Japan 1872 Listed As J637

I don't know anything about antique stamps. This stamp is listed on ebay from a seller with whom I have had satisfactory expperience; he does not seem to overprice. However, is this stamp really an 1872 and more importantly, given its tattered condition, is it worth buying?

Definite pass this one up. It looks like it went through a blender and a schoolkid taped it back up. Even on ebay, I found 2-3 others in much better condition at or below the price this seller is asking.

If this stamp is extremely rare and valuable it might be worth a little, but it all depends. Normally spoken a stamp that looks like this isn't worth a thing.
By the way, welcome to the forum!

Peter

Let's do the math... The 1872 1/2 sen catalogs used in my 2009 Scott for $80. I count The crushed and torn top edge of the stamp as five points of damage, the missing corner as another five points, the pulled perfs at bottom as two points and the short perf at left another point. That adds up to 13 points. For each point of fault divide the value in half. 13 points therefore gives us:
80->40->20->10->5->2.5->1.25->0.63->0.32->0.16->0.08->0.04->0.02->0.01
Street value is $0.01.

It's actually a 5s stamp, which (I didn't check if genuine) would make it Japan #8 in the Scott catalog with a 2015 Scott catalog value of $850 for irregular perfs touching frameline (but otherwise sound).

So using billsey's method:

850->425->212.50->106.25->53.13->26.56->13.28->6.64->3.32->1.66->0.83->0.42->0.21->0.10

In other words, pass on it and look for another one.

I'm pretty confident that it's not genuine. It looks like lithographic printing, and that cancel is characteristic of one of the forgerers.

Generally speaking, it's best to stay away from Japan Scott 1-54A unless it has a recent certificate from a well-recognized source. (In my opinion, ISJP, APS, or F. Eichorn in Germany, off the top of my head.) Or unless it's from someone who really, really knows this area well. And unfortunately, even many of the most credible and well-intentioned dealers do not know this area well enough to help you make an informed purchase.

(I didn't mean that to come off sounding crabby. It's just that early Japan is one of the biggest minefields out there and has been very heavily forged.)

13 points implies a divisor of 2^13 (i.e. 2 raised to the 13th power) = 8192. $850/8192 = $0.10 (just as you calculated...I just thought this method was a tad faster).

Anyway, how did you know that the cancel is characteristic of one of the forgers, Philatarium? I'd love to learn more about how to identify forgeries.

I was interested to see that early Japan is a minefield of forgeries. Who was behind them - does anybody know? Was the purpose of these forgeries to defraud collectors or to bilk the Japan post office? Or a combination? Or some other reason I haven't thought of yet?

I don't collect Japan or (if I can help it!) forgeries, but an interesting story is undoubtedly within.

I don't know this subject in the kind of detail I'd like to, but the short and incomplete answer is that, yes, there were major forgers who are well-known. A handful, not bunches and bunches, as far as I know. Several in Japan, and at least one in Europe. Again, as far as I know, it was primarily to create and sell souvenirs to tourists, not to defraud the post office.

Then, I understand as well, there was an unfortunate practice in the early days of stamp collecting where dealers thoughtfully provided forgeries for collectors who just couldn't fill those spots in their albums any other way. I believe even Mr Scott (of catalog fame) sold them in the beginning. (But, of course, I could be wrong.)

However, Michael Rogers, who until recently had a stamp dealership specializing in the philately of Asia, wrote a nice article that briefly explains about the source of many of the forgeries of Japan, "Tourist Sheets".

http://www.michaelrogersinc.com/Mic...ticle-1.html

Hope that's helpful!

Very helpful. Thanks!