Album Weeds 
 
 I1o¥ToMect Forged bmMPS 
 
 i 
 
Album Weeds ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. R. B. EAREE. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 STANLEY, GIBBONS, AND CO, 
 pjjilatdiral ^utilisijm, 
 8, GOWER STREET, W.C. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 The only guide to the detection of forged stamps with which I 
 am acquainted is that by Messrs. Lewes and Pemberton, pub- 
 lished in 1863. This work, a hrochure of thirty-six pages, is, 
 of course, now out of date, owing to the enormous number of 
 counterfeits which have been issued since it appeared; and I 
 venture to offer my book to the philatelic public as a description 
 of the majority of the forgeries existing up to the end of 1881. 
 It was originally intended to be little more than a reprint of the 
 " Spud Papers," from the Pldlatelist; the proprietors of that 
 magazine, Messrs. Stafford Smith and Co., having kindly given 
 me permission to make use of Mr. Atlee's articles, as well as of 
 those of which I was myself the author. But I found that I 
 should have to go more thoroughly to work if I intended to 
 make my book really useful ; I have therefore only occasionally 
 made use of the " Spud Papers," and, in doing so, I have in- 
 variably re-written the description of those stamps chronicled 
 by Mr. Atlee. Some of the articles in this work have already 
 appeared in the pages of the Bazaar ; they are reproduced here 
 by permission of the manager, who kindly placed at my disposal, 
 for the purposes of this work, all that I had written in the 
 Bazaar on the subject of forged stamps. 
 
 I have also to express my sincere thanks to all those who, 
 during the two years in which I have been engaged in writing 
 my book, have kindly supplied me with rare stamps, forgeries, 
 and information. It would be impossible for me to enumerate 
 
iv 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 all those who have thus helped me from time to time, but my 
 best thanks are due to Messrs. Philbrick, Westoby, Botteley, 
 Evans, &c. ; to Mons. Foure, of Berlin ; and to all the principal 
 dealers of England, my own publishers included. 
 
 I have always, when possible, avoided attempting to describe 
 any forgery from comparison merely with a single genuine speci- 
 men, lest I should mislead my readers; and, through the kindness 
 of some of the above-named gentlemen, I have been enabled to 
 compare numbers of specimens of the rarest stamps, which are 
 seldom found, except as forgeries, in ordinary collections. 
 
 Within the last few years, owing to the invention of new 
 methods of transferring, engraving, printing, and copying de- 
 signs, the forgeries have been very much better than the coarse 
 lithographic imitations of fifteen years ago. Of these I may 
 instance the 2 reales of Spain, of the 1851 and 1862 issues, 
 and the 2 neu-grosclien of the second issue of Saxony. Forgeries 
 such as these require long experience on the part of the collector, 
 before he can feel sure of detecting them at once ; and this book 
 is intended to supply the lack of experience of our younger 
 amateurs, so that they may easily find and remove the worthless 
 weeds which spoil their collections. 
 
 My plan has been sufficiently simple in conception. It is to 
 describe the genuine and forged in such a manner as to enable 
 the amateur to decide for himself, from any single specimen in 
 his possession, whether it is good or bad. This has naturally 
 made my descriptions rather verbose occasionally, but this could 
 not be avoided without sacrificing clearness to conciseness. 
 
 During the compilation of this book some advanced collectors 
 have occasionally suggested to me that an elaborate work on 
 forgeries would be rather a mistake, as the forgers would 
 naturally, by means of such a book, be enabled to correct the 
 errors in their productions. It must, however, be remembered 
 that all the many thousands of forgeries here described actually 
 exist, and that they are bought, and sold, and mounted in col- 
 lections every day ; so that, though it may possibly assist the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 V 
 
 forgers in the future, a description of their existing productions 
 is necessary for the prese?2^. 
 
 It will be noticed that I have only occasionally described the 
 reprints of genuine stamps. When any have come particularly 
 under my notice I have chronicled them, but not otherwise. 
 The fact is that a book on reprints would be almost as large as 
 this present volume ; so that, with the occasional exceptions 
 above noted, I have confined myself to forgeries. The so-called 
 reprints" of the surcharged Transvaal, and of the earliest 
 United States stamps are simply forgeries, and I have chronicled 
 them as such. One or two sets of forgeries known to me T have 
 perforce been obliged to omit, owing to the impossibility ot" 
 obtaining all the different types of the genuine — notably the 
 ORTS-POST and poste locale stamps of the Swiss Cantons ; 
 otherwise this work contains notes upon almost all the forgeries 
 with which I am acquainted. 
 
 As this book is intended for young collectors, I have avoided 
 using technicalities as much as possible. It was my original 
 intention to preface it by a description of the various styles of 
 engraving, perforation, &c. ; but, as it has already grown so far 
 beyond the size to which I meant to limit it, I must, with the 
 exception of the few short notes appended below, leave these 
 matters to a future edition, if such should be required. 
 
 As, however, some misconception apj)ears to exist concerning 
 the manner of reckoning perforations, I ought to say that the 
 dents in a stamp are not all counted, but simply as many as are 
 found in the space of two centimetres. It will readily be under- 
 stood that, if all the holes in a stamp were counted, a large and 
 a small stamp perforated by the very same machine would give 
 a different number ; but, as the system called the " two centi- 
 metre gauge " only takes into account as many holes as exist in 
 the space of two centimetres, it matters not whether the stamps 
 be large or small ; for, supposing them to be perforated by the 
 same machine, they will give the same number of dents, irres- 
 pective of the size of the stamps themselves. 
 
vi 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Concerning the various methods of printing, I have denomi- 
 nated taille-douce " all those stamps in which the lines of the 
 design have been cut into the material used, whether copper, 
 steel, or stone. In "epargne" I have included all those stamps 
 in which the lines of the design are caused to stand out from 
 the material used, whether steel, wood, or an electrotype cliche. 
 The stamps which I have called " UtJiogmphed " are those in 
 which the design has been simply transferred and fixed on the 
 surface of a flat, unengraved lithographic stone. As a rule, these 
 three principal methods of printing are very easily distinguished 
 from each other. The lines in a taille-douce design stand out 
 from the paper in thick ink, in relief ; in an epargne engraving 
 the lines appear to be more or less sunk into the paper, after the 
 manner of ordinary type; and, in a litliographed design, the 
 lines are neither raised nor sunk, but appear perfectly flat ; the 
 paper being generally rather shiny, owing to the sliding action 
 of the lithographic press. 
 
 As regards paper, the only varieties with which the philatelist 
 has generally to deal are laid and wove. I suppose it is scarcely 
 necessary to say that laid paper is that which, when held up to 
 the light, shows transparent parallel lines running down it, as in 
 our ordinary " cream laid " note paper ; whilst wove paper is 
 that used for our books and newspapers, having no lines or 
 marks upon it. 
 
 Watermarks in the paper used to be formed by pieces of wire 
 or metal, technically called " bits," which were either fastened 
 upon, or woven into, the wire gauze on which the pulp was 
 formed into paper. Lately, however, the use of these "bits" 
 has been somewhat less frequent, owing to the invention of the 
 "dandy-roll," a roller with the desired watermark in relief upon 
 its face, many times repeated, which impresses the said water- 
 mark upon the paper before it has acquired its full consistence. 
 In either case the result is the same; i.e., to leave a portion of 
 the paper thinner than the rest, which thus shows the design as 
 a transparency. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 vii 
 
 The above short notes will, I trust, explain the few techni- 
 calities which I have used. As regards errors and inaccuracies, 
 I shall be glad to have these pointed out to me by any reader 
 who will take the trouble ; as I am fully aware that it is more 
 than probable that many such have crept in, owing to want of 
 sufficient information on my part. I shall also be thankful 
 for specimens of any forgeries which are not described in the 
 following pages, and for that purpose I append my address. 
 
 E. B. EAREE. 
 
 Jerusalemers-trasse, 44-45, Berlin. 
 January, 1882. 
 
ERRATUM. 
 
 Page 12, line 3 from bottom, strike out "machine-perforated 14^." 
 
ALBUM WEEDS. 
 
 1870 
 
 ANGOLA. 
 
 6, 10, 20, 25, 60, 100 Reis. 
 
