The only legal producer of postage stamps is a post administration of a corresponding country or its authorized official philatelic agents. Postage costs can be covered only by legal postage stamps of a corresponding country. If an agency does not comply with the signed contract, its produced postage stamps are not legal. Illegal postage stamps have no more value than pieces of paper.

Themes, designs, denomination, edition, release date and other important questions regarding stamp production are coordinated between the agent and the post administration. Philatelic agent takes all the responsibility of the quality of its produced postage stamps.

Illegal postage stamps are a huge problem of both philatelic agents and stamp collectors and all measures must be taken to stop the production of illegal postage stamps.

The descriptions and lists of official postage stamps can be found in the official websites and stamp catalogues of the authorized philatelic agents: Scott (USA), Yvert and Tellier (France), Michel (Germany). The lists of postage stamps might be also found in various philatelic periodicals.

Fake stamps ≠ illegal stamps.

“Illegal stamps” also can be called “unofficial stamps” or “bogus stamps”. The phrases “phantasy stamps” or “cinderella stamps” are not that correct but still often used to describe illegal postage stamps.

Illegal stamps and fake stamps are not the same and should not be confused.

Fake stamps, also often called “counterfeit stamps” are illegal copies of official postage stamps. Many countries consider this activity as a criminal offence. In order to produce fake stamps, an individual would try to get the original ones or the files from which they were produced and make identical copies presenting them as official ones.

Illegal stamps are private newly produced labels that tend to imitate usual stamps and their producer pretends to have a legal contract with the postal administration under whose name he/she is illegally producing stamps.

The production of postage stamps without an official contract with a concerned postal administration is illegal and the sale of such stamps is cheating vis-à-vis a collector (except the cases when he/she is aware about the real status of stamps). The production and sale of illegal postage stamps damage the honorable philatelic trade and a longtime tradition of stamp collecting.