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| 1850 Postman |
According to Mr. Ehrenbach (London Philatelist vol. III, p. 162) the stamps were printed in sheets of 120 arranged in twelve horizontal rows of ten each, the stamps being about 2 mm. apart.
Imperforates. Typographed.
Paper: yellowish white, medium strong. Unwatermarked.
Gum: Pink to brown red.
The Blog will cover the imperforates 1852-1865
Sc 1 - Sc 12
1852 Sc 1,2, 3
According to the Ausfuhrliker Katalog – Hugo Krotzsch 1896, 600,000 of the 3 issues were printed. This seems high considering their rarity especially for unused ones.
Poole alludes to restrictions on early sales so perhaps the remainders were destroyed as they were only in service 14 months.
Sc 1
Genuine Features
Font height 11/4 mm
2. Inner line interrupted mainly on the right
3. 7 belly strokes
4. Oval width 31/4 mm
5. Oval height 41/2 mm (also interrupted esp. left one)
6. 40 central hatching lines, occasionally missing.
9. 4 stones under the horse - note shape
10. All letters centered in the spandrels.
11. The letters "U" und “H" are quite narrow .
12 . Under the largest atone, the horizontal ground line is interrupted by three shading lines.
13. The top “G” has a wide bottom right end
14. The numeral 1 has a long top serif
A key area that forgers rarely get right is the horse head, mane and crown
Sc 2a (Prussian Blue), Sc 2b (Blue)
Genuine Features
1. The left limb limb of the “N” in "BRAUNSCHWEIG” is usually broken.
2. The horizontal limb of the "H” in “BRAUNSCHWEIG” is without support and never touches the vertical limbs.
3. The “G” in “BRAUNSCHWEIG” has a thickened end foot.
4. The width of the ovals around the figures of value is 3 1/3 mm.
5. The height of the same ovals is 4 1/2 mm.
6. In the center field there are forty-one vertical lines.
7. The inner frame line is noticeably broken at the top right, and at various other places.
8. The top of the crown has a large prominent cross.
9. In the belly of the horse there are seven shade lines.
10. The ground line is solid.
11. The "RA" of “BRAUNSCHWEIG” are generally joined at the base
12. The letters are all evenly spaced between the upper and lower frame lines of the spandrels.
Note the size & shape of the 4 stones.
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| Genuine 2b from worn plate |
Sc 3
Genuine Features
1. The letters are evenly spaced within the spandrels with just slightly more apace below than above.
2. The letter “U" is fairly narrow and the bottom curve is uneven. The letter "H" is also narrow
3. In clearly printed copies, a small break can usually be found in the spandrel just below the "EI" of "BRAUNSCHWEIG"
4. Under the horse, there are four stores of different sizes
5. The center bar of the "A" of "BRAUNSCHWEIG" is broken
6. In the center field there are thirty-eight vertical lines which are broken on the right where the print is very finely executed.
7. The inner left frame line is broken at the center.
8. In the belly of the horse there are five complete shading lines; the others are smudged.
Forgeries
The Types are listed according to the GPS manual and Billigs
Sc 1 Forgeries
- The top letters are tall and the B touches the line
- There is no break in the inner frame line at the right
- The frame lines are nearly equal in thickness and are too far apart, especially at the bottom.
- Ground line is not broken.
- Serifs of the numerals are too short.
- The oblique shading lines in the scroll ends are blotted out.
- Top letters are centered too high
- Lower letters are too low and too short.
- The “H” much is too wide.
- No break in the inner frame line at right.
- Ground line not broken,
- The serif of the right numeral is too small.
- The letters are too large
- The B is very tall and touches the line
- The numerals are very thick
- The stones are oddly shaped
- Ground line is not broken,
Identified as a Fournier or at least sold by him.
Forgery GPS Type VII
Forgery Billigs Type 31
Forgery GPS Type I
- There is no break in the right inner frame line near the "1".
- The vertical shading lines are not parallel and very few extend to the oval or to the horse.
- The numerals "1” are too tall and thin with too small serifs.
- The "W" is short and appears slanted
- The belly lines are very distinct
- Lithographed by the Spiro Brothers of Hamburg
- The "R", "U" and "H” of BRAUNSCHWEIG are too wide .
- There is no break in the inner frame line on the right side
- The ground line under the stones is not broken
- The 1's are thicker
Sc 2 Forgeries
Forgery J.H. Behrmann (Hamburg Company)
- Engraved forgeries of the 2 Sgr blue stamp made by Behrmann (3rd forgery of the 2 Sgr value in Album Weeds).
