What Is It?
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| Norway: 1914 5 øre Eidsvoll (Constitutional Assembly) with Extra Row of Horizontal Perforations |
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Question: This stamp was found in a kid's collection that had been made in Norway in the 1950s and had not been touched for at least 60 years. The stamps in the collection were all the common issues that one would expect to find in a kid's collection, except for this mystery stamp. This 1914 5 øre Eidsvoll (100th anniversary of the constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll) stamp has an extra row of horizontal perforations.
While "rare", such types of perforation errors are encountered from time to time. However, this one has a mystery. The extra row of perforations measure 12.9 while the normal perforations measure 13.7.
As an expertizer and dealer, I see my share of double perforations and my usual reaction is "prove it, these are easy to fake". That the perforation measurement is different virtually proves that this is either a fake or that there is some very unusual explanation. However, in this case I have a hard time accepting that this is a typical fake. Again, it was in a kid's collection that obviously seems to have been made from stamps dug out of the attic or given to the kid by relatives. Half the stamps had never been properly soaked from their original paper backing (this one had been soaked). There was no indication that the kid had actually purchased any stamps. And this stamp was just in its space like any other, without any indication that it was special. Could it be a fake? Absolutely! And I have to assume it is until and unless it can be proven otherwise. However, is there any other possible explanation?
Answers:
PEK of Norway, 15 February 2018:
This is, as you say, an obvious fake.
The problem is old. The extra perforation was presumably made decades before the stamp came into that collection.
Many collectors thought that there existed genuine double perforations on this stamp.
Norgeskatalogen had a high value on such stamps but removed the word “known” from the 2006 NK edition after editor Peer-Christian Ånensen proved that it was impossible that a double perforation [on this stamp issue] was horizontal.
In Facit [for some time] they continued to claim the stamps existed. [But they are no longer listed.]
High [catalog] value must have lead to the “product” you have in hand.
See Norsk Filatelistsk Tidskrift No 7/2010; The Posthorn August 2008; and Budstikka No 2, June 2013.
CS of Ohio, USA, 15 February 2018:
That extra row almost certainly was added by someone trying to create a perforation freak. From your picture, it looks like the perforation holes are not of identical size. Also, the row of perfs is not perfectly straight and the individual perf holes are not aligned; some appear slightly higher or lower in relation to the other holes.
[JS comment: I certainly do not disagree, however, misalinged holes or holes of varying sizes do occur on some stamp issues -- just not this stamp issue -- and are not by themselves always indicators of a fake.]
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| Finland: 1930 Zeppelin Overprinted Stamp with unlikely cancellation. |
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Question: This 1930 Zeppelin stamp has a TAMPERE cancellation, which would be extremely unusual. The date is very faint, but the day has two digits, starting with a "1" and appears to be either "10", "16", "18", or "19". The month includes an "X" -- but could be IX, X, XI, or XII. The year is not visible. Can the cancellation and the overprint be genuine?
Answers:
Jay Smith 2012-04-12:
This is a really good question. The underlying stamp is the correct stamp for the overprint. The overprint looks genuine. Physically, the cancellation looks genuine (i.e. it was actually struck; it is not a fake impression by laser printer or painting) and it is a type generally in use at the time. I agree with the appearance of the date elements of the cancel as described above. However, from this point things get tricky.
The stamp was issued on 17 September (IX) 1930 and was only sold in Helsinki. The stamp was only valid for Zeppelin mail, specifically the 24 September flight from Helsinki to Germany -- it was not valid after that date. The stamp could have been bought in Helsinki and used from another town, such as Tampere, but IF the year date is 1930 -- which we cannot know -- then the only valid-for-use date options, given the appearance of the cancel date, are 18 or 19 September. That would mean quick transportation to Tampere, but it is possible. The stamp could have been carried to Tampere, applied to Zeppelin card or envelope, and mailed; it would have been held in Helsinki for the 24 September flight. If this is what happened, it is a rare example. Virtually all examples are canceled in Helsinki and virtually all of those on 24 September. Any other town is a rarity.
The explanation above is "hopeful". A much more likely explanation, if we continue to assume that the postmark strike is genuine and not faked, is that the cancellation dates from sometime after 24 September 1930. While the stamp was not valid for postage, it certainly would not be the first time that an invalid stamp somehow received a postmark strike.
In late 1930 I don't think that many people would have given the rarity of the town aspect of the postmark much thought. And, if they had, they certainly could have arranged for a nicer strike on the stamp. Thus, I do not think the goal was to get a non-Helsinki postmark on the stamp.
However, canceled examples of this stamp were immediately scarce; virtually all canceled stamps had all been applied to cards and covers that had been sent to Germany (many to come back to Finland, but still, they were scarce). Only 3709 post cards, bearing one stamp, were mailed. And only 4760 envelopes, bearing two stamps, were mailed. Out of an issue of 50,000 stamps, only 13,229 had been used as intended -- and most of those were probably still on their cards and envelopes. Thus there is a motive for a collector of used stamps to have a stamp favor canceled.
Since I can't prove otherwise, I have to assume that the more likely and less valuable explanation is correct: that the stamp was canceled after it was no longer valid for postage. The lack a clear cancellation date, especially the year, requires this conservative opinion.
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| Iceland: Miniature sheetlet of unissued denomination of 1935 Mt. Hekla Volcano design. |
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Question: This miniature sheetlet measures only 70 mm (2.75 inches) wide by 61 mm (2.4 inches) high. It pictures a 25-stamp pane with simulated (printed as part of the design) perforations. The color is blue; it is on gummed yellowish-white paper. The design is that of the issued 1935 1 kr Mr. Hekla volcano stamp, but this has a 10 aur denomination.
Answers:
Jay Smith 2010-10-09: ??? Possibly a "fantasy" item created by a stamp dealer and given away? I am guessing that this is not an essay because essays are usually very well printed in full size, or larger, and have excellent detail -- this is the opposite. I have never seen this before.
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