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Algeria Independence Overprints. Are These Particular Overprints Genuine?

 
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Valued Member
United States
67 Posts
Posted 05/09/2025   6:55 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this topic Add Nils Helstrom to your friends list Get a Link to this Message
Hello! New member here. I was hoping someone with some expertise might be able to help me out. I've seen a couple of French stamps with a form of the Algerian "EA" overprint (used in 1962), but they are not listed in Scott, and I don't know if these particular overprints are genuine or some sort of forgery? Note that "Republique Francaise" has not been obliterated as is usually the case. I've seen this overprint on France #981 (bee-eater) and #980 (teal, shown here). Any thoughts?

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Bedrock Of The Community
11823 Posts
Posted 05/09/2025   7:12 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add rogdcam to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
From a site that I cannot link here:




Quote:
As explained elsewhere, E.A. stands for "Etat Algérien". These overprints are the first issues from independent Algeria, right after the 1962 referendum. Because France did not want to give the impression it was planning to lose the independence vote (although the writing on the wall was plain for all to see), local post-offices were allowed to stock up on these 5 issues, the 10c and 25c definitives, and three commemoratives issued previously by France but that showed Algerian scenery. But the printing of new Algerian stamps in advance was not done. So after the vote took place, each post-office scrambled to create an EA stamp, sometimes also taking care of blacking out the "République Française" inscription, but not always, until the new Algerian state could get its act together and distribute standardized overprint stamps. So, in theory, we have as many hand stamps types as there were post-offices, although they are all catalogued under the same numbers YT#354-358. A veritable zoology of those exist, with inverted and multiple overprints, with and without bars, etc... The typographed overprints that came afterwards are catalogued as YT#359-363.
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Valued Member
United States
67 Posts
Posted 05/09/2025   7:17 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Nils Helstrom to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
So, it's possible that overprints exist on any number of French stamps of that era (besides what is listed in Scott)? I didn't know that, thank you rogdcam. Sadly, the seller is asking truly exorbitant prices for these... I've never seen them before, and can't judge what their actual value may be, but at least I know to watch for them elsewhere.
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Edited by Nils Helstrom - 05/09/2025 7:19 pm
Pillar Of The Community
France, Metropolitan
3689 Posts
Posted 05/11/2025   08:26 am  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add perf12 to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
The only French stamps authorized officially (recognized in catalogues) are shown below. Some tax stamps also had the EA overprint.
Your stamp with the EA and star is bogus.

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Valued Member
United States
67 Posts
Posted 05/11/2025   6:05 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Nils Helstrom to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Ah, thanks perf12, that was exactly what I was trying to get at.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
7892 Posts
Posted 05/18/2025   12:39 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add floortrader to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
NILS --- Wait a minute ..... There is more to this story .

There are official overprints both with a handstamp and machine made overprints . Here I will show you from my own collection the official authorized stamps both on and off cover .


There are also Post Offices were authorized to print their own ,that is what you see in the scan posted earlier with a purple overprint. Please note also the fourth stamp shown above mine also doesn't have the Rep. Francise. blocked out like my copy shown of the same stamp ,mine has it blocked out . .Other Post Offices made different overprints and that may be the stamp you shown above .

This the same issue I ran into with Bangladesh when the country formerly was East Pakistan and they got their Independence . The government let hundreds of government offices ,private companies ,banks and everybody else overprint Pakistanian stamps ,where I have over 50 different overprints and no catalog can be issued because so much is questionable . .
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Edited by floortrader - 05/18/2025 8:24 pm
Valued Member
United States
67 Posts
Posted 05/18/2025   8:41 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Nils Helstrom to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Oh, my. So, they could be genuine overprints of a type not catalogued... but there's no way to really be sure.

I don't own these stamps (and the seller is asking a truly comical amount of money for them) but I've been cataloguing all the varieties (such as overprints) for this series (the 1960 French bird issues) and wanted to incorporate these into my list.

Thanks to all for your insights... I'll summarize what I've learned herein and keep my eyes open for more info.

P.S. floortrader, NICE cover, by the way!
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Valued Member
United States
67 Posts
Posted 05/18/2025   8:47 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Nils Helstrom to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
(If anyone is curious, these are on ebay for a measly $135,000.00 each, marked down from $225,000.00 each... but don't despair, after looking at them the seller made me an offer of only $95,000.00. I decided not to get them. ).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/306306710410

https://www.ebay.com/itm/306306710473
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Bedrock Of The Community
11823 Posts
Posted 05/19/2025   06:46 am  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add rogdcam to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
Oh, my. So, they could be genuine overprints of a type not catalogued... but there's no way to really be sure.


That is what I posted on 9 May. Is this microphone on?

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Valued Member
United States
67 Posts
Posted 05/19/2025   08:11 am  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Nils Helstrom to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
@rogdcam, oh yes, that's exactly what you said but then @perf12 stated flat out that it was a bogus overprint... so, there's some disagreement.
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Pillar Of The Community
France, Metropolitan
3689 Posts
Posted 05/19/2025   11:20 am  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add perf12 to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
The different types of the EA overprint...have fun.

http://expo.fsfi.it/milano2016/exhibits/11Habe.pdf
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Pillar Of The Community
United Kingdom
8313 Posts
Posted 05/19/2025   11:30 am  Show Profile Check GeoffHa's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add GeoffHa to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
Nils - I think the point is that the overprints, whilst they vary considerably, are only found on five stamps.
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Valued Member
United States
67 Posts
Posted 05/19/2025   4:34 pm  Show Profile Bookmark this reply Add Nils Helstrom to your friends list  Get a Link to this Reply
@perf12, great link, thank you!

@GeoffHa, yeah, that's what all the catalogues say, but I thought I'd throw it out to the SCF to see if there was anything "unwritten" to add. I've collected this particular stamp issue (but not "EA" overprints) for years and have only ever seen these two examples, so they "smelled" bogus to me, if you know what I mean.
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