The item shown below was recently sold here on eBay. The seller stated that he believed the item was a strip of three Scott #262s issued in 1894 which would be worth $3,750.00! In reality the item was Scott #2875 issued in 1994 and only worth $3.00! The buyer got ripped off to a tune of $75.00! The easiest way to tell that this particular item was not genuine is the fact that the strip of three was used with two other modern stamps and the cancel is dated 1996!

This is not the first time I have seen this kind of thing at online auction. In the 1990s and 2000s there were several issues that were reprinted to celebrate issues of the past. Every once in a while these issues are misrepresented as the earlier issues worth thousands of dollars to fool new collectors into paying a lot of money for issues that are not worth a lot of money! True stamp collectors and dealers know what a item is worth and will bid accordingly. If an item is offered and represented as being worth thousands of dollars and the bidding is only at fifty dollars means that there is something seriously wrong with that particular item! The modern issues are almost always fresher in appearance, exceptionally well centered and have an almost perfect impression. Always look at the postmark on used examples to make sure that it corresponds with the correct time period. If a cancel is dated 1992 on what appears to be a five dollar Columbian, chances are it is not the original from 1893! There are differences in the originals from the modern issues. The modern Columbian issues have the date “1992” instead of “1892” in the top right corner. The Pan-American invert reprints have the date “2001” instead of “1901” printed on the top label. Lets face it, any true Pan-American invert sold on eBay will be accompanied with an expert certificate. The 1894 Scott #262 issue was perforated 12 while the modern mint issue was perforated at gauge 11. Shown below are some examples of the modern mint issues (pictured at left) next to examples of the originals (pictured at right) . The modern mint issues are pictured in sheet form. Remember that they are separated from the sheet and are usually attached to pieces of what looks like old envelopes when trying to fool unsuspecting buyers!

I spend my time and write these guides to help the philatelic community. I feel that my guides can help both buyers and sellers properly identify certain issues that I notice have been often misrepresented at online auction. Even If you personally already are familiar with the information presented in this guide please vote “yes” for helpfulness as it allows me to know that people support my effort to help the philatelic community . I would appreciate any emails with questions or comments on how to better help with any of my guides. If anyone is considering buying a stamp that is mentioned in any of my guides and have doubts about authenticity please email me and I will be glad to help Best regards, Mike