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Collectable demons

 

The Faroe Islands are a Danish territory in the North Sea, where the population speaks its own distinctive language. When not busy slaughtering pilot whales or banning the film "The Da Vinci Code", they apparently put demonic entities on their postage stamps?! 

Which makes me wonder why they banned the Dan Brown movie, but whatever. Karl Shuker has the story below. 

Crypto-Philately in the Faroes 

Made in Manama

Another forgotten Amazon review. 

I have some of these! Not exactly a forgery, but not exactly “real” either. Manama is the name of Bahrain´s capital, but this is a *different* Manama, a small dependency of Ajman, one of the United Arab Emirates. Very small, actually. Essentially, Manama is just a village with an even smaller post office. (A photo of said post office can be found at Wiki. Or maybe a later one, since it looks pretty modern!) 

The enterprising philatelist Finbar Kenny (made in the USA) had struck a deal with Ajman and produced a large number of stamps for the collectors´ market with all the usual irrelevant motives showing European art, space travel, dinosaurs, winter sports and so on. Good for your private collection of borderline “cinderellas” (or was it “dunes”).

State of Cinderella

A review of fake stamps sold by Amazon. 

I have done some research on the web. It seems that State of Oman stamps are valid if issued before June 1972. Thus, the stamps here (beautiful as they are) are invalid issues, since they are clearly marked *August* 1972. Apparently, they were printed by Clive Feigenbaum, who also issued “stamps” for Nagaland and the almost uninhabited islet Staffa in the UK. I actually have some Staffa “stamps” myself, and they *were* used (after a fashion) from the island's only mailbox.

I never heard of Feigenbaum's Omani cinderellas before, however. The State of Oman (or Imamate of Oman) was an actual state until 1959, when the neighboring Sultanate of Muscat and Oman (with British support) conquered it and overthrew its last ruling imam. And yes, the war was about oil. The imam was nevertheless recognized as the legitimate ruler by most Arab nations until 1970-71. They also recognized the exile government's stamps. After the effective dissolution of the exile government structures, it also ceased issuing stamps.

While the stamps shown here are thus fake, some people do collect Feigenbaum's cinderellas (I did it myself during my sadly misspent childhood), so I will nevertheless give this sheet five stars!

An Afghan in Abakan

Hmmm…A stamp from “Hakasia”, presumably Khakassia, a republic in the vast Russian Federation. And then, maybe not, since both the Russian and Khakas languages use the Cyrillic alphabet. Yet, on this stamp, the Latin alphabet is used. 

He he, if you ask me, this stamp is as bogus as the king of Syldavia or the mayor of Duckburg. But pssst…I don't really mind, since I loved bogus stamps during my short “philatelist period” as a kid. 

Besides, I think Afghan hounds are pretty cool! So I will give this fake made in southern Serbia five stars!

Scheduled castes and Afghan guerrillas

As a kid, me and my best friend collected stamps. We cherished bogus stamps in particular. Unfortunately, my friend got all the Nagaland stamps. I'm still jealous! I think I still have a few of those magnificent bird stamps from Staffa, though. Somewhere. 

Apparently, one Clive Feigenbaum was behind all these schemes. Good ol' Clivey is described as a "colourful British businessman" by Wikipedia. No argument there. I take it the stamp at this product page comes straight from Feigenbaum's collection? Nagaland is a real place in India, but I doubt it issues its own stamps, although I'm sure the local armed separatists might be interested in the profits from Clive's colourful business operations... 

Thus, we're dealing with another beautiful forgery. And, it seems, another Afghan Hound!

Beautiful and bogus

Yet another review of a fake postage stamp from Russia...

Another beautiful but probably bogus stamp showing an Afghan Hound, this time from the Republic of Kalmykia. These stamps are explicitly said to be “unofficial” on other sites, and sometimes even more explicitly condemned as “illegal”.

Personally, I don't necessarily mind gorgeous fakes, as long as people know what they are buying. In this case, the “unofficial” character of the stamp is easily spotted, since (of course) Kalmykia doesn't spell its name in English, and doesn't even use the Latin alphabet! The symbol on the stamp is that of scouting, not Kalmykia (which uses a different flower on its flag).

