Forged Stamps of Finland
Suomi
1856. Oval. 10 Kop
Genuine vs. Forgeries
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5
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8
1
Diamond-shaped dot after 5s & KOP-words
2
9+9 pearls in crown
3
Large white dot between shield and crown (not visible here due to pen-cancellation, see example on reprints below)
4
Width of the shield is 10,1 – 10,4 mm
5
Mouthpiece of right posthorn is above the left one
6
Width: 28,1 – 28,3 mm
7
Right foot stroke on Russian KOP missing
8
Height: 24,0 – 24,4 mm
Genuine characteristics
Handstamped in red. Paper: ordinary wove, narrow-laid or wide-laid
Illustration of 1861 1st reprint
Made for Belgian stamp dealer Moens
- – Left frame-line of coat-of-arms sometimes damaged making a small curve
- – Small color spot to the left in the crowns cross
- – Original die. Handstamped in lever press as the originals. Tete-beché exist
- – Color: From Carmine to dull carmine red
- – Paper: Two kinds, without gum:
- 1. Ordinary thick brownish, clear wire-marking. Thinkness: 0,115-0,135 mm
- 2. Laid (17 lines per 2cm). Thickness: 0,105 – 0,120 mm
Illustration of 1861 2nd reprint
Made for Belgian stamp dealer Moens
- – Small color spot to the left in the crowns cross
- – Original die. Handstamped in lever press as the originals. Tete-beché exist
- – Color: Carmine red
- – Paper: Two kinds, without gum:
- 1. Ordinary lighter brownish, harder more glazed. Less wire-marking. Thinkness: 0,090-0,100 mm
- 2. Wide laid
Illustration of 1871 reprint
Made for folders sent to the UPU
- – Small color spot to the left in the crowns cross
- – Original die. Handstamped in a lever press as the originals
- – Color: Carmine red
- – Paper: Ordinary thick yellowish. Thinkness: 0,120-0,125 mm
Illustration of 1881 reprint
Nickname: “The Granberg issue”
- – Left frame line of coat-of-arms broken
- – Small color spot to the left in the crowns cross
- – Original die. Handstamped in a lever press as the originals
- – Color: Red carmine
- – Paper: Hard white and thin. Impression showing on the reverse. Thinkness: 0,070-0,080 mm
1892 reprint
- – New clichés. Lithograped in sheets of 20. Vertically pairs, not tete-beché
- – Color: Red
- – Paper: Ordinary with smooth gum
1956 reprint
- – New clichés. Letterpress by galvanic clichés
- – Color: Reddish carmine
- – Paper: Watermarked. White glossy gum
Pen-cancel removed, bogus postmark applied
Fournier forgery with his characteristic ‘HELSINGFORS’ postmark
Forgery
Forgery
Forgery
Notice the ‘scissor-lines’ at the edge. They are never on genuine stamps
Forgery
Forgery
1856 Postal stationary cutout with bogus postmark to resemble genuine stamp
Forgery
Forgery
Forgery
1850 envelope cut-out. No pearl in posthorns
Fournier Forged Postmarks
‘WIBORG’ in a rectangle with unreadable date. Size 23×16 mm
HELSINGFORS 27 I 1868
Fournier made his forgeries in sheets of 25. No genuine Finnish postmarks resemble the two postmarks – the circular one is bogus, and the lowbox style imitating the Helsingfors low box cancel without its date was discontinued in 1851, well before the stamps were issued.
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