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THE INVASION OF ABUSIVE STAMP ISSUES.
DJIBOUTI 2017 - 2021. SIERRA LEONE 2018 - 2019.
Victor MANTA, PWO *
Introduction
We published in 2015 the results of our research of Internet sources that contained information about the abusive stamp issued by The Solomon Islands Post between the years 2013 - 2015. The results were incredible, so that the “invasion” term used in the title was fully justified.
This year (2018) we will focus on the abusives issued by another small country, Djibouti, having a tiny territory, and under one million inhabitants. Our research has shown that in the first 9 months of the last year roughly each second inhabitant of Djibouti could get one of the stamps issued in the name of his country. Actually, they will get none, because these many stamps weren't printed for any of them.
The Invasion of the Abusive Stamps continues relentlessly
Our main source
Our source is the same reputed one, the US Scott Catalogue, and its Scott New Listing Updates, published periodically by Linns.com online magazine. For copyright reasons we publish below just a very small and not readable excerpt of the page 81. This page and the one that precedes it are filled with sets (in blocks of four) and Souvenir Sheets (S/S) made for the small African country named Djibouti, that were issued between January and September 2017.
Fig. 1 Scott New Listing Updates. February 19, 2018. Page 81.
We compiled in the table shown below the philatelic material pertaining to the Djibouti stamps only, a listing that appears in very small fonts that nevertheless almost fill two pages.
DJIBOUTI. SCOTT NEW LISTINGS UPDATE |
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Issue Dates |
Scott No. |
No. of Stamps |
Value ($) |
2017, Jan. 20 |
1112 - 1126 |
100 |
310 |
2017, Mar. 15 |
1152 |
16 |
11 |
2017, Mar. 15 |
1154 - 1177 |
96 |
260 |
2017, July 05 |
1204 - 1213 |
40 |
110 |
2017, July 28 |
1224 - 1243 |
80 |
215 |
2017, Sep. 29 |
1246 - 1283 |
80 |
215 |
Total Stamps & Total Value |
412 |
1121 |
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Issue Dates |
Scott No. |
No. of S/S |
Value |
2017, Jan. 20 |
1127 - 1151 |
25 |
265 |
2017, Mar. 15 |
1153 |
1 |
10.5 |
2017, Mar. 15 |
1178 - 1291 |
24 |
255 |
2017, July 05 |
1214 - 1223 |
10 |
105 |
2017, July 28 |
1244 - 1263 |
20 |
215 |
2017, Sep. 29 |
1284 - 1303 |
20 |
215 |
Total S/S & Total Value |
100 |
1065.5 |
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Total No. Stamps & S/S. Total Value |
512 |
2186.5 |
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Linns.com February 19, 2018. Pages 80 - 81 |
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Fig. 2. Source: Scott New Listings Update of Feb. 19, 2018.
The results are mind-boggling. This small territory issued in only 9 months 412 different stamps (in 103 blocks of four) and 100 S/S. The Scott catalogue value of this material is US$ 2,186.5! For comparison purposes, the USA registered with WNS in 2013 a number of 140 stamps, and in 2014 a number of 81 stamps.
The sellers of Djibouti stamps
We couldn't find out who is the official agent for these stamps but we found at least an important seller of them, the Lithuanian company Stamperija. Please compare the block of four presented on the Scott listings page with the one that appears on the Stamperija site. That Stamperija attached an own number to these stamps could be an indication of a strong business relationship between Djibouti Post and Stamperija.
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Fig. 3. The same material listed by Scott and sold by Stamperija.
The Scott listing being brand new, Stamperija couldn't update the stamps yet with their Scott numbers but this will follow soon, and will legitimize these stamps, thrown relentlessly and in huge quantities on the market.
Please note the subject of the stamps shown above on the Fig. 3 (Pope John-Paul II), that look unusual for a predominantly (94%) Muslim country. The same applies to the Marilyn Monroe stamps displayed on the Fig. 1. Other stamps show the Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart, John. F. Kennedy, The Beatles, Franklin D. Roosevelt & wife, Princess Diana, etc.
Fig. 4. Djibouti's national sport?
During the coolest month of January in Djibouti it if fairly hot, with a mean temperature of 25° Celsius (77° Fahrenheit), not really ideal for practicing the ice hockey. It is obvious who are targeted by some outrageous marketers. The price on eBay for the 4 different S/S of the set, at the time of writing, is US$ 51.80, the seller being marlen-stamps (2 available / 1 sold).