 I have not seen a complete set of the 
 forgeries of these stamps ; but the descrip- 
 tion given below will enable collectors to 
 decide upon any in their possession. All 
 the stamps of the Portuguese Colonies of 
 this type have been very extensively forged, 
 and appear to have been pretty well patron- 
 ised by a too-confiding public. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in e'pargne ; machine-perforated 13. The crown in the 
 centre is very well done, and all the pearls on the arches of the said 
 crown can be easily counted. The numbers on the various arches, 
 beginning with the right-hand arch, are 9, 10, 5, 10, 9. The cross 
 on the top of the crown is not so wide as the "orb," or ball on 
 which it rests. There are 121 oval white dots round the central 
 circle, and they, are almost perfectly uniform all the way round. 
 The framework, down the two sides, is formed of two lines, a very 
 thick outer one and a very thin inner one, placed close together. 
 The thick line above loo reis cuts into the thick outer line of the 
 border, as well as into the thin inner one, on both sides. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; pin-perforated 13. The crown is not at all well 
 done, and seems to be slightly larger than the genuine. The pearls 
 on the arches of the crown look rather "mixed," and cannot be 
 counted with any certainty. The cross on the top of the crown is 
 wider than the " orb," or ball on which it rests. There are 125 
 white dots round the central circle ; they are of all sorts of shapes, 
 and generally much smeared on the left side. The framework, down 
 
2 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 the sides, is composed of two lines, as in the genuine; but both 
 lines are of the same thickness, and they are much too far apart. 
 The thick line above loo reis only comes as far as the inner line 
 of the frame on the right side, but touches the outer line as well on 
 the left. The rest of the stamp is a tolerably correct copy of the 
 genuine, and the perforation is better than usual, though not clean-cut. 
 
 Postmarks, etc. 
 
 I have never yet seen the genuine stamps postmarked ; but these 
 forgeries bear a cancellation rather like one of those used for our 
 own newspapers, consisting of a sort of oblong (which is blank in 
 these forgeries), formed by three straight lines on each side of the 
 oblong, and two curved lines at each end of it. The forgeries are not 
 gummed ; but the genuine may occasionally be met with in the 
 same state ; I cannot tell the reason for this. 
 
 ANTIGUA. 
 1862-73. One Penny. 
 
 There are several varieties of this stamp, 
 differing from each other in colour, perforation, 
 and watermark; but it does not come within 
 my province to describe these several varieties 
 here. The one which the forgers have tried to 
 imitate is the orange-vermilion one of 1867, with 
 star watermark, perforated 1 4 to 1 5 J, compound. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; machine perforated 14 to 15|, compound; 
 on pinkish-white paper ; watermark, star. The groundwork, behind 
 the head, is composed of strips of two patterns of engine-turning, 
 disposed alternately, nine in all. Each strip is separated from its 
 neighbours by a fine w^hite vertical line ; the central strips being, of 
 course, more or less hidden by the head. The first and last strips 
 have 17 very prominent diamond-shaped dots running down their 
 centres. One of the inner rows, bearing the same pattern as the two 
 just mentioned, shows one of these dots just where the hair springs 
 on the forehead, below the coronet ; and this dot is a little larger 
 than the rest. There are two rows of jewels in the band of the 
 coronet ; the top row consists of pearls, and the lower row of a few 
 oblong jewels. The lower half of the ear is visible ; the face is 
 shaded all over, as is also the neck ; and there is no shading behind 
 the face on the background, except just beneath the chin. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Pin-perforated 13 ; lithographed on yellowish paper ; no water- 
 mark. The beautiful engine-turning on the groundwork of the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 3 
 
 genuine is here represented by dots. The 17 dots on the outer rows 
 are not at all conspicuous, and would hardly be noticed at a first 
 glance. Where the hair springs, in front of the forehead, beneath 
 the coronet, there is a dim blotch, not at all resembling the sharply- 
 defined dark spot in the same place on the originals. The band of 
 the coronet is jewelled with two rows of pearls ; but there is one 'of 
 the oblong jewels to be seen under the second cinquefoil. There is 
 an indistinct mark where the ear ought to be ; but it would require 
 a very strong eff'ort of imagination to resolve this mark into an ear. 
 The lower part of the cheek and the back of the neck are heavily 
 shaded — (I do not refer to the dark shading on the background behind 
 the neck, as this is common to both genuine and forged) — and the 
 upper part of the cheek, below the eye, is left unshaded. The back- 
 ground is shaded behind the front of the face. 
 
 Sixpence. 
 
 This, like the penny, is found in several varieties ; perforated 
 14 to 15^, with star watermark; and perforated 12^, with 
 crown and cc. This stamp need not detain us long, as the 
 genuine is the same as the genuine penny, and the forged is 
 the same as the forged penny. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, either machine-perforated 14 to ] 5|, com- 
 pound, with star watermark ; or machine -perforated 12|, with 
 watermark crown and cc. The die is exactly similar to that of the 
 penny, value only excepted ; and therefore the tests for the genuine 
 penny will hold good for the genuine sixpence. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; pin-perforated 13; no watermark. The forged 
 sixpence is from the same matrix as the forged penny, value only 
 excepted ; so that the tests for the forged penny will hold good for 
 the forged sixpence. The colour of this forgery is a very pale chalky 
 green, and it is printed on very white paper. 
 
 Postmarks, etc. 
 
 All the originals of this colony, as far as I am aware, have a post- 
 mark consisting of lines forming an oval, with a numeral, or letter 
 and numeral, in the centre. The forgeries are cancelled with a 
 rectangle of dots, somewhat larger than the stamps. 
 
 ANTIOQUIA. 
 
 1869. 2i, 6, 10, 20 Centavos. 
 
 These stamps are lithographs ; but they are very fairly done, 
 and will bear a pretty close inspection. The forgeries have a 
 
4 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 woolly, misty look, which condemns them at once ; though I 
 should fancy that specimens of the latter adorn a good many of 
 the albums of our school-boy friends. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed, on rather thin soft paper. I will first give a descrip- 
 tion of the discrepancies common to all the values, and then take 
 each value separately. The Q of antioquia has a distinct tail. The 
 condor in the arms, or rather above the shield, is a condor ; and the 
 ring of feathers at the base of its neck is very distinct. The c of 
 COLOMBIA comes just between the rr of correos ; that is to say, a 
 line drawn down between the two r's would cut through the c. 
 
 Now for each value separately. 
 
 I 2-| c. Genuine. 
 
 There is a stop after correos, another after 
 I COLOMBIA, and another after antioquia. Each 
 j large figure 2 has its tail perfectly straight. The 
 inner outline of the oval containing the name is 
 very slightly curved inwards just at the top, the 
 bottom, and the middle of each side ; but I think 
 this would hardly be noticed unless it were ex- 
 pressly looked for. 
 
 5 c. Genuine. 
 
 There is a stop after each of the letters e. and s. 
 in the words e. s. de antioquia. There is also a 
 very distinct white spot in the dark ground of the 
 ornamental spandrel to the left of the aforesaid e, 
 and another to the right of the last A in antioquia. 
 In most copies the words correos and cinco cen 
 are so large as to almost entirely fill up the labels 
 containing them ; but there appears to be more than one type of 
 this stamp, and some have the letters a little smaller than others, 
 still all the coj)ies have the said letters of a good size. 
 
 10 c. Genuine. 
 
 There is a stop after each of the words correos, 
 antioquia, and Colombia. The band containing 
 the name is divided at the sides, and immediately 
 opposite to the division on each side there is a 
 white dot in the dark spandrel, to the left of the 
 left-hand division, and to the right of the right- 
 hand division. Each of the little roses in the top 
 corners has a white spot in its centre. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 5 
 
 20 c. Genuine. 
 
 There is a stop after each of the words antio- 
 QUIA, COLOMBIA, and CENT. The name is written, 
 " Es us DE COLOMBIA,'' and there is a sort of 
 guiding line running almost all round the tops of 
 these letters. The roses in the top corners have 
 large shaded spots in their centres. 
 
 Forged, 
 
 The following description holds good for all the forged values. 
 Lithographed, on thick wove paper. There is no indication of a 
 tail to the q of name, which thus appears to be antioouia. The 
 bird above the shield appears to be an eagle. Its ruff of feathers is 
 conspicuous by its absence. 
 
 2| c. Forged. 
 
 There is no stop after either of the words correos, Colombia, or 
 ANTIOQUIA. The tail of each large figure 2 has its end curled up. 
 The s of es is absurdly slanted away irom the e. The inner outline 
 of the band containing the name is bulged very much towards the 
 centre, at the top, at the bottom, and in the middle of each side, 
 so much so that any one looking at the stamp would notice it im- 
 mediately. The c of COLOMBIA comes just under the second r of 
 
 CORREOS. 
 
 5 c. Forged. 
 
