Richnoddystamps

Persia 1903 12 chahis surcharge on 10kr rose.

01.05.2016

Another commonly forged overprint appears on the 1902-04 Mozaffer-eddin Shah Qajar full portrait 10kr. The original unoverprinted stamps was sent to Persia from Enschede in Holland, and forgeries do not exist.     There is an easy tell-tale for forged overprints. In the genuine surcharge the foot of the 2 is very slightly curved, as can […]

Persia 1897 Mozaffar-eddin reprints.

30.04.2016

Printed in Haarlem by Enschede this new issue was delivered to Persia in 1897, on white paper, with a second printing on greenish paper in 1899. It is one of the most commonly encountered reprinted stamps in Persian philately. Reprints were made for collectors on thinner paper and with white gum. An important tell-tale to […]

Libya’s rarest modern stamps.

15.09.2015

In 1986 Muammar Qaddafi was at the peak of his power as dictator of Libya, before he became a beneficial pseudo-ally to the western nations. On the first of January that year the Libyan Post Office issues a new definitive set of 12 stamps, with face values ranging from 50 to 2550dh (roughly 25p to […]

France 1927 Marseilles-Algiers-Paris Airmail

13.04.2013

This is another of my favourite stamps. but again extensively forged. There are a number of tell-tales, a few of them quite basic. The genuine overprint measures 12mm from wingtip to wingtip. In some forgeries measure between 12.5 and 13mm. The accent over the letter e NEVER touches the letter. The dot over the i […]

Guatemala 1897 Central American Exposition fakes

08.04.2013

How many of these rare values do we regularly see for sale of ebay and Delcampe….1000’s I suspect. Originally placed on sale as a set of 14, with values from 1c to 500c, you will see by checking any catalogue that 3 values, 18c, 75c and 150c are much more valuable. The quantity printed for […]

Bolivar 1863 1 peso

08.04.2013

Bolivar 1863 1 peso. This stamp had the honour of being the Guiness Book of Records as the smallest stamp for many, many years (is it still?).  However, like a lot of early South American stamps it has been forgered several times. Forgers include the usual suspects, Fournier, Sperati and Schroeder, amongst others. Sperati was […]

Forgery of the week-Tete-beche Machins

08.04.2013

Interesting confection this week. Not strictly speaking a forgery, nor a fake, as neither of these stamps exist in this format, so these must be seen as fantasy stamps. Someone who has far too much time on their hands seems to be trying to perfect the art of re-attaching stamps. Harmless in this instance, but […]

Forgery of the Week-India 1967 Gnat jet-fighter

11.03.2013

Of uncertain origin, and even Stanley Gibbons is silent, the 1967 20p Hindustan Ajeet  (Gnat) jet-fighter definitive was forged twice, allegedly by two different forgers. This is a genuine used example. There are two examples here that illustrated well the forged from the genuine. Note the ‘leaf’ border pattern, and the generally poor perforations, and […]

Forgery of the week- Persia 1881 Dual currency recess printed.

07.03.2013

Persia 1881 Dual currency recess printed Paris Forgeries. These are extremely common forgeries, and virtually every example for sale on ebay, Delcampe and Bidstart are forgeries. Despite this, they are extremely easy to distinguish genuine from forged. Shah Nasser-ed-din had long been impressed with the western lifestyle, and instructed the  Austrian Government Printing Office to […]

2nd Forgery of the week – Antioquia, Colombia

24.02.2013

This is another of my favourite stamps, issued by the Colombian State of Antioquia in 1883. The State was a pretty lawless place at the time, three years before the founding of the Republic of Colombia; indeed its capital Medellin was until as recently as the 1980’s recognised as the most dangerous city on earth. […]