Counterfeit and Illegal Stamps
These stamps have been determined to be counterfeit, illegal, fake, or otherwise unauthorized. They are completely lacking in monetary and collective value. They detract from the field of philately in that they waste the time and money of legitimate hobbyists. They profit only liars, cheats, thieves, and scoundrels instead of duly-authorized postal agencies.
Should you have reason to believe any of the below stamps are legitimate, please e-mail me immediately so I may research the issue further.
Chad
2008
I found these stamps for sale on
Looking at the stamps closely, you may notice the number 46664 ("Four double-six six four") on them. This is Nelson Mandea's prisoner number from his earlier years. He has reclaimed this "name" by naming his AIDS campaign after it
As with all of my fake stamp listings, should I ever find evidence to the contrary that these are real then I will immediately reconsider the matter. Until then, you are well advised to avoid these stamps like the plague.
Dagestan
2006
The Russian governement would like it to be known that these stamps from the Republic of Dagestan are illegally produced. There is no Dagestan postal union so these stamps are worthless and are not usable at stamp exhibitions. A stamp from Dagestan is the equivalent of a Colorado stamp, or a stamp from the Postal Union of Newfoundland.
Eritrea
2003
It doesn't take a genius to tell that a poor African country next to Somalia and Ethiopia doesn't issue stamps like these. The entire sheet is in amazingly poor taste. Or is it?
All six of the firefighter's pictures were taken from a calendar called "The Firehouse Hunks" published after the September 11 attacks. The top three of the six pictured firefighters died on September 11 at the World Trade Center. Although the photos had been taken beforehand the calendar was going to be scrapped in light of the tragedy. The families of the firefighters decided to go on ahead and release the calendar. The calendar raises an estimated $250k annually for firefighters in NYC and the families wanted that to go forward.
Tom Foley, in the upper-right photo, was voted number ten in People Magazine's 100 most elgible bachelors of 2002. Looking at him it's easy to see why.
Why there are red ribbons on these stamps is something of a mystery. I did a web search looking for ribbons associated with September 11 and found the vast majority were red, white, and blue. Only one was red and that was part of a memorial effort in Arizona. Perhaps the designers used red to symbolize firefighting? The reason they were placed on the top three pictures is almost certainly because only the three firefighters on the top died on September 11. It's doubtful that the graphic designers would have stuck an AIDS ribbon on this sheet, but for whatever reason the ribbons give the appearance that they did. So while it's doubtful this issue is AIDS-related, I'll list this stamp here both because it's an interesting story and to let collectors make their own judgements.
Either way, keep in mind these are a counterfeit issue and no proceeds benefit the postal service of Eritrea or the firefighters of New York. A UPU circular exists if you want proof that they're fake.
Niger
1997
For an 11 year-old stamp from an impoverished African nation this Niger stamp sure gets around. It can be found easily from multiple sites on the Internet. Unfortunately, the Universal Postal Union has put out a circular regarding fake Niger stamps on behalf of the government of Niger. Oddly, a second UPU circular mentions something about a Princess Diana AIDS-related overprint. I don't see an overprint on this stamp though. Could this stamp have been re-overprinted and the overprint is what is counterfit?
Either way, for a long time I advertised this stamp as being Niger 944. After a careful look at Scott I have decided this is not the case. You may need to update your records on this point.
According to a third UPU circular, this stamp can come in six valuations. Or at least that's how it sounds. Five minutes on Google and I found numerous stamps from this series but they were different images of Princess Diana. Only this stamp has anything to do with AIDS.
1 miniature sheet with 9 stamps at 180 F
1 miniature sheet with 9 stamps at 180 F
1 block with 1 stamp at 2000 F
1 block with 1 stamp at 1500 F + 250 F (surcharge)
1 block with 1 stamp at 4000 F
1 block with 1 stamp at 4000 F
