Genuine
Genuine
Lithographed, on rather hard, somewhat transparent, yellowish-white wove paper.
All the three upper points of the shield are of the same height.
There are six horizontal lines of shading in the upper compartment, including the lower boundary-line.
The outer ends of the cornucopia are both pointed.
In the central compartment there is a cap of liberty, on a pole, moderately distinct.
The isthmus in the lower compartment is shaded all over- with dark color ; only the seas are white.
The bottom of the shield ends in a rounded point, which is just one millimeter from the outline below it.
The stars round the shield are all eight-pointed, and the middle star of the three above the shield is the highest, while the two on each side of it are both of them on one level.
The lower line of the central compartment of the shield, if prolonged to the left, would pass above the top of the. upper star, to the left of the middle of the shield.
In the inner inscription, the S at the top of the stamp is a block, or sans-serif letter.
The vertical stroke of the L, of BOLIVAR, if prolonged upwards, would pass almost clear to the right of the stop after BIA above it. The I of BOLIVAR, if similarly prolonged upwards, would pass through the right side of the inverted o of ESTADO above it. The A of BOLIVAR slopes a little to the right.
At the bottom of the inner inscription, the o of to is slightly to the left of the center of the star above it ; and in the c-,, the top and bottom of the c are alike, and end in clumsy knobs, while there is no stop under the small s. In the outer inscription, the tops of the I) and E of DE, at the top of the stamp, touch each other.
The E of CORRE has its upper and lower isthmus exactly alike.
The small stop under the little s of Fs is central, but the stop under the s of us is too much to the left; the tail of this letter s almost touches the stop below it.
The middle line of the three under DE COLOM, if prolonged to the left, would pass almost centrally through the little s of us in the left outer inscription.
The foot-stroke of tile A of BIA, in the right outer inscription, very nearly touches the stop after it. The head- and foot-strokes of the E of ESTADO trespass across the fine line under OS DEL, and touch the thick pearled line it the bottom of the stamp.
The left outer frame contains 20 pearls, and there are 18 pearls in the top frame. I have not been able to count tile others.
There is a framework of two thin lines, a quarter of a millimeter apart, running right 'round the stamp, at exactly half a millimeter from it.
Bibliography
The Work of Jean De Sperati by the British Philatelic Association 1955
Album Weeds by Rev. R. B. Earee
The Serrane Guide by Fernand Serrane
The Forged Stamps of all Countries by J. Dorn
Forgery 1
Lithographed, on medium, very white wove paper.The middle and left-hand stars at the top of the stamp are about on the same level, but the one to the right is much too low.
The right upper point of the shield is much lower than the others.
There are only five horizontal lines of shading in the upper compartment of the shield, including the bottom outline.
The outer ends of the cornucopia are very blunt and rounded.
In the central compartment there is a thing just like a boy's peg-top, shaded with vertical lines.
The isthmus in the lower compartment is slightly shaded with oblique lines, running down from right to left, with patches of white.
The bottom of the shield ends in a very sharp point which is barely half a millimeter from the outline below it. The eight points are not to be seen on all the stars ; the one to the right of the ST of ESTADO, on the left side of the stamp, seems to have only six points, and the one above the c of cs has only five.
The lower line of the central compartment of the shield, if prolonged to the left, would pass exactly through the center of the upper star, to the left of the middle of the shield.
In the inner inscription, the s at the top of the stamp has head- and foot-strokes like an ordinary Roman capital. The vertical stroke of the L of BOLIVAR, if prolonged upwards, would pass almost centrally through the stop after BIA above it.
The I of BOLIVAR, if similarly prolonged upwards, would pass exactly through the center of the o of the inverted word ESTADO above it. The A Of BOLIVAR is upright.
At the bottom of the inner inscription, the 0 of 10 is centrally under the star above it ; and in the Cs , the top of the c is more pointed than the bottom, with no knobs to either, and there is a very distinct stop under the small s.
In the outer inscription, the tops of the D and E, of DE at the top of the stamp, do not anything like touch each other.
The E of CORRR, has the two ends of the top and bottom limbs very different from each other. The small stop under the little s of Es is central, and so is the one under the s of us ; the latter s has no tail to touch the stop after it.
The middle line of the three under DE COLOM, if prolonged to the left, would pass a good distance above the little s of us , not touching it anywhere.
The foot-stroke of the A of BIA in the right outer inscription, is not visible ; it is a block letter. The E, of the right-hand ESTADO has no head- or foot-strokes. The left outer frame contains 21 pearls, the top frame 18, the right frame 22, and the bottom frame 18 ; they are all perfectly distinct and easy to count. There is no framework of lines round the stamp.
The genuine is printed in slightly bluish-green ; this forgery is of a very decided blue green.
I understand that this forgery dates from about 1891, and was manufactured by a small dealer in London.
As the evidence is only hearsay, I refrain from giving his name.
Bibliography
The Work of Jean De Sperati by the British Philatelic Association 1955
Album Weeds by Rev. R. B. Earee
The Serrane Guide by Fernand Serrane
The Forged Stamps of all Countries by J. Dorn