Help Confirm ID On This France Scott #2

Hi there.

Found this one one in a collection I bought few month ago for $100 something bucks.
Unless I'm missing something this is looks like Scott #2 to me.

I looked hi and low but couldn't find any other 15c green then #2.
I can even see greenish paper.

Can somebody proof me wrong?, and if it is #2 how close it looks to the real #2?, since this could easily be a fake.

Thanks a lot for any help.

You can see what it should look like on this link:

http://www.philateliefree.fr/timbre...0&listMode=1

Roll the mouse over the 15c stamp for a better view.

Looks like one to me. Seems a fake would have to be in better condition to make it worthwhile.

Thanks a lot Gentlemen!

Cancel on the stamp is also similar to the one applied on the stamps from the link.
I guess next step would be to get certified. Does anybody know an inexpensive company that do Authenticity for French stamps here in the US.

Nice stamp, danko... I wonder if it should be carefully soaked of the backing??

It looks genuine to me, including the Grille sans fin cancel. Congratulations!

Given the age and the condition of the stamp, I would not recommend trying to remove the backing. Learn to live with it. You may end up exposing a major thin or repair.

Personally, I don't think it is necessary nor economical to get it expertized. The only forgeries you really have to watch out for are the Fournier, Spiro, and Sperati forgeries. I don't think any of them used that type of forged cancel, but you would have to check the forgery compilations. Also, there should be 97 pearls in the circle.

It's a nice stamp, but realistically, it has 1 1/2 margins at best, and is missing a corner. On premium imperforate stamps, there tends to be a huge drop-off if there are not 4 clear margins. To put it into perspective, my #2 with 3 full margins and no other faults was purchased for well under $100 about 5 years ago. That's what I mean when I say it may not be economical. I didn't get mine expertized. I just put it into my album and enjoyed it. I think you would enjoy it more that way as well -- but that's just my opinion.

Thanks for posting the pic! Great stamp to have!

k

khj

Thank you very much. I jumped into conclusion too early based on catalog value without checking the actual market. These stamps in similar condition listed for $70 or so. Still a great find. The way I found it is actually made me really suspicious. It was at the bottom of the box with pieces of trash and some loose cheap stamps, and there wasn't any series France collection in that lot. I guess this is why I obsessed with kiloware

I agree, it is a great find in kiloware. The cancel is relatively clean and not overly obliterating, and the color of the stamp is pretty fresh. It's definitely not a very common stamp, even in banged up condition. If I remember correctly, at its peak, it cataloged in Scott for over $1000 with room to spare. Then the French catalog prices took a hit. Recently, France+colonies have started to rebound. I've seen prices of some of the older material increase 20%-33% in the past 2 years. So it might still break $1000 soon (I haven't looked at the 2011 catalog prices for France). Glad I picked up most of my France material when the prices were still in the gutter and most collectors/dealers didn't want it.