Russian Stamps-Strange Watermarkings And Groundworkings OMMited?

russian stamps-strange watermarkings and groundworkings ommited? 1.)the top stamp in the photo Russia Sc#187 Wmk169 is completely through the front portion of the actual stamp,and with a much heavier paper than others. 2.)the 2nd row in the photo are four surcharge stamps which may be the Sc#219c where the groundwork is ommitted?and 3.) the 3rd mystery stamp at the bottom of the photo has a blurred stamp printed image.
please help identify stamp at the bottom?

does anybody have knowledge of these Russian Stamps?

here are additional photos front and back with what I consider a normal russia Sc#187 (in contrast to the larger watermark error shown above).

see two additional photos>and note what appears to be a "usa flag" under his extended arm (the normal top stamp) maybe an illusion? the "usa flag" there is a laughing matter.ha ha ha.

The bottom stamp of the two blue stamps looks very soiled to me, almost like it has been wet at some time.
To find the others, have you tried http://stampworld.com ?


Peter

The single 50kop stamp at the bottom of your first listing is listed in Scott's under Latvia. To quote the listing "Eight typographed stamps of this design were prepared in 1919, but never placed in use. They exist both perforated and imperforate. Value, set, imperf. $1, perf. $2. I have seen them on various types of paper and various color shades.

To add a bit to the last posting, forgery expert Varro Tyler said of this Latvia under Russian occupation set, "two typographed forgeries of the stamps are very common. Both are found perforated and imperforate."

In his "Focus on Forgeries" book Tyler shows both the forgery and genuine stamps. The poster's stamp has a dimple on top of the shield holding the "50", indicating that it is genuine. However, it may be reprint. Tyler says, "Reprints, which are probably still being made from the worn plates or copies thereof, are smudgy and lack detail."

As a kid, I remember seeing these stamps, or forgeries of them, in every dealer's 2c box.

The surcharged stamps were issued by Russia in 1922. 30 rouble is SG292, 40 rouble is SG293 and 100 rouble is SG295. Whilst they are probably not likely to have been forged, they are not of any value.

Forgeries and fakes of the inexpensive stamps was widely undertaken in the 1920s and 1930s to satisfy the demand of the stamp packet market in Europe. To me, it has always seemed odd that even stamps with a nominal value of a few cents were forged, but the demand in the market was so high that cheap forgeries offered a very good profit margin.