Forged Malta stamps & FDC from HydraHeaded eBay seller

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 17 Feb 2017 06:25

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BUYER BEWARE

A series of somewhat crude forged Malta postmarks on Queen Victoria GB stamps have appeared in the past few weeks. They were sold by the Maltese eBay seller debmt.7tdpdu for quite high prices. For example:

Sold for £82 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142268979483)

Sold for £23 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142273491281), £32 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142271362805) and £39 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142270087559)
The corner letters suggest that these were originally a strip/block

Sold for £26 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142270098481), £34 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142268075288) and £46 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142268986135)

Sold for £56 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142267072459)

Sold for £28 (single - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142273494602) and £43 (pair - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142273486666)

Sold for £23 (on piece - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142273485548), £32 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142271365849), £37 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142271357398), £39 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142270101640) and £85 (strip of 3 - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142270094207)

The seller made a total of £1341 on the lots shown above.

A number of others are currently for sale: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_ssn=debmt.7tdpdu&_from=R40 ... lta&_sop=3 (Note that not all his GB used in Malta listings are forgeries.)

Certified · Post by **Certified** » 18 Feb 2017 00:45

Can you list which ones are forgeries so that we can get them reported?

Global Administrator · Post by **Global Administrator** » 18 Feb 2017 00:59

HalfpennyYellow wrote:

Sold for £28 (single - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142273494602) and £43 (pair - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142273486666)

Sold for £23 (on piece - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142273485548), £32 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142271365849), £37 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142271357398), £39 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142270101640) and £85 (strip of 3 - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142270094207)

The seller made a total of £1341 on the lots shown above.

A number of others are currently for sale: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_ssn=debmt.7tdpdu&_from=R40 ... lta&_sop=3 (Note that not all his GB used in Malta listings are forgeries.)

Only the brain dead clueless idiots on ebay could fail to see these are rubber stamps using a water based WalMart $2 rubber stamp pad.

Seller should be reported to ebay. Buyers should be reported to the nearest psychiatrist!

Global Administrator · Post by **Global Administrator** » 18 Feb 2017 01:06

I mean what kind of MORON imagines this lame rubber stamp cancel is 140 years old?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GB-USED-IN-MALTA-1887-1900-1-2d-BL ... 2275668452

Indeed why would anyone imagine a absurd ebay handle like debmt.7tdpdu was not dodgy to start with!

Norseman · Post by **Norseman** » 18 Feb 2017 01:34

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Forgeries always an interesting topic.

Aside from what is evidently the higher risk of being duped when purchasing on Ebay, as a relative novice to Philately, I would appreciate input from the more knowledgeable as to what identifies these stamps as obvious forgeries, either via a continuation of this thread or via directions to a pertinent forum or post.

Thanks

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 18 Feb 2017 06:21

Norseman wrote:Forgeries always an interesting topic.
Aside from what is evidently the higher risk of being duped when purchasing on Ebay, as a relative novice to Philately, I would appreciate input from the more knowledgeable as to what identifies these stamps as obvious forgeries, either via a continuation of this thread or via directions to a pertinent forum or post.
Thanks

British stamps were valid for postal use in Malta from August 1857 to 31 December 1884. From 1885 onwards, some British stamps used on maritime and military mail received Maltese postmarks, but this use was rather limited. Therefore, the ½d orange of 1887 and the ½d blue-green of 1900 were never valid for use in Malta.

The postmarks themselves are also wrong. The straight line "Malta" datestamp was only used from 1858 to 1873, so any dated afterwards are obviously fake (a similar postmark with a curved "Malta" was used from 1875 to 1921). The straight line postmark was also used with the obliterator "A25" from 1859 to 1880 (this is quite common on GB stamps used in Malta):

The forged postmarks are much neater than the genuine postmark as seen above. The colour of the genuine ink is black, while the forgeries tend to approach greyish or bluish black. In addition, the font is totally wrong:

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 18 Feb 2017 06:50

Certified wrote:Can you list which ones are forgeries so that we can get them reported?

The lots which have the straight line "Malta" postmark all seem to be forgeries. A few more ended today, most of them for prices between £16 and £28 each.

