Confederate States Scott 7 But With "Fancy" Cancel?

Posted this here years ago, but buried in long thread.

First, I am not positive on the id, could be a forgery. IF genuine, I'm not sure if the thick bottom line indicates local printing.

Google searches tell me that fancy cancels are likely faked. I don't see any others like it.

Raymodj,

I have only been focusing on Confederate Stamps for about 18 months now but have obtained the key books regarding fakes and cancels. The stamp itself does appear genuine and it does not have the characteristics of the prominent New York counterfeits that are often found. The cancel is not found in any of the material I have reviewed and it seems likely that this is faked. If you are familiar with Confederate Stamp Alliance, your could take advantage of their rapid scan ID program (simple on-line submission without a need to be a member). It is very easy and quick with very low cost. You will not get a formal certification but you will be given an opinion on the cancel and any other details that can be identified in the scan. I have been very pleased with the results and this type of item is right in line with what the Rapid Scan ID was designed for.

Hope this helps. Nice to see a CSA related item on the board as not many of them appear here.

Hobsun

Raymodj,

You might want to ask Trish Kaufmann. www.trishkaufmann.com She's a Confederate expert. I sent scans of six items and she identified four of the six as genuine.

Tom

Thanks for the help! I didn't see the suggestion to send it to Trish Kaufmann before sending it to csalliance. Dr. John L. Kimbrough got back to me within a few minutes and verified that it is a genuine #7 with fake cancel, probably from a modern rubber stamp.

For anyone who doesn't already know, both Ms. Kaufmann and Dr Kimbrough have websites with information on CSA stamps, including fakes and forgeries.

https://www.trishkaufmann.com/confe...rimer-online

http://www.jlkstamps.com/webpage/index1.htm

Both are my go to's for CSA info. Both websites are treasure troves, and Dr Kimbrough has been a help to me in the past as well.
I'd suggest picking up the 1986 New Dietz Confederate States Catalogue and Handbook as well (if you don't already have one.) Invaluable!

edit - dang! I see on the Confederate Stamp Alliance website there's a 2012 edition of the book available. Oh well.

After last nights post, I leafed through Dr. Kimbrough's 34 page exhibit on how t spot CSA Postal History Fakes. A fascinating MUST read! One of the things it taught me was how little I know.

http://www.jlkstamps.com/fakes/title.htm

Afterwards I sauntered over to ebay and had a look through the Confederate stamp section. Almost immediately found a huge listing with at least one obvious fake and many other possibilities.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/USA-Confede...AOSw-W5Uwerr

Caveat emptor, to be sure!

Unfortunately, the 2012 new Handbook and catalog seemed to sell out its print run almost immediately, so a copy goes for $300+. I'd love a copy at a reasonable price. Thanks for the info on the CSA quick ID being available to non-members.

I do not understand this direction; why would anyone invest so much time/effort/money in publishing a hard copy when it is so expensive and the publication becomes instantly obsolete after printing? Why not also publish online? Is this not the best option in terms of what is best for CSA collecting and the hobby in general? Consider the benefits of publishing online;
1. You can require membership or other ways to generate instant income for the CSA
2. You can edit/update in real time, always keeping the publication fresh, current, and applicable
3. The cost is much lower than hard copy publishing, especially when calculate over the life time of the publication
4. Online publications creates a much higher reader engagement and reaches a much wider audience

I simply do not understand the 'forces' in our hobby which refuse to bring it into this century. What a shame, there is obviously demand and interest in CS stamp and postal history. Publishing a reference work in hard copy only format is an overwhelming sign of poor decision making and lack of vision.
Don

"Publishing a reference work in hard copy only format is an overwhelming sign of poor decision making and lack of vision".

Except that most people old enough to be interested in this type of information still prefer reading books to reading a PC screen. And books can be entered into literature competitions, where the actual makeup is important. And they have value as collectibles themselves as well.

A bit odd that it is intended to be the definitive reference.....but only a few can lay their hands on it! If not online, then do another print run. And why not to online, those who really hankered for a hard copy presumably bought it when it came out. Oh well, guess I'll stick with Dietz.

There are several reference books I would love to find online, and would be happy to pay member dues to read them. It makes me appreciate USPCS all the more.

I hope other organizations eventually follow their lead.

The original work is already in digital format (no one submits typewriter manuscripts to a publisher) so it is simple and inexpensive to get it online if they really wanted to. Someone made a decision to not head this this direction.

I think there are two things at play; old people who do not like/want change and not understanding/knowing how to use technology as a profit center.
Don


Edit: Forgot another thing at play... highly influential and powerful philatelic authors who are also Luddites.

As someone who writes books and has them printed in a small effort to make a little money off of them, please explain to me how I could make the same money by releasing the same books in a free, online, PDF format?

Jim

Even if you were to put it online and charge an "access fee" there are plenty of computer savvy people who could download it and publish it elsewhere. Trying to track down all these illegal versions would be a practically impossible task.

Not only that, but there are a lot of places a book can go that computers can't.

Hi Jim,
Start a website and charge for subscriptions, or charge for access, or charge 'per view', or simply sell PDF's on ebay. There are hundreds of sites and resources which describe online publishing and literally thousands of online articles which describe how the publishing industry has transitioned to online.

Of course a big issue is whether or not the same info already exists online for free. But a good writer generating unique content should have no trouble with generating income with online publishing.
Don
Don