Crete 1905 Whole Series - Forge?

Hi, I got this Greece/Crete series that is quite old (1905?) but still look surprisingly well preserved, and also unused. I have learned to become suspicious, so does this mean these are forgeries? Websites suggest that may be the case for these. What do look out for to analyze?

Here's how to tell the forgeries:
http://stampforgeries.com/forged-st...volutionary/
as noted above, there are also reprints.

See discussion and images here:
https://goscf.com/t/7380&whichpage=1

Those look like reprints ,would need better size scans of each stamp .

Here you are, thanks in advance.

Nice clear scans Bloemzee!

These are reprints.

Some reprints when shown by themselves look like they are on white paper but when shown in the same scan with originals the difference shows up better .

Hi floortrader,

Is there any chance you could post detailed scans of these stamps?

I find for identification it's particularly helpful to have a clear view of the words "KRETE DOULE" under the figure of Crete.

The second stamp has an intriguing forged cancellation.

I guess it's meant to read (in Greek) "VAMOS" which should look like "BAMO" plus a final capital sigma (not a capital E).

BAMOE is often seen as a forged postmark on these stamps but I've not seen one like this before.

I do notice the back of my first stamp with value 5 is much darker than the others. Why?

Hi Bloemzee,

Your first stamp appears to have been stuck down on an album page at some time.

Quite a lot of ink has transferred to the back.

Do the other stamps still have any gum?

If not, perhaps they may just have been washed more thoroughly or have had an easier life.

If that slightly darker color is just on the back (it looks to be), that's just light toning, likely caused from the approval/sales book page it was on long ago.

So is the paper the sole determinant that the OP's stamps are reprints?

Here are some more VAMOS cancellations, all on reprints.

The village's name in English is VAMOS but in Greek the first letter is written in the Greek alphabet as "B".

The last letter should be a capita sigma as shown on the postmark on the second stamp.

The first two postmarks look ok to me but I don't have any cancelled original stamps to hand to compare them with.

The other two clearly have forged postmarks with the village name misspelled:

Hi rogdcam,

I wouldn't rely on the paper colour for distinguishing originals from reprints but instead look at the clarity of the printing.

Apparently the reprints were printed using new stones made from the original transfers.

As a result of this and maybe also from less careful printing the reprints were not so clearly printed as the originals.

For me this shows up most clearly around the "KRETE DOULE" text in the centre on the lower values and in the clarity of nodes in the diagonal pattern at the top of the higher values stamps.

There are also said to be differences in the weave of the paper and the size of the perforation holes but I've not spent time looking at these points.

Many thanks Nigel. Very helpful!

Very clear indeed, thanks.