A genuine stamp which has been altered or repaired in some way to make it appear what it is not, for the purpose of deceiving collectors.  Stamps may be faked either to hide a defect or to a defect or to make a common item resemble a rare one.  Great ingenuity has been used on fakes; stamps which were perforated have been made to appear imperforate, and vice versa; used stamps have had their postmarks removed and the back regummed to make them appear mint; and so on.
 
 

- R. J. Sutton 6th edition revised by K. W. Anthony
The Stamp Collector's Encyclopaedia

Published 1966

 Posted February 9, 2000