Paraguay Airmails

Paraguay is somewhat unusual in that although a few regular issues between 1869 and 1881 were forged, the

emphasis was placed on forging the airmail issues between 1929 to 1937.

Most collectors think that forgeries are relegated to only older expensive stamps however Paraguay is proof that this is not the case.

There is not a lot of information available on these but my research indicates that probably more than one forger was responsible as there are quality forgeries and some that are somewhat crude.

Forgeries are often found with postmarks which may indicate that the purpose was primarily postal counterfeiting in nature.

Given the low issue quantities, airmails of Paraguay are relatively low in value. This may in most cases be due to the large quantity of forgeries.

Genuine and Forgery Comparisons

Overall the forgeries are quite good and will fool most collectors

1929 Sc C7 Genuine left. Forgery right

1. Typically the forgery has heavy shading around the star and in the wings
2. The left top U.P.U. Is smaller and not aligned, the right has a large P.
3. The middle bar in the E of PESOS lacks serifs, those on the S are stunted.

1929 Sc C9 Genuine left. Forgery right
1. In the forgery, the middle bar in the E of PESOS lacks serifs, those on the S are stunted.
2. There is no white dot in the eye
3. The oval lines around UPU are broken

1931 Sc C10 same characteristics as the previous C9

1931 Sc C12
1. In the forgery (right), the middle bar in the E of PESOS lacks serifs, those on the S are stunted.
2. The letters U.P.U. are distorted and too small
3. The top letters are uneven
4. The pattern in the wings is heavily shaded

5. The pattern in the lower wheel is indistinct

A genuine rare Sc C11a imperf pair

1930 Sc C19 - Genuine left, forgery right
1. In the forgery, the hat and lion face are very different
2. Many breaks in the rays
3. The dots in U.P.U. Are not visible

Sc C20 genuine & forgery with same issues as Sc C19

1930 Sc C22 - Genuine left, forgery right
1. In the forgery below the cross the round area has 3 distinct vertical lines not in the genuine
2. There is no accent on the O of ASUNCION
3. The real key is the color, this forgery was printed in brown instead of violet
4. As with other forgeries the perf is different and usually 11 instead of 12

1930 Sc C23 & C24 Genuine
Copies are difficult to find and Ihave no forged ones to compare.
However as with the others, look for uneven lines, distorted letters and an overall lack
of fine details

1931-39 Sc C39 - C53 - Gunboat "Paraguay"
This series appears to have the most prolific forgeries

1931 Sc C41 Genuine and forgery
There are many fine detail differences but 2 traits in particular show up in all the forgeries
1. The genuine has 2 or 3 short lines just above and to the left of the ship’s bow. These are missing in the forgery
2. In the forgery, there is no tilde over the first "N" of "CANONERO" as in the genuine stamp. 

3. The letters in the bottom frame tend to be uneven and defective in the forgery.
Below other values (Sc C46 and C49) show the same traits.

1931-36 Sc C56-C73
This is another set with plentiful forgeries

1. The forgery on the right has very poor details

2. The inscription below the monument is unreadable
3. The stars are very crude and lack the outer details

Sc C63 Genuine and C62 Forgery
1. The issue with the right forgery is again a lack of detail
2. The top area with the stars is particularly at fault
3. The UPU has no dots after the letters
4. The key feature is the base of the left tree - see below, forgery on the right

Sc C64 - Genuine left, forgery right
The key features of the forgery are;
The irregular veins in the mate leaves and the unreadable inscription below the plane as shown below on the right

Sc 69 Genuine left, forgery right
This is a reasonable forgery but a lot of details are lacking in the bottom of the stamp.

Sc C72 - Genuine left, forgery right
The main issues with the forgery are;
1. Very coarse shading lines in the wings and background
2. Letters are uneven - note the L & C of REPUBLICA
3. The letters in CENTAVOS are thinner
It should again be noted that many forgeries are used which points to their main use to defraud the postal authorities.

1932 Sc C74-C78
Paraguay is one of the few countries that zeppelin stamps remain affordable. The many forgeries may account for this.

Above genuine Sc C76 & C78

Sc C74 forgery
Overall the forgery is well made.
1. The bottom left star is heavily shaded and all the details in that corner are lacking
2. The UPU letters are thick and crude
3. The rays are heavily shaded

1933 Sc C79-C83
These zeppelin forgeries are not easy to ID given the poor quality of most online auction images.
Sc C80 genuine left, forgery right. In the forgery;
1. Shading lines tend to be coarser and more broken
2. Several letters are awkward such as the L, C and the DEL
3. The key factor is the imprint of the artist’s name RODOLFO. In the forgery the
letters are uneven, illegible and a few touch the frame.

Above,  a genuine C88 & C93

1934-37 Sc C84-C87 

C85 Genuine left forgery right

The key feature as with many other stamps is the lack of details

1. The forgery has coarse broken lines

2. The letters in UPU are smaller

Some authors mention the bird under IC of REPUBLICA having a missing wing in the forgery but this is wrong as this is not a wing as seen in the proof shown below

1935-39 Sc C98-C101

Sc 98 - forgery right
The catalog mentions plentiful excellent forgeries but in reality they are rather crude
The forgery on the right shows a noticeable lack of detail in the plane, tobacco and background
The inscription is not clear and the letters are uneven

The same issues apply in the right forgery of Sc C100 above right
Note again that both the C98 & C100 forgeries are cancelled.

1935-38 Sc C102-C106, Genuine left, forgery right

As with the other forgeries, I would not consider them as “excellent”
The forgery lacks many fine details, in particular the cloud lines are coarse and broken.

The lower letters are very distorted

THe key feature of the forgery is the missing top curved line as shown below.

References
Scott WW Specialized to 1940
Airmail Stamps - Fakes & Forgeries - Newall
Focus on Forgeries - V. Tyler
Billigs Volume 12 - 1935
Klaseboer Forgery CD Vol 2 2019
South America - Michel Vol 2 2015
Various auction sites and S.A. Forums
American Philatelic Society - Genuine or Forgery website
Catalog of the Stamps of Paraguay - Victor Kneitschel
Borek 1976 Briefmarkenkatalog Paraguay