PNG stamps - Forgeries, fakes and reproductions 1897+
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| 1928 £1 Huts, Angelo Panelli forgery |
Collecting the stamps of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and its British, Australian and German forerunners has traditionally been popular amongst the international philatelic community, though has waned somewhat in recent years due to the common practice by stamp issuing authorities of flooding and confusing the market through the use of overprints, personalised stamps, postal numismatic materials and an assortment of philatelic and pseudo-philatelic products. The days of collecting a new stamp or stamp series three or four times a year, along with a humble first day cover, are long gone. Along the way, forgeries, fakes and reproductions (FFRs) have appeared, with recent advances in reproductive technologies and artificial aging techniques making the task that much easier. This market flooding and high end forgery issues are, in combination, greatly detrimental to the hobby of stamp collecting and a burden for legitimate dealers. For this reason, the Australasian philatelic discussion board website Stampboards has, since 2009, had a specific area entitled Philatelic & Stamp Postal Forgeries - do you have any? where forgeries are highlighted, including those relating to Papua New Guinea.
A forgery is a stamp, postmark and/or cover reproduction, plus supportive materials, which aims to deceive collectors who assume they are purchasing a genuine, original product. A fake is basically the same as a forgery. Forgeries have been around since stamps were first issued, back in the middle of the nineteenth century. The international Stamp Forgeries website is testament to this, as is the abbreviated reference list below regarding known PNG forgeries. As a result, collecting societies around the world have put in place systems whereby panels of experts, or individual experts, can issue statements and certificates providing historical context and provenance to philatelic items, thereby identifying them as original and supporting what they are claimed to be. Collectors in turn purchase items with the assurance that they are receiving a genuine product of real value to them and to the market.
It was often the case that a great deal of care was taken in the production of forgeries, and they appeared, as a result, in very limited numbers. The most famous in the history of PNG is the 1928 Angelo Panelli forgery of a 1925 Territory of New Guinea 1925 £1 Huts stamp, illustrated at the head of this article. It is ironic that forgeries such as this are now considered collectable, with the Panelli retailing in 2022 for around Aus$300. The famous Maryland Forgeries of 2002 were marked and sold as such, and offered to collectors in special presentation folders. The clear indication on the rear of the stamp that it is a forgery ensures that any subsequent purchase is aware of its true status.
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| 2002 'Maryland' forgery of 1935 £2 Bulolo Goldfields. |
More recently, there has been a proliferation of reproductions of varying quality and originality, made available through online sales sites such as eBay. They are, theoretically, presented as such to the buyer and at a greatly reduced price compared to the rare stamps and/or covers they reproduce, though they also produce 'rare' stamps that never actually existed! When a reproduction is sold without the necessary notification of its true status, it enters the realm of true forgery and fake. The author has noted the appearance of such items on eBay. One seller will present the item as a reproduction, whilst another, at the same time, will be mute in this regard. Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately, FFRs are usually limited to rare stamps, for that is the area in which most profit can be made, and the area in which it is perhaps easiest to deceive collectors, many of whom are happy to have an FFR in their collection as a space filler, especially when the genuine item is worth thousands of dollars and beyond their reach. Postmarks and covers are also subjects for fakery, with first day covers and aerial mail items popular in this regard.
Any member of the Australia-based online discussion group Stampboards would be aware of the frequent notices and discussions around forgeries and fakes relating to Papua New Guinea and Australasia in general, especially by the group administrator and stamp dealer Glen Stephens, who frequently raises the issue. A good example is a discussion around forged BNG (British New Guinea) postmarks. The current blog is therefore presented as a brief listing of some items and issues known to this author, who only recent came to collecting PNG philatelic materials, with a focus on covers. For example, an eBay seller based in Taiwan and using the handle scottvisnjic, during December 2022 offered a variety of international rare stamp reproductions for sale, include a number related to PNG. The listings on eBay identified the stamps as reproductions, or replicas, and they were all marked as such on the back in red ink. Their quality appeared relatively low, judging by the scans presented on the sale site. These and other known FFRs are listed below in chronological order according to issue date for the genuine stamp. Forging date is also given, where known.
PNG - Forgeries, fakes & reproductions
* 1897 - Deutsch Neu Guinea (German New Guinea), MNH (Mint never hinged), inverted overprint, 25 pfennig (block of 4). Listed on eBay, December 2022, as Gummed Reproduction Stamp, US$8.80. Printed circa 2022. Other stamps in the series were subject to forgery in the past. Reference: Kock - 1897–99, German New Guinea, 3–50pf, Michel 1–6 Scott 1–6, Bohne, Dorn 78, Fournier A 25–6 155 164, P p, Serrane I 29 II 202 64, Wondelgem 11.
