The Fake Japanese Overprints!
Fake Japanese Overprints on North Borneo Stamps
Over the last couple of months, many sets of fake North Borneo stamps with Japanese overprints appeared periodically in ebay. When it first started in mid January this year, many people were more than happy to bid for them, perhaps for reference purposes. The final prices for these forged overprints when they were first introduced in ebay were relatively high, more so than you would expect in genuine mint copies without the overprints. Obviously many people are interested in possessing copies of these 'rare gems'. Some copies are evidently quite attractive and mouth-watering...
Nevertheless, a quick glance on the overprints shows very obvious forgery. The forged Japanese letters are thicker and appear too smooth compared to the authenthic overprints. The ink colour is in stark contrast to the genuine example.
The seller, sandraa4073, rightfully indicate that the stamps and overprints are not genuine and serve as spacefillers only. This though, was mentioned only in the description in a small letters and not in the heading of the items listed. The heading often read something like "Rare Japanese Occupation Overprint in Mint Selection", avoiding the term "forged or fake". This is potentially dangerous for buyers who don't bother to read the description. The fake Japanese overprints appear not only for North Borneo stamps but also for other countries, notably Malaya, Sarawak, and Brunei among others.
As there is a very limited amount of literature or reference regarding the forged Japanese overprint, it is vital for everyone to get used to and become familiar with the normal authentic overprints. I think it is also important to keep that small grain of suspicions especially when something seemingly very rare appear, especially in ebay. All the stamps shown here are forgeries - I'll keep them for future reference.
