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| Postal Stone |
A supply camp was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652 in the area which later became Cape Town.
It eventually became a British Colony in 1814.
Stamps were first issued by the colony on 1 September 1853. The two stamps that were issued were a one penny in brick-red and a four pence in blue.
The stamps were printed by Perkins, Bacon & Co in London. The original die for these stamps was cut by William Humphrys, an engraver employed by Perkins Bacon.
Special hand made paper was used to print 240 stamps per sheet.
On 18 February 1858 two new values became available: a six pence and a one shilling.
The triangular stamps were demonetized on 1 October 1900.
Genuine Features
Bear in mind that the same die (s) were used for all the Triangles, so these features apply for all the issues from 1853-64. Above, a plate proof is used for better definition of the features.
1. Note that the 4 spines almost touch the ends of the bottom ornaments in most cases.
2. This hatching (fishnet) should have 4 visible diamonds
3. There is a large patch of color in the bottom inner side of the C.
4. There is a dot of colour just below and to the right of the center stroke of the F.
5. There is a distinct white line inside the D of GOOD.
6. The O of HOPE is slightly higher than the other letters.
7. A distinctive cross should appear in the pattern.
8. The serif the G extends to the right well beyond the top serif.
9. The bottom branch of the E extends out further than the top
10. The inner part has a visible white ring which may only be partially visible.
11-12. There is a small dot of color very close to the forehead.
This is often mistaken as part of the hair by forgers.
Note also that the nose is low on the face and its slope.
The eye is large with a distinct pupil.
13. All the fingers are visible but the index is out of proportion with the others
14. The tip of the fluke is behind the body. Also note that the base of the top fluke lacks the inner curve like the bottom one.
15. There is a wide dark outline here
16. There are several boomerang shaped designs in the background. Generally the 3 dots should be visible.
17. Note the shadow of the anchor to the right of the fluke, the curvature of the fluke and the bill (tip) that
points to the 2nd O of GOOD.
18. 5 toes are visible and the feet are proportionate.
Forgers tend to get the shape of the letters wrong, particularly the serifs.
The lines in the rock are often wrong
The shading lines in the tunic will be different
The dots on the skin will generally be missing
The toes and the shape of the feet will be different.
The head and hair are generally not well reproduced
A note on Blued Paper (other theories/explanations exist)
Some of these stamps have a bluish tint in the paper that can be light or quite noticeable.
Potassium Ferrocyanide (Prussiate of Potash) is an ingredient in Prussian Blue.
It is NOT Potassium Cyanide that some "experts" note.
It appears to have been used to prevent removal of the cancel and re-use of the stamp. It may also have been used as an ink fixer & died the paper blue. Potassium Ferrocyanide (not Cyanide) is relatively safe and is an ingredient used to produce Potassium Ferricyanide used in cyanotype printing, a method in early stamp printing.
In any event it might also be that the degree of bluing was due to how much the sheets were wetted prior to printing.
Ivory Heads
SG makes an assumption that the bluing was unevenly applied. However on some stamps the Ivory Head is just a ghostly blob but on others it is a perfect negative of the front so hardly an "uneven bluing" so skillfully applied. It also occurs on many other country issues of that period.
Watermarks - Important NOTE
Some stamps do not have one (Perkins Bacon ref.)
The anchor watermarks were formed by twisted cylindrical brass wire curved by hand, attached by finer wires to the wire-work of the paper mould. Often the fine wires would break resulting in no watermark.
Genuine stamps
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| SG 1 Pale Brick Red & SG 2 Blued Paper |
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| SG 6a Blue & SG 8b Deep Green |
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| SG 18b Deep Brown Red & SG 18c Brownish Red |
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| SG 19a Blue & SG 20 Bright Mauve |
In 1929 a plate proof without defacement was printed in black on slightly toned paper without a watermark for the G. Allis 1930 book.
All four denominations were printed and may be found in blocks of 4.
Forgeries
Fournier Forgeries
These appear to be plentiful and with a low quality online image could fool many collectors.
There is some indication that Fournier may have used forgeries from Oswald Schröder (discussed later) as the model for his forgeries.
He also sold forgeries from many other forgers as the Fournier Geneva collection clearly shows.
1. The O of HOPE is the same height as the other letters
2. The eye is very pronounced giving the face a “serious” look
3. The O’s in HOPE are not level and the second O is slightly higher
4. The top serifs of the H in HOPE are inclined
5. The toes are indistinct
6. The dots on the body have been replaced by short dashes
7. Shading lines on the tunic are lacking as are the background features
Blocks from the Geneva Fournier Collection
These were available for sale and were part of the purchased collection.
Overall, they are very well executed and would be rather dangerous forgeries
They have a lot in common with the Oswald Schroeder forgeries
Oneglia Forgeries
Erasmo Oneglia was an Italian forger in the late 19th century from Turin. He is famous for his engraved forgeries. Many of his forgeries were previously attributed to the forger Angelo Panelli. The engraved Oneglia forgeries are usually 'overinked'. When Oneglia applied an impressed watermark on his forgeries, it is very clearly visible. He forged at least 788 different forgeries from over 30 countries
1. The C inclined slightly to the right & thinner
2. The E of CAPE is distorted
3. Top serifs of the H are inclined
4. Long index finger on the left hand
5. Only 4 toes visible
6. Typical box cancel with a blank center
7. The left hand shows only 2 fingers
8. The rays of the right corner ornament are very short
9. The face lacks shading lines
10. The lines in the skirt run in all directions unlike the uniform ones in the genuine
The thin C is held as being a feature of the actual Oneglia. Perhaps the previous set was made at a different time or one of them is a Panelli forgery.
