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THE FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINTS AND MODERN FORGERIES OF THE MONTSERRAT 1985 LEADERS OF THE WORLD AUDUBON BIRDS STAMP ISSUES

I have discovered that there is a forged unauthorized reprint version of the 1985 Birds issue that is very different from the original versions. I have also recently discovered that modern forgeries of this issue are also being flooded onto the market. In essence the forged unauthorized reprints were made by/for a stamp dealer named Clive Feigenbaum. I can tell you that real dangerous forgeries are being flooded on the market as I rewrite this page in July of 2015.

The first section will be on the forged unauthorized reprints made in the 1990's. The second section will be on the newly discovered forgeries made in 2015.

SECTION 1

THE FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINTS

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 reproductions 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 legally applied.
At least in the United Kingdom. Not in Montserrat, Tuvalu or any other country stamps were printed for though!
The ownership supposedly extended beyond the time of the Format Printers existence.
Is it really legal to do such a thing? Absolutely not! Not without describing them as what they are when sold. 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 were already available. Thus....why reprint them? Of course birds on stamps is a popular thematic and possibly they were reproduced for the purpose of future sales of thematics and inspired by greed.

They were reproduced after Format closed the doors and at present there is no evidence that the Format Printers ever reprinted the set. Therefore, very few original proofs, progressive color proof sets, etc; exist. The majority come from this forged unauthorized reprinting.

So to finish the story for this set some of the original plates were used (and I note have never been found to this day) and thus they are very difficult to define at first glance except for one thing! The perforations differ and many other factors are different as you will see.

Are they forgeries? YES, because even though the original image plates were used, the inscription plates were reproduced as you will see. Therefore they must be sold as "FORGERIES".

TO THE SELLERS

I present this page so all stamp collectors and sellers will know what to look for accordingly and will price and describe the forgeries accordingly. I do not have information on the quantities produced but do know that it is at least as large as the originals due to percentages offered on the market. Most of the errors, progressives color proofs and proofs themselves are from the reproductions. 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 in stamps as a whole.
Members of the APS, PTS etc. could find their reputations tarnished should it be found that you are selling under suspicious behavior and breaking Codes of Ethics in the trade by not describing these forged unauthorized reprints properly simply because of your lack of knowledge or because of greed.

TO ALL AUCTION SITES

Please, police these issues and the sellers who are not describing these correctly need to be stopped. If they do not describe them accurately, they need to have their lots removed from sale until corrections are made. They are easy to define as you will see below just by the images. If the seller uses blurry or very small images they should not be trusted and should be warned. It will take time for the problem to be corrected but it can be done as long as the collecting community works together as a whole. This problem spans over almost thirty years now! Don't you think it is time to stop the problem?

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 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 forged unauthorized reprints or forgeries of bad quality printing in all regards.

TO THE STAMP CATALOG MAKERS

You need to define these in your notations about their existence. At present you do not even note they exist thus your catalogs do not help the collecting community to figure out what they are nor how to define the differences. Stanley Gibbons notes the forged unauthorized reprints for the St. Vincent Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley issues but does not note it for this issue and other issues I have discovered.
Scott catalog does not even note them at all! Probably because most of the forged unauthorized reprints were sold to American stamp dealers. I guess they are trying to save face or something by not noting their existence, possibly because of influence by these same dealers who wish to continue to rip off collectors like you and me.

I must state at this point, that on the quantities of these forged unauthorized reprints the standard would probably be the same as on the Leaders of the World Automobiles and Locomotives series. Basing on the Format Printers practices at the time for reprints.
1.) The reprinting would be 21,000 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.

It is probable that the same standard of quantity production has been followed with the reproductions after the Format Printers closed their doors forever for this issue.

LET'S GET STARTED!

ALL THE FOLLOWING IMAGES WERE SCANNED AT 600dpi AND RESIZED IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY WITH NO COLOR ALTERATIONS.
Forged Unauthorized Reprint Set of Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds
Scott Catalog Number 580-583, Stanley Gibbons Number 657-664
The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds Stamp Set
Marquee for Golowe's Reference Site on the Format International Security Printers

How to Identify the Forged Unauthorized Reprint Montserrat 1985 Birds Stamps

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 Montserrat Philatelic Bureau.