He has also forged the "A25" postmark:

Currently for sale, 1 bid at 99p (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142279874199)

This one seems rather bizarre, since he apparently added a forged postmark to a stamp with a genuine "A25" postmark (although a very poor strike):

Currently for sale, 1 bid at 99p (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142279871910)

After a quick look through his other listings, I found these:

Forged POSTAGE overprint on a Melita stamp (totally wrong font):

Sold for £18 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142202051656)

Forged postmark on 1956 FDCs (wording in postmark is way too narrow, envelope is too clean compared to the stamps):

Sold for £16 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142208673364)

Sold for £26 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142214315782)

He also sold many postage due stamps with SPECIMEN handstamps. I'm not sure if they're genuine or forgeries, but they seem rather dodgy. For example:

Sold for £56 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142223695421)

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 18 Feb 2017 07:11

It seems another Maltese seller is involved in this - zammi_edwin. This might be the same person behind the other account, although debmt.7tdpdu's location is listed as Sliema while zammi_edwin is based in Valletta.

I found two dodgy listings from zammi_edwin:

GB used in Malta forgery similar to the ones above:

Currently for sale, 1 bid at 99p (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282358711701)

1956 FDC forgery similar to those sold by debmt.7tdpdu:

Sold for £16 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282295490058)

This is quite a shame since both debmt.7tdpdu and zammi_edwin had some interesting genuine lots, including a previously-unrecorded 1976 National Insurance fiscal stamp.

Norseman · Post by **Norseman** » 18 Feb 2017 07:56

Thanks Halfpenny.
Excellent explanations.

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 11 Apr 2017 04:32

It's been a while since this thread was updated, but today I had a look at more listings of debmt.7tdpdu and zammi_edwin, and noted the following.

GB used in Malta forgeries stopped appearing after they were mentioned in this thread (as well as the forum of the Malta Study Circle) - the last listings ended on 22 February. However, yesterday debmt.7tdpdu listed another 1d Venetian red with a fake Malta postmark:

Currently 1 bid at 99p
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142342926677

Similarly, no obvious forgeries appeared from zammi_edwin until yesterday, when he listed a fake 1967 postage due FDC. This shares the following characteristics with other forged FDCs shown earlier in this thread:
1. the text in the postmark is too narrow
2. the postmark seems to be a rubber stamp using a water-based ink pad
3. the envelope is very fresh and the address is typewritten (like the other fakes)

Currently 1 bid at 99p
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282427146247

Mods, can this thread be renamed something along the lines of "Malta forgeries from eBay sellers debmt.7tdpdu and zammi_edwin"?

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 04 Jul 2020 05:31

More fake FDCs which are apparently from the same source as the ones above have appeared on eBay, this time from the seller elly662m.

1938 King George V Silver Jubilee omnibus issue: forged FDC with fake Air Mail Malta postmark

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324218550141

1938 King George VI pictorial definitive: forged FDC with fake GPO Malta postmark

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324218552248

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 04 Jul 2020 05:36

1948 King George VI Self-Government definitive: forged FDC with fake Birkirkara Malta postmark

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324218553930

1949 King George VI Royal Silver Wedding omnibus issue: forged FDC with fake Air Mail Malta postmark

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324218555161

This one also has a marking reading "ES - Malta" at the bottom right corner. This refers to Emmanuel Said, a stamp dealer who used to produce FDCs. The marking seems to be fake too.

Also note the time: 0.30 AM

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 04 Jul 2020 05:43

1956-57 Queen Elizabeth II pictorial definitive: forged FDCs with fake Valletta Malta postmarks

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324218566714

1967 Postage Dues: forged FDC with fake Valletta Malta postmark

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324218571723

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 04 Jul 2020 05:50

Can a mod change the thread title to something along the lines of the following please?

Forged Malta postmarks on GB stamps and expensive FDCs on eBay

It seems that three accounts - who may or may not be related - are involved: debmt.7tdpdu, zammi_edwin and elly662m.

debmt.7tdpdu is no longer a registered eBay user, zammi_edwin is still active but it hasn't sold items for quite a while, and elly662m is an active seller. All three accounts also sold genuine items apart from these forgeries.

stickflies · Post by **stickflies** » 05 Aug 2020 09:52

WOW! This discussion is fairly depressing, I never knew there were so many Malta forgeries out there.

