Mr Mehrdad Sadri
Mr Mehrdad Sadri is the pre-eminent authority in Iranian philately and a recognised expert worldwide. A renowned author and lecturer on the subject, he specialises in Iranian stamp forgeries – and how to distinguish them from true originals.
His definitive works include Persiphila Iran Classic Philatelic Reference (Vol 1 Qajar Dynasty), for which he received the Grand Award (Grand Prix) and Gold Medal at the 2007 National Philatelic Exhibition (NAPEX) in Washington DC and the World Gold Medal at the 2008 World Stamp Championship in Israel.
Born in 1952 in Shemiran, a northern suburb of Tehran, Mehrdad Sadri started collecting stamps at the age of eight. Encouraged by his father and fuelled by his passion for his country and its history, he became an active and avid collector of Iranian stamps and items associated with its postal history.
For many years, Iranian philately lacked reliable sources for distinguishing reprints and forgeries from original stamps, and passionate collectors had to rely on the knowledge and expertise of older collectors to help them.
In 1981, Mr Sadri published A Note on the Lion Forgeries to help collectors distinguish true stamps from forgeries. In 1997 an extended edition was published and the Iran Philatelic Study Circle invited him to speak at the International Philatelic Exhibition in San Francisco.
A much revised and extended 5th edition of Lions of Iran was published in 2006, which provided a comprehensive study of the Lion issues, including the originals, Paris reprints and many identified forgeries. Printed in full colour and containing hundreds of photographs, it was awarded a Silver Medal at NAPEX 2007.
His definitive work, Persiphila Iran Classic Philatelic Reference (Vol 1 Qajar Dynasty), was the first publication on Iranian philately ever to receive the NAPEX Grand Prix. It covers the philately of Iran during the whole Qajar (Ghadjar) period and includes unissued, revolutionary and postal tax stamps, as well as detailing forgeries. This authoritative and conclusive work drew on Mr Sadri’s years of diligent work studying both museum and private collections.
At NAPEX 2010 his work Persiphila Iran Philatelic Reference: Pahlavi Dynasty Vol 2 received a Vermeil Medal.
Mr Sadri’s 2002 Persiphila Standard Philatelic Catalogue (PersiCat) is a detailed handbook and catalogue for collectors. It received the 2003 SESCAL Silver Award and 2004 American Philatelic Society Vermeil Award.
