I need help in order to ID this stamp properly

Hello Makanudo, crop from Scott 2009.


Regards, James

 

I am not an expert in forged stamps, but the higher the value the more profit for the forgers. I would have thought that the chance of finding genuine stamps of those values today is quite slim, but not impossible, it has happened before. When I was buying stamps back in the 50s I believe that the vast majority were genuine. You bought from reputable dealers. Now with the advance in technology fakes are much easier to produce, it is quite easy to produce the paper and add watermarks or bleach old low value stamps and overprint with fakes.

Look at some of the "fake stamps" websites, there are several on line.

Regards, James

 

Milan,I agree 100 % to James´remarks.
Unfortunately your scan is not good enough to spot details.
So the colour should look the same,as my 20 Öre stamp shown:

But your scan shows one detail quite clearly: the perforation.
You write your stamp is perforated 13 1/2 x 14.
Scott 33a or Michel 22FB exists perf.13 only.
However that is not that clear cut,because it can vary up
to 13 1/2,but never 14.
But that is not too important.The perforation nevertheless is
to me a sure sign,that your stamp is a forgery.Originals are comb-perforated.Yours is line-perforated.
Comb-perforation gives equal corner-perfs,while corner-perfs of line-perforation normally are uneven.
Line-perforation is quite easily produced,while comb-perforation
is quite difficult.That is why so many forgeries of different stamps
are found line-perforated.
If you have a close look,you will see that the perforation-holes
of your stamp are smaller than the "tooth".While on my stamp
the holes are significant bigger than the tooth.This is a sure
sign,that your stamp was perforated with a different tool,than
the originals.
By the way,the print-quantity of the original Sc.33a/Mi.22FB
was 970 stamps.

 

Hello Makanudo,

One other way of checking perforations (which might also show fake stamps)

An example from my Thai collection. I have many copies of these stamps, I stack them together to separate out the different perforations, then separate each stack into their face values.

“Vienna” Issue Date: 1912-10-15. Perforation: 14 x 14½

“London” Issue Date: 1917-01-01. Perforation: 13½ x14 & 15


I use the same method for the Airmail 1st & 2nd series

Airmail 1st series. Issue date: 1925-01-01. Perforation: 13½ x14 & 15

Airmail 2nd series. Issue date: 1930-1936. Perforation: 12½


I use the same method for sorting some of the definitive issues that may have been printed in several countries.


Regards, James.

 

Series:Circle type
Catalog codes:Mi:SE 22Ba, Sn:SE 33, Yt:SE 21A, AFA:SE 22B
Issued on:1877
Format:Stamp
Emission:Definitive
Perforation:comb 13½
Printing:Typography
Colors:Red
Face value:20 Swedish öre

 

Milan,
if you go for old and costly stamps you will come across forgeries.
And from time to time you will fall to one.
I have yet not found a really useful website about forgeries.
Useful can only be,showing originals and fakes side by side.
Just images of forgeries are of little help.
Expertising has become costly and prohibitive costly for
stamps with a lower value.Postage and handling become too
expensive for these.
So there is no easy way out,but that makes it also more
interesting and challenging !

 

I found these in my collection. Further research online tells me that these stamps are often forgeries. Im hoping mine arent

 

Hello Zevrap99,
I would guess that if they have been in that album for about 75 years, they are most likely to be genuine.

Having said that, read this,
http://www.vaticancitystamps.org/rs.htm
particulary the passage Frauds and Forgeries. Some of the fakes are worth considerably more than the genuine stamps.

Regards, James.

 

This text is not mine,but from a collector who writes the best articles,
better than most books,about forgeries,I know.

The scariest words that describe a collection on common auctions are "From an old collection"
This is supposed to somehow reassure one that this collection is the real thing.
Actually it is quite the opposite, grandfather/father lived during the heyday of packet sales that were full of forgeries.
They did not have forums, wiki or the availability of books on forgeries. Many of these books were very limited and in the language of the issuing country.
So everyone who collects world wide 1840 - 1940 is also collecting forgeries and like it or not, they are part of the hobby and have their own place in the hobby.

 

Hello Takis:

Does that mean you believe the stamp is real? The only reason I ask is because of the Tretio inscription... not being deeply intuitive on Old Swedish (though I do have a few) I am wondering if it is worth looking for them in my many travels?

 

Still a nice specimen... The TRETIO SHOULD be hard to forge and match the rest of the ink but it would be subject to analysis to prove either way...

 

Makes MUCH more sense all the way around... nice stamp!