The Stamp Forger that Fooled the Experts, Jean de Sperati:
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- Learn about the master forger who is still tricking the experts 60+ years after his death. Watch Samuel West and the David Feldman Team tell the incredible story of Jean de Sperati.
#history #art #antique
Special Thanks to:
Samuel West: www.imdb.com/n...
David Feldman Stamp Auctions: www.davidfeldm...
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Links:
David Feldman Catalog
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APRL Article: He Fooled the Experts
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Book: Sperati Technique
www.sperati.or...
Article: Focus on Forgers Jean de Sperati
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Radio Feature: Paul Harvey’s ‘The Rest of the Story’ (RUclips 3 min)
• Video
Scan from Ch3 ‘The Work of Sperati’
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‘The Economist’ Article (Via Archive.org)
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Article: The Fabulous Faker
www.sperati.or...
Newspaper article announcing retirement
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Other online resources: Sperati.org
www.sperati.org/
Wikipedia: Jean de Sperati
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I could listen to Sam talk about stamps all day. 💛
SAME!!
A movie needs to be made about this guy.
Starring Sam West.
Yes!
Or a Netflix 5 part series. Sam shared quite a bit more about Sperati that I wasn’t able to add to the video, he was quite a character!
Sam is a wonderful guest, very knowledgable and infectiously enthusiastic when talking about philately. Fantastic episode Graham, love it.
He really is! Thanks so much for watching, John. Glad you enjoyed it 😊
His mannerisms are so like his father's Paul Johnson
Excellent video about Sperati.
I would like to thank David Feldman Auction house for giving the unique opportunity in this area so intriguing.
I am one of the few proud owners of TODAY'S Sperati's collection. Definitely, my exhibition and studies will increase exponentially.
Thanks to Mr. Fernando Martinez, director and CEO of David Feldman Auction house.
Thanks to all of you for making this hobby loved by all the philatelist.
The time in the future will dictate how important this unique material will increase its value in perpetuity. A lot of collectors will regret not having taken the opportunity on acquiring at least some of the lots.
Unique opportunity in our philatelic career.
Happy holidays to all of you.
Pedro
Congrats on your win today, Pedro. 👏 it certainly is a very special auction, and I enjoyed watching it live, I also won something (it’s small but a nice compliment to my stamp in the episode). Thanks for watching 😊
@@ExploringStamps Happy Holidays Graham.
I believe not too long ago I sent you an email about my collection of Puerto Príncipe, considered by the purists as the first generation of US Posesions. In addition I mentioned about the black 6 Cuartos 1850 from Spain. If you need these materials I willing to share with you in addition of Spanish Colonies like Cuba, Philippines and Spanish Marianas.
Keep the great job.
I love your videos !!!! They are like mini documentaries !!! Thanks a lot ~ From India 😀
Thank you 😊 Glad you are enjoying the videos.
@@ExploringStamps and Happy Holidays to you 😇
14:22
😆 🤣 😂
He delivers that with such passionate glee !
😁 Sam is an amazing story teller!
@@ExploringStamps
Agreed, and maybe more so than you think.........I truly believe that if this info Sam presented was delivered by someone else who lacked the passion Sam does, I probably wouldn't have had all that much interest in this story.
Once again, you've hit it out of the park! Delving into these fringe areas of philately makes the hobby so much more interesting.
Thank you so much, Jack 😊. I like the idea of "fringe areas of philately"....that could be a whole series on its own. Glad you enjoyed it.
Another great program! Thanks Graham!
Thanks Nyle! Glad you liked it 😊
Great video about Jean de Sperati master artist. Congratulations Graham👏👏👏👏
😊 Thank you Bernardo! Glad you enjoyed it.
Wow!
Great topic, and a great video!
Couldn't help myself and went to look at the auction site: some of the estimates are surprisingly affordable... although I guess they could go well over the estimates.
Thank you Paul 😊. I am really curious to see what the items actually go for, I was also surprised to see what some of the estimated prices are, let’s see!
