UNOFFICIAL ISSUES The first unofficial issues were printed on behalf of rebel groups fighting for recognition. Examples are stamps for the 'State of Oman' and Dhufar, (see 'History'), and the Spanish Sahara. Unofficial issues became a major problem with the disintegration of the former Soviet Union. Huge quantities of 'provisional' overprint issues on obsolete Soviet Union stamps appeared on the market, followed by hosts of 'regular' issues.
			Very convincing 'postally used' examples of Soviet republics overprint stamps are on the market, but even these are fake. Apparently, it is very easy to persuade a post office clerk to cancel the odd item . . . Part of a set of eight.
	List of former Soviet republics for which unofficial issues with fossils and/or prehistoric animals exist:   Abkhasia, Adygia, Altai, Badakhshan, Batum, Buriatia, Caxa, Chechenia, Cuvakia, Dagestan, Gagauzia-Moldova, Mordovia, Ingusetia, Jakutia, Jevriska/Jewish Republic, Kalmykia, Kamchatka, Karelia, Kiev, Kola, Komi, Koriakia, Sakhalin, South Ossetia, Tatarstan, Transcaucasic Republic, Tuva, Udmurtia, Ural   NONE of the stamps issued for ANY Russian province or republic is official.
But not all of the stamps alledgedly issued by the newly independent former Soviet republics are official, either; unofficial issues for Georgia, Kirchisia / Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, etc, are plentiful. Many 'stamps' have also been printed for countries with no properly functional postal authorities, such as Somalia and Afghanistan. Stamps labeled 'Somali Republic', 'Somaliland', and 'Afghan Post' are all unofficial.
			It is almost a shame that these pretty fossil stamps are unofficial. Regrettably the names of the fossils are not provided. Part of a sheet containing 9 stamps.
Recently, the problem seems to have spread even more, with obviously unofficial issues for countries such as Mali, Niger, Rwanda, and East Timor. The BBC documentary series 'Walking with Dinosaurs' has inspired a number of these issues.
			Examples of stamps with images taken from 'Walking with Dinosaurs'. Both from sheets containing 9 stamps.

LOCAL MAIL ISSUES, NETHERLANDS In the Netherlands, commercial local mail services started operations about 20 years ago. The national mail (PTT, now KPN) took legal action, but lost. Although some local mail services have issued many pictorial stamps, targeting collectors, limited interest among philatelists soon put an end to this. Thus, there are few local mail stamps with prehistoric animals. I am aware of only four issues.
	Local mail Epe		Select mail (Zaanstad)
	1993 Christmas stamps, child's drawings. Two values, 45 cent and 60 cent.		20 Values (38 c.-f. 12.50), ten different designs. I have postally used specimens in my collection.
	Combined issue		Combined issue, overprint   This combined issue also exists inperforate with overprints in red in the sheet margin, 'HONG KONG '94 STAMP EXHIBITION' at left, Chinese characters at right.     Persistent rumour has that a stamp dealer is heavily involved in these two combined issues.
	Four similar sheets, same values but different designs, issued by Utrecht local mail (Triassic Era), Maasland local mail (Jurassic Era), Nijmegen local mail (Early Cretaceous Era), and Den Haag (=The Hague) local mail (Late Cretaceous Era)

LOCAL MAIL ISSUE, GERMANY

			Since a couple of years, private local and regional mail services are active in Germany. The 'Südharzer Stadt- & Landkurier' issued a set dedicated to the Spengler museum. Both the 36 and the 44 cent value show the skeleton of Mammuthus trogontherii, also known as Archidiscodon.

LOCAL MAIL ISSUES, SCOTTISH ISLANDS

Local mail issues exist for a number of Scottish islands. I gather that they are intended to send mail from the island to the mainland, where the UK Royal Mail takes over. However, I have never seen any postally used covers that might prove this.
			Bernera Island. Part of an inperforate sheet containing two values. Despite the label 'Goniatite', the sutures on the depicted ammonite clearly show it to belong to the Ceratitidae.
			Easdale Island. Detail of an inperforate sheet with four values, part of a set of two sheets.
			Isle of Pabay. Set of three values 'Seamail service to Skye' with fossils, issued in 1981. The 10 p. value shows Pseudopecten, the 15 p. value Gryphaea, the 25 p. value Uptonia. Yes! I finally got hold of these. (October 11, 2003)
			Staffa Island. Part of a sheet containing two values, the issue also includes two inperforate miniature sheets.

LOCAL MAIL ISSUE, TORTUGA

			'Tortuga' is 'tortoise' in Spanish. Thus, the depiction of Archelon on the '500 Terrapins' (whatever) value of the local mail stamp from the island of Tortuga makes some sense. The Placochelys on the 250 Terrapins value is a bit of a mystery, even though it does look somewhat like a tortoise.

LOCAL MAIL ISSUE, ARGENTINA

			Internet auction sites provide great opportunities to obtain items from around the world. This is how I obtained this cover from Neuquen, Argentina. I knew important dinosaur finds were made in southern Argentina, but this self-adhesive from the 'Postal Car' private mail company was a suprise. Cancelled on the 19-th of january 2004, it probably shows the prosauropod Mussasaurus.

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