Album Weeds – British Honduras

1866-1884. 1d., 3d., 6d. & 1s.

One Penny.

Genuine

Engraved in epargné, on somewhat glacé, white wove paper, rather soft, and of medium thickness; watermark and perforation as in the above list. There is an ornamental stop before and after the name; each stop is a sort of eight-petalled flower, with a large and a small petal alternately, and all perfectly distinct from each other. None of the lettering touches the boundary-lines of the garter anywhere. There are three lines of shading to the left of the buckle of the garter, with slight indications of a fourth line, and the tongue of the buckle does not touch any of these three lines. The point of the tongue is not outlined. The hole in the overhanging end of the strap is very close to the little leaf below it, but a good distance from the two curved lines of shading above it. There are eighteen vertical lines of shading’, counting from the bottom, on the part of the garter where the two holes are, between the overhanging end and the P of PENNY. The centers of the two holes are almost entirely white. There are fourteen very distinct pearls on the front arch of the crown, and also on the back arch, and three on the short central arch. The ear is tolerably distinct, with a lobe. The hair can be traced almost up to the very front of the forehead, under the crown. There are eighteen transverse lines of shading, going across the neck and front of the throat. There are nine clear lines of shading from the upper eyelid to the top of the forehead; the lowest three are thicker than the others. The center of the band at the base of the crown is not shaded. The top and bottom limbs of the E of ONE are exactly the same length.

Forged

Lithographed, on common, white wove paper; unwatermarked; perf. 12 1/2 very badly. The eight petals of the two flowers separating the name and value are, as nearly as possible, all alike, badly done, and jumbled together. The letters of the word PENNY all touch the boundary-line below them. There are three lines of shading to the left of the buckle, and the tongue of the buckle touches the inner line. The point of the tongue is outlined. The hole in the overhanging end of the strap touches the curved line above it, but it is not very close to the leaf below it. There are only ten vertical lines of shading on the part of the garter where the two holes are, and two of them are absurdly short. The center of the right-hand hole is entirely dark, and that of the left-hand one nearly all dark. The pearls on the back arch of the crown are so badly drawn as to be uncountable. There are four pearls on the short, central arch. There seem to be two ears, one behind the other, and without lobes. The hair does not go near the front of the forehead. There are only fifteen trans- verse lines of shading going across the neck and throat. There seem to be about six lines of shading from the upper eyelid to the top of the fore- head, but it is almost impossible to make them out; and one of them forms a distinct eyebrow, which is not the case with the genuine. The center of the band at the base of the crown has a line of shading all along it, from end to end. The lower limb of the E of ONE is much longer than the upper one.

Three Pence.

Genuine

Engraved in epargné; paper rather stouter and rougher than that of the one penny; perforation and watermark as above. The ornamental flowers before and after the name have four wedge-shaped petals, and four very fine lines separating them from each other, and with no colored dot in the center. None of the lettering touches the boundary-lines of the garter anywhere. There are ten graduated lines of shading to the left of the buckle of the garter, and there is a distinct tongue to the buckle, which touches the first of these lines of shading. The buckle itself is perfectly distinct, with a dark outline. The overhanging end of the garter is shaded by seven horizontal lines. To the right of this end, between it and the P of PENCE, there are nine vertical lines of shading, all touching, or very nearly touching, the outline below them. The hole in the strap has a white center, and it is about midway between the overhanging end and the P of PENCE. There are fourteen pearls on the back arch of the crown. The ear is as in the One Penny. There are three lines of shading on the forehead, above the eyebrow. There are eighteen lines of shading going across the neck and throat. The line of shading along the center of the band at the base of the crown can be distinctly traced the whole way across.

Forged

Lithographed, on stout, white wove paper; no watermark; perf. 12 1/2 and 13. The ornamental flowers, before and after the name, are the same as in the forged One Penny. The words THREE PENCE stand on the boundary-line of the garter. There are three lines of shading to the left of where the buckle ought to be, but the buckle itself is not there. The overhanging end of the garter is shaded with two vertical lines and a horizontal blotch. To the right of this end, between it and the P of PENCE, there are nine vertical lines of shading, but the last three to the right are high up, and do not go near the lower outline of the garter. The hole in the strap has a line of shading across it, and it is very much nearer to the overhanging end than to the P of PENCE. There seem to be about ten pearls on the back arch of the crown, but they are almost uncountable. There appear to be two ears, one behind the other, as in the forged One Penny. There are four lines of shading on the forehead above the eyebrow. There are fifteen lines of shading going across the neck and throat. The line of shading in the band at the base of the crown is blotched into the line above it for part of the way across. There is another or second “state” of this forgery, in which the forehead and front of the face are entirely white, the lines of shading having disappeared; it is, however, in other respects, exactly similar to the forgery just described.

