Spud Papers – Danube Steam Navigation Company

April, l866. 17 Soldi, Vermilion, perf. 9 1/2.

Genuine

Very thin rough white paper. The wavy lines of groundwork are continued to the very edge of the stamps, where they are cut short off, without any boundary-line whatever. The letters of inscription do not touch the outer oval in any point. The circle round the 17 is composed of one thick zig-zag line, between two thin ones. Both anchors are well drawn; and the cables twisted round their stems are very distinct.

Forged

Smooth wove paper, very white. Perforated 13 or 13 1/2. Faint line all round the stamp. All the capitals and taller letters of the inscription touch the outer line of the oval. The circle round the 17 is blotchy, but the inner zig-zag appears to be the thickest. There are two stops after 17,—a
large one and a small one; and there is also a dot immediately before the numeral, but
slightly below the line. The inner fluke of the left-hand anchor is invisible, and the cables are
not at all plain. In sheets of twenty-five, postmarked where four stamps meet, with four concentric circles, containing some unreadable letters. Ungummed.

1866.—10 Soldi, Mauve, perf. 9 1/2.

Genuine

M. Moens catalogs this stamp as lilac; but all the copies we have seen are bright mauve. It is from the same matrix as the 17 Soldi, so that a further description is unnecessary. The figure 1 of 10 is slightly higher than the O.

Forged

Perf. 13 or 13 1/2; same matrix as 17; red-violet. Figure 1 printed lower than o. Blotch above shoulder of G. Postmarked, in single circle, k.k. zeitungs-expedition. Ungummed.

1868. 10 Soldi, Green, perf. 9 1/2.

Genuine

This stamp is the best-printed of the three, and the details of design come out very well. The color is yellow-green.

Forged

Chalky bluish-green; same matrix; perforation 13 or 13 1/2; postmark as before; ungummed.

It will be seen that, in all these forgeries, the principal tests are the same,—viz., that the inscriptions touch the outside of the oval, and that there is a faint line round the outside; in both of which things they differ from the originals. Besides this, the genuine stamps are perforated the same as the latest Austrian issue; whereas the forgeries have a much smaller perforation.

From “The Spud Papers” by Atless, Pemberton & Earée, 1871-1881.

See also –> Album Weeds – Danube Steam Navigation Company