Iran A25 Type I

First, let me express my appreciation to all of you who are helping me with my learning process in trying to identify specific stamps.

I present to you A25 Type I ? I have searched forward and backward in the A25 category. This is the only one matching the blue overprint.

Scott (2008) says (321) violet and blue. From the scan, you can see the only blue is from the overprint.

In searching my collection, I am hoping to find at least one stamp worth more than .20. So far that has been my track record.

I noticed the notations about forgeries existing for this stamp. I purchased this stamp prior to 1960, and it came from an approval company. Did they sell forgeries?

I don't know if yours is a forgery, but I think it's safe to say that 4 out of 5 old Iran are forgeries or reprints.

OK.

Any idea when the forgeries started? And did any of the approval companies deal in them?

Well, it would appear I have at least one success in correctly identifying a stamp in the Scott catalog.

As to it being authentic, I can only say it was purchased sometime before 1960 from either the Littleton or Garcelon stamp companies. I think there was another, but I can't recall the name at the moment

As I understand it, the forgeries date from very soon after the stamps appeared, and continued into the 1920s.

I doubt very much indeed whether approval companies would be much bothered by the idea that stamps like these might not be genuine. They raise a big red flag in the minds of collectors, and you'd only buy them from approvals either knowing for certain what they were, or on the assumption that they were fakes.