Illegal stamps

Illegal stamps are postage stamp-like labels issued in the names of existing independent countries or territories, entities claiming to be independent, or completely fictitious entities. They are a subset of philatelic fakes and forgeries for which a member nation of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) has caused the issue of an "International Bureau Circular" advising others of this label.

These labels may be used to defraud postal administrations, stamp collectors, and the general public, but some are used to fulfill actual domestic postal needs of unrecognized entities, and a few are nothing more than propaganda labels. According to the UPU, the market is estimated to be at least $500 million per year.

Identifying illegal stamps

There is no definitive method to identifying illegal stamp issues.

• Most illegal stamps are issued in the names of countries or territories from Africa or the former Soviet Union, or smaller island nations from around the world. Older illegal issues (from the 1970's) were most often in the names of Arab states.
• The designs usually feature popular topics such as animals, sporting heroes, and movie stars. They are usually, but not always, unrelated to the country or territory named on the stamps.
• Most illegal stamps are not listed in the major stamp catalogues, (Scott's, Stanley Gibbons, Yvert and Tellier, Michel).
• The WADP Numbering System (WNS), developed by the Worldwide Association for the Development of Philately and the UPU, catalogues stamps issued by UPU member nations since 2002. Not all UPU members participate.
• The UPU periodically issues advisories at the request of the postal authorities of member nations, listing illegal stamps.

Consequences of illegal postage issues

Illegal stamps are said to result in adverse consequences for several different parties. Postal administrations lose revenue to illegal issues and stamp collectors may lose money by mistakenly buying illegal stamps that have little or no monetary value. In addition, inexperience or non-philatelists have been tricked into buying illegal stamps that are worthless memorabilia for their favorite hobby or interests. For example, AskPhil quotes an example of someone paying $1,225 on eBay for three Tiger Woods labels, issued illegally in the name of Turkmenistan. Additionally, legitimate stamp dealers may see their market, and the reputation of their industry, eroded by the illegal issues market. Finally, artists and photographers do not receive royalties from artistic work that is used on illegally printed issues.

Sources

External links

• AskPhil.org List of UPU illegal stamp alerts
• AskPhil.org List of issues believed by collectors to be Illegal
• AskPhil labels of Topics/Thematics listed as bogus, unauthorized, not valid for postal use
• UPU illegal stamp circulars link page
• UPU 1996-2003 circulars in pdf