France (1876) Type Sage / Peace And Commerce - Proofs/Essays Or Cuts From Stationery Wrappers?

They are modern strikes/reprints of the originals done for philatelic exhibition souvenirs or similar. The 002 and off-centered printing is the giveaway.

Thank you for your reply! Usually those kind of reprints have a printed "facsimile" or even name of the exhibition, usually even on the back of the printed part of the stamp, so, even trimmed, they cannot be missed as a reprints... here is just a number.

Yes, but not these. These are printed on card stock, right?

No, these are printed on a very thin paper.

Sounds like maybe India paper? Anyway, these are from the 20th century. It doesn't mean they have little value. They can actually be quite scarce. Not as valuable as actual production proofs but still not minimum.

Thanks, I am not sure that they have any value if they are, as you say, just cut-outs from some exhibition advertising material.

Btw. I will be free to use your knowledge and ask you what you think about 2 pieces? They are on thin cardboards. I think that they are proofs or trial strikes for the first issue of Deutsches Reich's stationery envelopes from 1872/73. Do you think that they could be contemporary?

That isn't what I said. They aren't cutouts. They are intact as produced for souvenirs.

There was no German postal stationery at that time with the values shown on your pieces so I think we can rule that out.

I do think they are die proofs.

You will need a BPP cert for each and if genuine the one on the left might fetch $100 and the one on the right because it hasn't been trimmed might realize many hundreds. Without BPP authentication you would be lucky to get much for them unless someone was willing to gamble. There have been restrikes of these as well.

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It might not be clearly visible in the photo, but they aren't cut in straight lines... I assume that if someone were making souvenirs, they would have used a machine to cut them, rather than doing it by hand with scissors.

In fact, there was German stationery envelopes Brustschilde 1872/73 issue worth 1/2 Groschen large shield at that time, but they were extremely rare... only for one or two companies privately issued. On stationery envelopes the complete design is engraved, while on postage stamps only the center (eagle) is engraved, and the rest would either not be there at all, if it is die-proof, or it would be in the lithography technique, as with stamps in other kind of proofs/trials.

Howevery, only envelopes have been issued and this pieces are on a cardboards, so, they can be die proofs for 1/2 Groschen stationery envelopes... in my opinion.

I am planing to send them to BPP, but just wanted to hear some opinions before that, so that I wouldn't look stupid like with these French from the first post.