THE MODERN FAKE SAINT VINCENT UNION ISLAND 1985 AUDUBON BIRDS STAMP ISSUES

Saint Vincent Union Island 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Forgery Set
Scott# 186-189

Saint Vincent Union Island 1985 Leaders of the World Audubon Birds Inverted Frame Error Forgery Set

I have found documented proof in Harmer's Sale 3006 (lot# 4003) that 1,000 normal perforated forgery sets of this issue have been moved onto the market!

UPDATE February 2018

I have recently acquired a perforated set of the forgeries. I have now modified this page to make it even easier for you to detect the forgeries.

END February UPDATE

UPDATE May 2018

I have recently acquired an image of an imperforate set of the invert forgeries. Noting that the "$" signs on the high values do not have the vertical bar running through them. this is a "correction" done by the forger to make the forgeries even more deceitful. The bottom line is:
ALL INVERTS OF THE UNION ISLANDS 1985 AUDUBON BIRDS ISSUES ARE FORGERIES.
Also noting the seller of these has a ton of other forgeries he was trying to move on Delcampe. Based in Israel showing how widespread the forgeries have become. If he keeps it up we will have him shut down....permanently.

END May UPDATE

Saint Vincent Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Forgery Set Sold by asrm10 on eBay

Saint Vincent Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Imperforate Forgery Set Sold by asrm10 on eBay

I have discovered that modern fake stamps of this issue are being flooded onto the market a long time ago now. Just did not get around to posting this page because of the tons of other forgeries I have been documenting.
I can tell you that real dangerous fakes or some call forgeries are being flooded on the market as I wrote this page in November of 2016.
The sets imaged above are all fakes!
I note that the Latvian based gang under user names asrm10, armi777 and balticamber2011 (Real names are Raimonds and Antanas Miskinis owners of Argi-Stamps and SIA Stamps) are the culprits who have moved hundreds if not thousands of these forgeries onto the market through eBay. Last recorded sales were January 20, 2018!

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 complete perforated and imperforate sets and inverted frame error forgeries of the Saint Vincent Leaders of the World 1985 Audubon Birds issues. All are being offered online right now as I re-write this on February 17, 2018.

I can also tell you that I have discovered that many more "modern" issues for Saint Vincent 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 now 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 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.

I noticed sales of the Saint Vincent Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds issues as inverts being sold on eBay from a dealer named stampbank_of_london. This dealer has since stopped selling on eBay but continues on Amazon and elsewhere. This dealer is a large volume dealer and was and is offering these forgeries along with every other forgery I have created these pages for. This "company" is one of the worst companies I have ever seen hit the internet offering massive forgeries claiming them to be "later printings" of legitimate issues. 30 year "later printings" are nothing but forgeries....period. This "dealer" also offers massive numbers of illegal stamps and is obviously connected to the source of the forgeries. This "dealer" has infiltrated every auction venue and online retail sales outlet you can imagine. Ebay, Delcampe, Amazon, Alibaba, personal websites.
When this dealer first appeared in 2014, (sic) same time the forgeries hit the market, he claimed these forgeries were "genuine" from the "original print run" and "not a reprint". Some of the forgeries he actually "claimed" came from the archive!
After my pages came onto the internet showing they were forgeries and showing the article from the British Exporter he changed his tune. Started claiming they are "later printings" and such trying to cover up his lies. Now this "dealer" uses my statements on issues that were sold after the liquidation of the printing company stating:

"Quantities of most of these issues perforated, imperforate proofs, errors and intentional errors came onto the market after the liquidation of the Format International Security Printers Ltd. in 1988. There are some varieties that are legitimately rare."
The first sentence is taken from the Stanley Gibbons notes in the specialized catalogs. The second sentence is mine....

I can tell you this.....these are NOT ONE OF THEM and are definitely not rare!!

Every "invert" this clown is offering is fake. Most (if not all) "Leaders of the World" stamp issues this clown offers are fakes. If you buy just about anything from this "dealer" you are asking to be ripped off!!

