Is This an Authorized Issue of Laos

[youpiao]

I have tried everything I know, to ID this stamp, to no avail. Colnect Stamp ID does not find it. Colnect search turns up nothing for "Laos Churchill," and neith does Stampworld. A Stampworld search of Laos 5500k denomination does not return this stamp. Searches on HipStamp, Ebay, and Google offer no help.

This stamp (notice the image is from a stock image agency) was submitted by a TTS viewer as a favorite, but with no ID mentioned. And the stock image page only identifies it as a "circa 2000" stamp.

[sforgca]

I have no specific info but it shows up with these 2

[youpiao]

Definitely fakes, then. Laos doesn't put out these types of pop culture labels. Also, the English inscription should be "Poste," not "Postes."

[khj]

Not that k collects cinderellas, or anything, but those are all bogus stamps.

The Churchill stamp is the center stamp from a pane of 9, "Great People of the 20th Century Part II". There were 3 parts to the series, if I remember correctly. Part III was definitely issues in late 2000. But I'm pretty sure that Part II was printed before then (maybe 1999?) -- just don't know what year they actually began to peddle it.

I will add that the selvedge on the Part II pane is fantastic. Sort of a collage of portraits.