Sigmund Friedl (1851, Lipník nad Bečvou, Moravia – 1914, Vienna) was one of the most famous Austrian philatelists. Toward the end of his life he defrauded stamp collectors by selling them forgeries. Sigmund Friedl's interest in postage stamps started already at the age of 13. Only two years later, he started trading them. In 1872, he opened his own stamp shop in Vienna. Soon he became a stamp expert and started working as an examiner. He had great success with his shop, for example, he sold the unique Tre Skilling Banco for a sum of 4000 gulden to the famous collector, Philipp von Ferrary. Through his good relationship with the post, he was able to cheaply obtain the remaining stocks of several postage stamps and resell them.