On Mon, 30 May 2005 21:41:22 +0200, "amesh" wrote:

skrev i en meddelelse
.. .
On Mon, 30 May 2005 18:07:43 +0200, "amesh" wrote:

"Blair (TC)" skrev i en meddelelse
groups.com...
Here we go again. This time Rwanda is the victim.

In the fight against illegal stamps it seems appropriate to mention that
as
of 1st January 2002 the WNS -- World Numbering System -- lists all
authentic
postage stamps issued by its member countries.
http://www.wnsstamps.ch/en/

The listing may be used by collectors to verify any postal authority's
genuine issues, provided that such countries are members. Eventually
check
the detailed list of "Participating stamp issuing authorities" to see
whether the country in question is included, or whether there are stamps
awaiting registration.

This is great that newer stamps have been cataloged and identified,
but there will be some older stamps that will slip through the cracks.

First check WNS, then look through your catalog for any identifying
features such as in Scott:

This is sound advice, Tracy, but from the discussions here some years ago I
seem to recall that even Scott has made some blunders in listing some of
these "products". e.g. Afghanistan.

Considering that no catalog is perfect, this applies to the entire
world of stamp catalog publishers. That said, Scott does make many
mistakes. One thing Scott doesn't do much of, though, is list
speculative issues as a general rule.

1) Italicized values "may" indicate lack of info the item for legit
and illegitimate stamps.

2) No value is the used column, most times because of embargoes,
illegalities, CTO status or other sordid things.

3) Notes within the country itself. Things like after such and such a
date, blah, blah, blah...

4) Reading topics here, in the trades, etc. about this -and- companies
that sell these stamps. I won't mention any, but we have talked about
them here in the past.

5) Ask others at your stamp club. They may know a thing or 2 about
it. Maybe bring it up as a topic at a stamp club meeting to educate
others.

If a person wishes to collect them, so be it. But, if a person is
selling them on eBay or elsewhere, letting others know that this
seller "may" have illegals always educates the public. Not
necessarily a bad thing, but some people may want to avoid this
seller.


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Tracy Barber
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adirondack-pc
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"Freebie Stamp Project"
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