The 1852 issue consists of five values. The picture was engraved by D. Bartolomé Coromina and printed in typography. The plates are composed of 170 stamps.
Quantities issued;
6 cuartos, 11,252,886.
12 cuartos, 145,014.
2 reales, 3,394.
5 reales, 79,484.
6 reales, 21,665.
Circulation: January 1, 1852. Postal validity until December 31, 1852.
In order to combat forgeries, the government limited the postal period validity of new issues. This lowered the production, increased the value and collector demand and the resulting forgeries flourished.
Few countries have this number of both postal and collector forgeries. Between 1850 and 1930, hundreds of forgeries were produced primarily as postal forgeries.
Anything offered as mint, in pairs or blocks requires close inspection.
1. 2 shading lines in the eyelid and a dark spot in the left corner
2. 4 shading lines of progressive length
3. This white shading streak appears to be consistent in all the values
4. Unshaded area
5. Note the shading lines in the ribbon from left to right 3, 3 and 4
(at an angle)
6. The top of the 5 has a pronounced curve and points up
7. The O is slightly tilted to the left
8. Note the end of the ribbon, it has a double layer seldom copied
properly in forgeries
9. Spoon shaped design and a line dash in adjoining shapes
10. Small cleft in chin
The stamps are sometimes classified into
4 groups depending on the presence, absence or size of the dots after the letters.Shade variations exist.
Shown left, Group A and Group D with no dot after CORREOS and a small dot under the Cs
6C Forgeries
NOTE - Sperati forgeries of Spain can be found in a dedicated blog
Bobes forgery in black
Printed by lithography on thin gray paper. It is known in all colors of the authentic series.
1 Higher inscription with large letters and figures.
2 The eye looks up.
3 The end of the ribbon is oval shape and pointed
4 Lower letter “S” and the number “5” are shaped oddly.
Bobes made decent forgeries in all the colors of the series - reason unknown.
Printed by lithography on thick or thin white paper.
1 Inscription “6” larger than the rest.
2 Large white space in the back area of the hair band
3 The end of the ribbon is square and not rounded.
5 The figure “1” is offset upwards
It is not uncommon for Fournier to offer better forgeries but who made them.
Segui forgery
Printed by typography on thick or thin yellowish paper.
1 The four lines inside the band that crowns the head are short on the left side.
2 Absence of shading on the eyelid.
3 The tip of the ribbon is small
4 The right side of the N is noticeably taller
Printed by lithography on thick white paper.
Overall very crude with a stern appearance
1 The end of the ribbon is very long
2 “FRANCO” is almost attached to the frame.
3 The “5” has a pronounced upwards curve.
4 In CORREOS “RE” is bigger than the rest.
5 The eyebrow touches the forehead.
12C Forgeries
Bobes forgery in orange
Printed by lithography on thin gray paper. It is known in all colors of the authentic series.
1 Higher inscription with large letters and figures.
2 The eye looks up.
3 The end of the ribbon is oval shape and pointed
4 Lower letter “S” and the number “5” are shaped oddly.
5 The bottom curve of the top C is angled sharply
Printed by lithography on thick or thin white paper.
1 Inscription “12 Cs” is larger than the rest.
2 Large white space in the back area of the hair band
3 The end of the ribbon is square and not rounded.
5 The figure “1” is offset slightly upwards
 |
| Fournier block from the Geneva Collection |
Segui forgery
Printed by typography on thick yellowish paper.
1 The four lines inside the band that crowns the head are short on the left side.
2 The shading on the eyelid is different.
3 The tip of the ribbon is small and only has one layer
Spiro forgery
Printed by lithography on thick yellow paper.
Overall very crude
1 Letter ‘O’ of CORREOS is indexed to the right.
2 Horizontal hatching in the hair is parse and with thick strokes.
3 REOS much larger than COR in the lower inscription.
4 No point after 1852.
5 All the numerals are very different
Graus Type I - Torres forgery
This is an exact duplicate of his 1879 sales catalog
Printed by typography on thick white paper.
Extremely crude
1 Very large upper inscription, especially the figure 2
2 Prominent nose.
3 The ribbon is distorted
4 Very large lower inscription and absence of the end point
2 Reales Forgeries
Bobes forgery in lilac
Printed by lithography on thin gray paper.
1 The top inscription has large letters and figures.
2 The eye looks up.
3 The end of the ribbon is oval shape and pointed
4 Lower letter “S” and the number “5” are shaped oddly.
5 The “O” of CORREOS is low
Fournier forgery
Printed by lithography on thick or thin white paper.
1 The number ‘2″ is larger than the rest.
2 Large white space in the back area of the hair band
3 The end of the ribbon is square and not rounded.
5 The figure “”is offset upwards
6 Missing the dot under “DO”.
 |
| Block from the Geneva Fournier Collection |
Segui forgery
Printed by typography on thick yellowish paper.