It is unknown at this time when these forged unauthorized reprint stamps first appeared. Because they have the exact same characteristics as the forged unauthorized reprints of the St. Vincent Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley stamp sets, there is a 100% probability they came onto the market in the same timeframe. Clive Feigenbaum had access to the original artwork transparencies and printing plates separations and for this set the original plates of the images so the forged unauthorized reprints are of fair quality. The stamps are more than capable of not being detected by all dealers, stamp collectors, and now, Bird 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!

Also these are found as imperforate proofs, progressive color proofs and in some cases as "errors" with misperfs etc;.No inverts were ever made by the Format Printers nor by Clive Feigenbaum for this issue.

These forged unauthorized reprints should not be valued by anyone! They were created by a stamp dealer intent on ripping you off!
This newly discovered reprinting will now cause the original stamp sets to become more valuable as demand for them will rise.
I would value the forged reprints at nothing. This is true "wallpaper". At the time of this webpage creation approximately 50% of sales on the market contain the forged reprints. 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 long ago.
I guess you could say....I am the expert on these now.

(1) Scott 580 15c Se-Tenant Pair
Black-throated Blue Warbler and Palm Warbler (Yellow Red-poll Warbler)

The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Birds Scott 580 Pair with Original Pair for Comparison
When compared side-by-side with the original stamps, 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!

The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Montserrat 1985 Birds Perforation Comparison
Rule Number One (and probably the only rule needed unless comparing proofs) when identifying the 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 Forged Unauthorized Reprint Birds Scott 580 Printing Comparison
In addition to the perforations being different, the forged unauthorized reprint stamps have a honeycomb pattern throughout the image and the details are blurred (see above); while the originals do not have a pattern and are much more detailed.

These forged unauthorized reprints are much better quality than the Elvis and Michael reprints as the images and everything are in proper proportions due to the oringinal image plates being used. Because of this they are harder to detect without looking very closely at them. If one does not have a set of originals to compare they can easily slip by.

Some other subtle differences to look out for are:
1.) Weaker / lighter Font for all inscriptions on the forged unauthorized reprints;
2.) The white background has a light bluish hue on the forged unauthorized reprints versus very white on the originals;
3.) The grayish color between the bars where the country name and denomination are on the forged unauthorized reprints is darker than on the originals
The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Montserrat Birds Scott 580 Color Comparison

(2) Scott 581 30c Se-Tenant Pair
Bobolink and Lark Sparrow (Lark Finch)

The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Birds Scott 581 Pair with Original Pair for Comparison
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.

The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Montserrat Birds Scott 581 Printing Comparison
Again in addition to the perforations being different, the forged unauthorized reprint stamps have a honeycomb pattern throughout the image and the details are blurred (see above); while the originals do not have a pattern and are much more detailed. Other similar features as noted above are also on this value.
In addition the the framing colors are gold and brownish on the forged unauthorized reprints versus tan and pinkish on the originals.

The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Montserrat Birds Scott 581 Color Comparison

(3) Scott 582 55c Se-Tenant Pair
Chipping Sparrow and Northern Oriole (Bullock's Oriole)

The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Birds Scott 582 Pair with Original Pair for Comparison
Again, the forged unauthorized reprint stamps are instantly recognizable by the number of perforations (27 Holes instead of 24) and demonstrate the same features of printing as the closeup shows.
Noting on this value that the original frame color is a much lighter greenish color than on the forged unauthorized reprint.
The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Montserrat Birds Scott 582 Printing Comparison
The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Montserrat Birds Scott 582 Color Comparison
The missing value error of the 55c stamps all came from this forged unauthorized reprinting. Just like the inverts of the Saint Vincent 1985 Elvis Presley issues they were yet another bogus scam to make profits on an error that was never created nor printed by the Format International Security Printers. As you can see it has the 27 perforation holes.
The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Birds Scott 582 Pair with Missing Value Error

(4) Scott 583 $2.50 Se-Tenant Pair
American Goldfinch (Yellow Bird) and Blue Grosbeak

The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Birds Scott 583 Pair with Original Pair for Comparison
Here again on the $2.50 values we have similar differences. The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Montserrat Birds Scott 583 Printing Comparison
The Forged Unauthorized Reprint Montserrat Birds Scott 583 Color Comparison
This sums up the demonstration on how to identify the forged unauthorized reprint Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds 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.

