19th Century Cancellations - Forgeries

For various reasons, I was looking on e-bay tonight for the US issue SC 94. I see a HUGE variety of prices depending on the type of cancellation (forget about centering, etc.!!)

There was everything from Flowers to reverse flowers to stars to crossroads to circle of keystones to delicate floral to four-point star!!

My head is reeling!

I suspect the type of cancellation on these older stamps plays a big factor in their value.

Question to the group: Are cancellations "forged" or how easy is it to forge this?

Of course, I'm suspicious because the "type" of cancellation can take a $2-$3 stamp and make it a $16 stamp or a LOT more.

So I'm thinking - an unscrupulous individual could buy a SC 94, apply or modify a very primitive "flower" or whatever cancel on it and then ask 3x what he was going to......

Please just tell me that I'm being paranoid!!

I have been shown some Canada circular cancels that have been made up to make the stamp more valuable. I have read of one fellow who buys these, as he can recognize them, so other innocent collectors do not buy them. He has a big box full.

If it can be forged or faked then it probably has at sometime somewhere. I am glad to be rather innocent in my knowledge of this aspect of the business (?!) as it keeps the hobby pure for me to not think of this stuff. It probably is there, and the more expensive the stamp or even the cancel the more likely it is that someone has tried to fake it or forge it or whatever the proper words are.

There are books on the subject, at least chapters.

On the fancy cork cancels (I know them as anyway) there is probably a catalog or booklet put out about them that details them so you could check the likely-hood of a fake or a false one anyway.

On SCF here there was a discussion sometime about some fake cancels and good tips were pointed out for discerning real from fake. However I do not know where that thread is. Sorry. There are many on here who have better knowledge on these matters than I.

You're probably thinking of Ken Pugh - he has a large series of papers on various Canadian fakes and forgeries. Included among them is one that goes into great detail on faked cancellations sold on ebay.

http://www.kenpugh.ca/PhilatelicMain.aspx

I have his guide to the perforated OHMS stamps - and it's very handy that I looked up his website, I see that there is now a 2010 update available for it.

Here's the link to the release dealing with these faked cancellations. (Note, he has an error on the title of the page!)

http://www.kenpugh.ca/PhilatelicSer...elease3.aspx

Ryan

Thanks a lot for those links!!

I guess I'm also concerned because it would seem to me that if you were in the printing business, you could probably "fake" a cancellation or at least know how to do it. But to make an entire FAKE stamp would require a much more serious operation.

Don't know. I was just shocked by how almost every single posting was extolling the virues of its particular cancellation.

Some cancellations have certainly been professionally faked. By 'professionally', I mean faked very well.

One of my interests are the fancy cork cancellations from the Muskoka / Parry Sound districts. I have been told by some dealers that it is adviseable to buy the cancellation(s), if possible that is, on cover rather on piece. Granted, some cancellations can also be faked on cover as well but it is apparenly less so on full covers.

Maybe you best bet would be to "Google" fake cancellations (postmarks) to see what you can find(?)

Cheers

Bujutsu

Yes Ryan that was the fellow and those links were great to start to peruse again. Thanks.

It is shocking, I agree, that people do engage in this activity and I suppose it is up to the collector to be able to tell fake from real, if he cares to. It is almost a specialist collecting area of it's own it seems.

I think this faking activity carries on as a lot of people (me included, but always learning) are not able to tell the difference from real cancels if done well, or even sloppily. We don't even know that some are being faked.

Some fakes and forgeries are very collectible, especially from well known forgers and fakers. Strange but true.

I sent an email to Ken Pugh, I did know him, but saw on the website he lives 30 minutes from me! He said I could pick up the books I order to save postage - and we can talk stamps and forgeries. Glad you posted this, Prince Alfa.

Afa......


Here's a site you need to see.......

http://www.slingshotvenus.com/stamps/fakes.html