Greece: small Hermes head differences

A couple of days at American Philatelic Society HQ gave the opportunity to
check the library for information on how to distinguish between the Belgian
and Athens printings of the 1886-1900 small Hermes head stamps. Below is my
personal summary of Vlastos's "Hellas I" and Pannaioannou's "Small Hermes
Heads of Greece."

The first item in "Summary" points out that the financial significance
usually is minor.

Stan

Notes from "Hellas I, 1861-1923" by Vlastos
With modifications from Papaioannou, "Small Hermes Heads of Greece
(1886-1900)"

Summary
* There is little significant difference in catalog price between most of
the color-denomination combinations of the ("fine") Belgian printing and the
("coarse") Athens printing. Check the difference in catalog values before
spending lots of time trying to determine whether a stamp is a Belgian print
or an Athens one.*

1. There is no listing for a Belgian printing of the 25L lilac. (The
Belgian printing is described by Scott as "fine," and a good looking copy of
the 25L lilac started this quest of information on the printings of the
Greek small-Hermes-head stamps.)

2. The significant differences between the Belgian and Athens printing seem
to be:
a. the papers
b. the 50L denomination only exists in the Belgian printing and the 25L
lilac and 40L blue only exist in the Athens printing
c. all genuine stamps perf. 13.5 are Athens printings.

3. For two short periods, Athens printings were essentially equivalent to
Belgian ones. The periods were during the first Athens printing in 1889
and in 1898 after the printing plates were cleaned very well. Some Belgian
printings of the 20L could be taken to be poor Athens printings.


Papers
1. Belgian Printing (1885-1887)-all on white, glossy paper of excellent
quality
Imperforate: 1L, 2L, 5L, 10L, 20, 25L (blue), 40L (violet, per Scott), 50L,
1D
Perf 11.5: 1L, 2L, 5L, 10L, 20, 25L (blue), 40L (violet, per Scott), 50L, 1D

2. Athens Printings
A paper (1889): thin, hard, transparent, whitish or slightly tinted
Imperforate(?): 1L, 20L

B paper (1889-1891): thin, semi-transparent, silk highlights, soft,
brownish, yellowish, or grayish
Imperforate: 1L, 5L, 10, 20L, 25L (blue)
Perf. 11.5: 1L, 10L, 25L (blue)

C paper (1891-1893): medium thick to very thick (cardboard), relatively
smooth to rough, brownish, yellowish, or grayish, poor quality, spotted or
cloudy as if dirty
Imperforate: 1L, 2L, 5L, 10L, 20, 25L (blue), 25L (violet), 40L (violet), 40
L (blue)
Perf. 11.5: 1L, 2L, 5L, 10L, 20, 25L (blue), 25L (violet), 40L (violet), 40
L (blue)

D paper (1894-1896): medium thickness, rough, slightly cream-colored
Imperforate: 10L, 20, 25L (violet), 40 L (blue), 1D
Perf 11.5: 1L, 2L, 5L, 10L, 20, 25L (blue), 25L (lilac), 40 (lilac), 40 L
(blue), 1D

Paper E (1898-1900): good quality, white, medium thickness
Imperforate: 1L, 2L, 5L, 10L, 20, 25L (lilac)
Perf. 11.5: 1L, 2L, 5L, 10L, 20, 25L (lilac)
Perf. 13.5: 1L, 2L, 20L, 1D, 40L (lilac)


Points
1. Genuine stamp-and-cancel combinations with date no later than 1891 and
NOT on transparent or semi-transparent paper must be Belgian printings.

2. Initials of the designer (HH) and engraver (AD) appear in the fan-shaped
ornament at the bottom of the stamp. HH is at the left and AD at the right.
On "fine" printings these almost always are clearly visible. On "coarse"
printings, there usually is no trace of either and the areas under the fan
appear to be solid colors.

3. On fine printings, the background of the medallion is uniformly colored
and lacks the white "snow" of coarse printings. Shading lines of the cheek,
back of the neck, and throat are fine and delicate. The horizontal lines of
shading in the lower, center currency rectangle are clearly present. The
pair of long vertical inner frame lines at each side show as two lines, not
one thick one.