Perfect for philatelists with a weird sense of humour, or Afghan Hound super-afecionados. Therefore, five stars despite probably being printed in somebody's back yard in Nagaland…

An Afghan in Monte Carlo

Afghan Hounds have a classy, aristocratic reputation. This is the dog of choice of celebrities and zillionaires. It's therefore fitting that Monaco has issued a stamp showing this king of dog breeds. Let's be honest, Monaco isn't a real nation, it's more like a floating casino overseen by an American businessman who pretends to be prince. Of course, Afghan Hounds are completely impossible to really tame, so I suppose the poor servants of the rich folk down Monte Carlo has to take them out for a stroll. The rich owners can't cope with them themselves. I wonder how many stray Afghans are running around on the beaches of the French Riviera, ha ha. Somehow, it seems fitting that this independent-minded hound also has a strange "hippie" image...

Don't get stuck at Staffa

Ah, this brings back fond memories. A Staffa postage stamp! In elementary school, me and my best friend collected stamps. Some of these came our way. At sale in the local supermarket, LOL. We had never heard of Staffa before, so we checked up the place in my father's *very* detailed super-world atlas. Sure enough, we found Staffa. It's a small cliff just off the coast of Scotland?! Naturally, we drew the conclusion that the stamps (which showed birds) were bogus, fake and forged. And yes, we loved every minute of it. 

Apparently, these stamps were produce by a colourful British businessman, one Clive Feigenbaum. They weren't *completely* bogus, though. The small island is uninhabited (except by sea birds), but apparently visiting tourists could use a mail box on the island. The owner of the island gave Feigenbaum permission to print "stamps", which were ostensibly valid at this particular mail box! A tourist attraction, no doubt. 

If this is one of the pseudo-genuine Feigenbaum stamps, or an even later forgery-of-the-forgery, I honestly don't know. The Basset hound looks cute, though.

From Tuva with love

And now, the real story. Tuva isn't an independent state, but a "republic" within the Russian Federation, i.e. it's still part of Russia. Tuva was nominally independent 1926-44, but then it was Communist. Bogus postage stamps from Tuva are a virtual growth industry, and even have their own entry at Wikipedia! 

Apparently, some ostensible "Tuva stamps" show unlikely Tuvan subjects such as Bart Simpson and the Teletubbies. My guess is that Airedale Terriers are pretty unlikely inhabitants of a Russian-Mongolian border region, as well. But hey, I don't mind. 

I think bogus stamps are great fun, as long as you know what you're getting, and the price isn't too extortionate. I used to buy "stamps" like these at the local supermarket as a kid! Therefore, I give this product (probably made in Britain) five stars anyway. But don't tell me I didn't warn you.

A strange trade

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the international market has been virtually flooded by bogus stamps from various non-existent “independent states” in the ex-Soviet area. Most of them, apparently, are really printed in Britain. Often, the bogus issue is easy to spot, with the name of the “independent republic” spelled out in Latin letters, rather than Cyrillic. The motives on the stamps are often unrelated to the places they are supposedly from. Thus, the small Russian-Mongolian border region of Tuva has supposedly issued stamps showing African giraffes, Bart Simpson or Sylvester Stallone!

In order to give the bogus stamps an air of authenticity, they are often shipped to the region of their supposed origin, where underpaid post clerks wanting to earn some extra money applies the correct postmarks to the product, and sometimes even envelopes with fictitious addresses. I wouldn't be too surprised if the stamp shown on this product page is also of that character.

Do I mind? Well, maybe a little bit, but not awfully much. As a kid, I was actually actively looking for bogus stamps, usually Clive Feigenbaum's Nagaland sets. Not to mention Staffa! But sure, if you are a collector (or the Tuvan official responsible for the authenticated gift shops), you might find this strange trade somewhat irritating…

Vladimir Putin sez no

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the international market was flooded by postage stamps supposedly issued by various ex-Soviet regions. These stamps are bogus. The Russian Federation has even issued official statements pointing out that only centrally produced Russian stamps are valid. The stamps from Sakhalin Island are no exception. Note the text in English!

