Stamps under investigation
The below stamps need to be investigated further. Should you have a desire to play detective, feel free to work on one of these issues and send me your findings.
Belgium, 2006
Scott 2161
Under investigation: This stamp pictures the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp. The institute does research AIDS and has a center for the study of HIV and STDs, but does it have any other connection? This stamp is probably not worth including on the list, but perhaps someone can dig up a special connection between the institute and AIDS. The GLHSC has it on their list, hence why I want to investigate it.
Guinea-Bissau, 2007
Scott number unknown
Under investigation: I am 98% convinced this is counterfeit but keep the possibilty open that I am wrong. This stamp appeared on eBay about five months ago from a known dealer of fake stamps. Since then it has shown up on many dealers, particularly those who deal with counterfeit stamps, but also a few legitimate ones. This could just be an example of excess (but legal) stampage, as a whole mess of souvenir sheets with the same design were released for Guine-Bissau around the same time. But with Princess Diana, the Pope, the Red Cross, and a model T on the souvenir sheet, I remain extremely skeptical. This stamp was obviously designed collectors without any intention of being used locally, but the question of its legitimacy remains unanswered.
The Scott guide does not list Guinea-Bissau entries after 2000.
Namibia, 1998
Scott number unknown
Under investigation: I first learned of this stamp on eBay in late October, 2008. It was being advertised as an AIDS stamp, although there is no direct indication that it is. It certainly could be, but then again it could be a stamp about endangered wildlife in Namibia. Or both for that matter.
The writing in the lower-left corner says "Namibian Stamp Awareness Programme". I cannot read the writing in the lower-right corner. I bought this stamp because it was inexpensive, so we will know a bit more when it arrives.
Sao Tome and Principe (St. Thomas), 2004
Scott number unknown
Under investigation: I have no evidence to suggest this stamp is counterfeit, but my "spider senses" are tingling. This stamp is widely available. Too available. It's way more common than most African stamps are, so I'm thinking something may be up with this one.
Update: This issue is not in the 2008 Scott guide.
Update: More similar stamps from Sao Tome were released in 2008. Again, no confirmation these are valid postage.
Considering the absolute mess with the Sao Tome 2006 issue, we may never know the exact legal status on this one.
Sao Tome and Principe (St. Thomas), 2005
Scott number unknown
Under investigation: I have found this stamp available on eBay by two vendors, both of which are affiliated with counterfeit stamps. The first vendor deals in 99.9% counterfeit stuff. The second in about 50%. So is this counterfit? I'm not sure. It's part of a set of stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of Europa. The stamps are not particular sensational or collectable, so I'm not sure why a counterfeiter would bother creating them. The jury is truly out on this one.
Okay, found a bit more on this one. The printer of the stamps is Marino Montero International in the UK. They host a website about Sao Tome stamps claiming they are official and showing a reported contract between their company and the Sao Tome government. Unfortunately, the contracts are in Portuguese and I don't understand a word of them.
The website also contains some letters supposedly from the Sao Tome government to the various stamp guide companies stating that Marino-Montero is the official stamp printer of Sao Tome. If the Scott guide decides to accept their word for it, then that will probably be good enough for me. Now I just need to get to a library to check the latest Scott guide.
Update: This issue is not listed in the 2008 Scott guide. Will have to wait for 2009.
Another update: Stamp Scandal, semi-coherent set of rantings about corruption in the stamp industry, claims these are illegal. (Hint: It's in the midst of a long rant on Mozambique Europa stamps. There's a single paragraph in which he mentions these are allegedly illegal.) The website isn't very credible though, as it's semi-coherent at best and at one point the webmaster mentions having to take the down down for a while because thugs from the "Lithuanian Mafia" were after him.
Frankly, I doubt we'll ever know if these stamps are counterfeit or not. It semes to be one of those he said, she said kind of issues. Neither website is particularly credible. Montero's website features contracts, but they're not in English and even a legal contract doesn't mean he didn't violate the terms of the agreement (say, by printing more than the contracted number of sheets). Since Montero allegedly dealt with illegal stamps in the past, it's entirely possible he did just that. On the flipside, we've got a set of rantings mentioning they are illegal. Lord only knows what's up here.
Either way, they don't appear to be particularly legit. If they were, they'd be in the hands of mainstream dealers. Instead, they're being dealt by folks who are semi-credible at best. If you aren't the sort that just "must" have this stamp, you might be well to pass it by.
South Africa, 1998
Scott number unknown
Under investigation: This is a booklet of 10 South African stamps released on January 16, 1998. I do not know what the stamps look like, but on the cover of the booklet there is text about AIDS. The Michel number is 1115.
What Scott number is this? What does the cover look like? What is the catalog numbers of the inside stamps and are they AIDS related? Any answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated.