The Ban Righ (Gaelic "The Queen")
The ship Ban Righ was built in Govan, Scotland by the John Elder & Co. Fairfield shipyard. It had the official number 60704, launched on 03/03/1870
Manuel Antonio Matos, a wealthy Venezuelan businessman and politician, buys the boat through Rodolfo de Paula, Consul of Colombia in London in 1901
The money had been contributed in the United States by the North American asphalt company New York & Bermúdez Company and other transnational companies that opposed the Castro government.
In December 1901 the ship arrived at Marigot, St Martin where it was equipped with four guns and then they sailed to Martinique for the embarkation of a revolutionary force made up of 300.
The ship was renamed Liberator (1901-1904) and arrived in Trinidad in January 1902, where it operated until March 1902 on the Venezuelan coast distributing weapons and getting involved in several skirmishes.
The ship was eventually bought for its armament by the Colombian government. In 1905 it was dismantled and abandoned in Cartagena.
1903 Stamps
These stamps were typographed at Ciudad Bolivar
They were in use for a short period in April to June, 1903.
The stamps were perforated 12, and there were five values, namely 5, 10, 25, 50 centavos, and I Bolivar.
All were printed in black on colored paper.
All values are known with and without the large blue control mark and the Michel SA Catalog gives both the same value.
The design show a three masted ship which is supposed to represent the revolutionary steamship "Ban Righ."
The stamps were printed in panes of 24, arranged 4 x 6 rows. The panes are made up of three types, which are repeated eight times in the pane.
Original stamps are quite rare on auctions and sale sites. Essentially, 1 in 50 genuine would be optimistic. The main problem is forgeries but also the vast numbers of "reprints".
The number issued
Guayana ship issue
5c.....5500
10c....5500
25c....10000
50c....3500
1b.....3500
With only 22,000 issued it is no wonder genuine stamps are difficult to find. Also surprising is the low value in catalogs, probably due to so many forgeries and little information.
Genuine Guayana 5c
The key feature of this series is that the letters of ESTADO line up perfectly with the outside of the C of Correos.
The inside distance between the E & G should be 18.25 mm
There are 3 transfer types that repeat on the sheet. These features apply to all values.
NOTE the brown perfs are excess gum which is a common feature of the genuine stamps
Value width 22.5 mm. long except on the 1b when it is 19.5 mm
Transfer 1
- Comma after Venezuela instead of period.
- Three points between the flowers of the upper edge although the third is very small.
- The "L" of VENEZUELA is tilted to the left
- No dot over "C" of "Correos."
- No break in masts or jib rigging.
- Dot over 2nd "e" of "Venezuela" smaller than the two other dots between ornaments in top frame.
- Wide break between first two ornaments on left in bottom frame
- Bottom left ornament defective, right side incomplete
- Outer line of flag at stern broken or missing.
- Break in lower left corner.
- Fairly wide break between 3rd and 4th ornaments on left (counting from the top down).
Transfer 2
- Three points on the upper edge as well as the lower one
- No breaks in masts or jib rigging.
- No wide breaks in frame lines, except above or below the 3 dots
- Lowest ornament on right side broken.
- 2nd ornament from the right on the lower edge is broken
- Outer line of flag at stern broken or missing.
- No corner breaks, except top left corner
Transfer 3
- The three masts and the ropes of the sail are cut.
- There are three dots at the top and three at the bottom.
- Break through masts and jib rigging.
- Three dots between ornaments in bottom frame (Type 3 of the other plates have only one dot, except in Plate II of the 1 bolivar).
- Inner and outer lines of flag at stern broken.
- Slight break between two right ornaments in bottom frame and wider break between 3rd and 4th ornaments on right (counting from top down ).
- Break between 3rd and 4th ornaments from top on left.
The image below shows the fine details of the ship - note the brown perf gum typical of original stamps.
The rear flag is broken completely on the left side in all 3 transfers. In forgeries and reprints it is generally partly broken or whole.
Forgeries
NOTE - due to individual variations on the sheets of forgeries and reprints, these are generally difficult to ID. Articles on the subject often disagree on the features. The following is a composition of extensive research on the vast quantities for sale and articles put forth by specialized collectors.
Type I Forgeries
These are not common
Plate 1
Transfer 1
- The "C" of Correos there is a kind of accent, probably due to the fall of the central petal of the immediate superior ornament.
- The top left ornament is incomplete
- There are 3 dots on the upper edge and 3 dots in the lower one. The lower one on the right is slightly larger
- There is a comma after Venezuela, just like in the original one.
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| Another Transfer I |
Transfer 2
- It has 2 dots on the upper edge and 3 on the lower edge.
- There are no breaks in the corners
- The 2nd ornament from the right on the lower edge is incomplete on the right side
Transfer 3
- It has 3 dots on the upper edge and 1 on the lower edge
- The two front masts and the sail ropes are split.
- The ornaments in the lower right corner are over inked
- The top left corner ornament on the right side is incomplete and has a straight edge
Plate 1a - the 1 bolivar plate
Transfers 2 and 3 - no copy of transfer 1
Transfers presumably corresponding to the same falsification of the value of 1b. The distance between the numbers "1" is 16mm. instead of 22 mm.
