Wednesday 2 January 2013

Fake North Borneo Japanese Occupation one line overprints


I have been rather perturbed by the amount of fake material that has been on offer recently on a very well known online auction site. To be fair at least one dealer does describe his items accurately whereas there are others who concocted some sort of unlikely story to make them sound authentic. This is not good for our hobby now nor in the future. If an item looks or sounds too good to be true then it should be subjected to the highest scrutiny. I say this from personal experience.

I got this lot recently, apart from the 4c pair, in the knowledge that they were unlikely to be true. The genuine stamp would have a catalogue value of up to £500 each. However, the 4c pair is most likely to be authentic. The black overprint is somehow much more common on the 4c stamp. Looking at the the pair, one could see slight differences in the inking and less so in the the japanese characters which would be normal in an individually applied handstamp.
The rest of the stamps have fake identical looking overprints which would suggest a modern printing process. Significantly, the individual characters are also a little larger whom compared to genuine looking examples.
Click on the picture if you would like to see a larger image.

I show examples here which I think are the real McCoy even though one can never be entirely sure. They are in violet which are the more common versions. Note how the inking is not so precise and is different from stamp to stamp. Of course I can not rule out that these were applied by fake handstamps applied individually. Those postwar fakes can be very difficult. It would not be easy to reproduce a violet overprint convincingly with a modern printer, I think.
The $2 overprint on the 1c stamp and the Labuan overprints on Straits stamps are rare as hen's teeth and so do not expect to get them for a relatively small sum of money from a total stranger online. I am not aware the Labuan overprints are even listed in the SG catalogue. I could be wrong. The war tax overprints are not so rare and are also frequently forged.
I once saw almost a whole stock book filled with all the fakes I have mentioned at a stamp fair passed off as normal. There are so many around and so are worth little in moneys. There are many rogues out there. I have updated a comment on the Showa overprints. You can read it here.
Expensive JO stamps should ideally be accompanied by a suitable certificate of authenticity. Organisations such as the Royal Philatelic Society of London have access to reference collections where they could compare the stamps. I understand that they also possess an expensive ultraviolet lamp which can show up the differences in the ink that has been used in such overprints.
For collectors who would like to find out more about these overprints, there is a whole series of articles in past copies of the Sarawak Journal. They are available in pdf form on CDs at a very reasonable price. You can order them directly from the Sarawak Specialist Society.

14 comments:

  1. Glad you touched on this topic. Have you noticed a Singapore based seller on the most popular auction site called Johnlowis have shown sheets of fake JO overprints (most probably laser printed, pretending to be some inheritance from a Japanese General. The $2/1c ovpt in complete sheet!!! He has sold quite a number of copies todate. What an easy way to make money!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope this post is helpful when deciding to bid or not. Collectors who have bought and are not happy should apply for arbitration as soon as possible.

      Delete
    2. I notice that his recent listings have disappeared or removed. Someone must have complained. Great!!!

      Delete
    3. He has removed the picture of the sheets and is back on already.

      Delete
  2. hi,the first picture is not genuine stamps,2nd picture is?Why the 1942 japanese stamps have 2diffrent overprint at black and violet?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first scan consists of mostly fake overprints.
      The violet overprints were carried at Kuching which was the "capital" of japanese Northern Borneo. The bulk of the overprinting of these stamps were done there including some in black but the violets were more numerous. The other black overprints on NB stamps were done locally done to a lack of supplies or delay due to the long journey overland. Sea transport was not safe due to enemy submarines. At Sandakan, the black overprints were said to be done on demand as and when they were needed and consequently, the black versions are much much rarer. There is a debate as to whether overprinting was carried out in Jesselton as well.

      Delete
  3. hi,few days a go I have visited ebay sellings borneo japanese stamps.Johnlowis,I know a singapore seller.Another seller from malaysia specimenstamp also selling a lot of borneo japanese stamps ,genuine?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David, please read my various posts on this subject very carefully before deciding to buy or bid.

      Delete
  4. David, they were freshly overprinted. Wrong colour wrong characters. Compare with those sold by reputable seller and you will see the difference quite easily.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am also of the opinion that these are all fakes, but I recently purchased them for a sufficient sum to make ebay sit up and take notice (and test its Buyer Protection guarantee)-- and if need be, to warrant a criminal complaint in Singapore. I am going to try and put Mr. Lowis out of business; would any of you like to help?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am sure there are sufficient folks here who are concerned and would be willing to help. What is your strategy? I think the most power lies with the buyers. Provided they complained early enough, the auction site would take notice. Otherwise they would be losing money through their buyer protection guarantee.
      Do not forget that we often spent up to a life time building up our collection and yet see it debased fairly quickly by such blatant dishonesty.

      Delete
  6. Dear John,
    Please let us know what to do. I have tried reporting the fraud to ebay but it leads to nowhere. If you are ging to post in the cummunity chat, let us know the thread so that we can join in. Any other mechanism, please share so that we can also file a complaint. It is going to damage the stamp collecting interest in the long run.
    Regards.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello John, is that John Lovis?

    ReplyDelete