South Africa 1925 Airmail

 Despite its vast size, South Africa was extremely slow to introduce an air mail service to speed up the delivery of local mail. 

Eventually, in 1925, the Civil Air Board in South Africa decided to institute a three monthly Experimental Air Service between Cape Town and Durban

A set of four Air Mail stamps was specially printed specifically for the Experimental Air Service that was inaugurated on 2 March 1925. 

The stamps were only valid for the Airmail surcharge, thus ordinary stamps had to be employed for the normal postage rate.

Remainders and plates were destroyed after valid period use

Postmaster General Souvenir Sheet

Genuine  & Forgeries
The forgeries are numerous and from a typical online image, very difficult to ID

The forgeries are perforated 11½ instead of 12.

Apparently, the design is about ¼ mm. narrower in width and ¾ mm. shorter in height than on the genuine stamp. I have not verified this.

The background lines tend to be uneven especially on the ends

A much easier method to ID them are the specific flaws found on each value.

1d - Very short upper serif on the left ‘1’

3d - Small spot of color on the horizontal line below the right leg of ‘A’ in AIR

6d - ‘U’ in SUID is broken. Spot of color above ‘I’ in SUID

9d - Small spots of color connects the lines in the background below ‘O’ in SOUTH

Full set of forgeries posted on eBay as genuine

Italy Sicily 1859

 The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies included the Kingdom of Naples (Domini di qua del Faro) and the Kingdom of Sicily (Domini beyond the Lighthouse). The two kingdoms were reunited in a single state, ruled by the dynasty of the Bourbons, as a result of the Treaty of Vienna of 1815.

The stamps of Sicily were engraved by Tommaso Aloysio Juvara of Messina and printed in intaglio in sheets of 100 stamps 

In the beginning, a porous hand-made paper of rather poor quality was adopted (paper of

Naples}. 

For the subsequent editions of these values and for the two vermilion-colored 5-grain values, a white, consistent and smooth paper was adopted (paper of Palermo).

Summarizing the 3, 9, 12, 13 and 14 exist only on paper of Naples, 10 and 11 only on that of Palermo, the others on both.

A total production of 2,850,000 with 569,000 remainders is noted

Most collectors will not own originals of these pricey stamps but older collections abound with forgeries.

As many of the originals are of poor quality printings, the forgeries easily pass as originals and can be very difficult to distinguish.

The papers used and color variations account for a wide range of values, so best left up to expert certifiers as this blog is only basic in nature.

