Classic Stamp Forgeries: Ecuador 1865

A young Ecuadorian woman, Emilia Rivadeneira Valencia, who was 25 years old produced together with her father, the printer and typographer Manuel Antonio Rivadeneira Heredia the first unperforated postage stamps in Ecuador.

The eventual contract required that some 1.5 million of the first 3 values be printed. The exact quantity produced appears unknown.

The Medio Real in blue and two of Un Real, in yellow and green tones.

In 1866, the Ecuadorian government ordered the printing of a higher value postage stamp, which corresponds to Cuatro Reales in red ink

Emilia Rivadeneira would later be a central figure in the production of unauthorized "reprints"

1865/66 Genuine first Issues

There were several printings (8-9) on different papers so there is plenty of material for specialists. Below we see the basic and blue tinted papers. The Un Real exists on quadrille paper with a much higher CV

The above is apparently a Rivadeneira essay

Note the bird if facing in the opposite direction.

I do not have any copies but apparently some of the later "reprints" also exhibit this feature.

Genuine Features

1. The sun has 17 rays, the facial features are often indistinct

2. There are breaks in the joining lines

3. The frame line is slightly curved

4. The flag is axed shaped without any pronounced droop. Note the height & position

5. There are 70 non touching pearls

6. The C & R are taller than the other letters

1. This pearl is touching the one above and is offset to the right

2. The flag has a noticeable droop

3. The feathers are well delineated

4. The two rays appear joined together. The sun face is more distinct

5. & 6. The U & O are taller

1. The S is oddly shaped

2. The R's only have the right leg curved

3. The right ornament is smaller than the left one

4. There is heavy smoke and the flag has a protuberance at the top right

5. The sections on this side are separate but not on the left

6. A large ball on the left but a curved end on the right

7. The S looks like an S

8. The EALE are joined together

9. The lower leg of the E is extended

NOTE - the 4c were printed very close together so aside from the corner stamps with 2 margins and side ones with 1 margin, any having 3 or 4 sided large margins are very suspicious.

The 4c can be found in 2 types, the narrow oval left and the round oval right

Forgeries

Some articles note a wide range of forgeries and sub forgeries.

These may have been prevalent at one time but probably are now not frequently encountered.

Fournier/Spiro

As with other forgeries the relationship between Fournier & Spiro was close, so the originator is unknown. The cancel is not a big help as a similar genuine cancel did exist. As for features;

1. The bird's head is narrower and dome shaped

2. The sun has many more rays

3. The letters are more uneven and distorted

4. The flag has no droop

5. The corner elements are very crude

6. There are 75 pearls in the Medio instead of 70

7. A key feature shows a "UFO" above the ship in all samples I have seen

The following are full sheets from the Geneva Fournier Collection (Spiro?)