If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Curiosity Corner #324: The Swiss ~ Offset Upset.
1984 A Forgery Upsets the Swiss Forgeries to the detriment of Postal Administrations are becoming more numerous lately, and very dangerous. You will have read that Italy had to scrap its set of definitives showing the Coin of Syracuse, and replace it with a new set of definitives depicting castles of Italy. The reason was the appearance of very dangerous forgeries of various values of the Coin of Syracuse set produced in large quantities to defraud the Italian Post Office. The United States have had frequently, trouble with forged stamps produced en masse and sold at cut price to large firms. Recently it was West Germany, where forgeries of the definitives for stamp machines turned up. Now it is the turn of Switzerland, and the philatelic press is giving the recent discovery of a foregery of a Swiss stamp full coverage. Last October the publishers of the well known Zumstein catalogue were shown a letter bearing a 40 Centimes stamp of the 1977-1979 set depicting various folk customs. This cover was posted at "6285 HITZKIRCH" on October 17, 1983. A detailed examination of the stamp on the cover proved beyond any doubt that this was a very dangerous forgery. Let me now give you the typical marks to how this forgery can be distinguished from the genuine stamp: http://cjoint.com/data/fqd21XP4iW.htm (genuine stamp) First of all the paper of the stamp is very white and has no phosphor coating. The perforation of the genuine stamp is comb perforation 11.75, whereas the forgery has a line performation of about 11.25. Whilst the difference between 11.75 and 11.25 is only very small, the fact that the forgery is line perforated means that the corners of the forgery are irregular. The colour of the stamp is very good and close to the genuine item, but the forgery was not printed by recess printing as the original, but in offset. Therefore it does not have the "rough" surface feeling. The simplest way, though, to recognise the forgery is to study closely the letters of the country name HELVETIA at the left. In the genuine stamp the printing of the individual letters of the word HELVETIA is formed of criss-cross lines, but the letters of the forgery have an even full surface. In addition, if you look at the top feather on the hat of the figure in the foreground, this is quite clear and well defined in the genuine stamp, whereas in the forgery it is very faint. Switzerland has had a very long rest from forgeries to the detriment of the Post Office. "Berner Briefmarken Zeitung" writing about the forgery, have dug up an official magazine of the Swiss Post Office dated December 6, 1919 reporting the discovery of printing equipment in Geneva, that had been used for the production of forged 25 Centimes stamps. That was almost 65 years ago! We are showing here a pair of the 40 Centimes stamp, but these stamps are genuine copies. 1 am sure specialized collectors will be on the look-out for the forgery. God alone knows how many were produced and how many copies slipped through the posts. On cover they should be very interesting and should fetch a good price. (So get busy and search those duplicates!..... Rod. Acknowledgement: Mr. Otto Hornung. The Australian Stamp Monthly, April, 1984 |
Ads |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Curiosity Corner #261:.......and Psalm 8. | Rod | General Discussion | 0 | November 20th 06 01:57 AM |
Curiosity Corner #213: One to look out for. | Rodney | General Discussion | 0 | April 8th 06 12:26 PM |
Curiosity Corner #147: Newaf-O | Rodney | General Discussion | 0 | November 30th 04 02:17 AM |
Curiosity Corner #89 Take a bow~Mr Inch | Rodney | General Discussion | 1 | May 11th 04 01:16 AM |
Curiosity Corner #42. The day after | Rodney | General Discussion | 2 | November 30th 03 01:55 PM |