Rock Island Matrch Co.

I agree with Elliot Perry that this is a RO13a, changeling any other opinions?

Where did Perry suggest that the stamp was a changeling? It is a trial color proof with fake perfs. I can't tell from the scan but probably rebacked.

RO13 does come as a yellow proof according to the Turner book, although it is not listed in Scott for some reason. So it does appear to be a trial color with fake perfs in this case; although a green stamp would change towards yellow I do not believe that happened here. Probably not rebacked, as this stamp is on a very thin paper anyway and many collectors are not really sure of the difference.

oops - you are correct Rev - the yellow trial color is on bond not india, so probably not rebacked
There was an example in the Tollman sale RASG Sale 926 lot 9A
http://siegelauctions.com/dynamic/l...2019,%202006

Perry stated he believes in his book, writing under Christopher West, PRIVATE DIE MATCH STAMPS, page 221, last paragraph where he mentions this stamp or one similar being a changeling. The perforations are so consistent with the pictures of six other copies of this stamp sold at auction. I'm not familiar with the techniques used in reperforating stamps but from what I have seen the holes are sharper probably since they are not used as much-I guess. Also, I don't know how much reperforating took place during the time period Mr. Perry wrote the articles that produced the information for this book. (The volume of information was published in Mekeel's Weekly Stamp Newsbeginning March or 1919, but was only completed in January 1930.

Altering stamps goes back practically to the beginning. Certainly by the later 19th century the idea of adding perforations to either stamps or proofs was being done, along with a host of other things. Not all were originally done to perpetrate a fraud, although many were used later for such purposes.
As I said earlier, the example that Mr. Perry saw might well have been a changeling, since green would change to yellow. However this example is buff rather then yellow, and has clearly added fake perfs (the margins are too small top to bottom, they are too uneven, and they are shaped wrong. They would probably not gauge correctly either).