Sixpence.

Genuine

Engraved in epargné, paper, watermark, and perforation as above. The ornamental flowers, before and after the name, are composed of six petals of equal size and shape, with a tiny ring in the middle, in the center of a white dot. None of the lettering touches the boundary-lines of the garter anywhere, but the top of the x of Six very nearly touches the outline above it. There are six lines of shading to the left of the buckle, and the tongue touches the sixth. The buckle is like a D in shape, two of the corners being rounded. The center of the buckle contains six oblique lines of shading. The overhanging end of the garter has two transverse lines of shading above the hole. There are seventeen lines of shading, of varying lengths, to the right of the overhanging end of the garter, and between it and the P of PENCE; the very short end-lines of this shading very nearly touch the P. The crown is exactly the same as in the One Penny. There are ten lines of shading on the forehead from the upper eyelid, and the lowest three are thicker than the rest. The ear is the same as in the One Penny. The hair can be traced up almost to the front of the forehead. There are, as in the One Penny, eighteen transverse lines of shading across the neck and throat. The center of the band, at the base of the crown, is not shaded, and this band is no wider at the back than in front.

First Forgery

Lithographed, on rather stout, unsurfaced, white wove paper; no watermark; perforated 12 1/2. The ornamental flowers, before and after the name, are exactly the same as in the forged One Penny. The letters of Six PENCE stand on the outline below them, and the x of Six is not near the outline above it. There are only three lines of shading to the left of the buckle, and the tongue of the buckle goes between the second and third. The upper corners of the buckle are very slightly rounded, though, in the genuine, it is the top and bottom right-hand corners which are rounded ; and in this forgery, the buckle is not in the least like a D. The center of the buckle contains five vertical lines of shading, instead of six very oblique ones. The overhanging end of the garter has two vertical lines of shading, and a transverse blotch at the top. There are about ten lines of shading on the garter, between the overhanging end and the P of PENCE; and the nearest of them is a very long way from the P. The crown is the same as in the forged One Penny. There are only four lines of shading on the forehead, above the eyebrow. The lines are all the same thickness. In some copies there seem to be two ears, one behind the other, as in the forged One Penny, but this is not always visible. The hair does not come near the front of the forehead. There are only fifteen lines across the throat and neck. There is a line of shading, part of the way along the band, at the base of the crown.

Second Forgery

This is much inferior to the counterfeit just described. Lithographed in pink, on moderately stout, white wove paper; no watermark; unperforated, or perf. 13, very badly. The ornamental flowers, before and after the name, are composed of seven equal-sized petals, with a dark dot in the center. The S of SIX just touches with its head the outline above it. There are four lines of shading to the left of the buckle, but the tongue of the buckle does not project over the rim. The top right corner of the buckle is very slightly rounded, but the other corners are square. There are seven oblique lines of shading inside the buckle, and they run down from left to right, instead of from right to left. The overhanging end of the garter has one short transverse line of shading at the top, and one line of shading down each side. The hole is very indistinct, and seems to be triple, like a trefoil. There are about sixteen lines of shading in the garter, between the overhanging end and the P of PENCE, and several of them touch the outline below them, though none of them do so in the genuine. There are nine pearls on the front arch of the crown, nine on the back arch, and none at all on the central one. The cross on the crown comes centrally under the N of HONDURAS, but in the genuine it comes exactly between the N and the D. The nose is absurdly hooked. There are only three lines of shading above the eyelid. There is no sign of an ear. The hair ends above the middle of the eyebrow. There are only fourteen lines of shading across the throat and neck. The band at the base of the crown widens out at the back, till it is three times as wide as the front.

Third Forgery

This is apparently a second and much worse state of the second forgery. Very badly lithographed, in brick-red, and also in green; on medium, very coarsely wove paper, varying from yellowish to absolutely yellow; no watermark; unperforated. Very few details can be made out, as the stamp is so blotched; but the pearls, etc., correspond to the second forgery. There is very little likelihood of anyone being deceived by this abomination.

