Also, see the "Trouble Spots" section within the "Confederate Primer Online." Detailed descriptions of forgeries of the "T-E-N" and "Frame Line" issues are shown with tips how to detect them, as well as other addressed difficulties. A brief discussion of fake perforated issues may be found at the end of the Trouble Spots treatise on how to tell Type I (CSA 11) and Type II (CSA 12).
Provenance and Owner Markings - tracing the "philatelic chain of custody" of Confederate stamps and covers. Another helpful Kaufmann original.
eBay Rogues Gallery - Caveat Emptor! Buyer Beware! An area that drives most serious students absolutely crazy.
The linked pages below are mostly scans of the Confederate fake collection of David Kent, sold at auction in April 2008. The pages, scanned in high resolution, are reproduced here with the then new owner's permission. They are a ready-made explanation of the most commonly encountered gallery of "curious things." Use your web browser's zoom feature to enlarge and see detail. The Kent collection was sold again at auction in 2026 and has now been broken down for sale in sections by an eBay dealer.
Kaufmann articles on fakes are interspersed throughout and were published in the Civil War Philatelist (CWP), Confederate Philatelist (CP), American Stamp Collector & Dealer (ASC&D), and other publications.
The articles flesh out the basics shown in the Kent collection, which is a jump-off point into the wide and fascinating field of Confederate fakes, forgeries, and fantasies.
Kent Title Page Introduction
Alabama - Selma, Sparta, Livingston, Mobile, Greenville
Altered Plates - never put into use - a long history on these; details forthcoming in "Trouble Spots"
Birmingham counterfeits
Blockade postage fantasy
Bucks Richmond Express fantasy
Cancellations - 2-cent to 20-cent - a gallery of baddies
Cancellations - from bad to worse - general issues to provisionals
Charleston - Fort Sumter
Charleston - "Charleston Fake Postmaster Provisional Entire" - a Kaufmann article published in 2Q 2025 CWP
Charleston - "Forensic Proof that the 2¢ and 10¢ Charleston Provisional 'Essays' are Fakes" - a Brittain, Feller & Kaufmann article published in 3Q 2025 CWP
Columbus, Ohio Farley issue
"Confederate Postmaster Provisional Wannabes" - a Kaufmann article published in August 2022 ASC&D
Crude forgeries of the Davis lithographs
"Confederate General Issues with Faked Postmarks" - a Kaufmann article published in March 2023 ASC&D
CSA Flag
"CSA 1, Twin Crescents Variety "- a Kaufmann article published in 4Q 2015 CP
"Confederate Essays" - a Kaufmann article published in May 2022 ASC&D
"Confederate Essays" - a Kaufmann follow-up article published in July 2022 ASC&D
"Eutaw, Alabama" - a Kaufmann article published in December 2023 CWP
Florida - Madison, Tampa, Express (also see Georgia page below)
CSA 10 Framelines - "A 'Too Good to be True' Trap" - a Kaufmann article published in February 2024 ASC&D
CSA 10 Frameline - "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Fake Frame Line Stamp" - a Kaufmann article published in 2Q 2013 CP
CSA 10 Frameline - "Analysis of a problematic stamp" - a Kaufmann article published in 1Q 2016 CP
CSA 10 Frameline "Old Fake" - "How to Identify the 'Old Fake' Frameline" - a Kaufmann article published in the 2Q 2026 CWP
Georgia - Athens, Savannah, Macon - the second row on this page is actually the untitled Madison, Florida counterfeit
Hell-box - a wide assortment of curious things
Livingston, Alabama, forgeries
Louisiana - Baton Rouge and New Orleans
Memphis / Wilmington, Tennessee / North Carolina
New York Counterfeit - one of the most commonly seen - often on eBay and in virtually every dealer bourse by non-specialist dealers as genuine CSA 6. This is also addressed in the "Trouble Spots" section of this website.
"New York Counterfeit, Ward Printings, and Other Pretenders" - a Kaufmann article published in May 2019 ASC&D
New York Counterfeit - a 1948 August Dietz detailed description from one of his publications
North Carolina - Lenoir, Weldon, Statesville
"Northampton 'Mississippi'" - a Kaufmann article published in 2Q 2018 CWP
"Odgen Confederate Postmasters' Provisional Forgeries "- a Kaufmann article published in 2Q 2023 CWP
"Philatelic Intuition" - a Kaufmann article published in 3Q 2015 CP
Richmond fantasies - Duckpins and Battle flag
Scott Catalogue 1894 illustrations - one of the greatest sources of early counterfeits
South Carolina - Charleston and Columbia (multiple types)
Sperati 10-cent rose, CSA 5 forgery - dangerous
Sperati "T-E-N" forgery - dangerous. Addressed in more detail in "Trouble Spots" on this site, plus the article in the next link.
"Sperati Confederate Forgeries" - by Patricia A. Kaufmann, as printed in the Philatelic Book of (even more) Secrets, Volume 2, 2015 by Professional Stamp Experts
Springfield facsimiles - some of the most commonly seen baddies - are often on eBay. If you are reading these pages because you know nothing about stamps and want to find out what you have, please flip the stamp over and look at the back. Often, the word "FACSIMILE" or "REPRODUCTION" is found on the back in various ink colors.
"Springfield Facsimiles / Tasco Prize Set Packets" - a Kaufmann article published in June 2023 ASC&D
"Springfield Facsimiles on Cover" - a Kaufmann article published in June 2022 ASC&D
Tennessee - Memphis and Nashville - multiple types
Tennessee - 2 - Memphis, Rheatown, Knoxville - multiple types
Virginia - Marion, Danville, Pittsylvania Court House, Petersburg - multiple types
Virginia-2 - Pleasant Shade, Lynchburg, Fredericksburg - multiple types
"Wallpaper - 1932 Dietz Souvenirs" - a Kaufmann article published in January 2023 ASC&D
