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Collecting pricey stamps these days is a huge problem because the fakes are so good. But with the Jennys being numbered and so valuable, it'd be pretty hard to

Collecting pricey stamps these days is a huge problem because the fakes are so good. But with the Jennys being numbered and so valuable, it'd be pretty hard to fake them.

Someone 8y ago
It isn’t a secret that the stamps are numbered, or what numbers are missing. You can’t make hundreds of fakes, but until recently, you could make 2, and this might be one of them. If this stamp sells for a million, which doesn’t seem unlikely, spending $100k or even $200k on a fake and its fake background story may seem a good investment. There’s also the ”the man […] could not explain why his father never put it in an album with his other stamps.” remark. That’s very good for keeping the stamp in good condition, increasing its value for collectors, so if that is exceptional for a stamp collector, I would be extra suspicious of it being a fake.
- skookumchuck 8y ago
  The more value the stamp has, the more resources can be applied to determining if it is fake. That's all I meant. The sweet spot for counterfeiting would be where making it doesn't cost more than a certain percentage of what the real one is worth, while not making it worthwhile to spend money detecting the fake. Stamp collecting gets pretty dodgy if you're collecting ones worth more than a few bucks. First off, there's the problem of counterfeits. Next, even if the stamp is genuine, the grade of a stamp is a matter of opinion, and they'll sell you a stamp of a high grade, but insist it is lower when selling it back. Lastly, subtle variations in the color can dramatically shift its value (for genuine stamps) and of course color is a matter of opinion just like grade.
  - Someone 8y ago
    ”The more value the stamp has, the more resources can be applied to determining if it is fake.” True, but that doesn’t work that well for paintings. Why would it work better for stamps?
    - evgen 8y ago
      I would guess that because this particular item was part of a botched mass-production run it might be possible to perform checks that are not available for a piece of art. Do the edges of #49 match up with any other available samples? Beyond simple chemical tests that will be performed is it possible to match up the actual paper fibers; both directionality and even if cut lines in fibers match up with edges of the stamps around it on the master sheet? In addition to testing it like a piece of art you can also test it as if it were a piece of a puzzle (the master sheet) to make sure it fits into place. I am not sure if the information necessary to fake this is out there or not, but the fact that this stamp is cut out of a sheet makes it a bit different than a painting.

Collecting pricey stamps these days is a huge problem because the fakes are so good. But with the Jennys being numbered and so valuable, it'd be pretty hard to fake them.

Someone 8y ago

It isn’t a secret that the stamps are numbered, or what numbers are missing. You can’t make hundreds of fakes, but until recently, you could make 2, and this might be one of them. If this stamp sells for a million, which doesn’t seem unlikely, spending $100k or even $200k on a fake and its fake background story may seem a good investment. There’s also the ”the man […] could not explain why his father never put it in an album with his other stamps.” remark. That’s very good for keeping the stamp in good condition, increasing its value for collectors, so if that is exceptional for a stamp collector, I would be extra suspicious of it being a fake.

skookumchuck 8y ago
The more value the stamp has, the more resources can be applied to determining if it is fake. That's all I meant. The sweet spot for counterfeiting would be where making it doesn't cost more than a certain percentage of what the real one is worth, while not making it worthwhile to spend money detecting the fake. Stamp collecting gets pretty dodgy if you're collecting ones worth more than a few bucks. First off, there's the problem of counterfeits. Next, even if the stamp is genuine, the grade of a stamp is a matter of opinion, and they'll sell you a stamp of a high grade, but insist it is lower when selling it back. Lastly, subtle variations in the color can dramatically shift its value (for genuine stamps) and of course color is a matter of opinion just like grade.
- Someone 8y ago
  ”The more value the stamp has, the more resources can be applied to determining if it is fake.” True, but that doesn’t work that well for paintings. Why would it work better for stamps?
  - evgen 8y ago
    I would guess that because this particular item was part of a botched mass-production run it might be possible to perform checks that are not available for a piece of art. Do the edges of #49 match up with any other available samples? Beyond simple chemical tests that will be performed is it possible to match up the actual paper fibers; both directionality and even if cut lines in fibers match up with edges of the stamps around it on the master sheet? In addition to testing it like a piece of art you can also test it as if it were a piece of a puzzle (the master sheet) to make sure it fits into place. I am not sure if the information necessary to fake this is out there or not, but the fact that this stamp is cut out of a sheet makes it a bit different than a painting.