Want to sue me?? BRING IT ON!

Let's bring your fake crap and I will bring the originals and let's see what a judge and anyone else that wants to join in determines. Guarantee it.....YOU will lose.....clown!

I know that they are forgeries because other forgeries I have purchased from this same dealer on eBay and posted the feedback proving I got them there. Guaranteed that this dealer among others is a huge problem in the stamp market and contributes to the demise of the philatelic world.

I have alerted the APS, American Philatelic Magazine editors, Scott catalog editors about these forgeries. Other than one editor of the Philatelic Exporter who only wrote the article because of influence by several British based stamp dealers the rest have been tending to ignore it. Now they are everywhere and thanks to your leaders and "experts" you cannot trust what you buy as far as stamps originally printed by the Format International security Printers is concerned. Are you going to ignore it also?

First a little history on the Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds set. Long ago this set was reproduced as "unauthorized reprints" by Clive Feigenbaum in the early 1990's. The perforated version is easy to tell in that all you have to do is count the perforation holes to see if they are genuine or the "reprints". Here is the link to my detailed page on these "reprints".

The Unauthorized Reprints

Some of the images on this page were taken from eBay lot offers and all are recorded including snapshots of the lot page and archived. So if anyone wants to argue or deny the fact that they are or were selling the stamps in the images....well you have no defense to deny the fact that you have.

On this page I will describe how to tell the difference between the forgeries and genuine stamps which is quite easy from just images given by sellers. On Nov. 24, 2016, when I original published this page I just took the images from all available sellers on eBay for your comparisons. It was and is to show you just how bad the problem has become as far as you getting a genuine set. You now have only a 50% chance of not getting ripped off!

I state on the reprint page that almost 50% of the sets offered are now the unauthorized reprints. Now you can add the forgeries which in a bit more time will make the factor change to 75% offered on the market being either forgeries or unauthorized reprints.

I now have everything together to present to you how to detect the forgeries and not get ripped off!!

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.

I note that these images are taken with an iphone. Conditions make the brightness differ with each picture taken so the genuine set "looks" different as far as brightness. the images are to give you a basic idea of what to look for.

I have found that all of the forgeries glow brightly. Here is the comparison.


Here are gum comparisons.

Gum Comparison of a Fake Stamp 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 very shiny though which conflicts with the description of the gum known as PVAI (Layflat) used on the Machins. Yet the stamps lay perfectly flat on a surface whereas originals have a light bending from aging.
This is evidence showing even a later creation and since these did not appear on the market until 2014 and no such stamps like these have ever been on the market nor recorded, it proves these to be modern forgeries of the stamps.
You can see there is an extreme difference in color and texture.


Gum Comparison of the Original and Forgery of the full Saint Vincent Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Stamp pairs
Again there is an obvious difference in color and texture.


Screen and Color Comparison of a Forged Stamp with a Genuine Stamp
I use the $1 values for comparisons. you will see an easy way to detect the dollar values below.

Note the differences in color on the fake stamp. The inferior screen pattern that has lost a major portion of the details.

Color and Screen Comparison of the Scarlet Tanager Stamp Forgery


Color and Screen Comparison of the Lazuli Bunting Stamp Forgery


Now let us look at the fonts.

It is quite easy I found to define the forgeries from the originals. The "I" in "UNION" almost touches the "N" on forgeries (and the reprints I might add). On the originals there is a good spacing between the two letters.
Note the difference in background color. In all my studies of these forgeries one thing is clear. The forgers cannot match the original colors exactly.


I have found that the forger made the same mistake on the normal perforated versions of the dollar value pairs as Clive Feigenbaum did on the unauthorized reprints of this issue. The dollar sign "$" has the vertical bar running all the way through it on the forgeries and the unauthorized reprints, whereas on genuine stamps there is only a "tab" at the top and bottom of the dollar signs.


