INTRODUCTION

The definition of the forgery in philately is not enough clear. The limit between fraud and forgery is very often a matter of dispute. What are really the philatelic forgeries and what is going to be falsified? To whose disadvantage are forgeries and who is spreading them?

The objects of philatelic forgeries are all objects of interest for stamp collectors: stamps, print of postal cancellation, letters, stationeries, postal-historical documents, overprinting on the stamps, even approvals of philatelic objects including experts marks.

The most common object of the forgery is the postal stamp. In the forgery of the stamp, it could be falsified some or all of its substantial elements: printing block (or overprinting block), paper, color and perforation. Postal mark is the object of forgery too, falsifying the mark or its printing, somehow. The objects of forgeries are also postal stamps, maximum cards, FDC's, postal orders, telegrams and others.
Particular category of specific philatelic forgery are, so-called "assembled objects", which are usually letters or some other postal objects consisting of original elements, valid or not, with essential characteristic that they have not been in postal traffic at all or in specified time.

Izložak atestatora Boškovića na izložbi Srbijafila XII.

Presentation of expert Bošković at the exhibition SRBIJAFILA XII

Philatelic forgeries are to the disadvantage of stamp collectors. Those falsified objects used in real postal traffic are to the disadvantage of the post.
Forgeries are spread out in the first line by authors and their helpers (tradesmen and other helpers) being in full conscious of what they are doing, and by the other stamp collectors passively and without awareness of the act.

The purpose of the philatelic forgery is to get an object of attractive philatelic value. It is achieved by falsifying philatelic object completely or only in some elements. In forgeries are also included all "reparations" of damaged or in some way changed structure related to the found status (patching "windows", regumming of the whole or only one part of the back side of the stamp, "added teeth" etc)