1 The four lines inside the band that crowns the head are short on the left side.
2 Absence of shading on the eyelid.
3 The tip of the ribbon is small and only has one layer
Torres forgery
Printed by lithography on thick yellow paper.
Rather poor imitation
1 Top inscription with very large thin letters
2 The shading of the neck is short.
3 Lower inscription has connecting lines
4 Lower letters also thin and taller
This is a modern 1980’s forgery
1 The ribbon has a thick section and long end
2 Large curve at the right of the nostril
3 The lines below the headband are short and heavy
4 The small DO is short
5 Reales Forgeries
Bobes forgery in green
Printed by lithography on thin gray paper.
1 The top inscription has tall letters and figures.
2 The eye looks up.
3 The end of the ribbon is oval shape and pointed
4 Lower letter “S” and the number “5” are shaped oddly.
5 The “O” of CORREOS is low
6 The right foot of the R of Rs is complete
Fournier forgery
Printed by lithography on thick or thin white paper.
Also found in blue, red and lilac
1 The end of the ribbon is square and not rounded.
2 The figure “1” is offset upwards
3 Missing the dot under “DO”.
 |
| Fournier block |
Segui forgery
Printed by typography on thick yellowish paper.
1 The four lines inside the band that crowns the head are short on the left side.
2 Absence of shading on the eyelid.
3 The tip of the ribbon is small and only has one layer
Spiro forgery
Printed by lithography on thick yellow paper.
Overall very crude
1 Letter ‘O’ of CORREOS is indexed to the right.
2 Horizontal hatching in the hair is parse and with thick strokes.
3 REOS much larger than COR in the lower inscription.
4 No point after 1852.
5 All the numerals are very different
Graus Forgery Type I
Printed by lithography on medium-thin white
paper
The design is bad although the printing of this forgery is correct.
1 Point below DO is very low.
2 Figure “5” wide.
3 Fork shapes in corner elements are incomplete
4 The ribbon end is short and there is a heavily shaded area to the left
5 Letter “S” is large.
6 No point between CORREOS and 1852
This is a modern 1980’s forgery
1 The ribbon has a thick section and long end
2 Large curve at the right of the nostril
3 The lines below the headband are short and heavy
4 The small DO is short
5 The cancel is fake and too thick
6 Reales Forgeries
Bobes forgery in black
Printed by lithography on thin gray paper.
1 The top inscription has large letters and figures.
2 The eye looks up.
3 The end of the ribbon is oval shape and pointed
4 Lower letter “S” and the number “5” are shaped oddly.
5 The “O” of CORREOS is low
Printed by lithography on thick or thin whitepaper.
Also found in blue, red and lilac
1 The end of the ribbon is square and not rounded.
2 The figure “1” is offset upwards
3 Missing the dot under “DO”.
 |
| Fournier Block |
Segui forgery
Printed by typography on thick yellowish paper.
1 The four lines inside the band that crowns the head are short on the left side.
2 Absence of shading on the eyelid
3 The tip of the ribbon is small and only has one layer
Spiro forgery
1 The eyebrow does not touch the frontal stripe of the bandó.
2 REOS larger than COR in the lower inscription.
3 The point after 1852 is very small.
4 The 6 almost touches the frame
5 The small DO letters are inclined
6 The mouth is very thick
Torres forgery
Printed by lithography on thin gray paper.
Torres forgeries often have heavy, large postmarks due perhaps to an attempt to conceal the issues
1 Top letter “R” is very wide.
2 Central shading of the band has irregular lines.
3 Shading of the neck, with disordered dots.
4 Lower inscription, very large letters and figures
This is a modern 1980’s forgery
1 The ribbon has a thick section and long end
2 Large curve at the right of the nostril
3 The lines below the headband are short and heavy
4 The small DO is short
References
Introduccion al estudio y relacion de los sellos falsos postales de Espana – Francisco Graus
Michel Europe West 2012
Spain & Dependencies – Edifil.2009
Focus on Forgeries – Varro Tyler
Spain Specialized Vol.1 1850-1931 Edifil Tome 1
Catalogo dos Sellos De Espana – Antonio Duro
Seranne Guide to Forgeries
Torres Catalog 1879
Las falsificaciones del Sello Espanol – A. Monne 1965
SPAIN FORGERIES 1850 to 1925 by De Haene
FFE #7 FORGERIES SPAIN
Timbrex – H. Schloss
Forged Stamps of all Countries – Dorn
HANDBUCH DER BRIEFMARKENKUNDE HEFT 6: CARLISTISCHE POST – H. NEUES
Album Weeds – Earree
Tedesco Forgery Index
Handbok Fer Filatelister – S. Tullberg
Guia del coleccionista de sellos de Correos de España, 1850-54 – Tort
Members of Spanish forums
Forgeries of Europe - Bynof
