Anyone Have Tips Regarding Forgeries Of Newfoundland C12?

I've been shopping for a good example of C12 and I'm concerned about the possibility of being sold a forged overprint on C11. I've searched the internet and here, of course, and haven't been able to find any help. Now, that could because forgeries of NF C12 don't exist but...

I bought the Walsh Newfoundland Specialized Stamp Catalogue today and although it doesn't address this particular subject I'm sure I will have a lot of use for it going forward.

Since I'm not a long time collector of Newfoundland I'd like to hear from those of you with expertise about what I must look out for regarding C12s.

Thanks,
Terry

Yes, there are forgeries. Robson Lowe (Encyclopedia of British Postage Stamps) lists several differences between genuine and forgery.

For example, the "I" of Dornier is to the right of the top right hand serif of the "T" of "To" in the forgery.

In the genuine, the "I" is well to the left of the serif in each case.

There are probably many other forgeries. I would insist on a certificate.

I do not own either genuine or forgery, so can't show picture.

Go to the PF site http://pfsearch.org/pfsearch/ and do a search for the stamp. Copy the images to be used in comparison when you go looking for the stamp. You will need to compare the relative positions of the overprint letters. There is no forgery shown on that site.

Per Robson Lowe, there is supposed to be a big difference in overprint color between forgeries and genuine. But don't take the color images from the PF to be correct.

Per Robson Lowe again, there are many minor differences in the overprint between forgeries and genuine. He also lists:
- E of PER is under bottom right point of W in the forgery. E is almost dead center under the W in the genuine.
- E of WEST is further to the left in the forgery vs. the genuine.
- O of TO relative to the T of ATLANTIC is further left vs. the genuine.

hy-brazil & rdavid:

Thanks very much for the info especially the link to pfsearch.org. Armed with this information I am much more comfortable in my search.

Terry

tlmcca

If you have problems with NFLD stamps and have questions go to link below...BNAPS

http://www.bnaps.org/study.php

Go to NFLD study group and send Malcolm (editor of NFLD stamps) a picture and a question..This group is where the pros hide..

Robert

Thanks, Robert. I knew there was a reason I pay those BNAPS dues!

Terry

TLMCCA,

There is another resource for forgeries (and there are quite a few in NFLD) --which is sort of the definitive study on this by Ed Wener (BNAPs member). Its very comprehensive and granular. Sort of out of print, hard to find, but fortunately it is now contained within another great resource:

A PDF comprehensive "book" called the Newfoundland Specialized Stamp Catalogue (published on the web by John Walsh). Worth every penny just for the catalogue, but you get Wener's resource for free. The NSSC also has 20+ pages on forgeries by Richard Gratton, so a double resource.

tommy,

Thanks for your thoughts. I did purchase the Walsh book and have found it helpful for this and other questions.

Terry