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Sold 2/9/2002 by bel-kirkstamps to chickfrdstk for $19.99
Pair of US #147 Unused No gum
This is a pair of US #147 which is unused and has no gum. There is a light stain on the left stamp. About half of the perfs are separated. .
The stamp on the far left was resold and shown to the right
Offered by "schuylerac on 4/7/2002 as:
136 UNUSED GRILL CAT$325
Notice the key word here, GRILL! Hmmm... Scott 147's don't have grills.
Sold 2/9/2002 by bel-kirkstamps to chickfrdstk for $19.99
Pair of US #147 Unused No gum
This is a pair of US #147 which is unused and has no gum. There is a light stain on the left stamp. About half of the perfs are separated.
The stamp second to the left was resold and shown to the right
Offered by "schuylerac on 4/7/2002 as:
136 UNUSED GRILL CAT$325
Notice the key word again, GRILL! Hmmm... Scott 147's don't normally have grills, so one must conclude that either chickfrdstk or schuylerac added one. See what their bogus grills look like here.
Sold 2/25/2002 by jylland to chickfrdstk for $19.00
US SC#153, 24c.1870 Miss.Cor. tooths val$120
The red arrow points to the original cancel. Also note the straight edge on the right.
The stamp to the left was resold as the very rare Scott #142 and shown to the far right.
Since this is an educational website devoted to the exposure of philatelic fraud, let's ask a question. QUESTION: If the original seller misidentified the stamp because he didn't notice the grill, and chickfrdstk/schuylerac simply made a lucky purchase, why would they feel the need to add a second cancel and make it a less attractive item? ANSWER: Most likely, the paper of the stamp is quite dirty and grey. When the forgers reperfed the stamp, they probably exposed clean white paper on the edge of the stamp. By adding another cancellation, they could cover the white edges and hide the reperf job.
Offered by "schuylerac" on 4/10/2002 as:
142 USED GRILL CAT $6500
While the seller schuylerac does mention the reperforation job to the right side of the stamp, he neglects to say who did it. Was it chickfrdstk or schuylerac?
SOLD FOR $27.01
Sold 2/22/2002 by jimsrpo to chickfrdstk for $10.51
US SC#71, 30c. used CV $70 No min., no reserve.
The red circles detail key perforations used to identify the bogus 81 on the right
The stamp to the LEFT was resold as the very rare Scott #81 and shown to the far right.
Since this is an educational website devoted to the exposure of philatelic fraud, let's do a little research and learn something new! The Scott 2002 US Specialized Catalog states "Eight copies of 80 and 80a (four unused and four used), and eight copies of No. 81 (one in a museum and not available to collectors) are known to exist. All are more or less faulty and/or off center. Values are for off-center examples with small perforation faults.
Sold by "schuylerac" on 4/26/2002 as:
81 USED CAT $60,000
The seller schuylerac stated: "THERE IS AN ALL OVER GRILL OF LINEAR ROWS WITH GRILL POINTS IN STRAIGHT LINES. THE GRILL IS INTERRUPTED AT SPOTS AND LOOKS VERY REALISTIC. THE GRILL DOES NOT BREAK THE PAPER AS SCOTT SAYS IT OFTEN DOES. THIS IS SOLD AS IS WITHOUT IMPLICATION MADE OR INTENDED THAT IT IS INDEED GENUINE. WE DON'T EVEN DARE IMAGINE THIS IS GENUINE AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU!
Sold for $36.55
Human nature is a funny thing.
Time for some more education: Look closely, Fill in the missing pieces of the cool grid cancel with a black marker to make it look a little different, add a "PARTIAL GRILL....", reperf the bottom, and voila! Increase the CV by 1200% The Scott #143 is quite rare and is usually bought and sold with a certificate of authenticity. Obviously the seller schuylerac again found a rarity in that the original seller rvici missed the grill on the stamp. What are the odds of this happening over and over again. NOT! Once again either chickfrdstk or schuylerac added a phony grill and damaged another perfectly good stamp. Uuuuggghh! See more of their fake grills