They were sold at double face value. The surtax benefited the Red Cross.
On sale from 3/10/1914; disused on 08/15/1920.
Design by : Mac Donald
Engraving : Mac Donald
Lithography at J.Verscheuren Antwerp.
Sheets of 300 postage stamps in 2 parts of 15 times 10 stamps.
Perforation: 14 or non-perforated.
Composition of the sheets: 2 panels of 150 (15×10)
Printing Process: Stone print
Number of plates: I
Paper: machine Paper
Watermark : None
Genuine Issues
These are quite difficult to find and may only account for 5% or less of those seen on auction sites. Their rather low CV may be due to the vast amount of counterfeits.
1. Cross ia a dull red
2. The letters of BELGIQUE are closer to the top of the frame above.
3. The Q has a cedille with an opening above and a small one below.
It is attached on the left side. It is slightly bent and sharpened on the end.
4. 31/2 pearls above the E of BELGIE & no white line above them.
5. 2 pearls under the BE are not fused together.
6. The edge of the E lines up inside the ball of the ornament
Forgeries
1. Cross is bright red
2. The letters of BELGIQUE are closer to the bottom of the frame.
3. The cedilla is long & curves to the left. The Q is closed.
4. Wavy line above the right epaulette.
5. Horizontal white line above the left epaulette.
6. 3 pearls above the E of BELGIE & a perpendicular white line above the pearls
7. White line perpendicular to the pearls on the right side of the cross box.
8 Thin white line along the right side of the left cheek of the king.
1. Cross is bright red
2. The letters of BELGIQUE are in the center of the frame.
3. The cedille is short, thick & straight. The Q is closed.
4. No white line above the right epaulette.
5. Horizontal white line above the left epaulette.
6. 3 pearls above the E of BELGIE & a perpendicular white line above the pearls
7. White line perpendicular to the pearls on the right side of the cross box.
8 No white line along the right side of the left cheek of the king.
1. Cross is bright red
2. The letters of BELGIQUE are closer to the top of the frame.
3. The cedilla is short, thick & straight. The Q is closed.
4. Very visible white line above the right epaulette.
5. Horizontal white line above the left epaulette.
6. 3 pearls above the E of BELGIE & a perpendicular white line above the pearls
7. White line perpendicular to the pearls on the right side of the cross box.
8 Very visible white line along the right side of the left cheek of the king.
Cross is bright red
Here the drawing is exactly as the genuine but the stamp is smaller in height.
It is 22.1-22.3mm instead of 22.5mm.
If it is gummed, it will be thick and bright with very visible brush strokes.Dangerous false Type II
The height is 22.3mm
The pearls below the BE of BELGIQUE are fused together
Bright red cross
Lighter green color
Thick bright gum
Everything else is exactly as the genuine
Genuine 10c
 |
| Type I |
 |
| Type II |
Paper is cream colored & the gum is thin & dull
Type I 22.4mm, Type II 22.6mm
1. The cross & rest are printed together so the cross is generally well centered throught the sheet of 150.
2. The first letters of BELGIQUE are closer to the top, the last ones are in the middle.
3. The Q is open to the right of the cedille. The cedille is long, wide in the middle & ends in a point.
4. 31/2 pearls above the E of BELGIE & no white line above them.
5. The letters B & E of BELGIQUE do not touch. The U & E touch at the top only.
6. The serifs of the 1 are well formed & the 1 is very slightly longer than the 0.
7. Depending on the type, the upper right corner of the cross box may be cut off (Type II).
Forgeries
Gum thick & shiny, paper various shades, white to blueish.
1. Belgique is closer to the bottom
2. The Q is closed. The cedille is short with a bend and does not touch the sides of the Q.
3. 31/2 pearls above the E of BELGIE & a thin white line above them.
4. The top serifs of the 1 is cut short, the foot is not even & the 1 is noticeably longer than the 0.
No Image available
Simple Type II
Gum thin & shiny, paper various shades, white to blueish. Height 22.2mm
1. Belgique is in the middle.
2. The Q is closed. The cedille is long, wide & straight and does not touch the sides of the Q.
3. 3 pearls above the E of BELGIE & a very visible white line above them.
4. Both serifs of the 1 are poorly formed & the 1 is the same height as the 0.
Gum thick & shiny, paper various shades, white to blueish. Height 22mm
All 3 forget types come from the same sheet
1. The first letters of Belgique are closer to the bottom, the last ones are closer to the top.
2. The Q is closed. The cedille is long, wide & straight and the upper part touches the sides of the Q.
3. 3 pearls above the E of BELGIE & a very visible white line above them.
4. The top serifs of the 1 is a small stump, the foot is not well formed & the 1 is the same height as the 0.
Cream colored paper. Gum thick & shiny
Height 22.4 mm - same as genuine
Everything else is the same as the genuine. If the gum is missing, only plate identification will work.
According to records, the sheet has 146 Type I & only 4 Type II which helps somewhat in identification.
Genuine 20c
 |
| Type I |
 |
| Type II |
Gum is thin & smooth
Cross dull red , stamp bright purple. Height 22.5mm
1. BELGIQUE is closer to the top
2. The base of the B is straight.
3. The Q has an opening right of the cedille which is long, bent & pointed. It touches the Q on the left side.
4. The cheek of the king is swollen on the right side of the picture.
5. In the type I the inner & outer pearls situated on the right above the line of the eyes are separated.
In the Type II they are all joined.
Forgeries
On white paper, gum is thick & bright
Cross is bright red & height 22mm
1. First 5 letters of BELGIQUE are closer to the bottom
1. There is no opening in the Q & the cedille is long & bent down.
2. The base of the B is not straight & the openings are the same size.
3. 3 pearls above the E of BELGIE & a thin white line above.
4. The cheek of the king is not swollen on the right side of the picture.
5. There is a white line above the box of the cross.
On white paper, gum is thick & bright
Cross is bright red & height 22mm
1. The first letters of BELGIQUE are centered.
1. There is no opening in the Q & the cedille is a stump.
2. The holes in the B are equal.
3. 3 pearls above the E of BELGIE & a long visible white line above.
4. The cheek of the king is not swollen on the right side of the picture.
5. There is a white line above the box of the cross.
On white paper, gum is thick & bright
Cross is bright red & height 22mm
1. The first letters of BELGIQUE are in the middle.
1. There is no opening in the Q & the cedille is long & straight.
2. The holes in the B are equal.
3. 31/2 pearls above the E of BELGIE & a dotted white line above.
4. The cheek of the king is not swollen on the right side of the picture.
Dangerous Type I
On white paper, gum is thick & bright
Cross is bright red & height 22mm
1. The Q is open at the bottom & the cedille touches bothe sides inside the Q, it is long & bent.
2. The cheek of the king is swollen on the right side of the picture.
3. The pearls of both sides on the right are not joined
Dangerous Type II
On white paper, gum is thick & bright
Cross is bright red & height 22.1mm
1. The Q is open at the bottom & the cedille touches the left side only inside the Q, it is long & bent.
2. The cheek of the king is swollen on the right side of the picture.
3. The pearls of both sides on the right are joined
Unknown very crude
Only 2 large pearls besides value
Q completely closed
Large frame around BELGIE cuts into cross frame
Epaulette wrong
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