Could It Be? Found At Yard Sale! Liberia

After reading posts on this forum I just pulled out a album with a few hundred stamps in it that I bought at a yard sale some years back. I have been working on my Liberia collection lately so I flipped to it and found this one lone stamp there. Is it a Scott 1? I'm not sure at this point but if it is I guess there are a few gems out there to be found. I paid $3.00 for the album! Please let me know what you think!

Close, but don't think so. The spacing is too large on each side to be a #1. Check the perfs and the paper thickness. I think you have a Scott 7 which is described as a 6c red, with frame line, perf 11, 12. It should be medium to thin paper. Good value on that one. (Approx $77.50, if correct.)

Welcome to the forum flyinio. I know absolutely 0 about Liberian stamps, and the image in my 2003 Scott's isn't very good, but I have doubts that your find is legit.
The edges along the perfs are straight as if they've been cut with scissors, and even if it were real, a #1 is perf 12 and that looks like a much wider perf like an 11 or 10.
Also the drawing looks rather crude, which I know may not mean much. But looking at the word SIX, the letters don't look quite right compared to the catalogue picture - the I is perfectly vertical whereas the image in the catalogue looks like it angles to the left. Also the X looks too centred, where the catalogue image it doesn't look as if the two strokes cross exactly in the middle.
Scotts does note that counterfeits exist, and I think that maybe what you have. But, as anyone here will tell you, I think counterfeits can make a great addition to a collection.
I don't think you purchase was a total loss by any means.

To follow up, here's an image of an 1864 Liberia (so it would be a #7).



While my description of the word SIX may have been off (remember Scott's image isn't the greatest in my edition) I think we can see from this some glaring differences in the drawing, for example the ribbon in the upper left corner, and the face of Liberty as well.
Sorry. Pretty sure it's a fake.

I know nothing about Liberian stamps, so....
Is the background, behind the banners on top and bottom, suppose to be the same on a #1 and #7? If so, it is vastly different comparing these 2 images. flyinlo's copy has background lines that emit from the center of the stamp towards the corners and edge, while jamesw's consists of wavy(?) lines that run vertically, it looks like.

I think all of you are right to some degree. I did some searching and found what looks to be a #1 forgery. Oh well! I do appreciate the quick and precise responses. This is the link that brought everything into focus. Thanks!

http://www.numonesidentifier.com/country/13/

It looks like it might be what that site refers to as "Earee 3rd forgery"? Forgeries are still valuable to have in my opinion, at least as far as knowledge goes.

Yes it does, I am not sure what to do with it but it could be a good conversation piece. I can't help wondering how long ago this thing was produced and how it came to be in this persons collection. This incident just goes to show how good it is to be involved with this site. I have some pieces that I have researched for years and I still wonder. Soon I will post a few of them to see what happens.

One last point of comparison - the "ER" of Liberia is directly over the "E" of Cents in one copy, and far to the side on the other copy.

I don't have any of Earee's books (Album Weeds), but I think they were printed in the early part of the 20th century (1910's, or 20's maybe), so I'd say that forgery is at least as old as that. As far as getting into the collection, it was pretty common to sell them in packets. I've actually read that it was considered OK to sell forgeries this way because collectors could not afford genuine copies in many cases.

That is almost good news! So this piece could be coming on 100 years old! I think I may just go ahead and mount it but make note of what is is and why and when it was produced. It could help confirm a real one someday. I won't hold my breath but I need to hang onto something positive. I wonder if there's a market for it.

To expand on spain_1850's point, Fournier is an example of a seller who offered more than one option for forgeries of certain stamps, so that a collector could pay more for a 'first choice' forgery or save some money and get a 'second choice' for less.

Maybe it won't be as pretty, but you filled a space.

The NumOne web site is a good reference. Thanks for sharing.

Here's some additional "tell-tales" from the Serrane Guide, published by the APS, regarding the original 6 centers. Spear point does not touch the frame; one can see the five toes of the right foot and the foot is 1 mm from the frame line. Also, clouds in the sky are barely visible when looking from a distance of 50 cm.