Identify Stamp And Value

Hi All,

I am new to this forum, so sorry if I am posting this in a wrong place.

I have 1 Penny and 2 Pence Mauritius Post Office Stamp used, very fine, but I dont know how much this one is worth...

I dont know this is geniune or not? can anybody will help me in this matter and will let me know that this is genuine or not...and what is the value? I will post the picture soon in next couple hours.

Here is the high resolution links...hope this will work for you guys...

http://theitgeektech.net/img/1.jpg
http://theitgeektech.net/img/2.jpg



Regards
Sachin Gupta

Welcome to Stamp Community Forum, Sachin!

I'll take a look at it when you post the pic. Need a good resolution pic if possible. If you upload it to SCF, there is a 90KB file size limit. Otherwise, you will need to use another host and link it.

IF it's real (and that's a very very big IF), then it will be quite valuable.

But there are a huge number of reproductions and fakes of these issues. Just to warn you ahead of time.

This link may be of interest to you: https://goscf.com/t/5760&SearchTerms=penny,blue

This link will tell you a little bit more about the history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurit...st_Office%22

By the way, always check the back of the stamp to see if there is any writing or imprints.

They look really nice as a .jpg file, but the odds of them being real are VERY slim. There are only 25 or so known copies and some of those are suspect. You will need to have them expertized but that can be expensive. If you have a local club and can find a trustworthy "expert" you can possibly get a a preliminary idea.

Hi All,

Regarding my post, does anybody know what is the difference between reproduction and genuine mauritius post office stamp?

and second thing is, whether these reproductions got used? why I am asking beacause my copies have all black post mark, so if reproduction are never got used then this will be a big guess being geniune. But I dont know, I am collecting stamps from my childhood and never realized these thing...now I am 32 so I have started doing reserach on these stamp to know more about these stamps and values.

Let me know if anybody will have some idea?

Sachin

Hello Sachin....

Welcome to the club.

The first stamp should be on bluish paper.....yours is clearly not bluish paper.....the profile of the second is very amateurish....all three are on paper that is much too white to be anything but reprints.....cancels are more easily faked than stamps.

Also, you mention that these are from your childhood......who would give a child expensive stamps ?

Regarding the child thing, people sometimes don't realize there's something valuable in the collection. My dad still can't believe he gave me a collection with several of the stamps being worth three figures...

Hi Sachin, welcome to the forum.

While it's almost impossible to tell a genuine from a scan, it is possible to point out some areas of forgeries that don't match.

Your first 2d blue Post Paid is supposed to be Scott #7. The easiest point to distinguish from a genuine is the hair at the neck line on yours. The original has two loops of hair at the bottom, whereas yours has 3 strands. It's a fair copy though.

The second one, the 2d Post Office, is supposed to be Scott #2 - a stamp worth about a million bucks btw and only 8 used copies in existence, most in museums. That in itself would be enough to know that yours was a fake. It's a pretty good looking stamp though. Slope of the forehead to the nose doesn't look right, neither do the points of the crown.

The last one, 1d orange, Scott #1, also the original being worth about a million and most copies being in museums. Yours is too dull to point out any differences.

I think you'd be wasting money getting them expertised. The chances of you having not only one, but 3 of the rarest stamps in the world, worth millions, is beyond remote. Unless of course you had a great great great grandfather who lived in Mauritius in the 1850's and they've been passed down.

Do you know how you came by them?

Balf

Hi All,

Sorry for delay in response. I got those stamps from an antique shop with many other good stamps, like US Scott1,2 and Penny Black and other US Confedateory States as well as some good stamps from Italy, Germany and Turkey.

I am still trying to find about these stamps. All your discussion looks good to me but not satisfied yet beacuse I am looking for difference with fake and genuine stamp.

Sachin

[EDIT: I added this phrase in the first paragraph -- "or they are altered reproductions of an original."]



Sachin,

Your request is not a simple as it appears. I agree with the others that your Mauritius examples are either fakes (not reprints) or cannot be determined because of the condition of the stamp/scan. I have no doubt about it, not because of the rarity, but because they don't look like the genuine nor the reprints, or they are altered reproductions of an original. I didn't chime in earlier because I'm on the road and it's not convenient for me to upload/download a lot of high resolution scans.

I will offer a different opinion regarding whether you should go pay for an expert opinion. I agree it will almost certainly be a waste of your money. But the definitive and detailed information/proof you are asking for can only be provided by a professional expertizer, because even among genuine Mauritius stamps there are plate variations that have to be accounted for to meet your rigorous criteria. Given the potential value of the stamps, I can understand why you want to be so sure. However, be prepared not only to pay for the expertizing fee for each stamp (which you have to pay even if the stamps are fake), but you will likely have to pay an hourly fee in order to get the research/proof in writing that you are asking for. Most certificates will state genuine, not genuine, or no opinion (no expertizing fee charged, but there is a basic administrative charge). If not genuine, they will provide a basic reason, but if you want the research proof, you will likely be charged an hourly fee for these particular stamps because of the complexity. Even if I did it for free, there would always be a question of my credentials. So my recommendation is that the only way you will be satisfied is if you go spend the money and get it professionally expertized. Just be warned you will almost certainly be disappointed and end up paying a non-trivial amount of money.




