Nicaragua - 1862 First Issue

 The Republic of Nicaragua issued its first postage stamps on December 2, 1862. 

The stamps are engraved in recess. 

The American Bank Note Company of New York City engraved, printed and perforated them.

The issue of 1862 consists of two values that picture a stylized view of the Maribios chain of volcanos.

2 centavo indigo and 5 centavo black. The stamps are on toned yellowish unwatermarked paper, perforations 12.

Covers are extremely rare.

The design of the 5-centavo stamp is slightly taller than that of the 2-centavo stamp

It was not until 1866 that supplies of Nicaragua’s first postage stamps became widely available in the philatelic marketplace.

The pent up demand resulted in several forgers and dealers creating a number of lithographed forgeries

1862 Original stamps 2c & 5c

Note the yellowish paper that easily distinguishes them from the white paper 1869 issues.

Both stamps are recess engravings. Letters and numerals have crisp edges.

These stamps command a fairly high CV and are not that common.
Used ones are pen cancelled.

Forgeries

The forgeries are VERY plentiful for the original issues given that they were not plentiful.
I have come across at least 10 different forgeries.

This situation is compounded by the fact that authorized reprints were made in either 1892 (Scott catalog) or 1896 (Ohrt 1906)

Forgery Type I

This is by far the most common of the forgeries and possibly Spiro

The notable feature is the cap. The bottom is too wide and the middle section too narrow.

The 2 centavo, the upper left of the D of DOS is stretched outward and upward.

The 5 centavo, PORTE at the left is incorrect. The CINCO CENTAVOS lettering is too tall

Forgery Type II

The most obvious and easy to spot feature is the missing cap

The 2nd mountain from the left has a protuberance on the left side

The D of DOS has long serifs

The C of CINCO is almost closed

Forgery Type III

Obviously a VERY crude over shaded forgery

It has little in common with the original
I have not seen a matching 5c

Forgery Type IV

The cap is very large

The left mountain looks like a pyramid

The sun rays are numerous and indistinct

The letters are distorted and uneven

All the 5's are different

Forgery Type V

This forgery has various bogus colors

The tips of the bottom 5's curl upwards

The cap is shaped like the letter E

The C of CINCO has a large top serif

The colors are reminiscent of Samuel Taylor forgeries

Forgery Type VI

This is one of the better forgeries

The top of the cap is too large

There are too many rays

The lines in the left mountain are diagonal instead of horizontal

Forgery Type VII

In the 2c the first A left side is thin & curved

In the 2c the right side of the A is thin, the opposite of the original

The bottom letters have odd serifs and are uneven

The top of the cap curve is short

In the 5c the bottom left 5 has a short top

Both have too many sun rays

Forgery Type VIII

The sun is too bright obscuring the rays

In the 2c CORREOS should be PORTE

All the 2's are almost closed and distorted

The letters DOS are smaller than the others

The numerals 5 are too thick

In both the cap is incomplete nd heavily shadowed

Forgery Type IX

The top letters are uneven, the G is not symmetrical

The top letters spacing is uneven

The large top tree is under the AG instead of GU

There is no separation in the bottom words

Forgery Type X

A very well done forgery

The last O of CINCO is short

There are 9 sun rays instead of 8

The 5's are all different sizes

Added Notes

The 1869 extended set was also forged but I have few examples

1869 Genuine set

Torres Forgeries

Reprints

These are a big issue for these original stamps

 Authorized reprints were made in either 1892 (Scott catalog) or 1896 (Ohrt 1906) by the original printers with the original dies.

The colors are slightly duller and the gum is different

They are numerous and inexpensive $0.50 each
They were apparently made for sale to collectors and dealers.

They were produced in the original different perfs as shown below

It is easy to see where these would end up in collections and auctions as originals especially with the higher value 5c