 There is no stop after the letters e and s of E. s. de antioquia. 
 No white spots in the spandrels at the places named in the descrip- 
 tion of the genuine 5 c. The words correos and cinco cen are in 
 short and rather thin letters, which do not nearly fill uj) the bands 
 containing them. The c of Colombia comes just under the second 
 
 R of CORREOS. 
 
 10 c. Forged. 
 
 No stop after correos or antioquia. There are no white spots 
 in the dark spandrels opposite to where the name-label is divided. 
 The little roses in the top corners have dark spots in their centres, 
 though the one on the left seems to have some little attempt at shad- 
 ing. The c of COLOMBIA conies just under the first r of correos. 
 
 20 c. Forged. 
 
 Stop after Colombia only. The name is written, "e. u. de 
 COLOMBIA ; " and these letters do not show any marks of the 
 guiding line at their tops. The roses in the top corners have dark 
 spots in their centres, though the one on the left seems to have 
 some little attempt at shading. The c of Colombia comes just 
 under the first r of correos. 
 
6 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 None of my copies are cancelled with any thing but a word, or 
 letter, written in pen and ink, so I cannot say what is the regular 
 hand-stamp used for this purpose. All the forgeries just described 
 are cancelled with a square of small dots. 
 
 As the originals are lithographs, and I have not been able to 
 procure whole sheets of each value, it is quite possible that some of 
 the copies of each value may vary slightly from my descriptions. 
 For instance, I have a copy of the 10 c. which is labelled quite 
 distinctly " corheos," instead of correos. However, I think my 
 tests, taken from several copies of each value, will be sufficient. 
 
 AKGENTINE. 
 
 1858. 5, 10, 16 Centavos. 
 
 I have never seen a forgery of this issue as yet ; but I would 
 remind my readers that the 10 c. and 15 c. of this set were 
 never issued to the public. They are distinguished from the 
 next issue by having the key-pattern border very much smaller, 
 having six pieces at top and bottom, and the lowest value has 
 the 5 very large ; whereas the stamps of the next issue have a 
 larger border, containing four pieces at top and bottom in the 
 same space as the six of the first issue; and the figures of 
 value on each of the set are a good deal smaller than the 5 of 
 the early issue. 
 
 1861. 5, 10, 15 Centavos. 
 
 From the coarse design of the originals it 
 might be thought that the forgers would turn 
 out a good imitation of them ; but, as will be 
 seen by the following description, it would 
 appear that even badly-made stamps are not 
 always easy to counterfeit, though some of the 
 forgeries w^hich I have seen are much better 
 than others. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper ; unperforated. In each corner 
 is a little upright oblong, by way of ornament. The key-pattern 
 down the right side looks the same way as that down the left side ; 
 but it has a long piece sticking out at the bottom, which is not 
 visible on the left side. The first letter of the word confeon is 
 much nearer the left border of the stamp than the last letter of the 
 word ARGENTINA is to the right ; in fact, there is almost room for 
 another letter to be added on the right side. There are two lines 
 under the last two letters of confeon. They are very distinct in 
 
HOW TO DETECT FOEGED STAMPS. 
 
 7 
 
 all my copies ; but I notice that Mr. Atlee, in his paper on these 
 stamps, says that the two lines are not always to be made out. The 
 oval seems to be a shade more rounded on the right side than on 
 the left ; and it touches the l)order on both sides. There are ten 
 horizontal lines of shading in the upper half of the oval, which can 
 be easily counted, though there appears to be an eleventh line which 
 has run into the upper outline of the oval, and so cannot be dis- 
 tinguished. The sun's face is a little like the Ticliborne claimant. 
 It has a pointed chin ; the mouth is slightly oblique, inclining 
 downwards to the right ; the hair is parted on one side, though 
 this cannot always be seen ; and the whole face is exactly above the 
 centre of the oval. The cap of liberty extends from the very 
 bottom of the shaded half of the oval, right up to the blotched line 
 at the top of the oval, of which I spoke ; and though not very well 
 drawn, it is sufficiently so to enable one to see what it is intended 
 for. The arg of name is quite twice as far from the top of the 
 stamp as the cen of value is from the bottom. The rays of the sun 
 are composed of dots, except just at their outer ends, where they 
 merge into lines, as though the dots had run into each other. The 
 pole upon which the cap of liberty is placed is solid in all my 
 copies ; i.e., it is a thick line of colour, and not merely outlined. 
 The 5 c. has a stop after the figure, and sometimes two. The other 
 values have no stop ; and in none of them is there any stop after 
 
 ARGENTINA. 
 
 I have gone very fully into the details of these stamps, because 
 there are a good many forgeries about ; and if any reader should 
 happen to get hold of a forgery not being one of those described 
 here, he will be able to detect it by one or more of the tests given 
 here, as it is utterly impossible for any forgery to be accurate in all 
 the details here described. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 
 Lithographed ; all from one matrix. The central oval is too 
 small, or rather, too short, and does not touch the inner line of the 
 frame on either side. There is a stop after the figure of value in 
 both the 5 c. and the 15 c. The c of confeon, and the last a of 
 ARGENTINA are at equal distances from their respective sides of the 
 stamp. The curve of the rays is not the same as the curve of the 
 lettering above them, so that the middle rays are a good deal nearer 
 the lettering than the side ones are. I do not think this forgery is 
 very common now, though it had a good sale at one time. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 
 Lithographed, sometimes perforated ; there is a diffejent design 
 for each value ; the 5c. being the worst, and the 10c. the best. I 
 shall have to describe each value separately. 
 
 5 Centavos, Forged. The little upright oblongs in each corner are 
 represented in this value by shapeless blotches. The top and bottom 
 key-patterns are joined to the one on the right-hand side. The 
 
8 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 inscription confeon. Argentina is equidistant from both sides of the 
 frame. There is only one line under confeon. The oval is very much 
 more pointed on the right side than on the left ; and there are ten 
 horizontal lines of shading on it, but no sign of the blotched eleventh 
 line at the top. The bottom of the sun's chin is slightly cut off by 
 the outline of the oval ; the mouth is quite straight ; the whole face 
 is far too much to the right, so that it is not by any means exactly 
 above the cap of liberty and pole. The cap of liberty itself does 
 not come more than about half-way up to the top of the shaded 
 portion, nor does it touch the bottom line. It appears to be a circu- 
 lar object, something after the style of a "drum-head" lettuce ; but 
 is not in the least like a cap of liberty. The first two letters of 
 ARGENTINA are far too large, making a great contrast with the other 
 letters of the same word. The rays of the sun are almost entirely 
 lines, except just close to the head. The pole is composed of two 
 lines. 
 
 10 Centavos, Forged. This is a better forgery in most respects ; but the 
 top lettering is badly done, or else I should have called it dangerous. 
 The top and bottom ornaments on the left side are squares ; the one 
 to the right at the top is a transverse oblong ; and that at the bottom 
 is like the genuine. The top lettering is equidistant from both bor- 
 ders, but it is not drawn to a true curve like the genuine. The letters 
 RG of ARGENTINA almost toucli the top border of the stamp. There 
 is only one line under on of confeon. The oval is tolerably 
 well-shaped ; but it does not touch the border on either side. There 
 are eleven lines of shading in the oval, and no blotched one at the 
 top ; though the bottom one is blotched on the right side. The sun's 
 face appears to be looking towards the v of centav, ; the mouth is 
 straight ; the hair is very distinctly parted on one side ; the chin is 
 at some little distance from the outline of the oval ; the head is 
 placed in the correct position. The cap of liberty is a shapeless 
 blotch, and only reaches from the bottom of the shaded part of the 
 oval about three-fourths of the way up to the top. The outer ends 
 of the sun's rays do not form a regular curve as in the genuine. The 
 pole is composed of two lines where it comes below the hands, and 
 is solid above them. 
 
 15 Centavos, Forged. The little dots in both bottom corners, and in 
 the left-hand top corner, are almost square ; and the dot in the right- 
 hand upper corner is a transverse oblong. The key -pattern down the 
 sides of the stamp ends abruptly at the bottom, without the straight 
 stroke pointing downwards on either side. The lettering of the 
 name is equidistant from both borders. There is only one line under 
 on. The Qval is rather rounder on the left than on the right side ; 
 and on the right it only just touches the border-line. There are 
 twelve horizontal lines of shading in the oval ; and there is no sign 
 of the uppermost one running into the outline of the oval above it. 
 The sun's face has a round chin ; the mouth is almost straight ; and 
 the hair seems to be parted in the middle ; the head is a good deal 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 9 
 
 too much to the right of the centre of the top of the oval, so that the 
 pole and the cap of liberty are hardly nnder it at all. The pole on 
 which the cap is placed is formed by two lines ; and the cap of 
 liberty is a totally unrecognisable object, which might be a "wilted" 
 cabbage, or a gigantic oak-leaf, or almost anything one might choose 
 to fancy it. The arg of Argentina is far too close to the upper 
 boundary-line ; the rays of the sun are principally composed of lines 
 instead of dots. 
 
