The Civil War Philatelic Authentication Service has long maintained a reference of collection of Civil War stamp and postal history material. Genuine, as well as fraudulent, material is sought, particularly scarce postmarks, unusual uses or anything which may be used for comparison with submitted patients.
This reference collection is called TOM (Take Off the Market). It is a good home for faulty but scarce stamp varieties or covers, as well as fakes, fantasies and counterfeits. The purpose is twofold: 1) it gets dangerous material off the market and 2) it aids the Authentication Service in their examination of items.
The nucleus of the existing reference collection is the Freeland Collection that was donated to the Civil War Philatelic Authentication Service years ago. The reference collection continues to grow through the donations of Society members and others.
A donation to TOM can also be of benefit to you in the form of a tax deduction. The Civil War Philatelic Society is an IRS recognized non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3). Any donation qualifies for a tax deduction.
Any item submitted for authentication which is found to be other than genuine can be immediately donated to the Authentication Service and the authentication fee will be waived.
If you wish to donate material to TOM, please contact Stefan Jaronski for further information.