How to Spot a Fake Stamp

Understand the Types of Fake Stamps

• 1

  Know that a fake stamp is defined as a genuine stamp that has been altered in some way to change its appearance. Fake stamps are different from forged stamps, which are labels that have been created from scratch to defraud collectors, or counterfeit stamps, which are labels that have been created from scratch to defraud stamp dealers.

• 2

  Become familiar with the different types of fake stamps that exist in the world today. The more you know, the easier it will be to spot a fake. Techniques used to fake stamps include re-gumming, repairing damage, re-perforation, and false cancels and overprints.

Learn to Identify Fake Stamps

• 3

  Inspect the gum on the back of the stamp. Forgers will re-gum a stamp to repair damage to the original gum, in order to increase the value of a stamp. If re-gumming is suspected, compare the stamp to one known to have original gum, and pay close attention to the color of the gum. If this is not possible, there are several important details to look for, such as excess gum texture, overt watermark visibility, stamp curling and sharp perforation tips.

• 4

  Look closely for repairs to damage on stamps. Common repairs include cleaning stains, replacing torn pieces, sealing holes and tears, smoothing creases and repairing thins (places where the some stamp's fibers have been removed, making the paper thinner). Note that repairs are often masked by the application of a false cancel mark over the repaired area. Often, a professional scanning machine can quickly reveal damaged areas that are not visible to the naked eye.

• 5

  Pay attention to the perforations of the stamp. Re-perforated stamps are some of the most common fakes, and can often be fairly easy to spot, particularly with the aid of a magnifying glass. Stamps are re-perforated to add perforations to a straight-edge stamp, improve design centering and eliminate perforation faults. Look for re-perforated fakes to have misshapen holes and poorly spaced or aligned holes.

• 6

  Check the validity of cancels and overprints on a stamp, as this is another commonly used method of stamp fakery. This is done because certain scarce cancels (such as first-day cancels) and overprints (such as special wartime markings) can raise the value of a stamp. Compare the cancel to original cancels, and look for inaccurate dates, cancels that appear painted in, and other discrepancies in the printing.