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Mr. Lee3,
I apologize for my ignorance. Fortunately the counterfeit stamps being discussed are not as advanced as I thought.
Regarding to counterfeit stamps (not altered stamps), ordinary collectors wanted an interesting addition to their albums; specialists needed the counterfeit for their referenced libraries; non-collectors considered it an unusual oddity. Whatever the reasons, interests never died. The above picture depicts a genuine sc#250 type I Washington two cent stamp (there are type I, II, and III) and its counterfeit. These pictures are copied from the web since I wish not to get into trouble. The most commonly known method to distinguish such stamp from the real one is by its relatively larger size. This counterfeit stamp was so hot that there are reports of using stretched genuine stamps (using water) to fool buyers. Today such item no longer appears on US auction houses due to counterfeit stamps are illegal to possess, transfer or for sale. Private transactions still exists though.
A recent report, concerning fake 44c stamps, noted that the USPS suffered an annual loss of over $134 million due to counterfeits. This is why if you get caught making fake stamps, uncle Sam would like to see you in prison for 20 years.
Such case is unlikely to happen in Taiwan due to its relatively small market size. However, fakes of China stamps are very common here in US.
I personally dislike any of the counterfeit activities since they bring destructions to the collector’s world. I understand lots of people avoid such discussion either they don’t want to get into arguments or they simply don’t buy it. If the collectors don’t get their act together to protect the so-called “king’s hobby”, then having fun of collecting may be history.
[ 此帖被ming8686在2014-03-02 06:18重新編輯 ]