* 1900-01 - Deutsch Neu Guinea, Yacht, 5 pfennig. Forged used stamp. Note the absence of the dash between Neu Guinea, which is present on the genuine stamp.
* 1901-05 - British New Guinea, Lakatoi, 2/6. Forgery by Jean de Sperati. The outer frame of a low value stamp was removed leaving the black central design. Sperati then printed the new outer frame on the old stamp and also forged a BNG postmark to go over the top. Only a few copies are known. Refer here for a detailed discussion by Glen Stephens. Reference: Kock - 1901, British New Guinea, 2/6, Michel 8, Scott 8, Serrane II 210, Sperati 59.
* 1906–7, British New Guinea, Lakatois, ½d – 2/6. Reference: Kock - Michel 9–16 17–24, Scott 11–18 19–26, Serrane II 210.
* 1907-30 - British New Guinea & Papua, Lakatois, error overprints, 6d, 1/- and 2/6 (7). Listed on eBay, December 2022, as Gummed Reproduction Stamps, US$11. Reproductions in blocks of four of the inverted plane air mail stamp are also available. Printed circa 2022.
* 1910s - Deutsch Neu Guinea, forged pre-stamped postcards, 5 pfennig & 10 pfennig (4). Illustrated in Forged Stamps of German New Guinea.
* 1914 - Deutsch Neu Guinea, Unissued Deutsch-Engliche Luftschiff (German-English Airship) Expedition set (6). Listed on eBay, December 2022, as Reproduction Stamps, US$16.50. Printed circa 2022.
* 1914 - Deutsch Neu Guinea, Yacht, 25 pfennig. Forged postmark.
* 1914 - Deutsch Neu Guinea, Yacht, 3 pfennig. British Occupation, G.R.I. 1d. overprint. Forgery.
* 1914 - Deutsch Neu Guinea, British Occupation, Yacht set (16). G.R.I. overprint on forged stamps with missing dash between NeuGuinea on smaller stamps. Discussed on Stampboards here. c.f. Reference: Kock - 1914 German New Guinea, overprinted 1d –8d, Michel 1–11, Scott 1–11 16–26, Bohne, Bynof-Smith I 110.
* 1915 - North West Pacific Islands, KGV 1d Overprint. One on the left with a partial perfin overprint is listed as a forgery done in 1928. Forgeries from 1918 are also known. c.f. Reference: Kock - 1915–22 North West Pacific Islands, KGV (All issues), Michel 1–38, Scott 1–46, Aretz III 55, Serrane II 191.
* 1925 - Territory of New Guinea, Huts, £1. Listed as MNH Angelo Panelli forgery, US$330. Reference: Kock - 1925–8 Territory of New Guinea, Hut £1, Michel 51, Scott 13, Bynof-Smith I 112.
* 1929-30 - Reference: Kock, Territory of New Guinea 3d, 3d, 6d 1/- Airmail, Michel 69 70–2, Scott C1 2–4, Gee-Ma 11.
* 1931 - Territory of New Guinea, 9d Huts Airmail. Forged postmark, by Madame Joseph.
* 1932 - Papua, Lakatoi, Specimen Overprints, 9d and 1/3. Offered for sale on eBay, July 2010. Declared forgeries. Discussed on Stampboards, with comparisons between genuine examples and the suggested forged stamps. Printed circa 2010.
* 1932-5 - Reference: Kock,Territory of New Guinea Airmail, £1, Michel 2 Scott 5, Michel 122–4, Scott C43–5, Bynof-Smith I 112, Newall 209.
* 1939 - Territory of New Guinea, Huts, 5/-, 10/- and £1. Listed on eBay, December 2022, as 'High Values Set' Gummed Reproduction Stamps, US$8.80. List on site as Stamp Duty, but not shown as such. Printed circa 2022.
* 1935 - Territory of New Guinea, Bulolo Goldfields, £1, £2 & £5. Angelo Panelli forgeries.
* 1935 - Territory of New Guinea, Bulolo Goldfields £2 and £5. Maryland forgeries from 2002. Usually printed on paper marked Forgery on the back and with a descriptive presentation card. See also £2 reproduced in discussion text above. Reference: GB & Empire Stamps, with copies for sale during December 2022 at UK£14.30 each.
* 1939 - Territory of New Guinea, Bulolo Goldfields £2 and £5. Listed on eBay, December 2022, as MNH Gummed Reproductions Stamps, US$6.60. Reproductions in blocks of four are also available. Printed circa 2022.
* 1942-3 - Territory of New Guinea, Japanese Occupation overprints, 1931 Undated Bird of Paradise set (16) and 1939 Bulolo Goldfields set (16). Listed on eBay, December 2022, as Gummed Reproduction Stamps, US$39.60 for each set. Printed circa 2022.