 Forged. TJiird Set. 
 Lithographed. The oval does not touch the border on either side. 
 There are thirteen lines of shading in the upper part of it, and the 
 uppermost line has slightly run into the outline above it on each 
 side. One of the hands looks like a sausage, with no indication of 
 either thumb or fingers. The pole seems to be composed of three 
 lines ; and the cap of liberty is tall, thin, and very sharply pointed, 
 leaning over very much to the right side of the stamp. The sun's 
 face is rather like Lord Beaconsfield; it seems to be looking towards 
 the V of CENTAV. There is a distinct line between the nose and mouth 
 running straight up and down, like the line in the lip of a rabbit ; 
 and the lovi^er lip is thick. The oblongs in the corners are upright, 
 but very small, no broader than the lines of Etruscan ornamentation. 
 The lettering of the name is equidistant from both borders ; and 
 there are two very distinct lines under the on of confeon. There 
 is a stop after value and figure also. I have only seen the 5c. in 
 this type ; but others may exist. 
 
 Forged. Fourth Set. 
 Lithographed in black ink, on green paper. The 5c. is the only 
 value 1 possess of this forgery. Of course the green colour instantly 
 condemns it ; but I had better give some details of the design. The 
 oval touches the border on the left side only. There are seven very 
 coarse lines of shading in the upper part of it, and a blotch, which is 
 probably an eighth line, at the top. The hands are very large, and 
 the lowest line of shading touches them. There is a black dot under 
 the hands indicating the commencement of the pole ; but the rest 
 of it is invisible. The cap of liberty rests immediately upon the 
 hands, and runs up to the top of the oval ; it looks rather like a 
 crooked claret jug, but not in the least like a cap of liberty. The c of 
 confeon almost touches the border ; and there are two lines under 
 the ON. The halo round the sun is formed of dots running anywhere, 
 bounded by a lot of thick strokes. Two of these strokes on the 
 right-hand side touch the boundary-line. There is a stop after both 
 5 and centav. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The usual postmark on the genuine stamps of this issue is a large, 
 transverse oval, with name, etc., inside the curve, and FRANCO in 
 large letters in the centre. Several of the forgeries are postmarked 
 with an imitation of one of the oldest Spanish cancellations — a sort 
 
10 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 of quatrefoil, with straight lines sticking out from the middle of each 
 curve. The third set is cancelled with a lot of fine dots, and also, 
 occasionally, with an oval containing something undecipherable. 
 The fourth set bears a number of large oval dots, each of them being 
 about the size of the c in centav. The later issues bear very different 
 postmarks, which will be noticed in their proper places. 
 
 Issue of 1862. 5, 10, 15 Centavos. 
 
 There are two types of each of these stamps ; 
 but in order to keep my descriptions as plain 
 as possible, and to avoid confusion, I think 
 the best plan will be to take only those general 
 points of difference between the genuine and 
 the forged, which can be easily seen and de- 
 tected. Unused copies of this issue are getting 
 very common now, and very cheap ; they are reprints. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on soft, slightly surfaced, finely-wove paper. The 
 top of the cap of liberty falls well over to the right. The hands 
 clasping the pole are tolerably distinct. The e and N of centavos 
 almost touch each other. The pearls in the circle, outside the 
 lettering, vary in number, according to the type. There are 71 in 
 one type, and 78 in the other. The of centavos is the same size as 
 the rest of the lettering. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 Lithographed on coarsely-wove paper. The cap of liberty looks 
 more like a bundle of flax on a distaff than anything else, and the 
 top hardly droops over at all. There is a considerable space between 
 the E and N of centavos, and the o in the same word is much 
 smaller than the rest of the lettering. All the values have 81 pearls 
 round the circle. The hands and arms holding the pole in the 
 originals are here represented by two parallel wavy lines. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have seen the genuine stamps postmarked with an oval the same 
 as the first issue, and also with a different sort of oval, composed of a 
 number of thin straight lines, with words and figures in a space in 
 the centre. The forgeries are postmarked with five thick, parallel, 
 black bars, making an oblong considerably larger than the stamp 
 cancelled by it. Compared with the forgeries of the first issue, I 
 must say that the counterfeits just described are very fairly done, 
 and they are likely to deceive many. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 This forgery can easily be detected, but still it looks very well at 
 a first glance. I have only seen it quite lately, so it is either a new 
 one just out, or a very old one not now in the market. Litho- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 11 
 
 graphed. There are no rays or lines of any kind outside the pearled 
 circle except two curved parallel lines in each corner, so that the 
 stamp looks like a central circle on a white ground, as indeed it is. 
 The pole, bearing the cap of liberty, is solid ; and the hands clasping 
 it are represented in this fofgery by two perfectly straight parallel 
 lines running UUncl the pole. The central oval is also very uneven, 
 its outlines being quite ragged. I don't think it necessary to trouble 
 my readers with a further description, as the above tests will abun- 
 dantly suffice for the detection of this imposture. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 This forgery is often found unused ; that is to say, the majority of 
 the few I have seen were not cancelled ; but one I have is obliterated 
 with an imitation of the old transverse oval of the iirst issue, only 
 much too thick. 
 
 Issue of 1864. 15 Centavos. 
 
 I am not sure whether there is a full set of 
 the forgeries of this issue. I have seen a badly- 
 done 5 c, but I never saw a 10 c. This 15 c. 
 now to be described is a capital imitation, and 
 must have been copied by transferring. If it 
 were not for the method of printing, and the 
 want of a watermark, I should call it a dangerous 
 forgery. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce; watermarked R A., in script letters ; badly 
 perforated 12 ; also found rarely unperf orated, and sometimes un- 
 watermarked ; but both the latter are very scarce, and not likely to be 
 offered to collectors in a general way. The upper lip is almost straight. 
 The background is so very dark that the outline of the back of the 
 head can hardly be traced at all. The shading on the forehead is 
 composed of very fine dotted lines. There is a triangular-shaped 
 white dot at the base of each of the trefoil-like ornaments in the 
 spandrels, as well as on each side of them. The bow of the necktie 
 is so little shaded that it is hardly visible. The 1 of 15 on each side 
 is just the least bit higher than the 5. The ink stands out very 
 much from the paper. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, rather well done ; no watermark ; unperforated. The 
 upper lip is very much curved in the middle ; and this is really the 
 only place in which the forgery differs very much from the genuine. 
 The background is not very dark, and the outline of the head is so 
 dark at the back that it can be seen very distinctly. The shading of 
 the forehead is composed of rather coarse lines, not dotted. There is 
 no white spot at the base of each of the trefoil ornaments in the 
 spandrels, though they have the other dots like the genuine. The 
 
12 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 how of the necktie is very darkly shaded, so mucli so indeed, that it 
 appears to be the most prominent portion of the design except the 
 face. The 1 of each 15 is exactly the same height as its 5. Being a 
 lithograph, of course the ink does not stand out from the paper. 
 
 FostmarJcs. 
 
 The genuine stamps rejoice in a great variety of postmarks. T 
 have seen CERTIF in very large letters, being, I suppose, part of 
 the word " certificado." I have also another with a double circle, 
 with name and date ; and another with a single thick circle, struck 
 in blue, with thick lettering ; another of my copies bears a large 
 diamond of diamond-shaped dots ; and another has a large transverse 
 oval, like the usual postmark of the first issue. 
 
 The forgeries are postmarked with five or six thick parallel bars. 
 
 Issue of 1867. 5, 10, 15 c. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Very finely engraved in taille-douce ; machine-perforated 13. 
 Forged. 
 
 Very badly lithographed ; pin-pricked Idh ; colours chalky. I 
 saw some forgeries of this set as above a few months ago ; but they 
 were really so extremely bad that I did not think it worth while to 
 take note of their points of diff'erence from, the genuine, and the 
 simple notice just given will be quite enough. The genuine stamps 
 are extremely well executed, and will bear examination with a 
 microscope ; whilst the forgeries of them would certainly not be 
 likely to deceive anybody, they are so bad in every way. I have 
 not yet seen forgeries of any other issues besides those already 
 described ; but I have heard of some decent counterfeits of those of 
 1864. 
 
