How To Recognize Fake Sbz Hand-Overprints?

I have few sets of SBZ hand-overprints. Most likely most of them are fakes (as I know this is very common situation).
However, what are the most important symptoms? I have 3 scans attached for your review. I hope to get some advise. Thanks.

Welcome to the dark world of Bezerkshandstempel! These overprints were valid for only a short period of time, June 21 – July 2, 1948. After that time many counterfeits were produced by postal employees as favor cancels and for sale to collectors.

Absent BPP certification, it's virtually impossible to determine authentic (stamped during this time period) from fake cancels. The CVs for these stamps in Michel are only for certified copies.

You have some very suspicious overprints but because some overprints were so sloppily applied even they could be authentic. Note that your overprints are from OPD 16 Efurt 1. These are among the most frequently counterfeited.

As you can see from my avatar, I have Bezerksstempel. My copies haven't been certified and I'm virtually positive they are favor cancels or outright fakes. I use it as my avatar because it is from a town that is almost the same as my last name, Sommerfeldt.

The SBZ collectors I know generally don't bother with certification. Only the brave go for certs because the failure rate is so high. With over 30,000 different varieties most collectors are content to collect one city or one postal district.

Have fun!

Dan

How does one avoid Bezerkshandstempel?

I wash my hands frequently and wear a surgical mask.

Scott doesn't assign the handstamps a catalog number. It just mentions them at the beginning of the DDR section so it isn't a concern for most collectors that use Scott.

Dan

Well, I'm in trouble. I thought using clean tongs would be enough.

If you like to search for paper types, gum types, watermark directions, color variations and plate flaws, and don't mind not-so-attractive stamps, Soviet Occupied Germany can be very contagious. The end-state of the disease is when you begin to tackle Bezerkshandstempel.

The Scott catalog has made such a mess of Soviet Occupied Germany that I don't think most collectors bother with it except to fill a few holes.

Using only clean tongs is living on the edge!

Dan

Dan - thanks. I know that SBZ is like a black hole - better stay away. But I guess I got too close already...
Michel describe "16 Erfurt" as common type (with Zero premium). But I also have set of stamps with district I cannot even find in Michel (or I cannot read Gothic font)? Why somebody would make a fake overprint of "fake district"?

Igopp, your stamp is overprinted for Bad Sulza in the Erfurt area. I've never collected these currency reform overprints, but I'm reasonably certain that you would need a specialized catalog, beyond Michel, to find all of the overprints.

People forge these overprints because the underlying stamp is quite cheap, and because some collectors/specialists will pay good money for them without an expertizer's mark or certificate. I guess they are willing to gamble (make a bad bet).

I would say there are most probably genuine Bad Sulza hand overprints.

Bookbndrbob is correct. It is from Bad Sulza. It is listed in Michel Spezial in the "S" section of Efurt right after Suhl. I guess the prefix "Bad" (Bath) doesn't count in German alphabetization.

Michel notes that this, too, is a frequently counterfeited stamp set.

Dan

I was so busy looking at the Bad Sulza handstamp that I didn't concentrate on the stamp itself. It's a 3 Pfennig numeral value.

According to Michel, "The numeral values 3, 4, and 42 Pfennig were not overprinted. All such examples appearing to date have been proven to be bogus."

It looks like that one most likely is counterfeit.

Dan

Yes - finally I see "Bad Sulza" on Erfurt second page of Michel Specialized, in "S" section. I was only looking at "B" section for Erfurt and never turned this page. And Dan - you are absolutely right, 3Pf stamp is not even listed in "Hand Overprints".
I have another question about 60Pf stamps (3-rd scan). This is about color. I assume that left 60Pf stamp (lighter color) is overprint on Mi#956 and right stamp is overprint on Mi#A956. Is this assumption reasonable?

Because of different scanners, graphic cards and monitors, it is difficult to accurately determine shades. This is especially true with Michel shades. Some of them are so subtle they require expertization. It's nuts!

The Mi956 shades toward carmine red and the MiA956 is much browner. Based on what I see, yes that is a reasonable assumption.

Dan