The brand issues of the Hamburg messenger institutes are very controversial.
Issues were produced exclusively for collectors and are much more common than the so-called originals
Several are outright bogus stamp produced by Scott & Taylor
Genuine stamps
Characteristics of the originals are:
1 35 beads in the center wreath
2 The "1" is slightly smaller at 3.2mm than the "2" (3.5mm)
3 Dot below the fraction bar
4 All the letters surrounded by a frame
5 Space between R & G of HAMBURG
6 Dot after BOTEN
7 HAMB joined at bottom
Reprints
The Spiro brothers in Hamburg acquired the first stone of this edition and apparently produced reprints in 1864.
These show all the characteristics of the originals
However, a small damage of the stone, which is found in the picture on all reprints, allows to uniquely identify them.
While there are seven major color variants of the originals, the Spiro reprints exist in 17 colors, according to Dieks
Scott Forgery
Compared to genuine left
1. Fraction bar inclined (23°)
2. "H" in "Hamburg" closed at the bottom and with lower
perimeter line connected
3. "2" bottom sloped and slanted backward
4. On the right one thin and one thick, on the left three thin plates under the pillar
5. 33 malformed pearls
6. Top letters thicker, very lower one shorter
7. Top corner ornaments very different
8. Found in bogus color red
Spiro Forgery
1. 1 is very thick
2. 30 large beds in circle
3. INSTITUT letters are thick
4. 2 is short & thick
5. Fraction bar is less angled
Taylor Forgery
1. This forgery has 34 pearls.
2. The C in front of Hamer has a long curved top.
3. There is a white outline around the & which touches the dot behind it.
4. The letters in the top banner are distorted and there is a ragged line beneath them
Unknown Forger
1. This forgery has 32 (uneven) pearls.
2. The 2 is slanting very much backwards
3. There are no dots after C, before Hamer and &
4. The word INSTITUT is placed slightly to the right hand side
Spiro Forgery?
1. Short, flat sloping fraction bar (16°)
2. Inscriptions above and below without shading
3. 1 inclined and smaller than the 2
4. Vertical line through "A" of "Hamburg"
5. Institute not centered, shifted to the left
6. No beads in the constriction of the right column
7. Beads in circle diminishing in size right to left
Bogus Stamp