- The right "2" has a bulge at the bottom.
- The left "2" bottom is curved
- The top & bottom letters are tall
- Letters are very thick
- Only 3 stones below the horse
- Thick base on the 2's
- Letters are uneven in height
- In "BRAUNSCHWEIG" , the upper lobe of the "S" is Luo small and the letters "CHW"
are too close or touching.
- The C is inclined
- Near the upper tight corner, the ribbon touches the inner frame line.
- There is a faulty bowed line in front of the horse, running from the ”U" at the top through the "Z" near the bottom .
- The crown is narrow
- The bases of the 2's are thick
- Poorly printed overall
From the Fournier stock but may be made by another forger (Fohl?)
- The vertical shading lines are not parallel and very few extend to the oval or to the horse.
- The lettering is not evenly spaced nor well centered in the ribbon
- the left 2 has a thin base
Many features are similar to the unknown source forgery above
I suspect this may be a Torres or Spiro creation
- The vertical shading lines have numerous breaks
- The inner frameline at top has breaks at left edge
- The cross is shaped differently
- The foot tips of the 2's do not extend as far
- Rather poorly Lithographed on ordinary paper.
- "BRAUNSCHWEIG" is too large, particularly the "G" which also lacks an end stroke
- The crown is very narrow
- The ”2's" are too narrow and the bottom is wavy.
- The horse head is small
Forgery GPS Type VI - Spiro
- Lithographed by the Spiro brothers of Hamburg
- In the lower banderole, ZWEI SILB. is centered too low and too tall.
- The tips of the lower banderole almost touch the frame
- The left "2" is too narrow.
- The tip of the horse's tail nearly touches the oval
- The crown is wide and touches the horse
- Sometimes known as the "3 eyed horse"
Sc 3 Forgeries
- All the letters are too tall
- The horse has a narrow snout
- The crown is narrow
- Under the "E" of "BRAUNSCHWEIG" the banner is not broken.
- The left 3 is too narrow
- The top letters are too close to each other
- All the letters in the lower banner are too low and too wide.
- No banner break under the "E” of "BRAUNSCHWEIG".
- The oval around the left "3” is very close to the frame lines
- The crown touches the horse
- Extremely crude forgery
- Many letters are improperly formed and unreadable
- The "U” in BRAUNSCHWEIG is inverted.
- The letters are uneven in size and spacing.
- The horse head is narrow
These features may occur on genuine stamps, so any stamps like these must be certified.
- The litho Sperati reproduction does not have the edge ink bite that engraved originals have
- The color of the forgery is more reddish-orange than the vermilion original.
- The outer frameline has one breaks and one dent at lower right
- The outer frameline has a dent at top left near corner
- There is a dash bottom left of the G - constant flaw?
The cancels used by Sperati are:
'BRAUNSCHWEIG 12/2' in a halfcircle
'BRAUNSCHWEIG 15/5' in a halfcircle
'BRAUNSCHWEIG 23/7' in a halfcircle
'BRAUNSCHWEIG 5/11' in a halfcircle
'WOLFENBUTTEL 16/3' in a halfcircle
'WOLFENBUTTEL 6/7 11 1/2 - 12' in a double circle
- Listed as a Fournier offering by the Geneva Phil. Union but no proof he actually created it
- The vertical shading lines arc not parallel and very few extend to the oval or to the horse.
- The lettering is not evenly spaced nor well centered in the banners
- The rock base does not extend to the edge of the oval
- The W is shorter than the other letters
- The top letters are very uneven and most are too wide
- The horse head is an odd shape
- The crown is very different
- The 3's are tall and narrow
- the "EI" of "DREI" are joined
- The rocks have no definition
Behrmann Forgery
Although relatively unknown, he is probably the main supplier of German forgeries to Fournier
- Very tall 3's
Forgery Billigs Type 3 - Fournier
Forgery GPS Type I - Spiro
Forgery Unlisted
Private Reprints
Unlisted Forgery
Forgery Unlisted
Forgery GPS Type VI - Fournier
Sc 8 is black on yellow - same forgery types as SC 7
Forgery GPS Type III
Forgery GPS Type VII - listed as Spiro
- The "B" in BRAUNSCWEIG touches the banner line
Forgery Billigs Type 28
Forgery Billigs Type 31
Forgery Billigs Type 35
Forgery Billigs Type 36
A forgery sheet from the Geneva Fournier collection but more likely created by Spiro
The forgery is copied from a Moens catalog
This forgery is in the Fournier Geneva Union collection
Possibly a Zechmeyer creation
Forgery possibly made by Senf
Unlisted forgery
Typical cancels on stamps sold by Fournier
- Short thin letters in the banner.
