The Russian Company for Steam Navigation and Trade (Russkoe Obschestvo Parokhodstva i Torgovli), referred to by its Russian initials "ROPIT" was established in 1856 by Nikolai Arcass and Nikolai Novoselski.
The ROPIT created a wide network of routes connecting Odessa with other Russian ports and with foreign ports in the Levant.
The ROPIT created a wide network of routes connecting Odessa with other Russian ports and with foreign ports in the Levant.
The first stamp became available in January 1863 at the ROPIT agencies was of a large issue designed by Franz Kepler and typographed at the Government printing works at St. Petersburg.
The first printing of the 6 kop was made in a vertical strip of four in a Prussian
blue colour.
The second printing in blue, was in small sheets of 4 (2 x 2) on white unsurfaced paper without a watermark.
The third printing in dark blue was also in blocks of four on white chalk surfaced paper
blue colour.
The second printing in blue, was in small sheets of 4 (2 x 2) on white unsurfaced paper without a watermark.
The third printing in dark blue was also in blocks of four on white chalk surfaced paper
Proofs of the 6 kopecks blue stamp exist;
Brown on white glazed paper
Carmine on white glazed paper
Genuine Issues
Dots should be visible above the half moon shapes surrounding the inner frame.
Note the thickness, separation of the double outer frames and 4 thin lines of the inner frame.
The bottom right letter that looks like a reversed P has a dot after it. This may be missing in forgeries.
The frame lines above the PAB end in points where visible, forgeries have blunt square ends
The scepter touches the feathers
The state shields on the wings are clearly defined.
The stars are well defined. The 2 left ones are slightly inclined to the left, the top right one is level and the bottom right one is inclined to the right.
The left posthorn loops over the front, the right one loops over the rear.
The cross on top of the crown is slightly tilted and away from the inner frame line.
Note the shape of the heads, few forgeries get this right.
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| 2nd Printing Grey Blue |
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| 3rd Printing Dark Blue |
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| Genuine Proof - also in brown |
Forgeries
Overall a very good forgery
The stars are not shaped very well
The filigree surrounding the stars is poorly designed
There are no dots above the half moons
Senf Forgeries
Genuine left
These forgeries are not well madeThe stars are poorly designed
The half moons are distorted
The small shields have no details
The inner frame line, the 4 thin lines are welded into one
The heads are different
The word "facsimile" is generally on Senf stamps but the hand made non existent cancel on the right serves to cover this up and increase the value as a "used" stamp
Fournier/Spiro Forgeries
Fournier is known to have sold Spiro and other forgeries
The stamps from the Fournier albums generally have the word "faux" stamped on them but many do not.
Genuine left
The Russian "L" of "OTPRAVLENIE" doesn't have the correct left
The "A" doesn't have a bottom left serif.
The stars in the four corners are badly done.
The wings of the eagle are different from the genuine stamp.
The half moon patterns are poorly done.
The "Fournier" has a blue ink blob just above the "A" of "OTPRAVLENIE". This and the fact the "Fournier" is less detailed (later printing?) are the only apparent differences between them.
Blocks from the Fournier Geneva collection
A trial color? from the Fournier collection
Spiro Forgery?
This forgery is attributed to Spiro but I have doubts as it does not compare to the Fournier/Spiro forgeries
This is a dangerous forgery
All the letters are thin
The half moon shapes are completely shaded
Stars are distorted
Outer frames are too close together
Torres Forgeries
Both are Torres
These forgeries match the Torres1892 catalog
The forgery is very crude
The heads are not even close, the left one looks like a horse head & both look down.
The stars are 6 pointed. This shows up in some of his other works.
The crown cross touches the frame above.
The outer frame is broken up
Unknown Forger
The feathers have blunt ends and no definition.
The A in PAB has no left serif.
The letter after the B does not have a curl in the left foot.
The stars are poorly shaped.
Most letters have stunted serifs.
The letters are generally too thin.
The outer frames are too close together.
The inner frame has no detail of the 4 fine lines.
The cancels are unusual
Unknown Forger
This forgery could be considered as somewhat dangerous and might be from one of the Italian forgers, Panelli or Oneglia?
The diagonal corner lines are too wide and uneven.
The 4 thin lines in the inner frame are not visible.
The key feature is the breaks in the horn spirals.
The right stamp probably has a fake cancel to greatly increase the value.
Unknown Forger
It even has dots over the half moons that other forgeries lacked
What gives it away is the very uneven and broken outside borders
The lower C has a break in the top.
Many of the letter serifs are not distinct and squared off as in the original
The stars are poorly drawn
Finally - a Modern Reproduction
These are very convincing and coming out of Taiwan
The paper is apparently "aged"
They are generally under $5 and will surely show up in the next generation collections
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