Legal postage stamps are produced by a post administration of a corresponding country. If the administration is not able to produce them, it can be done by an authorized philatelic agent. Postage stamps produced without a contract with a post administration are not official and cannot be used as a way of payment for post services.

Before production, a post administration and a philatelic agent together agree on the most important production stages (designs, themes, denomination, release date, edition). Philatelic agent is responsible for producing only high quality postage stamps.

Stamps produced without an agreement with the official post administration of a country cause much damage to the philatelic trade and stamp collectors. It is necessary to cooperate in eliminating such stamps from the market.

The official stamps are described and listed by country’s post administration or in the official websites and catalogues of the legal philatelic agents (Scott (USA), Michel (Germany), Yvert and Tellier (France). Stamp listings also frequently appear in philatelic periodicals.

Fake stamps ≠ illegal stamps.

Illegal stamps are equally often called “bogus stamps” or “unofficial stamps”. “Cinderella stamps” and “phantasy stamps” are less correct but also synonymic phrases to illegal stamps.

“Illegal stamps” and “fake stamps” cannot be regarded as synonyms because they have different meanings.

Fake stamps, also known under the name “counterfeit stamps”, are illegal copies of legal stamps. A lot of countries regard this activity as a criminal offence. Someone who is interested in producing fake stamps would seek to get the originals or the files from which they were created and produce their identical copies.

Illegal stamps are private newly created labels that resemble the essential features of official stamps (paper, form, etc.). The only difference from original stamps is that they are produced without a contract with a post administration of a concerned country.

Illegal stamps cause serious problems to post administrations, retailers, official philatelic agents and stamp collectors (if the collector is not informed that the stamps are illegal).