Philatelists collecting Lithuanian postage stamps sooner or later have to deal with the authenticity of postage stamps or postmarks. Philatelists who buy at auctions, especially on the Internet, have to make decisions by themselves—to visually assess whether a postage stamp is real or forged. The purpose of this publication is to help philatelists distinguish forgeries that appear frequently on the philatelic market. The handbook is intended for philatelists with an interest in the postage stamps of Lithuania.

The handbook contains examples of forgeries of postage stamps, postmarks, and special postmarks of Lithuania from 1918–1990, as well as Litwa Środkowa, Memel, local issues (Telšiai, Grodno, Warwiszki), the WWII German occupation (“June” issues), zeppelin mail, and other areas. The main catalogue text is in Lithuanian and English, with the English text set in italics.

Stamps are listed broadly in chronological order. Stamps, printing variants, and plate varieties follow the numbering in A. Jankauskas’s Special Lithuanian Postage Stamp Catalogue (1918–2012). The main stamp numbers coincide with the Michel catalogue numbering. Forged postmarks are listed in an order close to that used in V. Fugalevičius’s catalogue.