* 1949-1952 - Australian Robes £1 overprinted with the words: TERRITORY OF PAPUA AND NEW GUINEA / STAMP DUTY. Forgery.
* 1952 - Papua New Guinea, £1 Fisherman. Low quality forgery.
* 1960 - Papua New Guinea, Postage Due Errors,1/2d, 6 1/2d and 7 1/2d (9). Listed on eBay, December 2022, as MNH Reproduction Stamps, US$19.80. Printed circa 2022.
* 1988 - Headdress, Stamp Duty overprint, 10t on 30t. Suggested forgery in 2007 Stampboards discussion, due to low quality and variations in the overprinting.
References
Aretz, Frank, Know Your Stamps, Toronto 1941.
Barefoot, John, Forgery & Reprint Guide, York 1983–87. Volumes: 1 Great Britain, 2 Alsace & Lorraine, 3 Armenia 1922 Pictorials, 4 Armenia 1923 Pictorials, 5–6 Samoa Express, 7–8 D.D.S.G. (Danube Steamship Co.), 9 Latvia 1, 10 Latvia 2 - Airmails, 11 Azerbaijan, 12 Portuguese Colonies, 13 Romania 1906 Charity Issues, 14 Suez Canal, 15 Poland Air-mails, 16 Western Army Eagles (Russia), 17–18 Upper Silesia Plebiscite Issues, 19 Heligoland reprints, 20 Western Australia.
Bohne, Dr. Werner M., editor, Reference Manual of Forgeries, The Germany Philatelic Society, Arnold MD, 1975+.
Bynof-Smith, H., Forged Postage Stamps, Sydney. Volume I The British Empire (1990), II The Americas excluding British Empire (1991), III Africa and Asia (1992), IV Europe and Colonies, Albania to Greece (1993), V Europe and Colonies, Hungary to Ukraine (1993).
Fournier, François, References to stamps, overprints and surcharges and postmarks pictured in The Album or mentioned in this forger‘s Price-List, 1914, reprinted 1920.
Fakes & Forgeries of Germany & Colonies, The Germany Philatelic Society Inc., 1966.
Friedemann, Forgeries of German Neu Guinea.
Gee-Ma, The Gee-Ma Forgeries, Robson Lowe Ltd, 1980. Forgeries by Sydney-based Georgie Gee.
Kock, G. and Porssitieto Ky , World Forgery Catalogue - A Reference List of Stamp Forgery Descriptions, Helsinki, Finland, 1998, 89p.
Le faussaire de Wondelgem, Groupe d‘Etude des Falsifications, Bruxelles 1992.
Moens, Doble, Lewes & Pemberton, Dalston and Stourton, The Early Philatelic Forgeries of All Countries, Ragatz, 1953.
Newall, Alexander F., Airmail Stamps: Fakes and Forgeries, Great Britain, 1990.
Serrane, Fernand. Vade-mecum du spécialiste-expert en timbres-poste. I Europe, II hors d‘Europe, Nice 1926, Bergerac 1929.
Sperati: The Work of Jean de Sperati, British Philatelic Association, 1955. Part I, The Text. Reprinted 1956.
Stamp Forgeries, Forged Stamps of British New Guinea, Stamp Forgeries [website], accessed 1 January 2023.
-----, Forged Stamps of German New Guinea, Stamp Forgeries [website], accessed 1 January 2023.
-----, Forged Stamps of New Guinea, Stamp Forgeries [website], accessed 1 January 2023.
-----, Forged Stamps of Papua New Guinea, Stamp Forgeries [website], accessed 1 January 2023.
Stampboards, 1930s New Guinea Bulolo Goldfield Airmail Stamp Forgeries, Stampboards, 26 February 2008.
-----, Forged Papua 1932 Specimen Overprints on eBay, Stampboards, 27 July 2010.
-----, Queensland used in Papua, what is catalogue value?, Stampboards, 25 July 2010.
The Forged Stamps of All Countries, J. Dorn, London c.1935. Reprinted in the 1950s.
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Australia: Airmail 1931 | Australia in Space 2024 | Souvenir Covers 1970-1997 | Souvenirs Covers 1997+ | WWF 50 Years |
Papua New Guinea: 1934 3½d Pink | 1952 6½d | 1952 7½d | 2/6 Lakatois | FDCs | Forgeries | Hutt PNCs | Japan | Leaflets | OS Lakatois | Overprints | Peter & Horse | Philatelic Bureau | PSEs/PSPs/Aerogrammes | Rare | Revenue & Postage Due | Souvenir Covers |
Last updated: 17 January 2023.
Michael Organ
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