Russian stamps have been extensively

forged Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compression (physics), compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die (manufacturing), die. Forging is often classif ...

. Both rare and common stamps have been forged and certain stamps, for instance those of the ''Army of the North'', are more common forged than genuine.Tyler, Varro E. ''Focus on Forgeries: A Guide to Forgeries of Common Stamps.'' 2nd ed. Sidney, Ohio: Linn's Stamp News & Amos Press, 2000, pp. 246–250.

Types

Forgeries of Russian stamps can be divided into the following categories: *Forgeries of a basic stamp. These are not so common. Examples include François Fournier's forgeries of the 3.50R and 7R high value stamps "without thunderbolts" and the Rostov famine issue of the early 1920s. Some issues of the Civil War have also been forged, such as the definitives issued by Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. *Forgeries of an overprint or surcharge on a common basic stamp. The Civil War period is particularly full of these. Overprinted stamps issued by the various "White" Armies have also been forged extensively. The stamps issued by the North-West Armies were particularly popular with the forgers, and dozens of different forgeries have been identified. *Forgeries of a perforation. There have been many attempts to "create" a stamp with a rare perforation by taking an imperforate version of the stamp and forging the perforation. Examples include the

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

issues of the early 1930s, many of which exist with a forged perf 11. Forging the perforation also allows for perforation varieties to be created to order. *Forgeries of a postmark on a loose stamp. A notorious batch of these are the "Shtempelgate" forgeries of rare postmarks from the Russian Offices Abroad, usually on common 1 Ruble stamps. *Stamps of the Russian

Zemstvo A zemstvo (, , , ''zemstva'') was an institution of local government set up in consequence of the emancipation reform of 1861 of Imperial Russia by Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Nikolay Milyutin elaborated the idea of the zemstvo, and the fi ...

local posts have also been forged.

Gallery

1863 Russia Levant Old Forgery.jpg, 1863 Russia Levant offices in Turkey 3rd Issue forgery. 3kop russian empire forgery.jpg, Counterfeit of Russia charity issue with rare perforation 12,5. 1918 FSFSR 70 Kop Forgery.jpg, 1918 RSFSR 70 kop imperforated stamp forgery. 1922 RSFSR Old Forgery.jpg, 1922 RSFSR relief for starving issue old forgery. Russia 1921 ScB14 Forgery.jpg, Counterfeit of basic Russia 1921 issue, Volga Famin Relief. 2250 rubel green. USSR stamp Lenin memories 1924 12k.jpg, Counterfeit of basic Russia 1924 issue Lenin, 12 kopecks. Russian-Army-of-the-North-stamps.jpg, Genuine (left) and forged (right) 1919 Russian Army of the North 20k stamps. Note the cruder printing on the forgery. (Scott No.4) Stamp Batum 1919 50r on 2k.jpg, 50 rubles on 2 kopecks stamp of imperial Russia,

Batum Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the second-largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest, north of the border ...

, 1919 forged overprint.

References

External links

The Samovar
A public bulletin board maintained by The

Rossica Society of Russian Philately The Rossica Society of Russian Philately (Общество русской филателии "Россика") is a society founded for the study and appreciation of the postage stamps and postal history of Russia. History The society was founded ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Russian Philatelic Forgeries Philatelic fakes and forgeries Postage stamps of Russia

Types

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links