By all means, buy these stamps if you like Bearded Collies or weird stamps (I think both phenomena are pretty cool myself), but note that you probably can't sell them to a professional collector of real Russian stamps, should you be able to find one in your hometown.

Personally, I'm fond of the almost-bogus stamps from Staffa, a small islet off the Scottish coast mostly inhabited by sea birds (the goats were removed a couple of years ago), or the super-bogus Nagaland postage stamps, showing European Baroque art (yeah, like the average Naga guerrilla warrior gives a damn).

Who knows, maybe even this series of dog-related "Sakhalin postage stamps" will bring back some fond memories when you're 50.

If not, you can always procure a real Bearded Collie.

A bogus basset?

Originally posted on Amazon´s site.

LOL, Amazing Amazon sells almost everything. This is supposedly a postage stamp from Sakhalin, the elongated island off the Russian coast in the North Pacific. Except that it isn't. The official postal authorities of the Russian Federation have issued several statements, condemning these and other stamps as “illegal”. They are not approved, and probably not even printed on Russian soil. No Russian region has the right to issue stamps of its own. In this particular case, the bogus quality of the stamp is obvious. Note the text…in English, with Latin letters!

That being said, I really don't care. There is an enormous grey zone between “Absolutely Serious & Officially Approved Postage Stamps” and “Forgery that can land you in the slammer”. Whoever is producing this adorable fakes with basset hounds on them, is probably inspired by the large amount of nations that print (officially, mind you) never-ending series of stamps that aren't actually used on letters, but are sold straight to collectors…

The republic of nowhere

Another Rottweiler on a fake Russian stamp...

The real life "Koriakia" (Koryaksky Okrug) is an administrative region of Kamchatka in Eastern Russia. It doesn't issue any postage stamps. All sets of stamps from "Koriakia" are bogus and considered illegal by Russian postal authorities (and, I suppose, the secret police).

In this case, the bogus nature of the stamp is pretty easy to spot: the name of the region is given in English, the name is erroneous even in translation, and the symbol in the lower right-hand corner is actually that of scouting, presumably included to give the stamp an "international" flair.

I don't mind bogus or half-bogus stamps - they are pretty interesting, in their own kind of way - but people should at least know what they are getting. Don't try to sell this to a serious collector of Russian stamps! May the rottweiler eat everyone who disagrees...

The vanguard of a new existence?

What a shame Amazon purged me cuz algorithm, who now will write initiated reviews like this one, I wonder? 

An old and venerable postage stamp from Czechoslovakia when the country was still a "socialist republic". The stamp celebrates the 55th anniversary of the founding of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. The abbreviation "KSC" stands for the party. The almost identical abbreviation "KCS" means Czechoslovak koruna, the local currency!

The first quote is from Bohumir Smeral, one of the founders of the KSC (the party) in 1921. It reads: "We are not simply a political party. We are the vanguard of a new existence". The second quote is from Gustav Husak, Czechoslovak Communist leader in 1976 when the stamp was issued. It's less interesting and simply babbles on about the leading role of the party within the working class, its historical mission, etc.

The leafs in the background are presumably linden leafs, also seen in the flag of the Czechoslovak president, another office occupied by "comrade" Husak at the time.

Sometimes my knowledge of obscure stuff is downright scary!

The dung heap of history

A review of a peculiar product on sale from Amazon. 

A bizarre envelope celebrating Stalinist leader Klement Gottwald, the organizer of the Prague coup and the first Communist president of Czechoslovakia. He also orchestrated the notorious show trial against Rudolf Slansky, Artur London and other “Titoists” or “Zionists”, on direct orders from Joe in Moscow. For “Zionist”, read Jew – many of those purged were Jewish. There is some irony in this. Three years earlier, the Soviet bloc had supported Israel against the British-appended Arab states during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948! Well, thank you, comrades… The envelope has a text in Slovak, which claims that the name of Gottwald will live forever more (no less) in the hearts, minds and deeds of the Czechoslovak working people??!! I'm sorry, but I can only give this stuff one star, although I'm sure the product might interest some collectors.

