Forgers such as the Spiro brothers, Fournier and Sperati are well-known characters in philatelic folklore. But what of the lesser-known forgers? Gerhard Lang has spent over six years investigating the mischievous creations of the little-known Placido Ramon de Torres…and uncovered one of the most prolific forgers in philately. He is now conducting research on more […]
Collecting and selling Mexico (Part 1)
Bubba Bland is the past President of MEPSI, the leading philatelic society for collectors of Mexico. He is also a well-known dealer in classic Mexico stamps and has been selling via eBay for over twenty years. In this two-part article, we discuss the profile of today’s Mexico collector, the market in Mexico’s stamps, collector resources […]
The Collector | Robert Shaw | Paraguay
Robert Shaw has been a collector of the early stamps and postal history of Paraguay for over forty years, with a particular focus on the War of the Triple Alliance. This was the deadliest inter-state war in Latin America’s history, with a huge number of casualties, pitching Paraguay up against the alliance of Brazil, Argentina […]
The Mainsheet goes digital
Next year will be the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The Mainsheet. And to bring it in to the 21st century, the entire run has now been digitised. For those not familiar with The Mainsheet, it is one of the most (if not the most) comprehensive sources of information on the myriad aspects of […]
ABNC proofs – understanding the different types
The American Bank Note Company was a prolific printer of numerous issues for many Latin American countries. Die and plate proofs take pride of place in many collections or exhibits. However, they are often unmentioned and unpriced in most philatelic catalogues with little information available on the number of proofs printed. So just how scarce […]
The Collector | Peter Bamert | Mexico
Peter Bamert is the editor of the ‘Postal Stationery of Mexico’, a comprehensive work that catalogues Mexico’s envelopes, postal cards, wrappers and more. CLA How did you get interested in collecting postal stationery? PB As a boy I began collecting stamps of the whole world. Then I started a topical collection about reptiles. One day […]
Forthcoming auctions and initiatives in the hobby
There have been a few notable initiatives in the wider stamp world in the past few weeks but let’s start with the auctions. If you are kept up to speed with auction email alerts or read the monthly philatelic press, then it won’t have escaped your attention that the late Leo Malz collections of Central […]
The Numerals Issues of Brazil – Fakes, Forgeries and Counterfeits
Only one of these Bull’s Eyes is genuine…the example on the right Most collectors of Latin America will be familiar with the early postage stamps of Brazil. Bull’s Eyes, Snake’s Eyes, Goat’s Eyes, Cat’s Eyes…collectively, the numeral issues of the Brazilian Empire. Stephen Rose has spent nearly fifty years studying these issues and currently serves […]
The Collector | Eric Stovner | Mexico
Eric Stovner is a collector of Mexico, specialising in the ‘Mulitas’ issue of 1895-99. CLA How did you first begin to collect stamps? ES My grandmother and great-grandmother gave me stamps when I was very young. My mom encouraged me early on, obtained covers for me and I found opportunities to meet with other collectors. […]
Original ABNC steel plates come to market
So you’ve acquired a nice selection of plate proofs and a few die proofs to enhance your collection. Now how about an original steel plate as the cherry on the cake? Over one thousand of the American Bank Note Company original, engraved printing plates have recently come to market, offering an unusual opportunity to own […]
Latin American Philately Zooms Forward
The COVID crisis is challenging the status quo in so many aspects of our lives: some for better, some for worse, many unknown. Stamp collecting, though, has received an unprecedented boost and has been firmly propelled into the digital age (apologies, it now appears compulsory to use the word ‘unprecedented’ at least once in every […]
$800,000+ Venezuela auction kicks off 2020
Auction trends in 2020 and a fabulous collection of Venezuela comes to market Like so many industries around us, the philatelic auction business has gone into hibernation mode. The inability for people to gather means the physical perusing of auction lots is not going to happen for a good while yet. Most of the major […]