Stumped On These 3 As To Country Of Origin

This stamp is not the color it photographs but rather tan print on an off white background.



With this stamp, the postmark makes it hard to make out the center image.



This is a stamping directly on the paper.



Thanks for any help on identifying these. Jim

Sorry, not sure why they are so out of focus. Jim

Agreed. Move the camera back so they are in focus. We can always blow them up offline to study. Top stamp is likely from the Arabian Peninsula as I can see some arabic writing on it. Has the style of stamps from places like Bahrain and forerunners of Saudi Arabia. But I don't know for sure.

Bottom stamp looks South Asian- e.g. India or Nepal but again I don't know for sure.

If you are using a camera / smart phone with auto-focus, the documentation will tell you the minimum distance at which the auto-focus can, well, focus.

Some folks buy add-on lenses for these devices to shorten the auto-focus distance, as well as stands to hold the device steady.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

top is official stamp from United Arab Republic (Egypt), I think SC#O73 from 1963
Second is Austrian newspaper stamp #P16 issued 1903
Sorry, no idea about #3.

#3 is Indian State Junagarh issued 1868. Don't know the catalogue number since I can't read the denomination. Maybe SC#10 since it appears to be on white paper?

The Indian stamp from Junagadh (Soruth) is upside down and is the four anna value (shown by a character that looks like an 8 in the middle of the bottom line).

I'd guess this is a modern forgery but I don't know this set at all outside of the catalogues.

Thanks James. I am a bit new at this and don't even know how to look up the Scott numbers you gave me. I have the Scotts A-Z (A-B 2009 and the rest are 2013). Don't know how to look up United Arab Republic and the Indian state you referenced.

Hi Yellow_cad. For the UAR you might look under Egypt for this stamp. For the Indian States look under India.

Peter

_cad
That's the great thing about stamps. Teaches you so much about history and geography. The UAR was formed when Egypt and Syria merged in 1958. Syria left in 1961 and in 1971 Egypt took the name Arab Republic of Egypt (that info is directly from the Scotts catalogue).
The Scott numbers I'm referring to are on the left side of the listing.
Stamps such as officials or newspaper stamps are referred to as Back of Book (BOB) because they are not regular postage so are listed at the end of the country's listing, hence the 'Back'
Quite frankly a lot of it is just familiarity. I had seen these stamps over the years so recognized them immediately.
As for the Indian State, I know almost nothing about them, except that they too are at the end, or back, of the listings for India. The writing on the stamp looked Indian, so I looked there on a hunch, and there it was.
Like anything, you'll get used to these things as you go.
So....welcome to the hobby, and welcome to the forum!

I originally did the obvious checking Egypt and India. Under Egypt in 1963, the bold stamp number is 580-599 and the A number is A219-A229 and I don't see the stamp in question in that area. What am I missing here? Jim

Again, if you don't see it among the regular stamps, look to the back of the country's listings in case they are not postage, like these. Back of book stamps catalogue numbers start with letters before the numbers. In the case of the official stamps it's O. With newspaper stamps it's P. Airmail C. Semi-postal B and so on.

The first number in the listing which you mention is the catalogue number. The second number eg. A219 refers to the design of the stamp and directs you to the image.

Thanks again James. Found them this time. I didn't know about the back of each country's listings. That will help immensely as I sort further into each country. By the way, the Indian stamp I have pictured is actually black print on tan paper. As said, it is likely a forgery but it helped me learn the Scott Catalogs and will look nice in my little collection. Thanks again for the help.

This is a so-called Ilahabad forgery of Saurashtra/Sorath 1868 4Ana of a Kori Saurashtra Post black on white horizontally/vertically laid paper imperf. typeset stamp (SG 15) with the denomination in Devnagari numeral.

Edward F Deschl, editor of the voluminous "The Comprehensive India State Postal Stationery Listing" (1994) first reported these forgeries in 2000 but he rather considerately preferred to describe these fakes as facsimiles/reproductions.

The original typeset stamps with Devnagari numeral #2794; (4) were issued in June 1868 as part of the Second Issue, in sheets of 20 (4×5), printed by Junagarh Saurashtra Nitiprakash Chhapkhanu, Junagarh which was established in 1867 primarily to print state postage stamps.

These stamps were printed in 2 settings viz., SG/W&M setting IB/Malaviya setting II (horizontally laid) and SG/W&M setting ID/Malaviya setting III (vertically laid).

The Devnagari inscriptions read #2360;#2380;#2352;#2366;#2359;#2381;#2335;#2381;#2352; #2346;#2379;#2360;#2381;#2335; i.e. Saurashtra Post and the denomination #2325;#2379;. #2794; #2310;#2344;#2366; (Ko. 4 Ana) i.e. 4Ana of a Kori.

The stamps were continued to be used mostly on parcels (which is why very few 4A is found on cover) till its demonetization with effect from January 16,1878 when the Third Issue was introduced.

All modern Ilahabad fakes of Saurahtra SG 14 show the stamp from pos. R3/2(10) as is also here.
These fakes are invariably found printed on thick white wove paper, which were mass produced in Ilahabad in mid-1990s.

Details can be found in the following references.

1. Sorath.
Ron Wood and Vijay Meher.
India Study Circle for Philately, Eastleigh, England 1999
Chapter III: Second Issue 1868–1877
Sub-Settings of the 4 Anas Stamps; pp.34, 36

2. Sorath Stamps and Postal History.
Ramji Amershibhai Malaviya.
Ravi Prakashan, Junagarh 1999
Chapter VI: Second Issue; pp.21, 31-3

As Joy says, modern forgery. Most will know Ilahabad as Allahabad.

What Peter? No thanks for Orchha?

An oversight Joy. I will add something to that thread.