Our friend the Rottweiler

A review of a fake postage stamp sold by Amazon. Many fakes from Russia shows Rotweilers (and bassets), for whatever quirky reason. 

Ah, here's our friend the rottweiler again. This “stamp” is supposedly from the Republic of North Ossetia, a small region in the Russian Federation, immediately to the north of…well, South Ossetia. This time, the mysterious printer at least got the Cyrillic alphabet straight. Unfortunately, he didn't get the name of the place *exactly* right. It should be “Respublika Severnaia Osetia-Alania”. The “Alania” is missing. And, of course, it *is* suspicious that so many stamps supposedly hailing from the remotest corners of the ex-USSR show exactly the same dog breeds: rots, Airdale terriers, bassets, even more bassets, etc.

The postal authorities of Russia have issued several statements, dutifully carried by serious philately websites, condemning these and other issues as illegal. No region of Russia has the right to print its own stamps. Thus, this stamp is fake! By all means, buy it if you like rottweilers or haywire philately, but don't try to sell it to a serious collector…

Send this rottweiler to Suchumi

My review of fake postage stamps on sale from Amazon. So that´s OK, but "biased reviews" are a no-no? LOL!

Abkhazia is a small republic at the Russian-Georgian border. It's “independence” has only been recognized by Russia and a few Russian allies. Most international observers consider it a Russian protectorate. In 1992-93, Abkhazia (then part of Georgia) was the scene of a brutal civil war between Georgians and the Abkhaz, the latter backed by Russia. The Georgian president Eduard Shevarnadze was trapped in Abkhazia's capital Suchumi, but narrowly escaped before the city fell to the rebels and their Russian allies. The conflict is still unresolved, being just one of many ethnic conflicts in this volatile region. The Russian ski resort of Sochi, where the next Winter Olympic Games are about to be held, is just a stone throw away…

While these tragic events were unfolding, the international market was flooded by postage stamps supposedly from Abkhazia. While some of these stamps may have been genuine and actually used at rebel-controlled territory, most are probably bogus. What are we to make of a pair of “Abkhaz” stamps lampooning Marx and Lenin in the form of Groucho Marx and John Lennon? My guess is that the stamp showed here is also of questionable provenance, spelling the name “Abkhazia” with Latin letters, and including the name of the breakaway republic in Russian, but not in Abkhaz! And yes, the stamp shows a Rottweiler. So do many other stamps supposedly hailing from obscure regions of the ex-Soviet Union. I wouldn't be too surprised if it’s the same dog on all of them...

By all means, buy this product if you're interested in fringe philately, but I don't think you can sell it to a serious collector. Nor use it in Suchumi, in the case you should become trapped there next time the ethnic tensions flare up. A real Rottweiler might come in handier.

Audubon, come forth!

A review of US postage stamps showing Audubon´s portrait. 

Audubon was a famous American painter of birds. Unfortunately, he was also a rather trigger-happy hunter of same birds. Perhaps if our scientists can bring Audubon back to life, we might finally get rid of all those starlings and house sparrows that make our front lawns unsafe for the really cool birds? Don't count on it, though. Knowing this guy, he'd probably start shooting the purple martins first of all! After all, they look better in a scrapbook…

Watergate, anyone?

Reminds me of a joke in "Beverly Hills Cop", starring Eddie Murphy. "Ladies and gentlemen, here's Gerald Ford! We're so pleased to have you here, Mr. Ford." Seriously, who would buy a stamp showing a bunch of mallards signed by Gerald Ford??!! Now, a stamp showing a buck signed by Harry S. Truman might be something. Or a stamp showing a Bigfoot signed by Teddy Roosevelt. Or even a stamp showing a teddy bear signed by the same guy. But Ford?! Geezus, he was *Nixon's* VP, for Christ's sake! Even worse (if you're GOP-ish), he lost the elections to...Jimmy Carter.