remaining 12,308 stamps were deposited at the headquarters. Later, following Moldavia's union with Wallachia and the creation of a single postal service, they were moved to the old central post office on Strada Doamnei in Bucharest (now the site of the Stock Market Palace). The stock was destroyed in a devastating fire in 1874. A 1994 study (giving slightly different figures for the number of stamps sold and withdrawn) of stamps still extant found the following: A 2009 investigation of the National Philatelic Museum's holdings revealed that 215 stamps of the first series and 660 of the second and third had been replaced by suspected forgeries. A German expert certified they were forged, although the museum responded that he had only analyzed three stamps directly, with the rest of his decision based on scans, and that the authenticity remains uncertain. Their total value was variously estimated at €3.15 million or €60 million. The stamps were reprinted several times, and also forged in Romania and abroad. Captain Costică Moroiu was one of these forgers. In 1881, the same year he founded the Romanian Philatelic Society, he created 1858-design stamps with values of 15, 45, 90 and 135 para. In 1883, stationed at Mangalia, he sold stamps with his own design at a brisk pace, evading punishment. In 1889, prosecutors entered the press of Universul newspaper, where they found dies for and thousands of copies of Bull's Head stamps. Arrested and sent to Văcăreşti prison, he attempted suicide. Moroiu was released for lack of evidence, having argued that all his customers knew the stamps were forgeries. The stamps have been admired at various expositions, including at what is now Sala Dalles in 1932 for their 75th anniversary, and at the Postal Palace in 1958 for their centenary. The original dies survive and are on display at the philatelic museum. Vasile Voiculescu's 1947 short story Capul de zimbru and Lucian Pintilie's 2006 film Tertium non datur both feature the Bull's Head stamp as one of their themes. An authentic Bull's Head stamp was worth between €5,000 and €100,000 by 2010. Just two copies of the 81 para survive in mint never-hinged, original gum condition, estimated at €70,000 to €100,000. In 2006, a November 11, 1858 edition of Zimbrul şi Vulturul featuring eight 5-para stamps from the second series became the most expensive newspaper copy ever sold at auction. References and sources Notes Sources