Author Archives: Stefan

More about Gustave Boël

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Stefan

When searching for information about Gustave Boël I found this article on wikipedia.com. At first this seemed to be a perfect match: From Belgium, metal and coal industry. But it is not possible. Since he died in 1912 it must … Continue reading →

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Gustave Boël – engineer and philatelist

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Stefan

When I saw this card on eBay I remembered hearing the name Boël in connection with the Zangezur provisionals and, on impulse, bought it. After receiving the card I started examining the card in more detail. A Mister Gustave Boël … Continue reading →

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Working with the ARTAR Catalog – Odds and Errors : Part 9

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Stefan

For all pictorial issues exist several kind forgeries (including so called reprints). The good thing is, when you know where to look, its not too hard to detect them. This is especially useful when dealing with the forged overprints – … Continue reading →

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Forged Covers

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Stefan

There are couple of sellers that operate from Armenia. Some of them had a lot of genuine material, some had mixed genuine and forged. Lately I encounter more frequently a certain kind of forged cancellations within their stocks (see a … Continue reading →

Posted in Ebay, Delcampe and Co, Forged, k60k, Second Essayan | 1 Comment

Digital Forgery?

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Stefan

I bought some lots on Delcampe that I thought looked promising. One item is this block of four. Here is the image the seller put on Delcampe. What do you think? I was in a hurry and made a bet, … Continue reading →

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

Overprints on Romanov and charity stamps

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Stefan

Some enthusiasts brought stamps of the Romanov and the charity set to Armenia and had them overprinted. Later forgers discovered that they like these stamps too. They are bigger and just look like more. Nowadays collectors often think likewise. Still, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ebay, Delcampe and Co, Forged, Ruble | 1 Comment

Fake Cancel?

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Stefan

Not long ago I bought this nice letter piece from a seller located in Armenia. The cancel is rare and so I thought the money on this is well spent. The stamp has the secret marks of the genuine print … Continue reading →

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Working with the ARTAR Catalog – Odds and Errors : Part 8

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Stefan

The forgeries of the stamps of the Erivan pictorial issue are normally not too hard to detect, but sometimes, one slips through. Happened on page 184. The giveaway is the broken socket of the stone in the lower right corner. … Continue reading →

Posted in First Erivan, Forged | 1 Comment

Working with the ARTAR Catalog – Odds and Errors : Part 7

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Stefan

There is a saying in business. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is! I am talking about the perforated stamps of this set. The unused stamps of this issue are – with the exception of those, … Continue reading →

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Working with the ARTAR Catalog – Odds and Errors : Part 6

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Stefan

Page 153 features a very interesting cover. On the first view, nothing out of order. But closer inspection shows, there is something fishy with this piece. Kudos goes to Trevor for bringing that to my attention. Have a closer look … Continue reading →

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