Thanks for watching!
Absolutely fascinating!!!!!!!! Wow His work is ART forever ;) Thanks for another interesting episode, Graham!
EPIC! This was so well produced, not something I was expecting from a Stamp RUclips channel. Very well done.
Thanks Ace 😊
A 5 Star Episode. Great seeing Sam again.
Thanks Pete 😊, Glad you enjoyed it
one is very instructive. More than 50 years ago when my dad introduced me to philately, he told me one day about his admiration for the artistic work of Jean de Sperati. He considered him the Arsen Lupin of philatelic fraud! A very great artist as he said. Nice collaboration.
Oh wonderful, so you have known (and admired) the work of Sperati since then ... I just only found out about him when first talking to Sam. Thanks so much for watching 😊
Always a pleasure to follow your videos and I look forward to the return of Lisa from StampCat! The new mom!
Fantastic presentation!
Thank you Jim 😊
A piece of art in the palm of your hand, a catalyst for a memory, a piece of time frozen.
Love that!! 😊
What a well made video. Thank you to all 4 of you, it was so enjoyable to watch. 👏
Thanks Kelvi! 😊 Glad you enjoyed it.
Graham, another great topic and guest. Gotcha Philately, sounds like a great title for a true story movie…
Thanks Jeff!
Gotcha Philately, I like it.... we need to pitch it to a network!
Very interesting Graham. I had heard and read of Jean de Sperati, but this video made things clearer. Thanks.
Thank you David! Researching Sperati was fascinating, glad this video made things clearer 😊 thanks for watching!
@@ExploringStamps You are very welcome. I am researching and finding things about him that fascinate me. Til our next meeting thru one of your videos, David
Sam was very good during your video, explaining about Jean de Sperati.
Excellent presentation, had never heard of this “ Gotcha “ man, but it must be one of the best philately videos I’ve watched in a very long time, thank you to both of yo for a very interesting half an hour, Mike in UK
Wow, thank you Mike! So glad to see that you enjoyed the episode 😊. Thanks for watching.
If it waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck and barks like a chicken ... it must be a Sperati.
One of our stamp club members is a forgery collector and from what I hear, his collection is
legendary too. And he has a few of the Speratis ... great video, as always. Thanks!
😂😂👏
That would be a very interesting collection to look through. Thanks so much for watching, glad you liked it. 😊
FANTASTIC PRESENTATION!!!!
Thank you, Arthur 😊
Excellent episode. Crime and art intersect in a way that never occurred to me before. Cheers
Thanks Buzza Wuzza! It’s a very cool story, as long as you are not one of the fooled experts 😅
@@ExploringStamps Still searching for what my area of expertise might be!!!!
Very interesting.
Thanks Sara 😊
Truly amazing episode Graham! Just when I think there is no way you can produce a better, more intriguing or interesting episode you somehow come up with a blockbuster! Loved the way you wove interesting interviews into your topic and Sam as a story teller is completely captivating. I had not heard of Sperati until this episode and totally ignored pieces I've seen about stamp forgeries; now I'm going to pay attention to all stamp forgery stories!
Wow, thank you Gary. I have a new interest in stamp forgeries as a result of this episode. Sam, Devlan and Ricky really gave me a lot of content to work with for this video, and there is a lot more to explore. Thanks so much for watching.
Fascinating!!!! One of my favorite episodes ever - who know there was so much intrigue in stamps!
Thank you 😊 so glad you enjoyed it.
Very interesting episode. Now I have some serious thoughts about my “Basel Dove” also might have been Spretati’s handy work!!!!😮
Its amazing, they only found out now that Sperati was working on the Basel Dove, so you are probably safe BECAUSE it is believed that he died before he could finish it, the Basel Dove was his final project and was unfinished.... thats what I was told. :D
Fantastic share.
Thank you 😊
AGAIN! So fascinating, interesting, wonderful story, shall I say a writer's product? Thanks! For much enjoyment and new knowledge! THANK YOU, GRAHAM!