 A U S T E I A . 
 Journal Stamps. 
 1851. No value; blue, yellow, rose ; unperforated. 
 1856. No value; red; machine-perforated 14^. 
 
 Very few of the Austrian stamps have attracted the kind 
 attention of the forgers ; I suppose because most of them are so 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 13 
 
 common as not to be worth counterfeiting. Eut the early 
 journal stamps, with head of Mercury, have always been among 
 the rarities of collections, except, indeed, the blue one ; and so 
 they have been forged not one nor twice. However, I think 
 that we all have a very easy means of testing a supposed 
 forgery of any stamp of the above issue, because blue, yellow, 
 rose, and red are all from the same die, so that the common 
 blue one can be used to test the real value of any of its brethren 
 whose authenticity may be doubted ; or, in other words, the 
 rare ones, if genuine, will correspond with the design of the 
 common blue one, line for line. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Typographed (?) usually on thick, rough, wove paper. There is a 
 most peculiar long curly line attached to the P of post at the base, 
 pointing to the left, and a similar one attached to the first K on the 
 opposite side of the stamp. There is a hyphen after the word 
 ZEITUNGS, and at some little distance from the end of the word. The 
 hyphen is level with the centre of the letters. The tunic runs into 
 the outline of the inner square, just above the beginning of the s in 
 STAMPEL. The corner ornaments are heraldic roses, with four large 
 petals, and four smaller ones peeping out from behind them. The 
 lips stick out a good deal, and the upper one projects beyond the 
 lower. There is a very strong line of shading at the corner of the 
 nose. The shading of the groundwork of the square is very much 
 closer and darker at the bottom than at the toj). The diaeresis over 
 the A of STAMPEL docs not touch the white line above it. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 Lithographed on rather thin bluish paper ; nnperforated. The P 
 of POST is in block type, and it has no indication of the curly tail of 
 the genuine. The hyphen after the word zeitungs is level with 
 the bottom of the letters, and it is too near the word. There is also 
 a hyphen after the word post, which is like the genuine. The front 
 of the tunic runs into the outline of the inner square, just over the 
 middle of the t of stampel. The ornaments in the corners are 
 an unknown species of flower, of the shape of a St. Andrew's 
 Cross, not in the least like heraldic, or any other roses. The lips 
 appear to be close shut, and they do not project, and are level with 
 each other. The nose is hooked instead of straight, and the line of 
 shading at the corner of the nose is extremely faint. The shading 
 at the bottom of the square is very little darker or closer than at 
 the top. The diseresis over the a of stampel touches the white 
 line above it, so that it is not seen except on close inspection. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 Very like the last ; lithograj^hed on thinnish white paper ; un- 
 
14 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 perforated. Dot after zeitungs. Tunic comes into outline of the 
 square on the right side of the t in stampel. The diaeresis over 
 the A in the same word is very low down, almost touching the a. 
 With these exceptions this forgery is almost exactly like the one 
 just described. 
 
 Forged. Third Set 
 
 Lithographed on thicker paper than the other two sets of coun- 
 terfeits. Of this forgery I have only seen two copies, one in pale 
 salmon-colour, and tlie other in dull, chalky green. There is a dim 
 blotch after zeitungs. The first k has a hyphen just before it, 
 close to the base of the letter, supposed to be an imitation of the 
 curved line in the original. The word stampel is quite unreadable. 
 The nose has a slight curve ; but is neither hooked nor straight. 
 The front of the tunic runs into the outline of the inner square, 
 just above the middle of the s of stampel. The p of post is in 
 ordinary type ; but has not the tail projecting from it which is seen 
 in the genuine. The roses in the corners are plain four-leaved 
 flowers. The whole impression is very dim. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps are usually cancelled with a thick single or 
 double circle, containing zeitungs-post, and the name of the office. 
 The first and second sets of forgeries are postmarked with a number 
 of dots, forming a rectangle larger than the stamp. The tliird set is 
 not cancelled. 
 
 My readers will do well to be careful before buying any but the 
 blue stamp of this issue, because the others are very hard to procure, 
 and most of those one meets with so commonly are forgeries, and 
 the fine-looking, unused ones are only reprints. 
 
 Mr. Pemberton, in the Philatelical Journal, says that the originals 
 of 1850 may be known by the thick paper, and thick brown gum ; 
 and the original one of 1858 is perforated with small holes, 14^. 
 The reprints are on thinner paper, with, thin gum, slightly tinted 
 with brown ; and the reprint of 1858 is perforated with large holes, 
 10 instead of 14^. I do not know how many times these stamps 
 have been reprinted ; but they have been certainly reprinted twice, 
 if not oftener. 
 
 Issue of 1867. Foreign Offices ; 3 Soldi. 
 
 I believe this is rather a new forgery ; for I 
 never remember meeting with it until within 
 the last twelve or eighteen months. The 
 original is common enough, and it is almost 
 a wonder that the forgers have thought it 
 worth their while to imitate it. However, 
 I suppose they know their own business best. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 15 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on tliick, wove paper; machine-perforated 9h. 
 Tlie liair upon the back of the head is perfectly distinct, and, in an 
 unused copy, the whole of the coloured portion of the stamp is 
 plainly sunken, so that the ornamental spandrels and some other parts 
 seem to be slightly in relief. This does not show so much in those 
 copies which have passed the post, as they get flattened by being 
 wetted. There are ninety pearls in the circle round the head, and 
 they are all tolerably even and of one size. The perforation is very 
 cleanly cut, and it is so close to the stamp as almost to cut into the 
 border of the stamp itself, so that, if the sheet has not been made to 
 " register " exactly in the perforating-machine, the border, on one side 
 or the other, is frequently cut off altogether. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; perforated 9. Being lithographed, of course there 
 is not the slightest sign of the design being sunken. The perforation 
 is applied in such a way as to leave a considerable margin between it 
 and the border, upon which it never encroaches. There is hardly 
 any shading to be seen on the back of the head, which looks almost 
 white. There are only eighty pearls, or thereabouts, round the head. 
 These pearls, instead of being of a good size, and regular, and uniform, 
 as in the originals, are very small and uneven ; and a very superficial 
 examination of them will be quite enough to detect this forgery 
 without any other test. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine are usually cancelled with either one thick circle, con- 
 taining name and date in thick letters, or two thin circles, with name 
 and date in thin letters. I have not seen any postmarks on the for- 
 geries. 
 
 BAHAMAS. 
 
 One Penny ; red, carmine. 
 
 1859. Unperf orated, also perforated, 14, 13, 12. No watermark. 
 1862. Machine-perforated 12^, 14. Watermark crown and cc. 
 1875. Vermilion; machine-perforated 14. Watermark crown and cc. 
 
 I have given the above list of the different 
 issues of the penny stamp so as to assist in 
 the detection of any future forgeries which 
 may appear ; but the originals are so very 
 pretty, and so nicely executed, that there is 
 not much fear of any of the forgeries being 
 y^^WMI.^ dangerous. Before I say anything about the 
 counterfeit now to be described, perhaps I 
 had better mention a fact which some of my readers have no 
 
16 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 doubt, by this time, found out for themselves ; and that is, that 
 these penny stamps will not stand the application of w^ater. I 
 have seen some most doleful-looking specimens occasionally in 
 the albums of amateurs who were not aware of this peculiarity. 
 I would recommend, therefore, that, to remove any backing off 
 these stamps, they should be floated on water with the face up- 
 permost, care being taken that no single drop touches the face ; 
 and when they are thoroughly moist, the back will come off 
 without difficulty. This is the way I always treat my own 
 stamps, and I never get the faces wet, and thus do not damage 
 them. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce; perforated and watermarked as above, 
 according to the issue. The shading of the oval behind the head is 
 composed of crossed hnes ; but the vertical lines are slightly more 
 prominent than the horizontal ones. The face is shaded all over, 
 except just along the ridge of the nose, and on the forehead between 
 the eyebrows ; the neck is also shaded all over. The highest leaf of 
 the top tuft of the pine-apple touches the top of its containing oval. 
 The top of the conch-shell in the oval on the other side of the stamp 
 also touches the top of its containing oval. There are two lines of 
 shading on the ribbon immediately before the first letter of inter- 
 insular, and two similar lines immediately after the last letter of 
 POSTAGE. The border of the stamp is a dark strip of engine-turning ; 
 and immediately inside this is more engine-turning, but of a lighter 
 and more lace-like pattern, not so heavily coloured. There are 
 twenty-seven jewels in the lowest row of the crown, resting upon 
 the hair. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; pin-pricked 13 ; no watermark. The shading of 
 the oval behind the head is of vertical lines only. All the central 
 portion of the face is unshaded ; and the centre of the bottom of the 
 neck is also white. The highest leaf of the tuft of the pine-apple 
 does not touch the top of the little oval ; nor does the top of the 
 conch-shell touch the top of its oval either. There are no lines of 
 shading on the ribbon, either immediately before or after the inscrip- 
 tion. My readers must please understand that I do not refer to the 
 folded part of the ribbon, as this is shaded on the right side in both 
 genuine and forged ; but I simply speak of the flat portion of it 
 which contains the words interinsular postage. The border of 
 the stamp is pretty fairly imitated ; but the beautiful lace- work just 
 inside the border is, in these forgeries, represented by heavy and 
 clumsy blotches and masses of colour. It is impossible to count the 
 lowest row of jewels of the crown resting upon the hair, as on the 
 right side of the head (i.e., on the left side of tlie stamp), they run 
 together into a white hne. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 17 
 
 Fourpence, rose; Sixpence, grey, mauve. 
 