In the second transfer the third point of the lower dots is in a higher position than the remaining two - key feature.
Type II Forgeries
The second forgery represents more than 90 percent of the forgeries. It is extremely common and generally does not have a postmark.
NOTE the 5c shown above is on granite paper - this paper automatically means it is a forgery
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| 5C Type II on Granite paper |
Transfer 1
- The rear mast is broken
- After VENEZUELA there is a period instead of a comma.
- The third dot on the lower edge is slightly elongated vertically.
- The 2nd ornament down on the left side has no attached frame line (key feature)
- The bottom left frame line tends to be thick
- The top right ornament is open on the right side
Transfer 2
- There are only 2 dots on the upper edge, 3 on the bottom.
- The top left corner is generally tilted inwards
- The top right ornament is open on the right side
- The 3rd ornament down on the left is generally incomplete at the top
- all corners are unbroken
Transfer 3
- The lower petal of the upper left ornament detached, transforming into a line perpendicular to the edge (except in the value 1b, where it is complete).
- There is only one dot on the lower edge (except in the value 1 B, where there are three).
- The front mast and sail ropes are broken.
- The 4th ornament from the left on the top edge has a small dot (line disconnect) on the right side
- The frame line of the bottom left ornament is bent to the right
- The top right ornament is incomplete
Note on the 2nd row there is a heavy shading in the front ropes that looks like a P
The stamp below has the same feature
A description will be added later
Reprints
The 2 types have many similarities which makes differentiation difficult
Plate I Reprints
Type I reprint
1. Large dot over "C" of "Correos"
2. Period after "Venezuela" looks like a comma.
3. Top ornament of left frame broken.
4. Breaks in top corners.
5. Small hook in vertical downstroke at top left corner.
6. Left end ornament of bottom frame is broken.
7. Wide frame break between the two left ornaments of bottom frame.
8. Wide breaks between the two right ornaments of top frame and between the two upper ornaments of the right frame.
Type 2 reprint
1. No dot over 2nd "e" of "Venezuela." (only two dots between ornaments of top frame) 3 on bottom
2. No breaks in top corners.
3. No wide break in frames.
4. Normal breaks above and below the inter-ornament dots (or space therefor) at top and bottom.
5. No break between two left ornaments in bottom frame.
6. Second ornament from right in the bottom frame is often broken.
7. Bottom corner ornaments often have thick lines under them
8. 2nd ornament down on the right side has blotch in it
Type 3 reprint
1. Break in both masts and jib rigging.
2. Only one dot between ornaments in the bottom frame.
3. Break in upper left corner.
4. Top ornament on left defective.
5. Large break between two lower ornaments on right bottom edge.
6. Right hand bottom corner ornaments often overinked or touching or close together.
7. Top left ornament edge malformed and has a straight edge
Exceptions:
1. In the 50c, crimson, the lower right ornamens are well apart, and there is no break between the two lowest ornaments in the right frame.
2. In the 10c there is usually, and in the 25c sometimes, a small break in the lower right corner.
NOTE that the second "A" in "Guayana" is often broken but not always very visible. It may just be very weak in some of the 1b
Plate II Reprints
Type 1 reprint
- No dot over "C" of "Correos."
- 3 dots top and bottom
- Break in mizzenmast just below the smoke from the funnel.
- 4th ornament down on the right edge has no frame line
- Wide break between two right ornaments of top frame.
- Wide break between two left ornaments of top frame , rarely connected.
- Rear flag is broken in Type 1
- Line under 2 left bottom ornaments generally thick
- The frame line of the 3rd ornament down on the right edge is out of alignment with the one above - key feature
Type 2 reprint
- Generally no break in masts although some show a break in the rear mast
- Three dots between ornaments of top and bottom frame
- Break between two left ornaments in top frame.
- Wide break between two right ornaments in top frame.
- Breaks in left frame narrower than in Type 1.
- Break between second and third ornaments of right frame, counting down.
- Slight hook at end of line on left of second ornament of top frame (counting from the left) and right of second ornament from the right.
Exceptions:
(1) In the 10c, crimson , there is a heavy blob half way up the jib-rigging.
(2) No dot over 2nd "e" of "Venezuela" in the 10c crimson, or the 25c.
Type 3 reprint
- Break in masts and jib rigging.
- Only one dot between ornaments in bottom frame.
- Break in top left corner.
- Top left ornament defective, and appears as a triangle.
- Hooked line below the top left ornament.
- Right ornament at top broken.
- Break in lower right corner.
- No break between two lower ornaments of right frame.
- Break between two lower ornaments of left frame.
The 1 Bolivar again has its own types that are very deceptive and similar to each other
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| Probable reprints |
1903 Coat of Arms
The forgeries were printed in very similar colors to the authentic ones and in the same values and they do not present any problem to be differentiated from the authentic ones, since these have nine little flowers on the horizontal edges and the forgeries have ten.
They also have the postmark "Public Prosecutor's Office, State of Guayana", always with an external diameter of 36 mm, but never with the signature of Antonio Sucre or the monogram.
Below a set of commonly found forgeries
The forgeries of Maturin will follow at a later date
