The Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation (VGG) expert committee has sounded the alarm about “dangerous” forged die proofs of several values of Canada’s 19th-century Maple Leaf and Numeral issues.
At the June 7 meeting of the Philatelic Specialists Society of Canada (PSSC), expert committee chair Ted Nixon highlighted the newfound group of forgeries, a “significant number” of which have been purchased on Facebook Marketplace and on eBay, according to a VGG report published on June 11.
“Currently we know of 35 examples of these dangerous forgeries.”
The forgeries were “photographically generated,” according to the report, likely starting with images taken from online auction catalogues.
“Then the images have been technically developed through a specific printing process that deposits raised ink and simulates the intaglio printing used for 19th- and early 20th-century stamps. These images have been printed on a thin wove beige paper. These are not the usual crude modern fake images produced using dot-matrix or laser printing from computer photos of real stamps.”
Experts have warned collectors “to be careful about acquiring any so-called die proofs of these issues without solid input from one of our major auction firms or getting expert certificates.”
To read the full technical report, visit greenefoundation.ca.
Nixon and fellow VFF official Garfield Portch will lead a seminar on the topic at Trajan Publishing’s upcoming National Postage Stamp & Coin Show, slated for Sept. 8-10 in Mississauga, Ont.