I hope that this reference page on the Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds 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 reproduced without authorization in the early 1990's after the Format International Security Printers went Bankrupt.

LEADERS OF THE WORLD FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINTS PRODUCED AFTER FORMAT BANKRUPTCY
THE NEVIS 1985 AUDUBON BIRDS FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS
THE SAINT VINCENT 1985 ELVIS PRESLEY FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS
THE SAINT VINCENT 1986 KING ARTHUR CAMELOT UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS
THE SAINT VINCENT 1985 MICHAEL JACKSON FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS
THE SAINT VINCENT 1987 ROYAL RUBY WEDDING INVERTS FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS AND FORGERIES
THE SAINT VINCENT BEQUIA 1985 DOGS FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS
THE SAINT VINCENT UNION ISLAND 1985 AUDUBON BIRDS FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS
THE SAINT VINCENT UNION ISLAND 1985 BUTTERFLIES FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS
THE TUVALU 1985 AUDUBON BIRDS FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS
THE TUVALU NANUMEA 1985 CATS FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS
THE TUVALU NIUTAO 1985 AUDUBON BIRDS FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS
THE TUVALU NUKULAELAE 1985 DOGS FORGED UNAUTHORIZED REPRINT STAMPS

SECTION 2

THE MONTSERRAT 1985 LEADERS OF THE WORLD AUDUBON BIRDS FORGERY STAMPS

Montserrat 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Forgery Set

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 clear 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 normal issues of the Montserrat Birds issue. Recently inverted frame error sets have appeared and they too are forgeries. Also missing denomination errors and imperforates are being faked. All are being offered online right now as I write this on July 18, 2015.

I have found documented proof dated April 2015 that at least 10,000 perforated forgery sets have been moved onto the market!
They were sold in Gaertner's 30th auction in lot number 21438A.

UPDATE October 2017

Adding users who sell these forgeries along with new ultra-violet light detection section.

END OF UPDATE

UPDATE MAY 2018

Well, as I thought inverts are on the market! Recently many inverts have appeared including as I predicted fake Leaders of the World Trains and cars inverts for Nevis. Some are even appearing with Calves Expertising Certificates! BOGUS! Two appeared in the recent Gaertner auctions and now a seller on Delcampe posted the imaged set and around twenty more different fake inverts. Have shut all of them down. Sadly now, one of the biggest dealers in France just got victimized showing us that everyone no matter how big or small is being effected by this. It shows us that the consignor that was shut down at Gaertner's in 2015 and had these forgeries sent back to him has just released them to more victims this year! The seller on Delcampe wants anywhere from 400EURO to 1000EURO for a set! I wonder how much he got ripped off for. Don't be fooled by the certificate. They are worth nothing! Again, very obvious they are forgeries. Look at the selvage. As I explain below, there are no perforation holes running through the selvage on the forgeries like on genuine panes of these stamps.
Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds Inverted Stamp Forgery Set

END MAY 2018 UPDATE

I can also tell you that I have discovered that many more "modern" issues for Montserrat and other countries are being forged. Mainly varieties and "errors" of the issues which bring in higher profits although normal issues like this one are also being faked in some 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.

The main sellers on eBay who have offered or are offering these forgeries right now.

alphaomegaphilately
armi777
asrm10
balticamber2011
hobbytrade
kamalmedicine
kamalthematic
stamp2deal (new account 2017 aka was izabelastamp2deal)
stampbank_of_london
veiksme

I note that apparently some as you can see are the same seller using different user names.

These sellers are spamming and have been spamming eBay lots for several years now. They offer this junk at 99c start bids. Or they offer fake color proofs and fake inverts and fake imperforates for amounts that would not relate to true value of the genuine stamps. Namely because for most the genuine material was either destroyed or only found on archival press sheets of which very few were saved in the archive. Therefore, this junk offered by these sellers (which you can see nobody appears to care in the philatelic community) should be avoided because all you are doing if you buy it is to:

1.) Enable the producer of these fake reproductions to continue to rip you off!
2.) Enable sellers like these to continue to rip you off!
3.) Enable the flooding of the stamp market with these fake reproductions to the point that now over 50% and in some cases much more are now being sold to unknowing collectors and thus you are ripping off other collectors!

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.

Recently I noticed sales of the Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds issue being sold at the 99c start bid on eBay in lots of 4 sets from panes. I purchased several and was amazed to find it is from a completely different printing than the original and reprint shown above! The colors, screens, fonts and gum completely differ.