Here I have discovered another thing though. On the inverted frame error forgeries this has been corrected! No bar running through the dollar signs on them. I guess the forger figured since all the inverts are forgeries he did not have to have the bar run through on the dollar signs to (sic) detect them. See the imaged set at the top of this page.

I have yet discovered another easy way to detect the forgeries
The dot between the words at the bottom "Leading Artists" and "John James Audubon". On the normal perforated forgeries it is offset to the right and on some it is even in the same position as the "J"!! Obviously on genuine stamps the dot is well centered between the two sets of words.


Again this same problem is on the unauthorized reprints made by Clive Feigenbaum in the 1990's showing us a direct connection between those reprints and these newest forgeries.
Noting again that on the fake inverts the dot is well centered showing the forger(s) knew this could be detected and corrected it. Again see the image of the inverts at the top of this page.

Now I will show reduced images of the original stamps with the forgeries.

Comparison of the Saint Vincent Union Island Audubon Birds 15c Stamp Forgery Pair with a Genuine Stamp Pair


Now that you know what to look for it helps yes?
Obvious differences:
The Hooded Warbler's back is yellow-green on the forgeries, dark green on genuine stamps.
The Carolina Wren's back and the flowers are red on forgeries, Brown-red on genuine stamps.
The "c" of the 15c denomination is well spaced away from the "5" on genuine stamps. It is very close to the "5" on the forgeries.
The parentheses "( )" around the words "Great Carolina Wren" are straighter with less curve on genuine stamps. On the forgeries they extend down below the letters whereas on genuine stamps the bottom of the parentheses is "in line" with the bottom of the letters.
The country name color bar is light brown on genuine stamps. It is very pale light brown on the forgeries.
On the genuine stamps the letters are "St." in the country name. On the forgeries it is "ST."!
The dot between the words at the bottom "Leading Artists" and "John James Audubon" is offset to the right on the forgeries. It is centered on genuine stamps.

Comparison of the Saint Vincent Union Island Audubon Birds 50c Stamp Forgery Pair with a Genuine Stamp Pair


Obvious differences:
The Song Sparrow's wing is light browns on the forgeries, dark browns on genuine stamps.
The Stripes on the Spotted Grosbeak's head and the wings are shades of light brown on forgeries, They are shades of dark brown on genuine stamps.
The "c" of the 50c denomination is well spaced away from the "0" on genuine stamps. It is very close to the "0" on the forgeries.
The parentheses "( )" around the words "Spotted Grosbeak" are straighter with less curve on genuine stamps. On the forgeries they extend down below the letters whereas on genuine stamps the bottom of the parentheses is "in line" with the bottom of the letters.
The country name color bar is light red on genuine stamps. It is very pale lavender on the forgeries.
On the genuine stamps the letters are "St." in the country name. On the forgeries it is "ST."!
The dot between the words at the bottom "Leading Artists" and "John James Audubon" is offset to the right on the forgeries. It is centered on genuine stamps. On this forgery it is sitting on the "J"!

Comparison of the Saint Vincent Union Island Audubon Birds $1 Stamp Forgery Pair with a Genuine Stamp Pair


Obvious differences:
The Scarlet Tanager's wings are dark browns on the forgeries, Almost black on genuine stamps.
The wings on the Lazuli Bunting are brown and white on forgeries, They are black and white on genuine stamps.
The dollar sign "$" has the vertical bar running all the way through it on the forgeries. On genuine stamps there is only a "tab" at the top and bottom of the dollar signs.
The parentheses "( )" around the words "Black-winged Red-bird" and "Lazuli Finch" are straighter with less curve on genuine stamps. On the forgeries they extend down below the letters whereas on genuine stamps the bottom of the parentheses is "in line" with the bottom of the letters.
The country name color bar is light green on genuine stamps. It is light yellow-green on the forgeries.
On the genuine stamps the letters are "St." in the country name. On the forgeries it is "ST."!
The dot between the words at the bottom "Leading Artists" and "John James Audubon" is offset to the right on the forgeries. It is centered on genuine stamps.

