Author Archives: Stefan

Dr. R. J. Ceresa

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Stefan

Ray Ceresa passed away on the 10th of June. He was a great philatelist, author of the Handbooks about Transcaucasia, Ukraine, Russia and the regions of civil war 1917-23. I had the opportunity to met him and still remember this … Continue reading →

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Fake cover again

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Stefan

On November the 6th I wrote an article about a fake cover offered at David Feldman auction house. It is listed again. Please meet Lot 20385 at the current Russia auction. There is something new also. We got a scan of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ebay, Delcampe and Co, Forged, Mixed Ruble and Z, Ruble | Leave a comment

Talking signatures

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Stefan

Sometimes the back-side of a stamp is almost as interesting as the front-side. Here is an example of a stamp with 5 signatures: A fancy sign that is often present on stamps with genuine overprints. The signature of Philipp Kosack … Continue reading →

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Unframed large Z on one Ruble unperforated

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Stefan

The latest addition to my collection is this quarter sheet of overprinted stamps. This is a high quality scan so you can zoom in a bit and check all the details. The stamp itself is quite common but getting large … Continue reading →

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Tashkent or Tiflis?

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Stefan

Again a cover is being offered in an auction. This time the auction house is Hadersbeck Auktionen in Berlin, Germany.  The description (translated from German) reads: “1920, 1R, horizontal pair and 5 on 20 K., vertical pair on registered cover, St. … Continue reading →

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Fake item at Raritan

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Stefan

A blog reader asked my about my opinion regarding this item currently offered at Raritan. This looks like a typical official document. The Etchmiadzin cancel shows a date stamp reading (most likely) 4.8.22. I am always skeptical when seeing these … Continue reading →

Posted in Ebay, Delcampe and Co, Forged | 3 Comments

Forgeries on ebay

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Stefan

I do not often browse the ebay listings anymore. While you can find genuine material, it takes browsing through an overwhelming amount of forgeries and uninteresting stuff. Here some highlights of the bad kind. All cancels fake. Most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ebay, Delcampe and Co, Forged | 2 Comments

Crude Forgery – Postcard with added stamps

Posted on January 8, 2017 by Stefan

A reader sent me this picture of the latest work of the forgers. Not nice. And the card is wasted too. This card is listed at newauction.ru and got a price tag of 1.500 rubles. I guess this is one … Continue reading →

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The 100r HH overprint on an unperforated 5 Ruble stamp – more examples

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Stefan

The discussion about the stamp brought two more scans from blog readers. Here is an example in a rather grayish ink. All characteristics of the genuine overprint are present. I think this overprint is genuine.   Here is the scan of … Continue reading →

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The 100r HH overprint on an unperforated 5 Ruble stamp – a rare combination

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Stefan

Recently I did an opinion for a stamp which is now in the Corinphila auction: This is a rare stamp. Other collectors know this too and one wrote me when he saw the stamp listed at the auction. Included within … Continue reading →

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