Persia Help With ID?

Looking for a Scott number on this Persia (Iran) must be Official, but I can't see it. Anyone?? Thanks - Jeff

looks like bogus or counterfeit surcharged #53 to me. I don't see any 5s green being surcharged with 12c value and none of the 'OFFICIEL" overprints from 1885 or 1887 look like this one on your stamp and the 12 cent value has side surcharge figures as well.

This appears to be a #53 type 1 1882-84 (that's without the official overprint). There are surcharges listed in my catalogue, but they appear different than yours. The book warns that 'surcharges on the same basic stamps of values other than those listed are believed to be bogus' The surcharge listed in my catalogue (it is an old one, so perhaps a newer edition will have better information) show OFFICIEL in upper case, and Arabic script numbers either side of the number 12.
I'm sure some of the more expert members will have a more definitive answer.

I agree with jamesw that the overprints should be in uppercase as well as other concerns noted.

In fact it seems a lot of the issues for Persia at this time and into the early 20th century warn of counterfeits. Can't trust anybody anymore!

Hi there jhlovell,

One of the two areas I am really interested in is Persia, and I am slowly wading into these waters, ever so cautiously! I have been warned several times about the many forgeries of these stamps, particularly the overprints, and have been told to assume that they are fake until proven otherwise.

This stamp design is Persia A8 I believe, you can compare your copy with the image below to get a sense of the authenticity:



This image is courtesy of Persiphila- www.persi.com & Mehrdad Sadri

What is confusing is the overprint. I would like to point out the following note in Scott regarding these overprints (which I am sure you have already read):



I had a look through my Scott and couldn't find that value of overprint on that stamp, which means it could be a forged overprint, but if you visit the Persiphila site and have a look around, you may find some more information. Mehrdad is also quite an exceptionally knowledgeable and friendly man, and I am sure he may be able to find the time to respond to you if you felt like contacting him. I have been in touch with him several times and he is amazing!

I hope this helps a bit, and Good Luck with your collection!

Kind Regards,
Skilo54

Don't apologize. It's nice to have someone agree with me once in a while.

Thanks to all of you for your detailed information. I have bookmarked all this and will use it while I plow through my Iran/Persia - Thanks - Jeff

I found quite a few Persian "Forgeries" to show off. If any of these
are real, please be sure to tell me.