Friday, August 23, 2013

Japan Birds 1875 Stamps - The Wagtail : Signed Imitations.

I had previously heard of stamps in existence that have been forged .If you search online for "Postal forgeries or counterfeits" I am sure there is a lot of reading material available for a philatelist for free and to take notes.
 
But a Signed Forgery/imitation was something new for me and worth a small study - yet a long way to go!
 
I would like to mention as very important person in the field for identifying these weeds in our collection - The Reverend Robert Brisco Earée (1846-1928) was an English philatelist, known for his studies of philatelic fakes and forgeries.
 
 
Earée is best known for the classic Album Weeds; or, How to Detect Forged Stamps which went through three editions and is still regarded as a one of the best all world guides to forgeries and fakes ever produced.

He summed up his philosophy in The Spud Papers by saying '...if philatelists would only study their stamps a little more, instead of merely trying to see how many they can collect, I am certain that they would soon learn for themselves far more than any book or Spud Paper can teach them.'
 

Simple steps to Identify Signed Imitation :

  • Characters reading sanko, mozo, or mihon
  • Often in the same color as the rest of the design .
 
What's is sanko, mozo, or mihon ?
 They are marked with small kanji characters reading:
  1.   Reference - Sanko.
  2.   Imitation - mozo.
  3.   sample/specimen - mihon.



1875 - The Wagtail and Blossoms (15 SEN)

The White Wagtail  ( Motacilla alba ) bird .

I think its a Wagtail(if not stand corrected)  - Photographed in July 2013


Spot the Sanko Kanji Characters ....




 
easy to spot....

 There are different positions these kanji characters appear :

Sanko :

Found on Syllabic 1 violet or lilac Shades.

Position 1 (Near shrub and Bird - all above examples are position1).
Position 2.(just below the 15 SEN on upper Frame inner circle).

I don't have examples for Position 2 , but will be easy to spot - I have mentioned the place where they can be placed - see image below :

Position 2




Large mozo horizontal:

Just below the 15 SEN on upper Frame inner circle.
  • similar to the Sanko - Position 2  , but are large kanji Characters.
  • Found on Syllabic 1 violet or lilac.



Mihon vertical:

Above ground  of bird and below the bird's tail near to right Shrub .
  • Found on Syllabic 1 violet, lilac or shades.
 
Hope to get the Mozo and Mihon imitations soon.

Fun to collect and study them - sometime is seems a disappointment when you know these are fakes - but worthwhile remembering they are quiet old too.

Also if you find no Signed characters !!  its too early to say they are genuine - as many stamps in this period were forged - the paper , its color , postmark & perfs would be the next to determine a gem....
 

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