1894 THE "CHICAGO COUNTERFEITS" SCOTT #250

  The most talked about counterfeits of U.S. stamps occurred in 1895--when an ad in the Chicago Tribune stated that a Canadian firm had $115.00 worth of 2 cent U.S. stamps it couldn't use in Canada, and would sell them for $100.00.
  Several dealers and others answered the ad. All received the proper number of 2 cent stamps, however a philatelic expert detected that they were counterfeit, and the authorities managed to close down the operation.
  A second forgery surfaced about 2 years later, again originating in Canada. The same stamp but with a different design. The scam was quickly detected and stopped. Above see original stamp.