The first clue and only clue that tells you the inverted stamp sets are forgeries is....INVERTS ARE ALL FAKE! No inverts of this issue were ever produced by the Format Printers.

ULTRA-VIOLET LIGHT DETECTION

I have discovered another way to detect many of the forgeries. Use an ultra-violet light on them!
In many cases with all the forgeries I have posted the now many pages for, I have found that many sets glow brightly like the fluorescent papers used on many, for example, Canadian stamps in the past. A word of caution on this though. Many forgeries I have found, which all have the yellowish gum, do not glow or have lower grades of brightness or have numerous fibers in the paper that glow. In quite a few cases I have found the sets to have mixed papers, as in , several values glow and several are either less bright or do not glow at all!
There are only two answers to this oddity that are possible. It is either the forger is so lazy that he just grabs whatever paper is handy or....there are numerous different printings of the forgeries and this has been going on much longer than my discovery of the early 2014 massive movement of the forgeries onto the market.

The basic rule to follow with all stamps produced by the Format Printers is,
THE IMAGE SIDE OF GENUINE STAMPS DO NOT GLOW AT ALL.
The Format Printers used basically all the same type of paper on all the stamps they produced in the 1980's as did they use the same gum type except for a couple sets they produced in 1989 when newer types of gum were becoming popular in the stamp printing business.

For the perforated stamps of this issue that I have acquired, the forgeries glow brightly as this image shows.
I do not know if the forged inverts and imperforate versions including missing denomination errors of this issue glow as well as I do not have them in my possession. Maybe you have that answer....
Montserrat 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Comparison of Forgeries with Genuine Stamps Under Ultra-violet Light
Here are gum comparisons.

Gum Comparison of a Fake with Original
This gum appears to still be PVA but without the greenish tint. It has been noted that other British issues like some of the Machin issues have this type of gum. The problem is it was not used until the late 90's. The gum is shiny though which conflicts with the description of the gum known as PVAI (Layflat) used on the Machins. Oddly the stamps of this issue (unlike other fakes I discovered) are bending similar to originals which have a light bending from aging.
The gum appears almost clear versus other fakes produced by the same source that are very white in color.
This is evidence showing even a later creation and since these did not appear on the market until 2014 in bulk lots, it proves these to be modern forgeries of the stamps.
Montserrat 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Forgery with Original Gum Comparison

Example showing the opacity of the fake gum. Noting you can see the image of the bird and such through the gum whereas on the original you can barely see it.
Montserrat 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Forgery with Original Full Stamp Gum Comparison

Gum Comparison of the Original, Unauthorized Reprint and Forgery of the Montserrat 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Stamps
Again there is an obvious difference in color and texture.
Montserrat 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Forgery, Unauthorized Reprint and Original Gum Comparison

Screen and Color Comparison of the Forgery Stamp with Original Stamp
Note the difference in the thickness of the black bar lines. The crosshatch dot patterns are completely different. The forgery uses a coarser screen. A lot of the detail that is on the original stamp is not there on the fake stamp. Note the black lines around the beak.
Montserrat 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Forgery with Original Screen and Color Comparison

Screen and Color Comparison of the Forgery Stamp with the Unauthorized Reprint Stamp
This is another reason why these are such dangerous forgeries. You can see that the fake stamp uses a better screen pattern than the unauthorized reprint from 1991. Please note the extreme difference in color on the forged stamp. The thicker black bar lines. The dot patterns.
The forgery stamps are kind of like a photocopy of the originals but use a lower quality screen and have a glossy surface over the face.
Montserrat 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Forgery with Unauthorized Reprint Screen and Color Comparison

Now I will show reduced images of the genuine stamps with the forgeries. At the bottom table are links to each stamp at full size. To big to fit the page of course as I scanned them all at 1200dpi.

Comparison of the Montserrat Audubon Birds 15c Stamp Forgery Pair with a Genuine Stamp Pair
A stunning difference yes?
The forgery stamps are kind of like a photocopy of the originals but use a lower quality screen and have a shiny surface over the face.
They can easily fool you!
Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds Forgeries with Genuine 15c Stamp Comparison

Notes on differences:
The country name color bar is gray-blue on genuine stamps. It is deep purple on the forgeries.
The upper and lower color bars are light gray on genuine stamps. It is lavender on the forgeries.
The Black-throated Blue Warbler has shades of dark blue on its back on genuine stamps. It is all shades of dark purple on the forgeries.
The easiest way to define the forgery. The words Blue Warbler. It is "spaced" on genuine stamps like this, "Blue Warbler". On the forgeries it is not spaced like this, "BlueWarbler".

