Most counterfeit-detection advice is vague — "check the printing", "look for quality". Here is a specific one that works.
On the widely circulated counterfeit of the 2017 flag stamp, everything matches: the five red and white stripes, the year in the lower left, the small USPS initials in the upper right. Side by side without ultraviolet light, the fake and the genuine are nearly indistinguishable.
Except the stars. The genuine stamp shows all or part of 19 stars. The counterfeit shows 18.
That is countable with the naked eye, and it requires no equipment at all.
How the Postal Service catches them
Genuine stamps are printed with ink that fluoresces at a specific frequency under ultraviolet light. Sorting equipment checks for that response on every piece, and mail carrying non-luminous postage is diverted automatically.
Diverted mail is then examined by staff who handle genuine stamps in volume daily and notice differences a casual observer would not. Counterfeit postage is passed to postal inspectors; the mail itself may be returned to the sender marked postage due.
The practical consequence: detection is not a matter of chance. It happens on essentially every piece, by machine, and the fake gets caught.
The price band that gives it away
Counterfeits are sold in bulk at 30% to 50% of face value. That is the range to treat as decisive — not a bargain to investigate, but an answer.
Genuine surplus exists and is worth buying, but it comes from overstock and liquidations and sits well above that discount. Anything approaching half off is not sourced, it is printed.
Espresso Drinks Stamps
Rudolph Stamps
Holiday Windows Stamps
What it costs when it goes wrong
A returned greeting card is an inconvenience. A batch of client documents that never arrives is a different problem — and the sender usually finds out from the recipient, days later, which is the worst possible way to learn.
For a business, the exposure is not the postage. It is the correspondence that failed silently.
Raven Story Forever Postage Stamp
Patriotic Spiral Stamps
Global African Daisy Stamps
Checking a batch yourself
- Count the stars on flag issues where you know the correct number.
- Use a UV light. Genuine stamps glow under it; counterfeits stay dark. An inexpensive blacklight settles most questions in seconds.
- Look at the ink quality. Counterfeit printing tends toward soft edges and colours that are close but not right.
- Keep a known-genuine sheet bought at a post office as a reference. Comparison is far easier than judging in isolation.
Where to buy
Post offices and the USPS official store, grocery and pharmacy chains that sell under agreement with the Postal Service, or a verified surplus channel such as Forever Stamp Center for Forever stamps and postcards in quantity.
One behavioural warning: if a checkout page runs a countdown timer, that is designed to stop you thinking. Legitimate postage does not need urgency to sell. Current schemes are documented by the Postal Inspection Service.
The short version
Count the stars, use a blacklight, keep a genuine sheet for comparison, and treat 30–50% off as the answer rather than the question. The machines catch these; the only variable is whether your mail is in the batch.
More on buying Forever stamps
- 👉 The Counterfeits That Cost More Than Face Value
- 👉 Under 60 Cents a Stamp Is the Line
- 👉 Four Things a Fake Stamp Site Always Gets Wrong
USPS specialist based in Los Angeles with extensive experience in postal operations and customer service. Certified in mail management and trained at the USPS Business Mail Academy, she offers reliable guidance on Forever Stamps and practical mailing solutions.