 1859. No watermark; machine-perforated 14, 13, 12. 
 1862-63. Watermarked with crown and cc; machine-perforated 12|, 14. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; both from the same die ; perforation 
 and watermark as above, according to the issue. The background, 
 outside the central oval, is composed of strips of engine-turning in 
 two patterns, placed alternately ; and each alternate strip, beginning 
 with the outer one on each side, has a row of diamond-shaped dots 
 running down the centre of it. None of the stars in the four 
 corners of the stamp touch their containing squares anywhere, and 
 they are all exactly alike. The central oval, behind the bust, is 
 formed of very fine crossed lines, vertical and horizontal ; but I 
 ought to mention here that I possess a copy of the 6d. of 1859 
 which certainly appears to have a solid background behind the bust. 
 However, it is possible that the paper may have been too damp, 
 causing the fine lines to run into each other. There are either 
 eighteen or nineteen pearls in the necklace ; and the central one, 
 which has a spot in the middle of it, is very much larger than any 
 of the others. The base of the crown has two rows of pearls, with 
 a row of diamonds, or some other jewels, between them. The 
 upper outline of the value-label does not encroach upon the ribbon 
 containing the word postage. The whole stamp is very delicately 
 engraved. The queen's lips are slightly parted, as though she were 
 just going to speak. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed; no watermark; perforated 11|. This perforation 
 is done much better than usual, though, of course, no Bahamas 
 stamp was ever perforated to this gauge, nor is likely to be. The 
 dots on the alternate strips of engine-turning (or what rejDresents 
 the engine-turning) are of various shapes, but mostly square. One 
 point of each of the lower stars usually touches its containing 
 square somewhere ; and the lower stars are generally badly done, and 
 not like the upper ones. The central oval, behind the bust, is com- 
 posed of crossed lines like the genuine ; but they are blotchy, 
 coarse, and indistinct ; very unlike the genuine. There are thirteen 
 23earls in the necklace. They are not nicely graduated in size like 
 the genuine ; and the one with the spot in the centre of it is not so 
 large as the one immediately to the left of it. The base of the 
 crown is formed of three rows of pearls, the central row being like 
 those above and below it. The bottom of the ribbon containing the 
 word POSTAGE is cut into by the straight value-label below it, so 
 that the s and t of the word have to be made a little smaller than 
 the rest of the letters. The whole stamp has a coarse look. The 
 queen's lips are far too wide open, and she looks as though she were 
 going to scream rather than speak. 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 1 ONE SHILLING 1 
 
 One Shilling, green. 1862. 
 
 Machine-perforated 12J, 14 ; watermarked mth crown and cc. ■ 
 
 The design, paper, and manner of printing 
 of this stamp are all considerably different from 
 those of the ones just described; and I think 
 that, on the whole, the forgers have not been 
 quite so successful in this as in the lower 
 values. However, my readers must judge for 
 themselves. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne; machine-perforated, and watermarked as 
 above, on slightly glace paper. This stamj), though not particularly 
 striking, is very carefully engraved. The face is shaded almost all 
 over, though there is a small unshaded portion at the corner of the 
 nose, and another at the top of the forehead. The ear is all shaded 
 except the tip, which hangs down a little. Just under the middle a 
 of BAHAMAS there is a small circle, or ring, with another circle in the 
 centre of it. The conch-shell in the right lower corner has a sharp 
 spike projecting from the right-hand side about the centre, and 
 another from the left-hand side at the bottom. There are five leaves 
 at the base of the pine-apple, and five more in the bunch at the top. 
 If a straight line w^ere drawn down through the centre of the pine- 
 apple it would cut into the o of one, considerably to the right of its 
 centre. The white space round the central medallion is equally 
 broad all round, and the outline of the portrait does not trespass 
 upon this white space anywhere. There is a tiny full stop after the 
 Etruscan bordering to the right, above the g of shilling ; and the 
 upper horizontal stroke of the last key in this pattern is wanting, as 
 the border cuts it off. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on ordinary white wove paper ; pin-pricked 13 ; no 
 W'atermark, ungummed. The front of the face, from the forehead to 
 the chin, has hardly any shading upon it. The rim of the ear is 
 white, and the lobe of it inclines forward instead of downward. The 
 letters of the name Bahamas are clumsily copied, and the circle 
 under the middle a has a dot in the centre of it. The spikes on the 
 conch-shell are absent. There are only four leaves at the base of the 
 pine-apple, and the leaves on the top cannot be counted. A line 
 drawn clown through the centre of the pine-apple would cut exactly 
 through the centre of the o of one. The white space round the 
 inside of the central medallion is much broader in some parts than 
 others, notably under the ma of Bahamas, and below the base of the 
 neck. The chignon, and the pointed front of the neck, project 
 slightly into this white space. There is no stop at the right-hand 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 1^ 
 
 end of the Etruscan, or key-pattern, and the last key over the G of 
 SHILLING is only a straight line. The base of the defective key over 
 the s of SHILLING is much longer than the bases of the others ; 
 whereas, in the genuine, it is the same length as the others. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine postmark is an oval formed by straight lines, with 
 two curved lines at each end, and "a o 5 " in the space thus made. 
 Some of the forgeries bear a similar cancellation, but with two more 
 curved lines on each side instead of the lettering. Some of them 
 have an oval ring, containing six parallel bars, like one of the Spanish 
 postmarks ; and I have also seen them cancelled with four concentric 
 rings. 
 
 BAKBADOS. 
 
 English people have a very peculiar habit 
 of insisting upon adding an e to the name of 
 this island. I really do not remember ever 
 having seen the name written in book, news- 
 paper, or pamphlet, except, of course, in the 
 various philatelicai publications, otherwise than 
 "Earbadoes;" and even Mr. Pemberton's Hand- 
 hook will be found to have this same defect. 
 However, my task is to describe stamp-forgeries, and not English 
 peculiarities, and I merely mention this en jpassant. 
 
 The Barbados stamps are rather difficult to arrange, and the 
 varieties of paper, watermark, perforation, etc., are decidedly 
 puzzling. There appear to me to have been several types ; but 
 I fancy that some of them are simply due to the wear and tear 
 of the plates. Originally there was a cord or line round the 
 centre of the smaller chest or package beside Britannia; but 
 after a time this disappears altogether bit by bit. Another 
 type or "state" has the lines of engine-turning in the back- 
 ground set very much closer together, so that the vertical line 
 of diamond-shaped dots to the left of the spear is not visible. 
 These two types or "states" are found only on the stamps 
 without value indicated. All those with Barbados at the top, 
 and value at the bottom, even from the first unperforated six- 
 pence and one shilling, are on the second state of the die, with 
 the lines close together. The head-dress of Britannia is a helmet, 
 with some animal (a lion ]) couchant on the top of it, and two 
 five-pointed stars below the animal. This is in the first state 
 
20 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 of the plate. The second state, with fine lines of engine- 
 turning, shows only one of the stars (the one immediately over 
 the right eye of Britannia), the other being obliterated. I have 
 given this slight description of the types or states, as I do not 
 remember having noticed any mention of them elsewhere. 
 
 Second Issue of 1852. Value not indicated. Green, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on several sorts of white wove paper ; no 
 watermark ; imperforated. 
 