I own 2 Malta forged stamps by Sperati, both Queen Victoria halfpenny yellows but I purchased them knowing that they were forgeries.

There has been descriptions of buyers as "Brain Dead" but to be honest I have never even looked at Malta stamps & thought the CDS cancels & overprints may be forged. That makes me a brain dead, unfortunately.

This is sad.

Regards ..... Gary.

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 21 Aug 2020 07:02

Another Malta fabrication, this time from worldrarestamps:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324258096697

This is a seemingly genuine registered envelope from an unidentified British colony (the name of which is obscured) - but definitely not Malta - with genuine Malta Queen Victoria 2d and 5s stamps added, the latter being tied by a 1992 British postmark which seems to read "Windermere / Cumbria" (why??) plus a fake address.

The 5s stamp seems to be creased, which would be why it was added to this unusual but totally fabricated item.

Starting price is £25.

This does not seem to be related to the earlier forgeries mentioned in this thread, and I think it is unlikely to have been produced by the seller. If mods would prefer splitting it off as a separate thread feel free to do so.

Post by **gavin-h** » 21 Aug 2020 22:25

HalfpennyYellow wrote: ↑
21 Aug 2020 07:02
This is a seemingly genuine registered envelope from an unidentified British colony (the name of which is obscured) - but definitely not Malta - with genuine Malta Queen Victoria 2d and 5s stamps added, the latter being tied by a 1992 British postmark which seems to read "Windermere / Cumbria" (why??) plus a fake address.

Has to be a fake because "Cumbria" did not exist in the 1890s. The correct address would have been "Windermere, Cumberland"; the county of Cumbria only came into existence in the 1974 local government reorganisation in England.

I've reported the item to Ebay on that basis, others might like to do the same...

Global Administrator · Post by **Global Administrator** » 21 Aug 2020 22:40

stickflies wrote: ↑
05 Aug 2020 09:52

There has been descriptions of buyers as "Brain Dead" but to be honest I have never even looked at Malta stamps & thought the CDS cancels & overprints may be forged.

That makes me a brain dead, unfortunately.

Sadly if you cannot tell at a glance there are modern rubber stamps, applied used a water based newsagent ink pad, you summed it up well. You should not be buying used or covers. Clearly a screaming ameteur fake.

Steel cds and oil based PO ink are readily sorted.

That aside - report these spivs please.
.

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stickflies · Post by **stickflies** » 04 Sep 2020 20:26

Is debmt.7tdpdu the same person as elly662m ? I notice that the 1967 Postage Due's on this page are now being listed by elly662m at a price of £150.
Also listed :

Broken Cross

I can find no mention of the penny halfpenny green with a broken cross.

This is an example from SG's own shop, admittedly in a different colour.
And this "Flag on Citadel" (Looks more like a tornado to me)

Looks totally different to the one in SG's shop

Regards ..... Gary.

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 05 Sep 2020 11:24

I don't know if they're the same person or not, but there are similarities in the items they sell. I had seen flaws such as these for sale but I had not checked to see if they're genuine or not (mainly since I'm not particularly interested in flaws on Malta stamps) - thanks for flagging these as being forgeries as well.

elly662m currently has some forged village postmarks for sale, but these are described as "replica" in the items' title and description. The fake postmarks bear similarities to the GB used in Malta forgeries shown in the beginning of this thread.

Balzan - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324277353103

Caccia - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324277353830

Crendi - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324277355909

Garbo - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324277354720

Gudia - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324277355428

Note that they also have some genuine village postmarks for sale as well.

