WORLD FORGERY CATALOGUE

A Reference List of Stamp Forgery Descriptions
by G. Kock

This handy catalogue will make it much easier for you to take advantage of the many valuable stamp forgery descriptions, published in the good old handbooks. About 3000 different forged sets or individual stamps and 7500 references to descriptions in more than 70 important works are included. Also: reprints, postal forgeries and forged local stamps. 270 countries are represented. Forger Fournier's name is mentioned 750 times. The forged stamps are identified by year of issue, denomination and Scott and Michel catalogue numbers. The compiler, Mr. G. Kock, is the past secretary of Helsingfors Frimarkssamlare Forening, who owns Finland's largest stamp forgery collection.

The main sources are books: well known stamp forgery manuals and handbooks. Periodicals and low-circulation specialist society papers etc. have not been extensively utilised because they are not easily available when needed. Earée and the great general works of the 1920s and 1930s are still obtainable, either as originals or reprints or in many philatelic libraries. There are often several references to descriptions of the same stamp forgery.

Because general, whole world, stamp collecting is not as popular now as in Fournier's days new pretentious forgeries are not often "issued". Therefore the World Forgery Catalogue gives you a good idea of what stamp forgeries philatelists may encounter, although many of the works cited are pre-World War 2. As picking out stamp counterfeits, and the systematic collecting and studying of them, has become a branch of philately, this book is useful both to those who "like" and those who fight stamp forgeries.

Please note that since 1998 a number of new forgery books have been published. Their forgery descriptions are not included in this facsimile PDF file of my title.

90 pages. Size 15x21 cm. Published May 1998. ISBN 951-97415-3-4.
The World Forgery Catalogue title was obtainable for $15 US.
PDF copy of my original printed book. File size is 897 KB. Uploaded Nov. 2010.
A simplified register of the forgeries referenced to in the Catalogue.

The list of 1700 Philatelic Experts
Names A–F, Names G–L, Names M–R, Names S–Z, First names,
Areas A–E, Areas F–G, Areas H–R, Areas S–Z.
Samoa Express forgeries  —  Ruhleben POW Camp stamps