Finland 40 Penni 1866 - Need Help - Forgery ?

Hello everyone. Any finland specialists out there? I am not sure about this stamp. I think it has the type III perfs.

The stamp does not match any of the 5 different forgeries listed in the "Finland Reference Manual of Forgeries".

Thankyou Classicalstamps

Doesn't look like forgery to me.
Average condition.

With perforations shaped like that and the margins shown on perf12's stamp it must be very difficult to get four full margins!

Full margins are almost impossible here, agreed. However, centering is often much better in these stamps. Also, in this case three perfs are short or missing, which is a big minus.

TVorog, you're somewhat wrong in the that judgement.

the largeperfed stamps of finland are rare to find with all perfs intact... the catalogue even states that the prices listed are for stamps of average condition with 1 perf missing. in the case of no perfs missing value is increased by 200%.

this stamp does not have missing perfs, it has 3 shorter perfs and I think it's quite average condition.

it's a C perforation AFA catalogue no. 9C valued around $30.

however, there's something in the middle just left of the crown that looks a little like it's been glued down, or repaired, if this has resulted in a thin or the front won't "shape up" after a bath, it will decrease in value.

TVorg: Great eye TVorg.I noticed it to;so I soaked the stamp and it went away.It must of been some kind of deposit.No holes or anything behind.

the great eye belongs to someone else :)

Sorsh,

I am perfectly aware of the catalog descriptions of grading given for these stamps. I collect only examples with all perfs intact or with no more than one perf shortened, and in most cases it's not that difficult to find them. The stamp in question has bottom right corner perf missing conpletely, third upper perf missing almost completely, and another upper perf shortened in half. This, as well as the fact that this stamp is unusually off-centered, is a big minus. If it would have just one perf shortened, that would be an average condition. That is not the case here.

Besides, correct identification or evaluation of these stamps without using Facit Specialized and having dozens of examples for comparison is practically impossible.

For early Finland, I'd happily keep that specimen until a better one comes along. Generally, I pay more attention to centering than perfs...I don't know how a dedicated Scandinavian collector balances that question.

If perfs are intact and centering is good, I'd buy. If centering is poor (as it often is), I'd buy only if I don't have that variety (there is a multitude of varieties of paper, shades, etc. in these issues).

I personally think that these Finnish stamps, if all perfs are in place and the color is fresh, are rather exotically strange and beautiful.