absolute proof that all the forged unauthorized reprints were never made by nor at the Format International Security Printers. This image shows the color guides fully attached to the fake inverts. As you can see they are nothing like the color guides used by the Format Printers on any stamp issue that they ever produced. The forged unauthorized reprints use the same color guides on the panes as the original panes. This image is of stamps that were cut from a press sheet before the panes were cut noting the large selvage on which the color guide is visible proving that Format was never involved.

Unlike the new forgeries that are flooding the market, the forged unauthorized reprints were produced on press sheets similar to what the genuine press sheets were like. Therefore gutters exist for them. There are no gutters for the newest forgeries because they are being printed on a cheap printer that is incapable of printing the very large press sheets. Producing press sheets requires huge and advanced printing presses which today are very expensive to maintain and run. The producers of the recent forgeries are incapable of running such machinery.

An interesting note:
The color guide looks very similar to color guides used by Holder's Press on Tanzania stamp sets produced in the 1980's. A connection?


These forged unauthorized reprints should not be valued by anyone! They were created by a stamp dealer with intent on ripping you off! At this point it is unknown exactly how many were made but the quantity is high.
Probably 3 to 4 times as many according to what is on the market. The forged errors and proofs also have a higher number. These are in the 5-10,000 set range. The errors and proofs from the original reprinting which was done by the Format Printers themselves will have the same quantities pretty much as with the LOTW Cars and Trains as described previously. I would value the forged unauthorized reprints at nothing. This is true "wallpaper". Pricing for the originals will rise if this knowledge becomes standard. At the time of this webpage creation approximately 75% of sales on the market contain the forged unauthorized reprints. Now with the new forgeries flooding the market including fake inverts, the percentage will be even higher. Others may try to disagree, but as time will tell it will be according to what the market decides....not the sellers nor "experts" as obviously there are none or this would have been known and taken care of long ago.
I guess you could say....I am the expert on these now.

Here is a couple images from a lot being offered on eBay in October 2017. The seller wants $250.00 for it! This lot shows just how far these con stamp dealers will go to rip you off. The companies name was Hampton House. In trying to find information on the company I could find nothing which is typical. These crooks will portray they are big and honorable stamp dealers and make up these certificates of authenticity which are complete fabrications and then disappear when the heat get put on them. I repeat the invert Elvis Presley stamps are common and were produced long after the issues were made by Format in 1985 and long after the Format Printers went out of business. This shows us that you cannot trust any certificates that these stamp dealers want to give you saying they are valuable, authentic, genuine, rare, or anything else they want to put on it to make you buy it.

Hampton House Front Cover for set of Forged Saint Vincent 1985 Elvis Presley Invert Error Stamps

Yes, real specialists in foreign stamp errors here. Let's see, common Elvis forged unauthorized reprints, fake or common 40th wedding inverts, common imperforate 1986 Royal Wedding imperforate booklet panes. Bet they sold a bunch to unknowing collectors and investors who are now finding out just how "unvaluable" they really are!

Hampton House Set of Forged Unauthorized Reprint Saint Vincent 1985 Elvis Presley Stamps and Set of Forged Unauthorized Reprint Invert Error Stamps

Simply count the perforation holes. Never printed by the Format Printers.

Hampton House Certificate of Authenticity

The first clue that this certificate is fabricated by a stamp dealer bent on ripping you off is....the style. Run off from a cheap common template.
The second clue is there are no signatures nor reference to who or what company is certifying them.
The third clue is it is a complete lie. They are not a "genuine" printing "error" by any means and they were never "issued" by the Saint Vincent Postal Service!

Any dealer who offers you anything that even remotely looks like this is ripping you off! Do the research before spending your hard earned money on any stamp that is claimed to be rare and valuable. In many cases it is proven over and over again that these dealers are fooling you. The con carries on to today as well as we can see by the seller on eBay offering this for $250.00. It is worth maybe $10.00 as a historic artifact showing how collectors and investors got ripped off in the 1990's and 2000's.