Comparison of the Montserrat Audubon Birds 30c Stamp Forgery Pair with a Genuine Stamp Pair
Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds Forgeries with Genuine 30c Stamp Comparison

Notes on differences:
This one is an exceptionally dangerous forgery because the color bars are very similar in color.
The "( )" parentheses are straighter with less curve on the genuine stamps. On the Lark Sparrow stamp the right ")" is almost straight on the genuine stamps versus the same curvature on the forgeries.
The fonts are much bolder on the genuine stamps versus the forgeries.
Without a good large image of this pair, they can slip by most of us easily.

Comparison of the Montserrat Audubon Birds 55c Stamp Forgery Pair with a Genuine Stamp Pair
Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds Forgeries with Genuine 55c Stamp Comparison

Notes on differences:
The country name color bar is blue-green on genuine stamps. It is yellow-green on the forgeries.
The upper and lower color bars are light green on genuine stamps. It is light blue on the forgeries.
The Chipping Sparrow is shades of gray-blue on genuine stamps. It is shades of green-blue on the forgeries.
The "( )" parentheses are straighter with less curve on the genuine Northern Oriole stamps.

Comparison of the Montserrat Audubon Birds $2.50 Stamp Forgery Pair with a Genuine Stamp Pair
Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds Forgeries with Genuine $2.50 Stamp Comparison

Notes on differences:
The country name color bar is very light yellow-green on genuine stamps. It is a darker yellow-green on the forgeries.
The upper and lower color bars are dull yellow on genuine stamps. It is yellow-green on the forgeries.
The most obvious and easiest way to define the forgeries for this stamp pair is the "$" sign. The vertical bar runs through the symbol on the forgeries. It does not run through on genuine stamps! Here is a closeup image.
Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds Forgeries with Genuine $2.50 Stamp Comparison of the Dollar Signs

You can see that there is a lot of differences between the three printings.

One buyer of these forgeries purchased a large lot from one of the biggest and most reputable stamp sellers on eBay. He bought what he thought was the complete print run of one "newly discovered" error in full panes in packets of 200 panes which were unopened.
I am sorry to say that there are several ways proving these were never produced by the Format Printers.
Firstly the packaging is wrong. Here is the image he sent me.
Packets of Forged Stamp Panes

The plastic wrapping is a flexible plastic used today. Format packaged all stamp panes in very brittle hard plastic that tears easily when opened. The separation paper is brown. Format always used pink/red paper to separate and protect the panes and souvenir sheets.

The perforations on the panes are wrong

Here is an image of the Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds stamp panes from the original printing.
Montserrat 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Original print Stamp Panes

Now here is an image of a corner block from the forged Montserrat 1985 Audubon Birds Stamp pane.
Montserrat 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Forged 5c Value Corner Pair

Now look at the image of the panes and the image of the forged stamp block with selvage shown above. Can you see the difference?
The perforations run through the selvage on the original panes on all sides. There are no perforations on the selvage of the forged panes!
Also I have found forgeries with completely different pane numbers than the originals!!

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. Mainly these fake imperforates. 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 Montserrat 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds forgery stamps 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!

Here are links to images of each stamp with an original next to a forgery. All are scanned at 1200dpi so the files are large. All were scanned at the same time with the same settings and nothing is enhanced. Please be patient with downloading them because each file is around 2.5 megs.

MONTSERRAT 1985 AUDUBON BIRDS FORGERY STAMPS WITH ORIGINALS
Scott 580a Black-throated Blue Warbler Bird Stamp Scott 580b Palm Warbler Bird Stamp
Scott 581a Bobolink Bird Stamp Scott 581b Lark Sparrow Bird Stamp
Scott 582a Chipping Sparrow Bird Stamp Scott 582b Northern Oriole Bird Stamp
Scott 583a American Goldfinch Bird Stamp Scott 583b Blue Grosbeak Bird Stamp

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

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UPDATED LAST ON: 25-May-2018 12:58 PM