Richnoddystamps

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 the closest to getting it right. Genuine stamps always have the first O of Correos, in the outer frame, in alignment with the S of Estados on the inner frame. Sperati did this but the others did not. Oswald Schroeders effort was close to being aligned, but made other mistakes, mainly in the shape of the sheild, and by using much thinner lettering. Many were forged also with the ubiquitos Bogota in oval cancellation. As all Colombian stamps were only ever used in their own state, this can never be genuine, because, as we all know, Bogota is in Cundinamarca.