The following is why.....

(1) SG919-20 or 919a / Scott 874 10c Se-Tenant Pair

When compared side-by-side with the original stamps (for confirmation that the pair on the left are genuine, see Scott Catalogue), the forged unauthorized reprint stamps look very good and use a richer set of colors allowing for more contrast in the photographs. However, don't let the colors fool you!


Rule Number One (and probably the only rule needed) when identifying the perforated forged unauthorized reprints is to COUNT THE PERFORATIONS! As most of these stamps are sold in se-tenant (joined) pairs, count the number of holes along the vertical join. For the original stamps, there are 24 Holes (i.e. 25 Perforations), whereas the forged unauthorized reprints have 27 Holes (i.e. 28 perforations). The holes in the forged unauthorized reprints are thus noticeably smaller, and there is a tendency for all holes to not be completely punched out.

The following definitions cover all imperforate versions and "errors" and forged color proofs (if they exist) as well.


In addition to the perforations being different, the forged unauthorized reprint stamps have narrower reddish-brown bars (compared to the original thicker brown bars) (see above); while all the original images in the forged unauthorized reprinted stamps have been enlarged, resulting in a cropping of the image to fit the same-sized frame. This is illustrated in the example images below for the 10c stamps.


Other ways to easily recognize the forged unauthorized reprint 10c values are:
The triangle of the background is much smaller on the lower left corner under Elvis's arm holding the microphone.
Elvis's left shoulder is cut off on the right side of the image.

(2) SG921-2 or 921a / Scott 875 60c Se-Tenant Pair

The 60c pair of stamps in mine and others opinions is regarded as the best of the forged unauthorized reprints, but again use RULE #1 (Count the Perforations) as above. Again, the forged unauthorized reprints have 27 holes compared to the original pair's 24 holes.


Again in addition to the perforations being different, the forged unauthorized reprint stamps have narrower light Aqua Blue Bars (compared to the original thicker dark Aqua blue bars) (see above); while all the original images in the forged unauthorized reprint stamps have been enlarged again, resulting in a cropping of the image to fit the same-sized frame. This is illustrated in the example images below for the 60c stamps.


Some other subtle differences to look out for are:
1.) Slightly bolder / darker font for "St. Vincent" and "60c" in the forged unauthorized reprints;
2.) Elvis's head is closer to the top of the frames in the forged unauthorized reprints;
3.) The "Elvis" signature is clearer and greener on the original stamps, while the bottom loop of the "E" in the signature is lower toward the "IN" in "VINCENT" and the signature is thicker in the forged unauthorized reprints.

Here is an oddity! The missing green error.
It is from the forged unauthorized reprints

Here is another oddity! The shifted perfs error.
It is from the forged unauthorized reprints

(3) SG923-4 or 923a / Scott 876 $1 Se-Tenant Pair

Again, the forged unauthorized reprint stamps are instantly recognizable by the number of perforations (27 Holes instead of 24) and demonstrate a number of similar errors as before, including the smaller triangle of the background on the lower left corner under Elvis's arm holding the microphone; cropping of Elvis Presley's hair in the left hand stamp / top of Elvis's head closer to the top frame in the right hand stamp; and a bigger contrast of colors in the forged unauthorized reprints, including a lighter blue background in the right hand stamp.
On the $1 values the forged unauthorized reprinted stamps have narrower gray-green bars versus the originals thicker green bars.



Here is another oddity! The shifted perfs error.
It is from the forged unauthorized reprints

(4) SG925-6 or 925a / Scott 877 $5 Se-Tenant Pair

Here again on the $5 values we have similar differences. See below for the cropping and font differences.

Here is another oddity! The shifted perfs error of the $5 value.
It is from the forged unauthorized reprints

ERRORS

Aside from the above imaged perforation errors no other errors appear to be on the market at present time except for the inverted frame error of all values.
They are definitely from the unauthorized reprints and now the modern forgeries!