They also have a 3d Melita with a fake specimen overprint, which is described as "unsure if genuine":

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324277318951

stickflies · Post by **stickflies** » 06 Sep 2020 09:09

Halfpenny Yellow, I was going to flag the Melita "specimen" myself but you just beat me to it.
Strange that this person should use phrases like "unsure if genuine" and I don't know why anyone would say "replica", who would want a stamp with a "replica" postmark unless they intend to sell it as genuine.

stickflies · Post by **stickflies** » 06 Sep 2020 10:49

How about this one, another seller from Malta. The overprint SPECIMEN just looks awful,
Regards ..... Gary.

stickflies · Post by **stickflies** » 07 Sep 2020 09:29

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And even better :

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Check the watermark ...

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Yes that is one of mine, bought a number of years ago. Is this another forgery or were different watermarks used for specimen stamps at this time, it does look as though this could be the end of a watermark "SPECIMEN"

Regards ..... Gary.
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Global Administrator · Post by **Global Administrator** » 07 Sep 2020 11:22

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The last SPECIMEN overprint appears genuine (The ones above are NOT!)

The sheets of stamp paper Australia for 20 years had "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA"in large double lined watermark letters down the sides etc and "POSTAGE" down the other side, as you can see here, and those letters often part impinged on individual stamps - as you can see here below - sometimes you ONLY saw watermark letters. Same for Malta too I'd guess?

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 07 Sep 2020 21:48

The EN is probably part of the text CROWN AGENTS which appeared on the sides or gutters, in a similar manner to Glen's example from Australia.

After an online search I found this illustration showing how the watermarks were arranged (illustration from Postage Stamps In The Making by Fred J. Melville, which was posted by someone in another online stamp forum):

stickflies · Post by **stickflies** » 10 Sep 2020 07:06

Thanks Gents, that puts my mind at rest. There does seem to be a lot of forgeries coming out of Malta on Ebay.
Some good examples shown above as well, thanks again.
Regards ..... Gary.

stickflies · Post by **stickflies** » 14 Sep 2020 00:06

Halfpenny Yellow , thanks for replies. I've been reading this thread a lot to try to learn as much as possible about forged cancellations, even though I normally keep to mint examples of Malta stamps. There's one that I have seen recently for sale from the UK which interests me due to naval background, it has 3 cancellations.

I'm thinking that the cancels are correct but am I wrong. If I am wrong I've got a long way to go yet.
Regards ..... Gary.

parkgateman · Post by **parkgateman** » 14 Sep 2020 02:04

Hello the 3 cancels look OK to me , also being First Day cancels .

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 14 Sep 2020 04:37

They seem to be OK to me as well.

stickflies · Post by **stickflies** » 15 Sep 2020 07:14

Thanks both, that's much appreciated.
Regards ..... Gary.

Neptunus · Post by **Neptunus** » 08 Oct 2020 18:29

Hello, I collect Maltese First day covers and last week I bought a First Day Cover very similar to one of the above pictures. I just came to know about this forum just yesterday and came across this thread today. Is there someone who can verify a forged F.D.C. here in Malta? Thanks.

Waffle · Post by **Waffle** » 08 Oct 2020 18:40

Another dodgey eBay seller. How surprising is that. This must be the first time that I have heard of crooks, trying to palm off rubbish on fools on eBay. In the words of the song, "When will they ever learn?" Another example of when not to buy collectibles on eBay! Remember the old adage, a fool and his money are soon parted.

stickflies · Post by **stickflies** » 10 Oct 2020 05:14

Yes Waffle , there are many rogues selling rubbish on ebay but there are also a lot of genuine sellers.
About 5 years ago I bought a collection of Malta stamps on Ebay, from the USA for $50, purely because 2 of the stamps looked like stamps that I wanted. When I received the collection the stamps I wanted were perfect but I realised that 1 other stamp had been incorrectly identified by the seller. I took it to Joseph Buttigieg of The Sliema Stamp Shop and he verified it as a JB2a (SG3) 1/2d Buff (No Watermark) which he valued at around £600.
Recently, I have received a set of 1925 Postage Dues which, on studying the watermarks, turned out to be 1967-73 versions. On contacting the seller about this he refunded me my money and said keep the stamps, so I don't believe he was a rogue, he just failed to check the stamps out fully.
There are some good people on Ebay, you just have to be very careful.
Regards ..... Gary.

