Illegal Stamp Issues as Defined by the WADP

Fight Against the Illegal Stamp Issues

WORLD ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHILATELY (WADP)

General Assembly - Second meeting – 6 October 2000

II A Classification of Fraudulent Issues

5 Fraudulent issues are produced to defraud the post office, the collector and sometimes both. It must be said that very occasionally they are produced for amusement and in such cases are marked False or Faux in the reverse. The list below delineates the major groups of fraudulent issues and some of the details are discussed later.

A Forgeries of legitimately issued stamps to defraud the post office.

B Forgeries of legitimately issued stamps to defraud the collector (and occasionally the post office).

C Phantom stamps from non-existent territories.

D Illegal issues for territories which are not entitled to issue stamps.

E Unauthorised issues produced under a lapsed contract or a disputed contract.

F Unauthorised issues produced in the name of a region not under the control of the central government and of no postal validity even in a local sense.

G False stamps produced by fraudsters in the name of an issuing authority with the intent to defraud collectors (and incidentally the postal administration).

H Varieties of legally issued stamps, stolen or leaked from archives, printers designers, etc. (note: these can come on the market legitimately eg if a printer ceases business the printers archive is commonly sold on the philatelic market).

I "Unethical" issues legally produced by postal administrations, but clearly an abuse of good philatelic practice.

III Detailed Comments on the Classes of Fraudulent Issues

D Illegal issues for territories which are not entitled to issue stamps

16 This is the current scourge of the philatelic industry. It has prospered on the ignorance of ‘collectors’ who are aware of a territory bearing a certain name but which is just the name of a region of a larger country (which supplies the postal service). These issues are particularly prevalent in respect of regions of the Russian Federation, the CIS states and parts of former Yugoslavia. The so-called "stamps" being issued are equivalent to ‘postage stamps’ being issued for an English county or an American state!

19 The problem requires concerted action by all in the philatelic industry. Postal administrations should be able to prosecute at every opportunity. Organised philately should ensure that such material is not sold at their events. The trade should be able to expel members who deliberately deal in such material where laws are being broken. The philatelic journalists must keep collectors informed that such issues are rubbish and not worth the paper they are printed on.

G False stamps produced by fraudsters in the name of an issuing authority with the intent to defraud collectors (and incidentally the postal administration)

24 There are more and more instances of stamps coming onto the market bearing the name of a UPU member country without the knowledge or approval of the country concerned. These are often produced under a legitimate production agreement, but without the express approval or knowledge of the issuing authority. Annex 1 contains a list of postal administrations which have denounced such issues through the UPU circular distribution system over the past three years. At the request of the philatelic partners, such circulars are being regularly sent to the philatelic press, stamp catalogue editors and other interested parties in the philatelic industry.

The above excerpts were published with the approval of the WADP. More information about the illegal issues can be obtained from the IB of the UPU, Mrs. Maria Libera.