PROGRESSIVE COLOR PROOFS

At present time I can not find any of the progressives that are from the forged unauthorized reprints. It does not mean that they don't exist. The Michael Jackson set does exist with forged unauthorized reprint progressives. Please be aware of this before purchasing them.

Now for the sad news on these. Hundreds, if not thousands of collectors have been ripped off in the past 25 years being fooled into thinking that these "errors" are genuine and would gain in value. This image shows what these rip-off dealers were selling them for and to this day in some cases are still trying to sell them for.
This sums up the demonstration on how to identify the forged unauthorized reprints of the 1985 Elvis Presley stamps. As you can see, you do not have to be an expert philatelist to be able to do this. You do not even have to be a collector at all! The differences between the original stamps and the forged unauthorized reprints is quite obvious.

Now on to the Souvenir Sheets!

CAN YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE!?! The Elvis Presley Story … of Forged Unauthorized Reprint Saint Vincent Souvenir Sheets

(1) SG MS918 / Scott 878 30c Block of 4 as two Se-Tenant Pairs on Souvenir Sheet

Top Sheet (Original): 145mm x 107mm (as per Stanley Gibbons)
Bottom Sheet (Forged Unauthorized reprint): 142mm x 107mm


The Elvis Presley forgery souvenir sheets are a bit more difficult to discern than the Michael Jackson souvenir sheets in that there is not a lot of different things to compare as the backgrounds are more plain; No lines of LEADERS OF THE WORLD to compare etc;
Noting that the color schemes are reversed in comparison with the single pairs (the colors are much deeper on the forged unauthorized reprints).
Still there are discernible differences.

One huge difference is the originals have a flat matt finish whereas the forged unauthorized reprints have a glossy finish.

Differences:
1.) Forged Unauthorized reprint has cropped top (The top of Elvis's head is much closer to the top).
2.) Forged Unauthorized reprint has cropped right hand side (more of the reddish background is cut).
3.) Forged Unauthorized reprint has slightly cropped bottom and the Leaders of the World Logo is a lighter gray.
4.) Forged Unauthorized reprint uses a heavier font on the St. Vincent text and denomination. Parallel bars are thinner.
5.) Forged Unauthorized reprint left stamps have severe cropping of Elvis's top of his head.
6.) Forged Unauthorized reprint left stamps have the smaller triangle of background under Elvis's arm holding microphone.
7.) Forged Unauthorized reprint right stamps have Elvis's left shoulder very close to frame.
8.) Forged Unauthorized reprint the bottom loop of the "E" in signature penetrates deeply below the upper parallel bar (on originals it only touches it).

(2) SG MS918 / Scott 879 50c Block of 4 as two Se-Tenant Pairs on Souvenir Sheet

Top Sheet (Original): 145mm x 107mm (as per Stanley Gibbons)
Bottom Sheet (Forged Unauthorized reprint): 142mm x 107mm


Differences:
1.) Forged Unauthorized reprint has cropped right hand side (less of Elvis's shoulder is showing).
2.) Forged Unauthorized reprint uses a lighter shade for the "LEADERS OF THE WORLD" logo.
3.) Forged Unauthorized reprint left stamps have cropping of Elvis's hair at the top.
4.) Forged Unauthorized reprint right stamps top of Elvis's head very close to top frame.
5.) Forged Unauthorized reprint the bottom loop of the "E" in signature penetrates below the upper parallel bar (on originals it only touches it).
6.) Forged Unauthorized reprint left stamps the stud on Elvis's left elbow is slightly cropped (on originals it is well above the bottom frame.
7.) Forged Unauthorized reprint has a bolder typeface for "ST. VINCENT" and denomination.

