Why Have Your Stamps & Covers Expertized?
The reason for expert certification is simple; it is to have an independent third party confirm and insure that the stamps & covers you buy are genuine and "as described". Experts and Expert committees identify stamps and describe any flaws, repairs or alterations that deviate from a "perfect" stamp. It therefore is important for buyers to avail themselves of the expertization process to protect themselves from possible financial losses they may suffer due to misidentified or misdescribed stamps or those with undisclosed faults. One way to think about it is as an "insurance policy" against these types of problems.
Forgeries had been a problem since the beginning of stamp collecting in the early 1860s. However these early, crude, reproductions had been replaced by forgeries of much greater sophistication, many of which were extremely deceptive. The forger is constantly seeking new and better ways to fool the collector and part of the expertizing process is knowing what they are doing and staying one step in front.
We, at the Y. Tsachor Expert Committee will do our best to protect collectors from forgeries, fakes & altered philatelic material related to the Holy Land including: Holy Land Forerunners, Palestine stamps & Postal History, 1948 Interim Period & Israel stamps & Postal History.
The most frequent forgeries and fakes to be found in the Holy Land & Israel philately are: complete Forgery (new printing), new and/or repaired perforations, regumming, removal of hinges, reattaching of tabs and forged postmarks on FDC's.
It should be emphasized that valuable items which are not accompanied with a certificate issued by a recognized expert in the field should be suspected.