 Britannia wears a helmet, as above described, with a lion on the 
 top of it, and two five-pointed stars, or one star, according to the 
 state of the plate, below the lion. The bordering at the top and 
 sides of the stamp looks rather intricate at first sight ; but it is not 
 really so, being merely formed of little crescents in white outline, 
 intersecting each other. At the top there are eleven entire crescents, 
 with a half-crescent at each end to fill up. On the left side there 
 are fourteen entire crescents, with a three-quarter crescent to fill up 
 at the top and bottom. The right side is exactly the same as the 
 left. The head of the spear is diamond-shaped, and one-half of the 
 diamond is shaded. The eyebrows are very distinct, and so is the 
 outline of the side of the nose. From the brooch on the shell- 
 collar down almost to the v^aist there are several vertical lines of 
 shading on the front of the dress, indicating folds. The ship is very 
 nicely done, and represents a three-master, square-rigged, with a 
 long pennant, which streams out so as almost to touch the arm of 
 Britannia. The hair on the right side of the face is dark all over. 
 The first finger of the left hand is a little shorter than the rest, and 
 is rather apart from them. All four fingers or knuckles can be seen 
 on the hand holding the spear. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed on thick white wove paper, the white parts 
 generally being a little smeared with the ink, so as just to give the 
 surface a greenish or bluish tinge, according to the colour of the 
 stamp. The helmet of Britannia appears to be a cap of Liberty, 
 with a white knob on the top. There is a blotch on it, above the 
 right eye, which, I suppose, is intended to represent one of the five- 
 pointed stars ; but it is a failure. The top bordering consists of ten 
 perfect or entire crescents, with almost a whole one to fill up on the 
 left end, and a very little bit of one to fill up on the right end of it. 
 The bordering down the left side of the stamp has fourteen whole 
 crescents, with a half-crescent to fill up at each end. The bordering 
 down the right side has also fourteen whole crescents, but with a 
 three-quarter crescent to fill up at the top and bottom. These 
 crescents are bluntly-pointed, and very much more clumsy and 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 21 
 
 coarse tlian those of the genuine. The head of the spear is of a long 
 pointed shape, just like the flame of a candle, and it is not shaded. 
 There are no eyebrows, and the nose is represented by a dot without 
 any side-line. There are no vertical lines down the front of the 
 breast of the dress. I do not think even a sailor would be able to 
 tell what vessel, or rather what sort of vessel, the design is intended 
 to represent, as the sails seem to be all in one line, as though there 
 were three sails on each yard. The pennant or streamer is very 
 short, and does not go near the arm. The hair on the right side of 
 the face has a white patch in the centre of it. The first and fourth 
 fingers are much too short, and the second and third are much too 
 long. There is no particular separation between the first and the 
 other fingers. Two of the knuckles of the hand holding the spear 
 can be made out ; but the other two are jumbled together. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The originals bear several varieties of cancellation. I have some 
 early ones, with an oval formed by four lines at the top, four at the 
 bottom, and two curved ones at each end, with a large numeral in 
 the central space thus made. The later ones generally have sixteen 
 oblong blotches, arranged in an oval curve, with their ends pointing 
 to the centre, and a numeral in the middle as before. The later 
 ones, with watermark, bear the name of the island in a plain, single 
 circle, like our own common postmark, with date of month and year 
 in the centre. These forgeries are either uncancelled, or pen-stroked 
 with a cross. I have not seen the forgery of the red stamp of this 
 issue. 
 
 Issue of 1859. Sixpence, One Shilling. 
 
 These stamps are only found on what I have called the 
 second state of the plate, with the background of fine lines 
 set close together. The only thing different in this set is that 
 the name has been cut in a curve over the head of Britannia, 
 and the value added at the bottom, where Barbados used to be. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-clouce, on very thick paper ; imperforated. In 
 the SIXPENCE the name is in ordinary capitals, and the value in 
 " sans serif," or block letters. In the one shilling the name is in 
 block letters, and the value is in ordinary capitals. All the other tests 
 are exactly the same as in the genuine stamps just described. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very poorly lithographed on rather thin yellowish paper ; un- 
 perforated. In both values the name is in ordinary capitals, and 
 the value in block letters. In the sixpence the value is in letters 
 which are very much smaller than the genuine, and they do not fill 
 
22 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 up the label. All tlie other tests for both these forgeries are exactly 
 the same as in the counterfeits just described. The imitations of the 
 earlier issue are much better executed than these, which are very 
 much smudged. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps are postmarked like the earlier ones. The 
 forgeries are cancelled with an imitation of the postmark of lines 
 forming an oval, but without the central numeral. 
 
 Of course it will be understood that I have not attempted to 
 make a catalogue of the genuine stamps, but simply to mention those 
 stamps, or those variations, which were necessary for the proper 
 detection of the two sets of forgeries now exposed. 
 
 BAVAEIA. 
 
 ^t^ BAYERN m 
 
 FRANCO p 
 
 1849. 1 Kreuzer, black. 
 
 This stamp is said to exist with and without 
 the silk thread found on later issues ; but I have 
 never yet seen one with the thread. Of course 
 if any reader should possess one with the thread, 
 he may be pretty sure of its genuineness. How- 
 ever, I have met with rather clever imitations of 
 other stamps possessing this thread, done in the 
 following manner : The stamp was printed on very thin paper, 
 then the thread gummed on the back of it, and then another 
 sheet of thin paper laid over that, so that, looking at the light 
 through the stamp, it seemed all right ; but of course the fraud 
 was exposed on putting the made-up stamp into water. I sup- 
 pose I need hardly say that, in all genuine stamps made with 
 the silk thread, the thread is worked into the very substance of 
 the paper in the act of manufacture, and that no amount of 
 soaking in water will bring the thread out. With regard to the 
 stamp now to be described, I must do the forgers the justice of 
 saying that they have copied it pretty well, and it is a hard 
 matter to point out any very striking tests. The forgery is, I 
 believe, tolerably common throughout Europe, and has had a 
 good sale. I asked a friend, going into Bavaria some time ago, 
 to bring back a specimen or two of this 1 kr. black for me. 
 One only was sent, and that, when I came to examine it, proved 
 to be this very forgery, so that my readers must not trust too 
 much in the genuineness of their specimens, even though they 
 should have been procured in Bavaria itself. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 23 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, in greyish black, on yellowish paper ; iisnally 
 without the silk thread. The solid labels which bear the words of 
 value, name, etc, are only a very little darker than the rest of the 
 stamp. They are also rather spotty — that is to say, the ink has left 
 little places untouched — and the figure in the centre is at an equal 
 distance from both top and bottom of the central square of maze- 
 work. The maze-work itself is rather irregular at the top, and under 
 the letters aye of bayern it does not come up far enough, thus 
 leaving a broader space of white there than in any other part. The 
 little figures in each corner are all well made, and perfectly distinct. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in very black ink, on very white paper ; no silk 
 thread, of course. The solid labels containing name, value, etc., are 
 intensely black, and there are no spots of white upon them. The 
 large figure in the middle of the stamp is nearer to the bottom of its 
 containing square than to the toj). The maze-work comes quite close 
 up to the top and bottom boundary lines, but not quite so close to 
 the side boundary lines. The little figures in the corners are not all 
 alike, and are not very distinct. 
 
 There have been several forgeries of this stamp, some of them 
 better in execution than the one now under discussion, but not so 
 accurate in minute details. I think the easiest and readiest test for 
 this present forgery is the intense blackness of the labels, especially 
 the one bearing the word ein, which, being a short word, allows 
 more of the label to be seen. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The old Bavarians used to be postmarked with a thing like a 
 wheel, without the tyre ; that is to say containing only the centre 
 and spokes. The present forgery is cancelled with an oval, com- 
 posed of straight lines. 
 
 BEEGEDOEF. 
 
 Nov. 1, 1862. J SchilL, black on violet; 3 Schill., black 
 
 on rose. 
 
 These stamps have always been very rare ; and this is not to 
 be wondered at, when we consider the extremely short life 
 which they enjoyed. They were suppressed on the IQth of the 
 same month, making way for the very common ^ schilL, black 
 on blue, and the 3 schill., blue on rose. But though the 
 originals are so rare, the reprints are more common, and I fancy 
 that they have been often passed off on the unsuspecting as real 
 originals. However, collectors need not be taken in with them 
 
24 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 if they will remember that the originals are very nicely done, 
 and all the design is very clear; whereas these reprints show 
 very evident signs of wear in the matrix. Besides this, the 
 originals are in soft colours, whilst the reprints are on paper 
 which is too highly coloured, and they look altogether too new. 
 Of course it will be understood that I am not condemning the 
 reprints, for I think that when the originals are unattainable the 
 reprints serve to show us what they are like ; but I altogether 
 object to these, or any other reprints, being palmed off by some 
 unscrupulous dealer upon his clients as originals, for in this 
 case the reprints are nothing better than forgeries. With regard 
 to the forgeries of the stamps of this issue, I have not seen any 
 which can compare for a moment with the extremely w^ell- 
 executed counterfeits of the later set, but it is possible that 
 such may exist; and therefore my readers will do well to 
 remember the tests of the second issue, to be given hereafter, 
 and apply them to any soi-dlsant stamps of the first issue offered 
 to them for sale, as the same tests (barring the change of colours) 
 will serve for both issues. 
 
