Words of Wisdom
According to expert Stefan Petriuk: “if you can’t figure out what type of Przedbórz stamp it is, then it’s a forgery.”
1918. View of Przedborz. 2 Grosze
Fischer #7 / Michel #7
Genuine vs. Forgeries
Note: first check the forgeries; if you’re pretty sure it isn’t a forgery, then look at the characteristics of the genuine stamps.
1
1
Dot between S & Z of Grosze, near the S just above the point on the S closest to the Z.
Genuine type I
1
2
3
1
Short horizontal line near the upper left corner of the Grosze box.
2
Dot between the top lines of Z & E in Grosze.
3
Dot after 2. Higher than the foot. (In type 3’s the dot is at the same level as the foot.)
Genuine type II
1
2
3
1
Dot below G in Grosze, a little to the right of the curve of the G. Various fainter dots elsewhere near the inner frame of the box.
2
Vertical line inside the right side of the Grosze box, starting about 0.45 mm from the top of the box, and trailing off in a series of dots about halfway down.
3
Dots near the nose and tail of 2.
Genuine type III
Forgery type I
- – The rays between Rada and Miejska slope downwards to the right instead of the left.
- – The printing is usually lighter and coarser than on genuine stamps.
- – Rada Miejska is in smaller letters than on genuine stamps, and slopes down to the right, so that the left top of the R is much closer to the top frame than is the final A of Miejska.
- – The top of the R in in Rada slopes down to the right; on genuine stamps it’s fairly horizontal.
- – The tops of the A’s in Rada are pointed; they have flat tops on other genuine and forged stamps.
Forgery type II
- – Virtually all the lines are thicker and heavier than those on genuine stamps. This is especially noticeable on the arc under 1918.
- – The top of the R in in Rada slopes down to the right; on genuine stamps it’s fairly horizontal.
Forgery type III
(also known as Posthumous Issue 6 in Germany and Poland)
– Rada has a thin solid line between the A and D; on other genuine and forged stamps it’s broken.
Forgery type IV
Ambiguous, and rarely seen. They don’t have any of the dots and lines that are used to determine the genuine stamp “type” and out of deference to the expert Stefan Petruik, we call them forgeries. But since they look genuine in all other respects, there is the possibility that they are from an early stage in the printing process, before the clichés were duplicated to form three images, and then duplicated (twice?) again to form the 6 col. X 8 row printing plate. The various dots and lines were probably introduced during the first duplication.
Thanks to Sam Ginsburg for images and analysis of Przedborz forgeries
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