Since your Mauritius stamps that can be discerned are fakes, I feel it is necessary to advise you that the stamps you mentioned above could also be suspect. The above stamps and countries are well known for NUMEROUS reproductions, forgeries, counterfeits... I go through MANY MANY collections, and it is not unusual to see these spots filled with cutouts from inexpensive souvenir sheets or cinderellas that were issued later on. Do you occasionally find a genuine one. Yes, that has happened to me. But to find ALL these, that automatically clicks in my mind that those stamps are questionable.

A quick and easy test for your Penny Black is to see if you can see a single small crown watermark (same as in the catalogs). The watermark should be VERY clear when viewed from the back (you do not need watermark detection fluid). Feel free to post front and back of these US and Great Britain stamps.

While you may have a few valuable stamps in the batch you purchased, the odds of having ALL those extremely valuable stamps in one small collection at an antique shop with such a strange combination of countries/areas is just too unbelievable. But I'm willing to take a quick look as I will be returning home tonight so I will have broadband access again.

Just my thoughts...
k

I agree with what Kim has said, you're unlikely to find satisfaction with forums if what you've already been told hasn't satisfied you. The only option left is to have them expertised. You've been told here and elsewhere that they're fake, and been shown large scans of the originals. If you cannot determine any differences and hold any belief that they're genuine, then you've got to get an expert to look at them. You'll need to do that anyway if you plan to sell them. You can't sell them as genuine if you don't have certificates. As I said earlier, you're talking about museum quality stamps amongst the rarest in the world worth millions, no-one is going to believe they're real if you bung them on ebay. Genuine copies have been in the collections of some of the most preeminent philatelists in history. An auction of even one of these stamps would attract world wide attention. Without a certificate, they're worthless copies.

There are several websites where you can also check examples of both original and fakes if you haven't already checked. There are some excellent stamp forgery resources online.

Keep us informed on how you're going with them and what you decide to do.

Balf

Thanks for you reply regarding penny black, I saw my mint penny black, I checked watermark, this is very clear and this is in center of stamp with same as described in scott catalogue.

I will post all my images soon today.

Sachin

Sachin, may I ask if you paid a lot of money for these stamps? Seems an incredible buy. You hadn't mentioned the Penny Black was mint, I assumed it was used. Looking forward to images.

Balf

Hi Balf,

The whole story behind these stamp is...I went to antique store and I saw these stamps...I came back home and did some research on these stamps because it was labled and was saying bla bla bla US sccot 1,2 but no price and then I went to the library and picked scott albums from A-Z and started looking for these stamps and found all stamps were labled correctly except this mauritius stamp these mauritius stamp was saying 3a and 4a ...and I saw all those stamps are genuine because of water mark and the design and perforations patterns stated in the scott catalouge. Thats why I came in this fourm besides those stamps I was very curious about Mauritius stamp...I thought in about 50 rare stamps if all are correct labled and genuine then these mauritius stamp may be a genuine ones...The guy in the antiuqe store was not knowing anything about the stamps only he priced those stamp booklet. He said $900 and I bargained little bit without saying anything about those stamped which I already researched. I paid $800 for all those stamps and took the booklet and again started research...which was really cheap buy I also saw on US Scott1 there was a megenta cancel which makes more valuable arround + 600 from normal rates...

Even though if mauritius one will not be genuine then also this was a great buy.

In practical sense, I believe that one who does the stamp collection knows the value of the stamps nobody else in the family member...In my family everybody say these all are crap...Lets take a example if I died soemhow then what will my family member will do with these stamps? They will throw those stamps...thats why I think someone did this stamp collection and kept all rare stamps in a booklet from other stamp collection, when he/she died then family member sold those to a antique shop or some where else. This is also my habit like whenever I know this stamp is more than $200 then I keep them in my rare collection with price name tag so that if somehow my family member will see the price on it then atleast they can demand that much of money from any vendor or can negotiate.

Well yesterday was a busy day and I could not get time to scan all but I will do today and will give you scan copies...

Only thing, I am planning to get certified those stamps one by one because of financial situation...In a clear speaking these certification sucks..because they want percentage of the value of the stamp...let say Panny Balck min...if I will go and get certified then they will charge arround $100 to initiate and after that if they reallized that this is worth of $7000 in mint then they will ask 20% which I can not afford to pay. This is why it is stopping me to get certified.

And one more thing is we have to send the stamp in mail? what is gurantee that they will not exchange my stamp from fake and you will not be able to say anything because you are far away from them.

I dont know, but only thing I know is I love stamp collection not just to sell or buy .only just to be proud of being in my collection and asset for my son, good part is he is just 4 but he looks intrested and sit with me and gives a look with magnifier and so...i usually give him some common stamps. well this is whole story from where these stamps came in.

Regards
Sachin