(3) SG MS918 / Scott 880 $1.50 Block of 4 as two Se-Tenant Pairs on Souvenir Sheet

Top Sheet (Original): 145mm x 107mm (as per Stanley Gibbons)
Bottom Sheet (Forged Unauthorized reprint): 142mm x 107mm


Differences:
1.) Forged Unauthorized reprint has cropped top (top of Elvis's hair is cropped).
2.) Forged Unauthorized reprint uses a lighter shade for the "LEADERS OF THE WORLD" logo.
3.) Forged Unauthorized reprint left stamps have cropping of Elvis's hair at the top.
4.) Forged Unauthorized reprint left stamps have the smaller triangle of background under Elvis's arm holding microphone.
5.) Forged Unauthorized reprint right stamps top of Elvis's head very close to top frame.
6.) Forged Unauthorized reprint has a bolder typeface for "ST. VINCENT" and denomination.
7.) Forged Unauthorized reprint uses a lighter green font on the frame and parallel bars.
8.) Forged Unauthorized reprint the bottom loop of the "E" in signature penetrates below the upper parallel bar (on originals it only touches it).
9.) Forged Unauthorized reprint "ST. VINCENT" and denomination value ($1.50)float low between the parallel bars.

(4) SG MS918 / Scott 881 $4.50 Block of 4 as two Se-Tenant Pairs on Souvenir Sheet

Top Sheet (Original): 145mm x 107mm (as per Stanley Gibbons)
Bottom Sheet (Forged Unauthorized reprint): 142mm x 107mm


Differences:
1.) Forged Unauthorized reprint has cropped top (top of Elvis's head much closer to the top).
2.) Forged Unauthorized reprint has cropped left hand side (more of the reddish background is cut off).
3.) Forged Unauthorized reprint uses a lighter shade for the "LEADERS OF THE WORLD" logo.
4.) Forged Unauthorized reprint left stamps have cropping at top of which Elvis's hair almost touches at the top.
5.) Forged Unauthorized reprint left stamps have cropping on the left causing white halo on Elvis's Jacket on lower left corner to be much smaller.
6.) Forged Unauthorized reprint right stamps top of Elvis's head closer to top frame.
7.) Forged Unauthorized reprint has a bolder typeface for "ST. VINCENT" and denomination.
8.) Forged Unauthorized reprint the bottom loop of the "E" in signature penetrates below the upper parallel bar (on originals it only touches it).

ERRORS

It appears at present that no errors of the souvenir sheets exist. None can be found on the market at present time.

PROGRESSIVE COLOR PROOFS

After more research I have come to the conclusion that genuine color proofs of the St. Vincent 1985 Elvis Presley souvenir sheets do not exist. A seller in the United Kingdom is offering sets of color proofs of these souvenir sheets but alas, they are definitely from the forged unauthorized reprints. This shows again that all imperforate versions of the souvenir sheets are forgeries.

Here is an image I put together of all of them, taken from the dealers (sadly) poor quality images. Luckily the dealers asks an extraordinary amount for each set so not many have sold over the years.

Elvis Presley Forged Unauthorized Reprint Color Proofs of the Souvenir Sheets


This sums up the demonstration on how to identify the forged unauthorized reprinted 1985 Elvis Presley souvenir sheets. Again, I must stress the point that you do not have to be an expert philatelist to be able to do this. You do not even have to be a collector at all! The differences between the original souvenir sheets and the forged unauthorized reprints are quite obvious again.

I hope that this reference page on the Saint Vincent 1985 Elvis Presley forged unauthorized reprint stamps will assist all collectors, dealers and memorabilia collectors in defining and choosing which sets they have or are buying.

Please refer this page to all of your stamp collecting friends and acquaintances to help get the word out.

Here are links to all the other LOTW issues that were discovered to have been reprinted without authorization in the early 1990's after the Format International Security Printers went Bankrupt.
I am the discoverer of all of them except for the Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson sets. Aside from those two sets there is no reference in any stamp catalogs for all the other issues as of October 2017. Maybe some day I can get that changed. As it stands now for some of the issues 50% or more being sold are forged unauthorized reprints. Which do you want in your collection? Genuine or a shoddy forged unauthorized reprint or a forgery?

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

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