Is There A Scott 634 Variety On Thin Stiff Paper (Says Michel)

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The strange phenomenon of shiny paper and varnished inks on the stamps of GB
George V has been described above. However, it does not explain how all this came
about. For that, we need to call in forensic scientific experts. However, before we
look at the scientific evidence, let us first recapitulate on what we actually know.
1. All recorded specimens of varnished ink stamps involve the use of red tinted
pigments in the printing inks, regardless of their face value.
2). The paper seen in varnish inks stamps generally appears shiny and seems to
have been polished or stored under pressure.
During KG V's reign, many red pigments used in printing inks were formulated on
aniline-based or coal-tar extract-based dyestuffs. Some of these dyestuffs may
change colour, or take on a deeper hue, and even become a little more "rubbery" in
texture when subjected to heat (e.g., towards 95°C).
Also, one of the dyes used in the red inks of George V was alizarin crimson. This
was made from a coal-tar extract (anthracene). The process of manufacturing
alizarin had been invented in Germany in 1868.
If the ink is heated above 200 degrees Fahrenheit (95 centigrade) in an oven, it
becomes orange, and eventually extremely bright red!
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These same dyestuffs may produce similar effects when treated with other
chemicals, more particularly with formaldehyde, formalin, phosgene (coal tar gas)
and microscopic elements contained in burning wood gases.
An example of this kind of chemical reaction may be found when intense (or
deeper) orange vermillion shades of the KG V Royal Cypher 1d stamp were
"manufactured" by unscrupulous people the 1920's by treating stamps with
phosgene or coal tar gas.
The accompanying change towards a more rubbery, plastic looking appearance
when carried out under pressure (e.g. within 'crystalline' mounts in a heavy book)
could give rise to a more shiny and polished finish. In other words, the result could
be varnished ink stamps.
Varnished ink stamps are reported to have been found in the old 1960s style stock
books with acetate strips where the stamps had not been moved for many years. It
is therefore not at all surprising to learn that these same strips contained
formaldehyde type chemicals, the use of which has since been discontinued. This
could well be considered to be the "natural" way of producing varnished ink stamps,
although they might also been subject to heat at some period in the past.
Likewise, the same could be said for varnished ink items that occasionally appeared
in the 1950's and later in stock-books with plastic strips which had survived despite
having been very close to a major fire, for example during The Blitz in World War
Two. The books might then have been carefully tucked away for many years, only
to re-appear at a later date containing varnish ink stamps.
However, these occasional and rare sources of "naturally produced" varnished ink
stamps cannot in any way account for the relatively large number of varnish ink
stamps now being sold in the philatelic marketplace, and we can only conclude that
they must have been produced intentionally from the 1970s onwards.
With large profits to be made, it would not be too difficult for an unscrupulous
person to "manufacture" varnish ink stamps by placing old-style acetate over a
stamp, putting the stamp under pressure or under a heavy weight, and then
subjecting the stamp to extreme heat, perhaps in a wood burning oven, and this
might still be going on to this day.
This is also borne out by the fact that many varnish ink stamps have the odour of
burning wood, although this smell does lessen with time.
It must also be remembered that during the entire lifetime of the GV Royal Cypher
issues, coal and wood fires were extremely common throughout the country, as
were unfortunately the resultant house fires. In addition, during the 1914-1918 First
World War, Zeppelin dirigibles were flying over the country dropping incendiary
bombs on houses which would also undoubtedly have caused many more house
fires.
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To sum up, when taking everything into account, my inescapable conclusion is that
no varnish inks stamps were ever sold over the Post Office Counter during the reign
of King George V.
Therefore, it appears that all varnish ink stamps have been manufactured artificially,
either accidentally or intentionally, perhaps at the time of issue or at a much later
date than when the stamps were actually on sale at Post offices. To put it in a
nutshell, in my opinion all varnish ink stamps are fakes.

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That 716 block that Siegel sold for $1150 with a PSE certificate is the identical block that PF said is "an oily printing that should have been discarded as printer's waste"?!