Thank you Wayne!! 😊 so glad to see that you enjoyed it.
Absolutely wonderful video.
The guests (I mean, Sam West, again, absolute pleasure to listen to him getting excited about every aspect it seems) and the production values (the visualisations of the dye/print/surcharge) really stand out, Graham. You can be so proud of this video.
Thank you Waren!! I am really proud of how the video came out, but I owe it all to Sam, Devlan and Ricky for contributing so much to the episode. So glad to see that you enjoyed it 😊.. Thanks for watching!!
Really interesting video. Thank you.
Thanks Stephen, glad you enjoyed it!! 😊
Just got back into philately after a 60 year hiatus, that was a super interesting video and some interesting history on the hobby!! Thanks!!
Thank you, Rich 😊. Glad to see that you enjoyed it, welcome back to the hobby.
I was interested in your response to Mr. Henderson's question pertaining to technology, such as spectrographs, being used. Still, I'll probably wake up at nights fearing that my entire collection is one vast forgery. As always, thanks for your hard work.
Thanks Chai! Gosh I hope not, but I can totally see me stressing out about some of the stamps that i spent a pretty penny on, it is amazing how good these forgeries can be. Thanks so much for watching, hope you are well :)
Fascinating stories!
The first time I heard about Jean de Sperati was during your first talk with Sam. I'm happy to learn more about him and his work.
Thank you for sharing with us and thanks to Sam, Devlin and Ricky.
Thank you Richard!! That was also the first time that I heard about him. The more that I learned about Sperati, the more I wanted to know about him. Thanks so much for watching 😊
Interesting topic, presented brilliantly---as always, but especially this one.
Thank you Paul! 😊
Great episode. Didn't know of this forger. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU BOTH.
Thank you Roger, Happy Holidays!!!
I just downloaded a copy of that book! Can't wait to read it!
I also just downloaded the catalog, there is quite a lot of lovely reading to do in it.
Excellent!! Enjoy 😊
This was an exceptionally interesting video. I was mesmerized from beginning to end.
😊 Thank you!! So glad to see that you enjoyed it.
I like the format of this video, well made!. I didnt know about Sperati other than what Sam shared with us last time, this was a fantastic episode.
Thank you Markus! Glad you enjoyed it 😊
Excellent video on a great subject. I'm barely a stamp collector myself, after inheriting a bunch of the usual stuff, but you're clawing away at my resistance to it.
😊 I hope to keep luring you in. Glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic video. Many thanks.
Thank you 😊
Wahooo ... super subject, once again : thanks for your job which makes our hobby much more understandable for everybody ! This artist (we have to admit he really was ^^) is just amazing. Thanks !!
Wow thank you Charles!! I agree, Sperati is really an artist, playing a dangerous game but doing amazing art. 😊. Thanks for watching!!
Great video as always. Thanks from mr Hans on visit to UAE and Egypt right now but from Sweden escaping the snow back home. Keep up the good work!
Thank you Hans, hope that you are enjoying your trip, thanks so much for watching😊
fascinating
😊 thank you
Great episode, very informative and well organised. Thank you Sir, for your efforts.
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for watching 😊
Riveting and extremely professionally presented. I can't even drawer a matchstick man, but if I was as good as Sperati, I'm sure I wouldn't be half as honest as him.
Absolutely fascinating thankyou for that!
Thank you Michael, glad you found it interesting 😊
If Sperati was only out to make money then I'm pretty sure we would never have heard about him.
A very good point!
Very interesting thanks for posting!
Glad you enjoyed it! 😊
You put Sperati on my radar when Sam mentioned him in your previous video. Glad to see you do a follow up video about Sperati, his story is very intriguing.
Oh excellent!!! I saw your comment last month on Sam’s episode, I was hoping that you would see this one as a follow up. Thank you so much for watching, glad you enjoyed it 😊
Wow, such a fascinating piece of stamp history. I loved to listen to this, thanks! Now makes me wonder, do I have any fakes in my collection?
