I Did The Research

I need some one elses opionion, I came into some stamps that grandfather had. I didn't know he even had em. On this block, it says that they are worth over a thousand dollars, bottom two, one is missing the dot after five and the next one has two dots. I have compared them to the real thing and in scotts it says that there were cancellations of this number that were counterfeit. It did not say anything about a block or pair on #14 Italian state of roman. These are in mint conditon with hinge. Is this a genuine block, someone please advise!Okay, my image wont upload so I will ask questions that you dont need to see the block of four to answer. Were blocks made with this number and are these likely to be real, or more likely to be counterfeit? Anyone?

If it a help then these are the stamps gregolin1224 refers to...

They look good ,they are not the two most common forgeries of this stamp .Will try to scan real stamps later that I have .Maybe someone else can help before hand.

looks OK but would need an Italian certificate if you want to sell it.

Hard to value but personally I would think in the range of $500-$600.

see

http://www.antichistati.com/1024/sp/spen.htm

Roman States

go to NOT COMPLETED 5c.


There were two printings of the 5c., the first on glazed paper, the 2nd. on unglazed, yours appears to be the 1st.


It shows a missing dot but from a different position. There were 3 cliches on the plate that have the dot after 5 missing.

Pagoda

Thank you for replying, it is the glazed print, what is funny though is the second lower right hand side stamp hasgot two dots, lol. I have it up for sale on ebay. I started the bid at 100.00....grayola

They look like forgery to me, but I'm no expert. The genuine stamps have horizontal (H) separator lines that are uninterrupted and the vertical (V) lines lie between the H lines. In your example the V lines are uninterrupted and the H lines terminate at the V lines.

Look at the 5c in the Third Issue here and you'll see what I mean. (The other 5c under not completed seems fake to me.)

http://www.antichistati.com/1024/sp/spen.htm

Hungary,


both types exist on the genuine stamps.

Pagoda

pagoda,

Like I said, I am not expert, but what you say is contrary to what I've seen published about these stamps, for example, from the Vatican Philatelic Society (VPS) for one, and publications on detecting forgeries. My understanding is the forgeries appear both ways, but the originals only with continuous H lines.

It would be great if you are right as I have several I have relegated to the forgery pile. I would greatly appreciate an explanation of your reasoning if you have the time or a reference.

Here's one such quote from VPS regarding the imperforates (1867):

"All stamps were divided by double lines (for cutting), continuous horizontally within a pane and interrupted vertically... A double line continuous on all sides surrounded each pane. This is the same arrangement of lines as is found in the ½, 3, 4, and 8 baj., as well as the second composition of the 1 baj., and is important in the authentication of the 1867-8 stamps. Most of the reprints, as will be seen, have vertical lines continuous and the horizontal lines interrupted..."

See http://vaticancitystamps.org/rs.htm...%20FORGERIES

thank you so much for that reference. He did say that he was not an expert on forgeries. Everything I looked at have given me the impression that these are not forgeries. I am so excited to go through all his stuff he left us. I will be dependent on your folks opinion and expertise. Grayola

I am not an expert on Roman States but the references I cite are and they point to your block being not original printing. Rather than forgery or fake, reprint is more accurate, but the result is the same.

To quote Frank Aretz, from his book "Know Your Stamps" regarding the originals: "the lines between two horizontal rows of stamps are continuous and not intersected by the vertical lines."

"This arrangement of dividing lines was employed for all values of the originals, but not adhered to in the case of all reprints."

If you refer to "Distinguishing Characteristics of Classic Stamps" by H. Schloss you can also see that the stamps you have shown do not appear to have all the characteristics of the genuine stamps, most notably the "t" in Cent does not have an end stroke that runs straight upwards.

So reprints dont hold the same value? Is there anybody in my new circle of stamp friends that is professionally qualified to appraise this stamp for less than a few hundred dollars? Can any one point me the way to someone they know.

APS (APEX) will certify for between $25-$50 depending on membership & catalog price under or over $500.

"So reprints don"t hold the same value." Do you think you should be selling stamps?"

Well, I have every volume of scotts from last year. I have studied and know alot more than you think I know. I know reprints are not forgeries, and I new it would not hold the very same value but on this stamp is is still of of significant value. The stamps look authentic to me and I have taken them to two dealers. I have boatload of valuable stamps and I refuse to take them to a dealer who will give me less than a third of catalog value. For the most part I do know what I am doing. Are you insinuating it is wrong that I ask for other stampers opinion on something like this? Yes stamp man, the answer is yes, I will sell each set, or each stamp individually until there all gone. I make a run to the post office every day. You know what flies outta the books...the unused us postage face value. I get more than two thirds from the bidders than the face value. I am not talking about us 1800+early 19.00 or the other collectibles, I AM TALKING ABOUT PARTS AND PEICES OF STAMPS, BLOCKS OR PART OF SHEETS. Yeah, I am doing great right now, I will probably end up paying taxes next year on them. GRayola

GREG-------I was away from this board for the last 24 hours and what I return to is disturbing. You are using my remarke and another as a expert opinions to sell on E-bay and that's wrong for the future buyer .We offer this information to help you out so you can feel comfortable sending it in for a expert opinion and not wasting money on a easy to identify fake. Your item is unusal and needs to be examine by someone who knows plate positions of the block of stamps to see if its a fake or reprint or a real plate flaw.

The original stamps are on glazed paper .

These stamps are on glazed paper, and you are not the professional I was talking about, sorry dont mean to hurt your ego. I took them in to a local stamp dealer I have built a friendship with by going to most of his shows for the last three months. He is who told me yesterday that these are the real deal....he also told me to get a good appraisal done, he knew someone for two hundred dollars that was excellent at his work.