Genuine Features

1/2 Gr

Features of the Plate I

1. Plate I has rounded corner

2. Key dot below A

3. Thin lower extended section

4. Line extension

5. Barely visible dot

6. Dot 

7. Thick upper right of 2

8. Thick 1 with small serif

9. Dot

10. Wide bottom of G with a protrusion

11. Line extension

12. Key Plate I dot

13. Upper lip protrudes

14. Ket Plate I blotch - not always visible

15. Key dot between LL

Features of the Plate II

1. Key feature of Plate II - square corner

2. Key feature dot

3. Small bump in frame generally visible. Key feature of Plate II

4. Key feature dot between LL

1Gr

Features

1. Key dot under A

2. Shadow area behind the ear

3. Bust almost touches frame

4. Line extension

5. Small dot after A

6. Narrow serif

7. Key dot in R

8. Thick colored line on most

9. Line extension

10. Key dot between LL

11. Thin lower section extends past upper part

2 Plate types of the 1 Gr

2Gr

Features

1. Long leg with a very thin spot

2. The left side of the foot is longer

3. Key feature - color dot in white frame

4. Key feature - color dot in white frame

5. Arched nose

6. Lips protrude, top one more

7. Thin line extends

8. Top of G serif sometimes has a white dot

9. Connection very thin and may show a slight break

10. Top of R wide and flat

11. Right leg has a bulge and extends to a slightly upturned point

12. The 2 shows a break

13. The back is thick

14. The dot is fainter than the first one

15. Top end of G often shows a break

15a Bust does not touch the frame

16. Very thick extension

2Gr Plate Features

5Gr

Features

1. Thin lower section extends past upper part

2. Key dot under A

3. Bust far from frame

4. Line extension

5. Top of 5 is inclined

6. Upturned end of R

7. Line extension

8. Key dot in R

9. Key dot between LL

9. Line extension

10. End of G triangle shaped

10Gr

Features

1. Key dot under A

2. Dark shadow behind ear

3. Bust far from frame

4. The 0 is slightly taller than the other letters/numeral

5. Line extension

6. Long fairly flat end of R

7. End of G looks like uoside down hat

8. heavily shaded area

9. Key dot between LL

20Gr

Features

1. Key dot under A

2. Dark shadow behind ear

3. Line extension

4. Long flat thin bottom of 2

5. Bottom serifs are wide and flat

6. G has thin spot and large bottom protrusion

7. Rough shaded area

8. Dark line extends to frame

9. This area often has white noise

50Gr

Features

1. Key dot under A

2. Bust almost touches frame

3. Line extension 

4. Top of 5 flat & short

5. Bust very close to frame

6. Shaded area behind ear

7. Line extends to frame

8. Key dot Between LL

Forgeries

There are numerous forgeries but "most" are not dangerous because they are made in lithography or typography and therefore lack the relief typical of intaglio printing.

However in auctions, given generally very poor images, this relief printing may not be evident and most do resemble the originals.

Chemical alterations of some colors changed into others of greater value are much more dangerous.

Fake cancellations appear mainly on the 1/2, 5 and 50 Gr values.

Assorted forgeries

Torres/Usigli Forgeries

These appear to be fairly plentiful. They are often seen with a horseshoe and 3 dot fake cancel

The beard is large and heavily shaded

The R has a long right leg

Oneglia Forgeries

Distorted G

Very white face

Lower part of top S elongated

2 leaning right

Fournier Forgeries

Sold by Fournier but probably bought them from another forger.

These are unusual and scarce

Forgery pairs

These have the usual "Spiro" cancels but probably from another forger(Torres/Usigli?)

Crude Modern Forgeries

No genuine marks

No rough areas

Dent in forehead

Unknown  Forgeries

Many issues with the size and shape of letters and numerals

Thin G, small 5

The nose is very straight and the ear is tilted to the right

Sperati Forgeries

These as expected are the most dangerous

Most have more than one type but often the main features still apply

Sperati made proofs of several in black & color as well as used copies

The reproductions were produced by photo-lithography, the originals were engraved

Type A forgery

1. The left side of the "A" of "DELLA" is not joined at the top

2. There is a dot in the right serif at the foot of the upright of "R" of "GR"

3. There is a larger white indentation at the foot of the background to the right of the fraction.

4. There is a defect in the head of the "T" of "POSTA"

There are 4 Types of this forgery

Type A forgery

1. There is an upwards scratch running from the lower left serif of the "T" in "POSTA"

2. There is a spot of colour in the left side of the inner white frame right of the second "O" of "HOLLO."

3. The left side of the "A" of "DELLA" is broken near the top

4. There is a spot of colour in the right foot of the "G" of "GR."

Type D forgery

1.  There is a prominent vertical scratch under the "LL" of "BOLLO"

2. There is a spot of colour in the head of the " G" of "G R."

3. There is a white nick in the bottom frameline below the serif of the "R"

1. There is a spot of color in the inner white frame above the letter "R" of "GR"

2. There is a heavy blob of colour in the tail of the "G'' and the bottom left stroke of the "R" is partly covered with colour.

3. There is a spot of color in the right inner frameline opposite the "IA" of "SICILIA" 

4. The tops of the letters in " POSTA" are covered in colour and there is a diagonal stroke through the leg of the "A.

5. There is a spot of colour in the inner frame line to the right of the first "O" of " BOLLO."

1. The bottom left serifs of the "R" of "GR" slope upwards to the right and are shorter than the right side

2. There are three spots of colour in the white inner frame below the " P" of "POSTA."

3. There is a spot of color in the bottom of the "0" of "20"

4. There is a small coloured projection from the central background into the inner white frame line opposite the "LI" of "SICILIA."

1. The bottom of the bust is joined to the inner white frame by a white line just above the "R" of "GR"

2. The white spaces in the design are full of minute spots of color

Angola 1870-77 Crowns

Angola was a Portuguese colony in S.W. Africa 

It was settled in the 15th and 16th century. 

It became independent in 1975. 

Angola got his name from Ngola (which means king, after the kingdom of Ndongo).

Original Issues

Genuine Features

1. The corner gammadions (spandrels) are very evenly shaped and are mirror images of each other with top & bottom facing in different directions

2. The scallop shape on the right has a bigger central lobe than the others. They are very close to the frames but do not touch

3. Maltese cross attached to the orb, on some forgeries it is not attached and just a plain cross. The cross also has a slight tilt to the right

4. The inner frame line is generally thinner than the outer one. Over inking may not show this & I have seen some where the outer right line appears thinner

5. & 9.  The frame line extends to the outer one in all corners

6. The numerals and letters are all evenly sized with prominent serifs that are mostly curved

7. The genuine has 121 dots in the ring

8. Crown lobes have 9, 10, 5, 10, 9 pearls, perfectly round, easy to count.

The Angola issue is different from the other Colonies in the shape of the lobes of the

crown. This is round for Angola but oval and angular on all the other Colonies. The corner gammadions are also different as shown below.

