Feldpost postmark no. 14 of 17 in use in China. K. D. FELD-POSTSTATION No 7. In use from 2. November 1900 – 25. July 1901. Seen on the following stamps (Michel no.): V. 45 – 51 (Vorläufer) V. 54 – 57 (Vorläufer) V. 59 – 65 (Vorläufer) China 1 – 6 China 15 – 27 […]
The last of the Spud Papers describing the forgeries made by the Spiro Brothers in the 19th Century have been added to the resources section.
1850-1. Circular Stamps. My readers will know from the catalogs (though very few from their own experience), that there are four values in this set: 2, 4, 8, and 12 Cents. In consequence of their rarity, I have only succeeded in getting hold of one specimen each of the 4 c. and 12 c. I […]
1852. 25 Centisimi, Black on Color. Genuine Lithographed. The point of the fleur-de-lis does not touch the top of the containing circle; indeed, there are two lines of shading to be seen above the point. There is a single line of shading in each of the bottom tails of the said figure. The little cross […]
1865. 3d., blue. CC. Perf. 14. Genuine Very nicely engraved, in épargne, on surfaced, white wove paper, watermarked with Crown and CC; machine-perforated 14. On each of the side-arches of the crown there are six small, white pearls, and four on the central arch. The ornaments on the upper part of the crown are crosses […]
1864. 1 Shilling, Green. Genuine Engraved in taille-douce on white wove paper, watermarked with cc. and crown; perf. 13. It is sometimes impossible to see the watermark, so this test is not always available. The general background of the stamp is formed of a very distinct engine-turned pattern of fine white lines, and the background […]
1886 These are the Cape of Good Hope stamps, with surcharge in capitals and lower-case, reading horizontally. The stamps with this surcharge are: CC, 4d.; CA, 1/2d. & 3d.; Anchor, 1/2d., 1d., 2d., 6d. & 1s. Genuine The letters of each line of the surcharge are perfectly level. BRITISH measures 7 1/2 mm. in length, […]
1874. 7 Cents, Lilac and Yellow. I think this stamp need not detain us very long, as the absence of the crown watermark and of the hyphen in the word DANSK-VESTINDISKE will serve as ready tests for the forgeries; though I ought to do the forgers the justice of acknowledging that, in other respects, they […]
Postmark no. 120 of 170 in use in South West Africa. OTYIMBINGUE DEUTSCH SüDWEST-AFRIKA. In use from 7. July 1888 – March 1892. Seen on the following stamps (Michel no.): V. 37 (Vorläufer) V. 39 – 51 (Vorläufer) Source: Die Postwertzeichen und Entwertungen der Deutschen Postanstalten in den Schutzgebieten und im Ausland, 3. edition by […]
1857. Voilet & Blue. This stamp (which is a good deal more common now than it was a few years ago) is a fair specimen of taille-douce engraving; and, though the forgers have been wonderfully careful, the counterfeit is very far from equalling the beauty of the original, so that there is no very great […]