Sc 4
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| Genuine Sc 4 |
- The right inner frame line is broken in several places.
- The feet of the ” R” and the “A” in “BRAUNSCHWEIG” are joined or extremely close.
- The “1” on the left is taller.
- In the oval on the right side the fraction line ends at the horizontal line of the figure “4.”
- The foot of the “4” on the right almost touches the frame
- In the oval on the left side the fraction rule extends further down.
- In the belly of the horse are seven shading lines.
- In the center field there are thirty-eight vertical lines.
- Between the hind legs of the horse no lines of the base pattern appear.
- The outer frame line is broken in the upper left corner.
Forgeries
Although classified as a Fournier it may well belong to Spiro or others
- The 4's have a longer backstroke
- All the letters are very thick
- The crown is oddly shaped
- The left tip pf the lower banner is white
Forgery Billigs Type 4
Forgery Billigs Type 5
Forgery Unlisted
- Only 3 rocks grouped below the horse
- The background vertical lines are sparse
- Very crude looking horse head
- only 2 rocks below the horse
- The top letters are uneven and some are inclined
- The crown is very narrow
- The left 4 has an upturned serif
- Another very crude forgery
- The fraction separator is horizontal
- The letters are coarse and poorly reproduced
- The horse has few details
- The vertical background lines are thick
- The horse has an odd head
- All the letters are thick and uneven
- The lower banner ends point horizontally
- The left 1 touches the oval and the right one is too short
- The cross of the crown touches the frame line
- Overall decent forgery
- The 4's touch the ovals
- The 1's have a large base
- The forefoot and tail touch the frame line
- The top letters are thicker
Forgery Unlisted
- Very thin odd looking horse
- The REI letters are joined
Forgery Billigs Type 8
Forgery GPS Type I - Spiro
- The fraction oval line is thin
- All the letters are taller
- The fraction ovals are taller as are the fractions
Sc 5
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| Genuine Sc 5 |
- The horizontal limb of the “H” in “BRAUNSCHWEIG” is broken.
- The horizontal line over the first vertical limb of the “W” in “BRAUNSCHWEIG” is broken .
- The center limb and the upper horizontal limb of the “E” in “BRAUNSCHWEIG” is broken in most cases.
- In the center field there are thirty-three vertical lines.
- In the belly of the horse are seven shading lines.
- Between the hind legs of the horse are no lines of the base pattern.
- The “3” in the fraction is thinner on the left than the right.
- The inner frame line is broken in the lower right corner.
Forgeries
- Only 3 grouped stones below the horse
- Top letters are tall and thick
- The crown is oddly shaped
- The fractions are thick
- The top right banner is very close to the frame line
This forgery shows up in the Fournier catalog but I doubt they are his creations
- The forefoot and tail touch the frame line
- The top letters are thicker and taller
- The bottom letters are taller
- The tips of the lower banner almost touch the frame line
- The crown cross touches the oval
- The bottom letters are taller
Forgery GPS Type II
- The tip of the bottom left banner does not point down
- The B & G are shorter than the other letters
- The 3's do not match the original
- Letters are thick, widely spaced, short and irregular
- The fractions are thicker
- The horse head almost touches the oval
- Odd shaped crown
Ohrt’s reprint book (Handbuch der Neudrucke) mentions that a private reprint exists of the 1/3 Sgr stamp in two types: with and without the dot after ‘VIER’. This reprint was made on smooth paper, there is no watermark and there is a weakness in the frame-line under the ‘LB’ of ‘SILBR’.
Forgery Billigs Type 14 - Fournier
A full sheet of the "Fournier"
Sc 6
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| Genuine Sc 6 |
- The horizontal limb of the “H” in “BRAUNSCHWEIG” is broken at the left and at the right.
- The second vertical limb of the “W” in “BRAUNSCHWEIG” is shorter than the one on the right.
- There is a wide space between the “W” and the “E”
- In the center field there are thirty-six lines.
- The horizontal end line of the “G” in “PFENNIGE” touches the last inside shading line.
- In the belly of the horse are seven shading lines.
- The hoof of the right front leg nearly touches the frame line of the oval.
- The back left hoof is not on the ground.
