US Postage "Senf Leipzig"

Hi! Could anyone tell me from which year this stamp might be? Is it rare? Any help/info is much appreciated! Thanks!

I see the word "falsch" printed on it, so my guess it is worth next to nothing.

Robert

Oh! Thanks a lot! Very good to know :)

In the 1870's and 1880's, Gebrueder Senf (Senf brothers) were partners in a large and famous stamp firm in Leipzig, Germany. They also prepared "facsimiles" (today called forgeries).

In his 1991 book "Philatelic Forgers" Varro Tyler states:

"Each imitation was marked 'Falsch' or 'Facsimile' either in design or by overprinting. The facsimiles proved, at first, to be very popular. The Senfs also prepared and sold large quantities of them directly to collectors, thereby becoming the greatest producers of postage stamp facsimiles in the western world."

So, what you apparently have is a very collectible Senf forgery - a classic. It is definitely not "worth next to nothing".

Surely a facsimile is only a forgery when it's sold as a genuine. If it's sold as a facsimile then it's a facsimile......

Given the obvious design differences, which clearly illustrate it not to be a real stamp, I would not call it a forgery. I am not even sure I would call it a facsimile; perhaps a better description would be 'advertising label' or cinderella. It does play a significant role in the history of such things and probably has interest by those folks who are interested in this.
Don

Here is an illustration from page 115 of the Varro Tyler book.