Bonsai on Postage Stamps, Illegal, Fraudulent and Illegitimate Issues

ILLEGAL, FRAUDULENT & ILLEGITIMATE ISSUES

Per the Philatelic Webmasters Organization ( http://pwmo.org/Illegals/intro.htm ), these are "illegal issues for territories which are not entitled to issue stamps and false stamps produced by fraudsters in the name of an issuing authority with the intent to defraud collectors."

For the educational benefit of collectors of bonsai stamps who may come across these -- we have seen some of these offered several times on eBay or delcampe.net without identification that these are not legitimate -- we will list known fraudulent stamps on this page along with the documentation for their status.

If you know of any other illegal issues or can identify the trees used in the images, please contact rjb@magiminiland.org. Thank you.

ANGOLA, REPUBLIC OF 2000: These 3,500,000 Kz stamps are illegal per the Universal Postal Union International Bureau Circular 406, published 15 Sept 2001, http://pwmo.org/Illegals/frame-illegals-en.htm (click on "Angola" in the left column). At least three dozen sets of various subjects with this denomination were issued by three companies located in Belgium, Great Britain and Lithuania.

Per Roger Cichorz in personal e-mail to RJB, 21 May 2007, the trees depicted here are Pinus thunbergii, Pinus thunbergii, Buxus microphylla japonica, Wisteria sinensis, Buxus microphylla japonica, and Pinus thunbergii, while the second set is of Rhododendron obtusum, Taxodium distichum, Wisteria sinensis, Quercus suber, Prunus sp., and Olea europaea. (Double-set image per nomadnik, 6 Feb 2008.)

CHINA <2001: At least six stamps seen by RJB offered on eBay the end of October 2001 with the title "Beautiful Bonsai Souvenir Sheets" and caption "China: Beautiful Commemorative/Arts souvenir sheets, (no face value, not list at catalog), all in excellent condition..." (No specification if these were from Mainland China or Republic of China.)

CONGO, REPUBLIC OF THE 2009: Four "Champignons et Bonsai" stamps are not listed with The World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU). They are probably illegal as they are not specified in Scott's 2017 Standard Postage Stamp Catalog (Vol. 2, pp. 574-610). The images are per Matteo Grassi in personal e-mail to RJB, 05 Jan 2011.

DJIBOUTI, REPUBLIC OF 2007: Four 800F bonsai stamps (above) are not listed with The World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU). They are illegal per Scott's 2017 Standard Postage Stamp Catalog (Vol. 2, pg. 985). The two sets of two 2008 "Bonsai et Hiboux" stamps (below) are not listed with WADP or UPU. And, while not specified in Scott's, they probably also are illegal. All images are per Matteo Grassi in personal e-mail to RJB, 05 Jan 2011.

LIBERIA, REPUBLIC OF 2005: This pair of $5.00 stamps is not listed with The World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The images are per Lorenzo Sonzini in a 9 Mar 2007 personal e-mail to RJB.

RWANDA, REPUBLIC OF 2005: A 1200F bonsai tree stamp (above) is not listed with The World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU). (Also per Roger Cichorz in personal e-mail to RJB, 21 May 2007. Image from CQout, Item Title: VW A.08.098 BONSAI BOOM / UIL / SIR ROBERT BADEN POWEL, RWAN.

The twelve "Mushrooms and Bonsai" stamps (below) from 2009 are illegal per Scott's 2017 Standard Postage Stamp Catalog (Vol. 5, pg. 1403). These images are per Matteo Grassi in personal e-mail to RJB, 05 Jan 2011.

SOMALIA 2002: There was no recognized permanent national government or legal system in place when these stamps were supposedly issued. A Transitional National Government was formed in August 2000 with a three-year mandate to create a new constitution and hold elections, but this goal was not achieved and the process is ongoing. There has been a new chief of state since 14 Oct 2004 and a prime minister as head of government since 3 Nov 2004. Elections for the 84-member lower house of parliament took place on 29 Sept 2005. ( http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2863.htm )

SOMALI REPUBLIC 2004: The stamps below (found 25 Oct 2005 by RJB and with additional info per Roger Cichorz in e-mail to RJB, 21 May 2007) are most likely illegitimate issues also. Click here for info on legitimate issues.

TOUVA 2006: This set of five stamps was ostensibly issued by this former region of the Russian Federation. However, Touva (aka Tuva) is not a legitimate member of The World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The images are per Lorenzo Sonzini in a 9 Mar 2007 personal e-mail to RJB.

LEGITIMATE STAMPS:

Australia Stamps	Mainland China Stamps	Republic of China (Taiwan) Stamps	Gambia Stamp
Ghana Stamp	Gibraltar Stamp	Grenada Grenadines Stamp	Hong Kong Stamps
Indonesia Stamp	Japan Stamps	Maldive Islands Stamps	Monaco Stamp
New Caledonia Stamp	Philippines Stamps	San Marino Stamps	Thailand Stamps
Uganda Stamps	USA Stamps	Vietnam Stamps

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