Djibouti stamps on the WNS
The WNS is the abbreviation for the WADP Numbering System, developed by the World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU), and introduced in 2002. Link. Its initial goal was to stop the proliferation of illegal stamp issues. This goal wasn't achieved so far.
Back to the 512 abusive issues of Djibouti, marketed by Stamperija, none of them was registered with the WNS. The last two Djibouti stamps were registered back to 2008.
Stamps Worldwide Print Run & Costs 2016 (excerpt)
Country |
Count |
Face Value |
Catalog Value |
Djibouti |
248 |
252, 210 fr |
$2,867 |
Solomon Islands |
246 |
$10,741 |
$2,754 |
Sierra Leone |
504 |
11,771, 600 le |
$4,949 |
You can find the Scott listings for 2016 here. Djibouti was among the "champions" also in 2016 but Sierra Leone was then the "world champion" of abusive issues. Both Solomon Islands and Sierra Leone are represented by Stamperija. We show below a Stamperija "masterpiece" issued in 2017 for Sierra Leone.
UPDATE DJIBOUTI 2018
New listings on Djibouti appeared in Linns.com, online Edition, pp. 93 - 94. See below a summary.
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Total sheets of four: 57. Total stamps on sheets of four: 228. Total value: 615.00
Total Souvenir Sheets: 57. Total value (Scott): USD 615.00
Total sheets and S/S: 114. Total value: USD 1230.00 . Issued between: Feb.. 19, 2018 - June 12, 2018 (about 4 month).
Issuer: Stamperija, Lithuania. Seller: Stamperija, bpbayart.eu. Catalogue: Scott.
WNS Numbering System: Djibouti - Awaiting stamps for registration since: 2009. Source.
According to these stamps, the most popular topics in Djibouti would be: Ice hockey players, Ferrari Automobiles, Submarines, von Zeppelin, Marilyn Monroe, Motorcycles races, etc. What mockery!
UPDATE 2019 - Sierra Leone
With a persistence worthy of a better cause the Scott catalogue continues to list the endless production of the stamp selling, distributing and printing house Stamperija from Lithuania. Here is an excerpt from Linn's as of August 19, 2019, published online on the Scott New Listings Update.
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In just two months of January and February 2018 the little Sierra Leone issued no less then 39 sheets of four (156 different stamps) and 40 Souvenir Sheet, for a total value of $$ 810.00.
Not bad for this country, about which it is written as follows: "Sierra Leone remains among the world's poorest countries, ranking 180th out of 187 countries in the Human Development Index in 2011. Decades of economic decline and 11 years of armed conflict had dramatic consequences on the economy". And, of course, the Polar Bears (see above) are among the most typical representative of Sierra Leone's fauna...
Update 2021 Djibouti
Linn's Stamps News, September 19, 2021, pages 84 - 94, 4 columns each page.
Djibouti new issues:
- starting by year 2020, Scott # 1921 -1924; set of 4, SS # 1925
- ending by year 2021, Scott # 2463 - 2472, in sheets of 4, Set of 10; SS Scott # 2473 - 482, set of 10.
A huge number of stamps and souvenir sheets (too many to count) issued in less than a year. The Djibouti philately is permanently destroyed! Thank you, Scott and Linn's, for advertising and legitimizing these pieces of paper..
Our recommendation
BEWARE ! DON'T BUY THESE LEGALIZED LABELS THAT FLOOD THE MARKET
(*) About the author
Victor Manta is the founder and the current president of the PWO. He is mostly interested in thematic (topical) stamps and in the philately on the Internet. His philatelic sites were multiple awarded in websites philatelic competitions. He is also a well known philatelic journalist, who published numerous philatelic articles on the Web and in printed magazines.
Legal notice
• This is a piece of philatelic journalism. It is protected by the free speech and by the liberty of the press doctrines.
• Some very short excerpts or small images are sometimes used for illustration/teaching/criticism/commentary purposes only, to properly inform the worldwide readers.
• The fair use doctrine is strictly observed. Each excerpt is properly attributed and respects the rights of the copyright owners.
• We will immediately correct any piece of information that will be proved false.
Links to related articles published on this site:
- WNS Circulars are not reliable
- WADP, WNS and the Illegal Postal Stamps. Balance Sheet Ten Years Later
- What is WNS Good For?
- No Help from the UPU
- Nigerian Stamp Sentinel
- Ten Lost WNS Years