A Note of caution

Forgeries

Forgeries are VERY numerous and most were mainly sold by Fournier and Spiro.

They greatly outnumber the originals.
Collectors should especially beware of the 20r bister, 25r rose (perf 14) , 40r blue and 50r green whose high CV makes them prime targets for forgery.

Fournier Forgery

The Fournier collection has a large quantity of full sheets and singles of all the Colonies but there is no evidence that he did anything other than resell them from another source

Features

- The printing is less sharp and lines rougher, particularly noticeable in the lettering but a good forgery. 

- Shade line inside the "O" in "ANGOLA" is incomplete 

- The cross on top of the crown is less detailed with small sections and usually detached from the orb

- The letters appear to be thicker

- The pearls around the crown are smaller

- The right clamshell has an incomplete line and the result is a heart shape

2 Common postmarks on Angola Fournier stamps

 Slanted A Forgery

Features

- The source is unknown and overall crudely executed

- The top letters are very uneven in particular the slanted last A

- The shadow line in the O is incomplete

- The cross is wrong and separated from the orb

- The pearls in the crown are uneven

- The pearls in the ring are uneven and missing

Slanted A & Original

Swastika Forgery

Features

- The corner spandrels are in the shape of swastikas and all face in the same direction

- The cross is tilted to the right and the wrong shape 

- Some scallop shapes have too many lobes

- The base of the crown is inclined

- The crown pearls are not round and the number of them is wrong

- The letters are poorly executed

- The top letters are very tall

- The pearls are uneven, there are only four pearls on the central arm of the crown

Spiro Forgeries Types I & II

NOTE - These are noted as being from Spiro but the cancels are also seen on Torres/Usigli forgeries. Spiro has noted he did not make any forgeries but obtained them from other sources

Features

In all denominations

- The "R" in "REIS" starts from the center of the stamp while in the genuine it starts left of the center

- The "A" leans to the right

- The crown is rounder

- The 5 has a flat top

- The cross is separated from the orb

- The "G" has a curved protrusion on the bottom right

- The central line of pearls is almost invisible

The Type 2 on the right has even less details

Large Cross Forgery

Features

One of the better forgeries 

- The cross on top of the crown is larger, clearly detached and not symmetrical 

- The three lower pearls of the central arm are flattened. 

- The lines under "ANGOLA" and over "5 REIS" do not touch the end frame. 

- The "REIS" letters are thick and too close together

- The shading line in the "O" is in a different position

- The "GO" is larger than the other letters

- The "5" is oddly shaped

- Crown pearls are 8-10-5-10-8 instead of 9-10-5-10-9

- The frame lines above the value & below the top do not extend to the outer frame.

Tapered Base Forgery

Features

- The crown has a tapered base

- The "G" has a thin top

- The "5" is not curved on top as much as the original

- The cross is plain with a larger central hole

- The "R" han an upturned serif on the right leg

- The spandrels do not match

Unknown Item

This may be a forgery or just a variant

- The "A" is placed very high

- Borders are uneven and the same thickness

- The "NG" may be touching the frame

Small "50" Forgery

Features

- The small "50 REIS" is the obvious issue

- The cross is not Maltese and ha s large central hole

- The "G" is oddly shaped

- The crown has too many pearls and the central jewels are wrong

- The crown is too rounded

- The scallops are all the same 

A similar forgery appears in other Colonies and is reported to be a Torres forgery

Other Colonies

It may be helpful to show other Colony forgeries as similar ones may show up in Angola.

These are perfed but initially the background color was not helpful so they were cropped

The "Brazilian" Forgery

Features

It appears this forgery has roots in Brazil
The E in CORREIO has a large mark on its top right.
In the right top gammadion, one of the squares has a coma shape
The forgeries seen are obliterated with a wide bar cancel.

The "Circle" Forgery

Features

he orb under the cross has been replaced with a circle
The pearls in the crown are small
The letters in MACAU are thin
The corner spandrels are not scalloped but angular (sides are straight)

Crude Forgery

- Distorted letters

- Spandrels all the same

- 4 pearls in center crown line

- Uneven large value

Possibly a Torres forgery

This is the only known Sperati forgery

There is a white spot in the tail of the R of REIS 

There is a minute break at the top of the numeral 2