Forgeries
Although listed as a Fournier forgery it is more likely produced by Spiro
- The crown is oddly shaped
- There are only 3 stones below the horse
- The letters are thick
- The 1 is tall and the 2 is short
The 5X5 grouping strongly indicates it is a Spiro
This stamp appears in the Moens 1864 catalog
- The top U is inclined
- The bottom U has no dots
- The horse has large front hoofs
- The 1 has a very large serif
- The top serif of the F is too short
- The horse head looks like a dog
Sc 7
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| Genuine Sc 7a in Yellow-Orange |
- The ground line is broken
- The long serif in the 1
- The thick end of the top G
- A break in the lower S of SILB
- Appears as if only 3 rocks shown.
- Right front hoof almost touches the frame.
Forgeries
- A rather crude forgery
- The letters are distorted and uneven
- The rocks are shapeless
- EIN letters are joined
- S of SILB has large serif
Although listed as a Fournier forgery it is more likely produced by Spiro
- The crown is oddly shaped
- There are only 3 stones below the horse
- The letters are thick
A full sheet of the "Fournier"
The 5X5 grouping strongly indicates it is a Spiro
Sc 8
Forgeries
- “BRAUNSCHWEIG" centered too high, and “EIN SILB" too low.
- “H” much too wide.
- No break in the inner frame line at right.
- Ground line not broken,
- The serif of the right numeral is too small.
- Left tip of bottom banner does not point down
- The forefoot and tail touch the frame line
- The top letters are thicker and taller
- The bottom letters are taller
- The tips of the lower banner almost touch the frame line
- The crown cross touches the oval
- The bottom letters are taller
Sc 9
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| Genuine Sc 9 |
- The "W" appears to be slightly higher than the other letters
- The letter "U' is fairly narrow.
- Under the horse, there are four stones of different sizes
- The inner frame line above the right banner is generally broken
- The left bottom banner tip is very pointed
Forgeries
- All the letters are thicker
- The lower letters are closer to the bottom banner frame
- The tail & the front hoof touch the oval
- The bottom banner tips almost touch the frame
- Attributed to Fournier but more likely Spiro
- Only 3 grouped rocks under the horse
- The space between the ball and body of the 2's are too wide
- Top letters are too large
A full sheet of the "Fournier"
The 5X5 grouping strongly indicates it is a Spiro
Sc 10
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| Genuine Sc 10 |
Forgeries
- Right numeral and oval are very narrow
- The top letters are uneven - very tall AU
- The crown is very narrow
- The lower letters are tall
- The tips of the lower banner point in a different direction
- Top letters are tall and large
- The A touches the banner line
- The crown is wide and touches the horse
- The hoof and tail touch the oval frame
Sc 11
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| Genuine Sc 11 |
Forgeries - I do not have any at this time but reference to Sc 3 forgeries will be a good start.
Sc 12
One of the more affordable stamps it has many forgeries
NOTE
A new issue was printed in large quantities brown on a whitish paper but not issued due to political problems.
The 1/4 was only in use for eleven months (the total quantity printed being (271,040) when it was replaced by a new stamp of unusual design.
This was a large stamp, 24 mm. square, capable of being divided into four, each of the divisions representing 3 pfennig, and the entire stamp being equivalent to 1
gute groschen.
This was a large stamp, 24 mm. square, capable of being divided into four, each of the divisions representing 3 pfennig, and the entire stamp being equivalent to 1
gute groschen.
1. A dot between the S & T
2. A dot after the a
3. The lower section of the e is short & noticeably upturned
4. The rim of the crown is open on the left side (overinking may show closed)
5. No serif on the 1
6. Dot is furthest from the r
7. A dot only after the last e
8. Dot after the a
9. Dot after the m. It may be attached on some
10. Top serif of P touches or crosses frame
11. Second furthest dot from the r
12. The f intersects the frame line
NOTE - cancelled stamps are worth more ad often fake cancels are applied.
A new issue was printed in large quantities brown on a whitish paper but not issued due to political problems.
This item shows up frequently on auctions and I have not seen it advertised as being unissued but being the original issue.
The value of this stamp is a fraction of the issued one
Some even show up with a crude partial cancel at very high prices making it a worthless fake.
Forgeries
Note the extra outer frame line
Overall very coarse with many genuine details missing
The cancel is also fake
Uneven letters
Letters under the ovals are short and some are widely separated
Fraction separation lines touch the oval
Large crosses on the crown
The ar all have wide separations
The side letters are thick
A forgery possibly made by Young
Very crude overall
Very thick frame
Large fractions
May be copied from the Torres catalog
The lower fractions are large
The crowns do not match the originals
The letters are uneven
Letters are uneven
Fraction separation lines touch the oval
The crowns do not match the originals
Addendum
Other Brunswick stamps will be added at a later date