One Shilling.

Genuine

Engraved in epargné; watermark, perforation, etc., as above. The ornamental flowers are composed of four petals, placed in the position of an upright cross, with four tiny lines appearing from the points of intersection.

None of the letters touch the boundary-line of the garter anywhere. The upper and lower limbs of the E of ONE are of exactly equal length. There are two lines of shading to the left of the buckle, but the tongue does not touch either of them. The corners of the buckle are perfectly square, and it contains four lines of shading. The overhanging end of the buckle slopes over very much to the left ; the slope is nearly as great as that of the N of ONE. The hole is dark, with no shading near it. There are about eight vertical lines of shading on the garter, between the overhanging end and the S of SHILLING, but they are very close together, and difficult to count. There are two holes in this shading. The crown is the same as in the genuine One Penny. There are eight or nine lines of shading on the forehead, from the upper eyelid, and the lowest three are thicker than the others. The ear is the same as in the genuine One Penny. The hair can be traced to the very front of the forehead, under the crown. There are eighteen lines across the front of the neck and throat, the lowest one being very fine. The center of the band at the base of the crown is not shaded.

First Forgery

Lithographed, on medium, white wove paper; no watermark; perf. 11 1/2, and also 12 1/2, very badly. The ornamental stops are the same as in the forged One Penny. The second I of BRITISH and the H of HONDURAS very nearly touch the boundary-line below them, and the lower limb of the E of ONE: is much longer than the upper one. There are three lines of shading to the left of the buckle, and the tongue of the buckle touches the innermost of the three. All four corners of the buckle are slightly rounded, or rather squared off, and it contains six lines of shading, not including the outlines. The overhanging end of the garter hangs almost straight clown, as in the genuine and forged One Penny. The hole in this end of the garter has a white center, and the shading and the leaf-ornament come close up to it. There are seven lines of shading in the garter, between the overhanging end and the S of SHILLING; there is only one hole to be seen in this shading. The crown is the same as in the forged One Penny. There are three lines of shading on the forehead, above the eyebrow, but those forming the eyebrows, etc., are blotched together into one mass of colour. There seem to be two ears, one behind the other. (By the way this second ear is really a curl of the hair, but it is exactly the same as the real ear.) The hair does not go near the front of the fore- head. There are fifteen lines of shading across the throat and neck. The center of the band at the base of the crown is shaded with a line all across the center, which is blotched into the upper outline, near the middle.

Second Forgery

Poorly lithographed, on medium, very yellowish-white wove paper; no watermark; perf. 13. The ornamental stops, before and after the name, are a fair imitation of the genuine, except that one of the little lines is missing in the left-hand flower. There is no shading to the left of the buckle, and the E of ONE comes close up to the buckle. The buckle contains five lines of shading, besides the outlines. The slope of the overhanging end is the same as in the genuine One Shilling. The hole in this overhanging end is light, with two lines of shading proceeding from it. There are about eleven lines of shading on the garter, between the overhanging end and the S of SHILLING, and there is only one hole in this shading. The arches on the crown are the same as in the second forgery of the Sixpence. The orb is too large and white; and the cross on the top of it is represented by a flat thing, with a three-cornered bit snipped out of it. There are two lines, and indications of a third, above the eyebrow; but the eyebrow and the shading to it are all one blotch of colour. There is no ear visible in this forgery. The hair does not go anywhere near the front of the forehead. There are eleven lines across the front of the throat and neck. The band at the base of the crown has a fine line, running from the front, half-way to the back, and another line, on a higher level, running from the back, a quarter of the way to the front. There is a strong outline to the front of the nose in this forgery. This second forgery of the One Shilling, like the second forgery of the Sixpence, shows a thin but distinct outline all round the shading of the central medallion, though the genuine, and all the other forgeries, show no outline. The outline of the garter, under the ISH of BRITISH, is very wavy and irregular.

Postmarks

Genuine.—54, but with the colony number “A 0 6” in the center.

Forged. — 1, 4, 5, 42 (the last three without numerals), 101; also a large single circle like 1, but larger; also 54, with blank center.

From: ‘Album Weeds’, 3rd edition by R. B. Eareé. 1906