Thank Kees! I wonder the same thing, a few viewers have pointed out potential forgeries in some episodes that I have shown semi rare stamps… I should get them checked out. 🤔. Thanks so much for watching!
Then they are better at spotting them than I am, I have not noticed:-)
Great video - I shared it with my stamp club. Couple thoughts: since Speratis have considerable value, has anyone tried to fake them? Also, it was said they still fool experts. I know some expertizing services now have fancy spectrograph machines. I'd imagine those could distinguish his inks from those in the genuine stamps.
Now there is a fantastic question. Forgeries of the forgeries, AND since Sperati has published his methods, it is very possible that someone has done it. But through all my research and reading for this episode, I didn't come across any known cases. I think the answer is yes to your second question, I had asked the David Feldman philatelists (off camera) and they agreed, the impression or ghost image of the original stamp will be visible with modern technology, as well as new methods to view the ink compounds, as long as the expert has the appropriate tools.... I'd love to learn more and test this though. Thanks so much for watching
First, let me say, as a collector, this is by far the best philatelic RUclips video I've seen. And absolutely delighted to see Samuel West - a very fine actor but also a superb narrator. I actually paused the video in order to buy the audio book of Ken Follet's 'Eye of the Needle' narrated, of course, by Samuel West
Thank you Michael 😊. Sam is the best!! I didn’t know that he narrated Eye of the Needle, I love the book (and movie), gotta go get the audio version now, thanks for letting me know!
Great episode!!
Thanks Tom 😊
Delightful and kinda scary at the same time. Sperati is right 'on the edge'. Nothing phoney about this video, though: it's a genuine corker. 👓 👌
Thank you Terence 😊. I agree, he is right 'on the edge' playing it dangerously 😬. Glad you enjoyed the episode!
Thanks Graham. Wonderfully well researched.
I hope you were successful in the auction.
I was recently going through a pile of loose stamps and found a copy of the Oldenburg SG #5 stamp, Samuel was referring to (17.50). It’s no doubt a forgery, given that Sperati could trot out 3 in no time.
Really interesting episode.
Thank you Les 😊
Absolutely great video and Sam is so knowledgeable and its a pleasure to listen to him
Sam really is the best when it comes to story telling 😊 Thanks so much for watching, Alison, glad you enjoyed the episode!
I had never heard of Sperati before this video popped up in my feed. His reproductions are remarkable.
However, thinking about this in more depth, it seems that his method of reproducing the stamps was exactly the way to make a completely faithful reproduction. The only variable that isn't intrinsically addressed by his method (for used stamps, at least) is the shade of the ink. Using the actual paper from a genuine (but far less valuable) stamp addresses several of the key features that people look for (watermark, perforation, paper material, paper thickness etc.); and his photo-reproduction method for creating his printing "plate" addresses all the fiddly fine details in the design of a stamp.
Thanks Nigel, yes his whole process makes the most sense. It actually seems quite obvious after I learned about it, but I would have never thought of it myself😅.
Thanks so much for watching !
Great Video !!
Thank you 😊
Awesome :-)
Thank you 😊
The only time I heard of this hype in the philatelic community was from David Feldman's team.
Interesting! The first time I heard of Sperati was from Sam, Ive also had a few people reach out requesting that I do an episode on Sperati.
@@ExploringStamps I have known about him for 30 years but the new hype was Feldman generated obviously for their sales. Until this video I had also never heard of Sam
@@LawrenceFisher oh my apologies, I don’t think I understand what you meant by hype, as this is something that I approached David Feldman about. Sam is awesome, you can see his first video here if interested:
ruclips.net/video/Fu35uViRAJg/видео.html
Really interesting to learn, great video. I have a bunch of stamps that have been sat in the drawer for around 10 years since my grandad passed. Included there are I think 8 Genuine Speratti forgeries with I think off memory, 3/4 are pencil signed on the back
Sadly so good at it. I bought a large collection of Fournier Trade & Commerce a few years ago
I come here to learn about stamps, but I believe Samuel West has some Dungeons & Dragons books in the background. So, the next obvious question is: When are Graham and Samuel going to roll some dice and take us on an adventure?