Comparison of the Saint Vincent Union Island Audubon Birds $1.50 Stamp Forgery Pair with a Genuine Stamp Pair


The Sharp-chinned Hawk's wings are dark browns on the forgeries, Almost black on genuine stamps.
The tree stump the hawk is perched on is green on genuine stamps. It is almost yellow on the forgeries.
The wings on the Merlin are shades of dark brown on forgeries, They are shades of black on genuine stamps.
The Merlin's back is dark purple on genuine stamps. It is dark gray on the forgeries.
The dollar sign "$" has the vertical bar running all the way through it on the forgeries. On genuine stamps there is only a "tab" at the top and bottom of the dollar signs.
The parentheses "( )" around the words "Le Petit Caporal" are straighter with less curve on genuine stamps. On the forgeries they extend down below the letters whereas on genuine stamps the bottom of the parentheses is "in line" with the bottom of the letters.
Did you catch this one? The word "Caporal". It is misspelled on the forgery. "Capora".
This is difficult without good imaging but the country name color bar is light gray on genuine stamps. It is light blue on the forgeries.
On the genuine stamps the letters are "St." in the country name. On the forgeries it is "ST."!
The dot between the words at the bottom "Leading Artists" and "John James Audubon" is offset to the right on the forgeries. It is centered on genuine stamps.

You can see that there is a lot of differences between the two printings. I would rate this set of forgeries as a mighty blunder by the forger! Still unknowing collectors and dealers will be fooled by it.

One item that is different on this issue in regards to the forgeries is the selvage. I have found that the forger has placed the perforations running through the selvage on three sides. This makes it different than many of the sets of forgeries I have described on other pages. In most cases we have been able to see that with the forgeries the perforations do not run through the selvage on panes. With this issue it is not the case as this image shows.

The Problem

Here I image, describe and name all sellers on eBay selling sets of the Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds issue on November 24, 2016. Some I cannot show because this is only through the U.S. site looking at worldwide sellers who will ship to the U.S.. There are more that I cannot see.

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Unauthorized Reprints offered by alexunitrad on eBay

Just count the perfs....

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Unauthorized Reprints offered by avrod2011 on eBay

Just count the perfs....

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Unauthorized Reprints and an original offered by avrod2011 on eBay

Again, just count the perfs. Can you see the genuine stamp pair? Apparently this seller can't!

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Genuine Set offered by azuckuss on eBay

Just count the perfs and look at the placement of the "I".

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Unauthorized Reprints offered by beezercat56 on eBay

Just count the perfs....

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Genuine Set offered by borisdlevitin on eBay

Just count the perfs and look at the placement of the "I".

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Genuine Set offered by bort777alex on eBay

Just count the perfs and look at the placement of the "I". Colors are dulled either by bad scanner or they were exposed to light for extended time.

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Genuine Set offered by c.andy11 on eBay

Just count the perfs and look at the placement of the "I".

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Genuine Set offered by nummusphilafrance on eBay

Just count the perfs and look at the placement of the "I".

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Genuine Set offered by sabystuff on eBay

Just count the perfs and look at the placement of the "I".

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Forgery Set offered by stampbank_of_london on eBay

Just look at the placement of the "I", the $ sign the offset dots and count the perfs which match genuine issues. Even though he distorts the image you can detect them.

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Fake Inverted Frame Error Set offered by stampbank_of_london on eBay

Just look at the placement of the "I". Just remember that no "inverts" of this issue were ever produced by the Format Printers.

Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds Genuine Set offered by stampsfromicha on eBay

Just count the perfs and look at the placement of the "I".

So you can see that almost 50% of the sets offered on eBay are not genuine! That is just on eBay alone!

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. This set does not effect me at all. Only what is imaged here is what I own. 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 Saint Vincent Union Island 1985 Audubon Birds stamp forgeries 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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