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John A. Fox, a prominent dealer and auctioneer of not too many years ago (he died in the mid 1980's), created fake CSA Postal History and passed them into the collector's market through his dealership and auction house. After this was discovered and exposed, many of the covers have since been removed from the marketplace. But an unknown number are still residing in collections.
His creations are actually quite well done, but he did occasionally make some mistakes. The above cover has a genuine Paterson samp that was added to a genuine unused Patriotic cover. The postmark is the Fox fake blue Huntsville, Ala dated 9 DEC 1861 (the stamp was not available until July 1862) distinguished by the date and the breaks in the outer rim. The address was also added. The Fox fake adresses that were added were all aparently written in the same hand which is quite distinctive. Beware the Fox Fakes. Some but not all are signed. And some do also have legitimate addresses as they were made from handcarried covers which originally had no stamps or postal markings.
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Above is an example of another Fox creation which was offered on E-Bay in SEP 2000. I was able to secure the cover and remove it from the collector's market. There are a number of Fox covers recorded with a Patriotic Sticker tied by the postmark. They have the same general appearance and are absolutely beautiful covers -- but they are not genuine. What appears to have been done to the above cover is a genuine pair of CSA #4 stamps with a Louisburg NC postmark was added to a period handcarried cover as the address appears to be legitimate. Also a genuine sticker Dietz Type ST-1 was also added next to the stamps, and the postmark on the stamp constructed, embellished and extended in such a way that the stamps and the sticker appear to be tied to the cover. This is a very masterful fake that would fool almost anyone except for those who are familiar with these fakes. This cover is a prime example for the necessity of certification for expensive items as genuine CSA covers with tied Patriotic Stickers are very rare and sell for thousands of dollars in the major philatelic auctions.
Below are two additional Fox Fake CSA Patriotic Covers which were recently (Fall 2001) offered on E-Bay Internet Auctions. Again I managed to acquire the covers and remove them from the collector's market.
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The above cover is a genuine Small Dragoons Partiotic Design with Verse which is actually quite a rare design in its own right. This cover was created using a genuine unused patriotic cover and adding a beautiful genuine 10c Blue Paterson Lithograph stamp. But the Atlanta, Ga postmark is a fake. On close examination, the postmark is an apparent rubber stamp copy and does not match the genuine steel rim Atlanta postmark. Also, the address was added in the tell-tale Fox handwriting. Note that the address on this cover is exactly the same as the obscure address on the Alabama Patriotic at the top of the page and in the same hand.
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The above cover is absolutely immaculate. A gorgeous combination of the 5c Green and 5c Blue Lithographs tied to a Full Color 7-Star Flag Patiotic Cover by a Blue Concord NC postmark. The Stamps and the Cover are genuine. But the Blue Concord NC postmark is a complete fake which does not even remotely resemble the genuine mark. Compare the handwriting of the address to the above cover and you will easily note that the two addresses are in the same hand. Another example of genuine stamps added to a genuine unused patriotic cover with a fake postmark and an added address.
Beware the absolutely fabulously clean CSA Patriotic Cover as it could just possibly be too good to be true.
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