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MEMEL FLUGPOST HOAX

Editor’s Note: George Blom attended BALPEX last year and brought up the question of a Memel counterfeit. Since Memel is closely related to Danzig in history, we thought it appropriate to print George’s comments.

At the Danzig Study Group meeting in Baltimore, I made the suggestion that the DSG also include some material on Memel. The study is really needed, and unless a new study group is formed, this is the appropriate group to include Memel.

Over the years, I did very little Memel collecting be-cause one glance at the catalog shows that the market must be full of counterfeits. A few months ago, when Dr. Bohne’s GPS Forgery Handbook showed illustrations of the Memel Airmails (Michel 72-83) I looked for them.

The Handbook is no substitute for expertization, but every counterfeit has some feature that can be recognized instantly. In the case of 72-83, it is the “Flugpost” overprint. If there is any gap at all between the “s” and “t” of the overprint, there is no need to know anything more about the stamp. It is definitively counterfeit.

All these airmails are cheap except for No. 79, the expensive one. I saw No. 79 in the catalog of a respective auction house, and the photo clearly showed a gap between the two letters of the overprint. The auctioneer, a respected GPS member, was surprised at the counterfeit and immediately removed it from the auction.

Searching dealers’ stocks at several New York shows, I found at least a dozen dealers with a stock of the cheap 72-83, and not one piece was genuine. Then I called a respected GPS-member dealer who had them on his price list. Both his cheap set and expensive set were supposed to be expertized. A few days later he told me that his expertized set was counterfeit, as was his stock of cheap ones.

I will keep looking for genuine No. 72-83, but not for any other Memel without knowledge of the genuine or forged characteristics of Nos. 1-17, 18-33, 40-46, etc. Any information that could be supplied would be appreciated by many GPS members.

The day after I wrote the above, I received a copy of Memel No. 83 on cover from Bill Ruh. I don’t collect covers, but this one looked perfect, with the exception of what appeared to be the tell-tale gap between the “s” and “t” of “Flugpost”. When I called Bill, he put the stamp under the light and glass, verifying that the letters were disconnected as were all the others,

 

Danzig Report  Nr. 26 - 1st Quarter 1980, Page 4.