Canarias - Correo Aéreo

I had serious doubt about above block of 1,25 Pts. in violet on the 10 cms. "Cid" stamp (Edifil 39 / Aurioles 50).

The colour of the overprint is fine. One stamp shows damage to "CANARIAS" that is not a reason for concern. Variation in the type, especially visible in the "O," is not impossible. The workshop had insufficient types to overprint a full sheet.

What, mostly, concerned me was the somewhat liquid appearance of the ink used. This resulted in the "Correo Aéreo" and, to some extent, the value to be thicker than usual.

Here is a set of singles from my collection:


I, since, have seen more of these stamps offered. One ebay listing that, actually, makes me think the overprint - that is not overly expensive - is genuine and the result of the provisional nature of the stamps. The listing is by a major Spanish auction house. It is a stamp from a lot made up of two sets (second picture).

A set that is quite elusive in blocks of four, is that issued 25 May 1937, Edifil nrs. 20 - 22 (Aurioles 31 - 33). It is one of the cheaper sets. The numbers of stamps overprinted are 15,000 for the 50 cts stamp and 20,000 for the other two stamps.

Many forgeries omit tildes from the overprint. The Castilan word for aeroplane is "avión," with a tilde over the o. This overprint, however, genuinely omitted the tilde.



Stamps from three issues were overprinted. The 50 cts overprint was performed on sheets of the 1 céntimo stamp issued by the Republic. The 80 cts overprint was performed on sheets of the 2 céntimos stamp of the "Junta de Defensa Nacional" set.

The pts. 1,25 overprint was performed on the 5 cms. stamp issued on 5 January 1937 as part of the "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" set. The basic stamp comes in three varieties: one with a short imprint (Edifil 816A) at the bottom, one with a longer imprint (Edifil 816), and one without an imprint (Edifil 816B). At the time of overprinting, only Edifil 816A had been issued.

Upon closer examination of my unmounted example of the pts. 1,25 stamp, I found it was on a variety only listed hinged unused as 816Aip that has the numeral "5" almost missing.

Here is a good example of being careful when buying on ebay. A professional seller with near 15,000 reviews and a 100% positive feedback.



This seller is extremely expensive. I, certainly, am not suggesting any foul play. But I am 100% sure the seller has misidentified the stamps. There were two printings of these sets. Edifil lists the set from the first printing (NHM) at € 42 (2023). This is the basic listing. The price of € 170 is € 2 above four times the catalogue price.

The second print run of two of the stamps was almost three times as large. The stamps from this run have a very much lower price. They, however, are not in the primary listing. Catalogued at € 10,75, or € 15,75 if you add the third stamp from the first print run, the catalogue price for these stamps would be € 63 as blocks of four.

And here is the catch. I am quite convinced these are the stamps that, according to the 2023 catalogue, are priced at € 63.

So, who would pay the price of € 170 ?

Of course, there is another manner in which to misidentify a stamp. Here is a listing by a very big stamp dealer from Barcelona. It, actually, is the 50 cts stamp that the dealer in my preceding post misidentified. The price asked is € 21. This is slightly above the catalogue price of € 20, according to my 2023 Edifil catalogue.



This, according to my catalogue, is Edifil CA 11 (so, not 11A, which the 50 cts stamp in above listing is), and not Edifil CA 20 as mentioned in the listing (the description leaves no doubt it is the Edifil number).

Edifil CA 20 has a catalogue price (2023) of € 6.50 (another indication the seller quoted the wrong catalogue number). It has a very different overprint:

Interestingly, the seller of the misidentified set of Edifil CA 11-13 is offering 30% off its prices. That makes it € 129, It, still, would make the offer for that particular set come in at more than double the catalogue price times 4. Still, some of the sellers prices have become slightly more realistic.

The seller has not yet replied to my enquiry about the overprint.

The seller of the set has replied the stamps are Edifil CA 11 and 12. So, Time to show why I am quite sure the seller is not correct.

The height of the overprint on CA 11 and 12 is 18 mm. On 11A and 12, it is 20 mm. The cause is a wider spacing of the lines "FRANCO" and "18 JULIO 1936." Note that, if anything, the horizontal lines in the numerals are spaced further apart towards the bottom of the stamp, if at all.

I measured my stamps. The overprints, from the bottom of the "5" or "8" to the top of the "C" in "CANARIAS" isslightly over 18 mm.

So, first my own one céntimo stamp.



The distance between the two lines is, approximately 2 horizontal lines. The line below "18 JULIO 1936" is set approximately three lines lower.



The screenshot from the ebay listing shows an easy three horizontal lines between the two lines of text. Additionally, it is set lower. The line in the overprint, certainly is not closer to "18 JULIO 1936."

I cannot see how the seller's stamp can be 11 and not 11A.

My own 2 céntimos stamp shows a gap between the tow lines of text that is approximately two horizontal lines high. The printed line is between three and four horizontal lines of the numeral apart.



Now a screenshot of the seller's item. Again, the two lines of text show three lines and morebetween them. The printed line isbetween three and four lines below the date.



Again, I cannot see how the seller's stamp can be CA 12 instead of CA 12A. And there are no two settings that both are 18 mm high.