I’m hoping that Sam starts a RUclips channel about his vast collection of board games, maybe he will be kind enough to invite me on as a guest… (my game of choice is backgammon though 😂)
There will always be forgeries but good 👍 video about it .🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺😎
Absolutely. 😎 Thanks Mark
Looks like Sam might also be a collector of board games, judging from his shelves. :)
And he is also a bird watcher, a man with many hobbies!!
Nice Sir
Thank you :)
Amazing video
Thank you 😊
History
Absolutely 👍
Great video! What books did Sam read to find all information on Sperati?
Soo cool
I like video
Thank you 😊
And there we have it folks! Am all caught up, with nothing more to watch. Hmmm maybe I'll go back and binge again from the start..🤔 Or maybe am just faking it..😂😂😂
😂😂 thanks so much for watching
@@ExploringStamps Always a pleasure. Was a kid collector like yourself but took a long break for about 25 years. Now back into it.. Anyways will send you some snail mail soon.. But don't hold your breath. We have a backlog because Royal Mail won't play ball with the postal workers, so they've been striking..(and rightly so)
Is it true that Rotary Stamps will never have trace ink marks on the back, from being stacked after printing?
Aside from Sperati, now we have massive amounts of forgeries coming from China, usually of modern value or Forever stamps. Common stamps but the intended target are non-stamp collectors who want to purchase "discounted" U.S. stamps.
Yup! Sadly it is pushing post offices to consider not issuing stamps anymore 😞
No! Please tell me this isn’t true… forgeries are that common that it’s seriously causing postal system financial issues - enough to stop issuing stamps???
@@PaulSobon1 it is unfortunately. The Royal Mail and the USPS in particular are have enormous challenges, losing millions in revenue each year, and the forgeries are often better qualities than the original, making it really difficult to detect. Check out the RUclips channel ‘Conversations with Philatelists’, they did 2 videos exploring this.
@Exploring Stamps I’ve seen those Conversation with Philatelist videos (anything with Wayne Youngblood is gold!) and I need they are good. I had heard that the fakes coming out of China now have better quality than the real thing - in fact that’s now how you tell real from fake USPS, the real stamps are of lower quality ;(
But you still need to distribute the fakes to make that business work, and I am disappointed that business and consumers are so easily duped into buying them.
I am not sure I grasp the meaning of “Sperati didn’t use dye he just printed them”. But to print one needs a die, or am I confusing different English terms here?
Its a great question, Anton. Especially since his process is not aligned directly with the standard printing processs.
A master die is used to create the plates, which then are used to make the prints. so a die proof is typically using the master die to make a print for review. Sperati is directly using his cliches which we can refer to as plates... but there is no die that really creates these cliches or plates, UNLESS we want to refer to the Matrix as a die, but i dont think we can.
❤
Sam should get cast into a drama "Frank me if you can..🏃🏃🏃"
😂👍
@@ExploringStamps no but seriously.. Why has no one turned this into a movie or dramatisation.. Sam can do it.. Perfect understudy n'all.! C'mon.. You have production skills - and I can offer support in old blighty.. Sam let's meet up for a coffee and have a chin-wag over it, I'm a brummie but I can probably fit you into my ever so busy (not) itinererereray innit bludd.. ... Besides, I have a vast portfolio of Turkish dramas.. 👀.. well, watching them.. 🥴..
Let's do this guys, grab this rhino by the horns/horn! (do they have one or two? Wait when does a rhino stop being a rhino and become a triceratops?? 🤷🏽♂️)
First
🙌
Beat me to it.
Fasinating. I'd never heard the name until you referred to him in our previous communication. Opened my eyes for sure. I guess given the time and place of his trial, he's lucky he got away with it they as unscathed as he did.
Yes your email was amazing timing. Such a fascinating character. Thanks so much for watching 😊