However the head is very different
The C top extends out
The bottom right ornament has an elongated pearl in it.
Senf Forgeries
The Senf brothers (Emil Louis Richard and Wilhelm August Louis) printed a journal, the 'Illustrierten Briefmarken Journal', in Leipzig, Germany.
They added 'Kunst-Beigaben' or 'art supplements' to each issue of their journal from 1884 onwards.
These forgeries always had the overprint 'Facsimile' or 'FACSIMILE' or 'FALSCH' included in the design and often were removed as shown below.
2. No details in the body of Hope.
3. The top tip of the anchor is visible.
4. The cancels are wrong for the period.
5. The shape of the head is very distinctive
Spiro Forgeries
These are very common and account for most of the forgeries.
It should be noted that although Spiro forgeries appear ubiquitous, in many cases they are wrongly identified.
Many belong to the Spanish forger Torres. Spiro probably collaborated with other forgers of that period. They possibly ordered custom cancels or applied their own.
1. The key feature of the Spiro's is the head of HOPE which is crudely drawn
2. The A & P of CAPE appear damaged on most copies
3. The lower fluke tip points in a different direction
4. The foot on the right has toes not on the original
5. The index finger is shorter
6. All the netting before and after the word groups is missing
7. Guide lines between the stamps are generally visible
A forgery that appeared online as a "genuine" with matching value
Torres Forgeries
Placido Ramon de Torres issued the "Album Illustrado para Sellos de Correo" in 1879.
This catalogue has illustrations of many of the stamps that correspond to known forgeries. He also provided illustrations for other catalogs of the period.
It appears he trained and cooperated with Usigli and Bonasi.
Later on he ventures to other countries including a not so fortunate trip to America to sell his forgeries from sources unknown.
2. The background is mainly made of dots and dashes
3. The rocks are shaded with thick lines
4. The toes are lacking
5. The letters are misshapen
Note on the top left one a Spanish Spider type cancel was used but lacks the arrow points
It appears to have more in common with Torres.
Taylor Forgeries
Samuel Allan Taylor was the leader of the "Boston gang", a group of forgers located in Boston.
Taylor operated from about 1862 to 1891 and made many forgeries and bogus United States stamps in particular the local issues. Many of these exist printed in a variety of papers and in a wide range of colors.
Although he did make some forgeries of Canadian stamps, his work in other countries is relatively unknown. So, although these are attributed to him, the period forgers would often sell items from other forgers.
1 The head is crudely drawn and large
2. The anchor fluke tip points to the D not the O
3. The netting in the corners has been replaced with wavy lines
4. These is no background detail
5. It appears that there is only 1 foot
Scott/Taylor forgeries?
There is possibly some relation between the two as a forgery attributed to Scott has many Taylor features
Scott advertised he was purchasing dies of various countries
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| Scott on top, Taylor below |
Unknown Forger
The forgeries do not correspond to any others and are reasonably well executed.
The lower letters are an issue
1. The C has a long pointed serif
2. The second O of GOOD is smaller than the other letters and slightly tilted
3. The P of HOPE looks like an inverted J
4. The last E is distorted
Unknown Forger
These may the the Oswald Schroeder forgeries
Oswald Schroeder was a stamp forger of Leipzig (Germany) around 1890 and was a partner in the printing firm Schroeder & Naumann He produced 56 different forgeries, before he got discovered and fled to Zurich.
He generally used actual stamps and reproduced the plate variations.
1. The C of CAPE has a flat top
2. The serifs of several letters are different than the originals
3. The top anchor fluke tip is not hidden
Unknown Forger
1. The head is oddly and uniquely shaped
2. Many of the letters are uneven
3. The color is wrong for a 1p
4. None of the genuine features are present
4. None of the genuine features are present
Reprints and Souvenirs
Aside from the "Woodcuts" there does not appear to be reprints of these stamps produced in the same time period.
There are however ones produced later.
No reason for the letters blotted out but one can surmise that it may have appeared without it.
The obvious feature is the quality and "whiteness" for a 150 year old stamp.
A 1950 Philatelic Exhibition sheet also has a 4p stamp that was cutout and resold
Unique rather crude forgeries
No comments are required for these forgeries and creators are all unknown
Addendum
Some "New" forgeries from the Fournier collection
NOTE the first stamp has short hair and the triangle is off center
Thank you for the time and effort you have put into this most interesting article. Some 60 years ago my grandfather gave me a wide-ranging collection of stamps which appear to be the remains of various purchases he made during the building of his collection. A sheet labeled forgeries and reprints has always intrigued me and now you have demystified two of the cape of good hope stamps as 'Spiro' forgeries. I have scanned through, and I don't see part 2. I have a couple of 'woodblock' forgeries on the same sheet ! I'm interested in researching.
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