Old Architect · Post by **Old Architect** » 13 Oct 2020 08:50

In the past 2-months over 400 forged "Sudentenland" territory stamps & cancels were sold to "unsuspecting" buyers. Here are a few that I caught.

[/img]

At least a dozen dealers were all listing these toner inked Forgeries as "Authentic." ScamBay doesn't police their auctions. I reported every one of the 72-separate auctions & respective dealers that sold me forgeries. No one over there cares. They're more concerned about SALES. Thankfully, I got every penny back & every seller said "just keep the stamps".....because they knew they were fakes. Some even wanted positive reviews!! Others demanded I remove my negative reviews...& THEY'RE STILL SELLING THESE FAKES!
I believe the days of honest eBay dealers has expired. Finding honest dealers is a "needle in a haystack" scenario. They may be there but, they're not looking at their merchandise with a discerning eye & have no remorse selling forgeries they are "unaware" of.

CAVEAT EMPTOR

HalfpennyYellow · Post by **HalfpennyYellow** » 15 Oct 2020 07:57

Neptunus wrote: ↑
08 Oct 2020 18:29
Hello, I collect Maltese First day covers and last week I bought a First Day Cover very similar to one of the above pictures. I just came to know about this forum just yesterday and came across this thread today. Is there someone who can verify a forged F.D.C. here in Malta? Thanks.

Welcome to Stampboards Neptunus

Sorry to hear about your purchase of a dodgy FDC. I'm not aware of anyone here in Malta who formally verifies stamps or FDCs, but if you post an image here, myself and other members can offer our opinions and try to help out.

In the meantime, yet another forgery was sold recently on eBay for £15 by the seller worldrarestamps. It's a Melita 6d with a fake POSTAGE overprint similar to one I had reported here three years ago. The seller did not state that it's a forgery, and described it as "ERROR FLAW Slanted Overprint".

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324314432239

For those who are not familiar with this issue, this is what the overprint should look like (image from Wikimedia Commons):

Neptunus · Post by **Neptunus** » 19 Oct 2020 18:43

Thank you for your reply. I managed to get a better idea regarding the authenticity of the First day Cover mentioned before. Well, the cover I bought is supposed to be a Maltese 1935 Silver Jubilee. The cancellations it holds is the Air Mail type which is the same one shown in this discussion previously. I happened to encounter a Maltese gentleman who is very knowledgeable about local philately. Unfortunately, the cover is probably forged because:

1 The envelope is too white for that age
2 The handstamp is also too sharp and clear / too perfect
3 The handstamp which is called the Air-3a (which is this type) came into use in 1935 but it's earliest recorded is
29th Aug 1935 which is after the date of issue of this particular First Day Cover.

Well, this has been my first big mistake in purchasing this cover in my recent interest in this particular hobby. Honestly I never thought that First Day Covers can be forged if it has not been for this particular discussion. Even though I can say that I lost a substantial amount of money on this purchase, this has prevented me from going back to this stamp dealer which is stocked well with other dodgy rare Maltese First Day Covers.

Even though I am now almost sure that this is a forged cover, I will keep it in my album to remember that in this hobby, one needs to do his research well before purchasing future covers.

parkgateman · Post by **parkgateman** » 19 Oct 2020 22:54

Hello Neptunus is it possible to let us see a scan of your 1935 FDC ? Robert

Neptunus · Post by **Neptunus** » 20 Oct 2020 18:03

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/p3obi6ybt4xk88v7kr4t1/FDC1.png?dl=0

This is very similar to the one posted earlier in this thread. I believe it is from the same source.

Old Architect · Post by **Old Architect** » 03 Nov 2020 12:20

Have you seen my post about spotting forgeries? It may shed some light on your FDC's. Check & see if the ink is water-based (most colored ink fakes are).
The eBay seller letting oodles of Sudetenland forgeries flood the market is oxfordstampauctions2014. BEWARE this guy's listings, "Czechoslovakia (Sudentenland) Wir Sind Frei, Unusual Lot ___..." stamps for over GBP 100! They're all FORGERIES & I let him know it on multiple occasions. He just ignores the obvious. Bad actor...