 Genuine ^ Schill., black on violet. 
 
 (Mr. Pemberton speaks of the " die " of these stamps, but they certainly 
 appear to me to be lithographs.) 
 
 Lithographed, in greyish black, on rather dull violet, wove paper. 
 Surrounding the central design. there is a circle of little rings, all 
 linked together ; and these rings are fifty-five in number. Both in 
 this and all the other values of both issues the central design is 
 formed by " dimidiation," as the heralds call it, of half of the 
 double-headed eagle of Liibeck joined to half of the triple-turreted 
 castle of Hamburg, showing, I suppose, that Bergedorf was under 
 the joint protection of these two places. The left-hand turret is 
 very slightly lower than the right-hand one. The half of a tail 
 which the heralds have left to the unfortunate eagle is very shape- 
 less, and is cut off somewhat obliquely at the bottom. The tail of 
 each E, in bergedorf turns up a little at the end. Between the 
 point of the beak of the eagle and its wing two of the oblique lines 
 of shading of the groundwork can be seen. The tail of the k in the 
 word posTMARKE does not join the straight first-stroke of that letter 
 at all, but. springs out of the oblique side-stroke instead. It will be 
 understood that the reprints have all these characteristics, and merely 
 fail by having the colour too bright and the design much worn. 
 
 Forged \ Schill. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper and colour much duller than in the genuine. 
 The forgers have not troubled to count the little rings surrounding 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 25 
 
 the central circle, or else the designer was too lazy to put in the full 
 number ; at any rate, there are but forty-seven of them in lieu of 
 the orthodox fifty-five. The left-hand turret is higher instead of 
 lower than the right-hand one. The eagle's tail, or half tail, appears 
 to be covered with hair instead of feathers. The tail of each r in 
 the word bergedorf ends square at the bottom, instead of turning 
 up. Between the point of the eagle's beak and its wing only one 
 line can be distinguished, instead of two. The tail of the k in the 
 word POSTMARKE is like that of an ordinary capital K. This forgery 
 is not particularly dangerous, owing to the mistake about the num- 
 ber of the little rings, and the general badness of the execution. 
 
 Genuine 3 Schill. 
 
 Lithographed in greyish black, on rose, or rather pale red paper. 
 Mr. Pemberton, in his Handbook, chronicles this value as " green." 
 I suppose this is a printer's error, for I never heard of, or saw such a 
 stamp, though I have many times seen the rose, or red one. There 
 are, as usual, fifty-five linked rings encircling the central design. 
 The lower half of the b in the word bergedorp is a good deal 
 larger than the upper one. The tail of the first r in this word is 
 thickest in the middle, and gets narrower towards each extremity. 
 Tlie last R in the same word has the tail smallest at the point of in- 
 sertion and widest at the outer end. 
 
 Forged 3 Schill. 
 
 The linked rings are fifty-one in number, so that this forgery, like 
 the one just described, can be easjly detected by anyone who will 
 give himself the trouble of countmg the said rings. The bottom 
 half of the b in bergedorp is very nearly the same size as the upper 
 haK. The first r in this word has its tail of very nearly the same 
 width throughout its whole length. The tail of the second R is 
 small at each end, and gets thicker in the middle. 
 
 In both these forgeries the little linked rings are not exactly alike 
 all the way round ; some of them are too small, and some of them 
 encroach too much upon their neighbours ; i.e. are too much linked. 
 Both forgeries agree with the genuine in one respect, and that is, 
 that the little balls in the inner corners all touch both the circle of 
 linked rings and the outer frame. In the forgeries of the second 
 issue these balls do not all touch, although in other respects these 
 latter forgeries are greatly superior. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I do not remember seeing a postmarked specimen of this issue ; 
 but the forgeries are obliterated with five long, parallel black lines, 
 after the manner of the stamps of Hamburg, I have also seen one 
 or two of these counterfeits cancelled with a shapeless blotch of 
 ordinary writing-ink. 
 
26 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Second Issue ; November 10th, 1862. 1, 1|, 3, 4 Schilling. 
 
 I can remember the time when these stamps were decidedly 
 uncommon ; but now they are to be found in every collection, 
 with the exception of the 1^ " schillinge," with the final e, 
 which variety is not often met with. I suppose the reason why 
 the set of five can now be bought unused for the not very 
 alarming sum of 9d. is, that all the remaining stock in the 
 hands of the officials was, no doubt, bought up by the dealers 
 when the stamps became obsolete. But, on the other hand, the 
 forgeries are so extremely well done, and these Bergedorfs have 
 been so little studied, that I very rarely see a set in a collection 
 without at least one duffer among them. And therefore I hope 
 that this expose of the counterfeits will be found useful even by 
 the dealers, as well as by amateurs. To show how careful one ought 
 to be, I may mention that only a few weeks ago one of our 
 principal dealers sent me twenty or thirty of these Bergedorfs, 
 which had been decided to be genuine by him and by several 
 amateurs, and I found that only three or four out of the whole 
 lot were genuine. I do not say this with the intention of making 
 myself out to be so much more clever than anybody else, but 
 simply to show that unless the tests happen to be known, these 
 forgeries may very easily deceive anybody. As there are several 
 slight differences between the various stamps of the set, I shall 
 have to take each one separately. 
 
 Genuine^ Schill. 
 Lithographed in rather dull black, on somewhat 
 pale Prussian-blue, wove paper. I may mention here 
 that the test of the stamps of the first issue is of no 
 use with this set, as the originals and the forged both 
 bear, in all the values, the fifty-five little linked rings 
 round the central design. The best test for most of tliis 
 set is in the fact that the little balls outside the linked rings all touch 
 toth the said rings and the outer frame in the genuine ; whereas, in 
 the forgeries, some of the balls touch the frame, some of them touch 
 the rings, some of them touch both ; but in no case do they all touch 
 both. On the body of the castle, between the base and the battle- 
 ments, there are nine horizontal lines, representing the courses of 
 the masonry ; and there are, as far as I can make out, ten of these 
 lines on each of the turrets, between their bases and roofs. 
 
 Forged J Schill. 
 
 Lithographed in intense black, on very dark blue paper, though 
 still of a Prussian-blue tint. The ball in the right-hand bottom 
 corner, just above the a, does not touch the linked rings. There are 
 
 E:1BERGE00RF|S 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 27 
 
 only six of the horizontal lines to be seen on the body of the castle, 
 and the same number on each of the turrets ; which latter can be 
 very easily counted, though they are difhcult to reckon on the 
 genuine. The tint of this stamp is a good test, for it is very much 
 darker than the genuine, though not at all dull. 
 
 Genuine 1 Schill. 
 
 t|BERCEDOBF,n 
 
 PIpostmarKeH 
 
 Lithographed in very dull black, on yellowish- 
 white wove paper. All my own copies are on yel- 
 lowish-white ; but I fancy I have seen some printed 
 on pure white. All the little balls touch both the 
 linked rings and the frame, except the one in the 
 left top corner above the l, and the one in the right 
 top corner below the H, both of which touch the 
 border, but not the linked rings. TJie bottom half of the b of 
 BERGEDORF is a good deal larger than the top half. The lines in 
 the background, behind the arms, are very much waved, and, just 
 under the tip of the wing of the eagle, there will be noticed 
 several lines more waved than the rest, quite curly, in fact. The 
 little shield on the breast of the eagle bears four very plainly-visible 
 vertical lines. 
 
 Forged 1 Schill. 
 
 Lithographed in a very spotty-looking black, on white wove paper. 
 The little ball above the H in the right-hand top corner does not 
 touch either the frame or the linked rings ; and the ball below the 
 H does not touch the rings ; all the other balls touch both. The 
 bottom half of the b of bergedorf is smaller than the top half, and 
 it is badly shaped ; ■i.e. it is sloped away at the bottom. The lines in 
 the background, behind the arms, are not much waved, and those 
 just under the tip of the eagle's wing are no more waved than the 
 others. Only one distinct line can be seen on the little shield on 
 the eagle's breast, all the other lines having run together into a 
 uniform black patch or blotch. The general outline of the linked 
 rings does not form a true circle. 
 
 Genuine 1-| Schilling. 
 Lithographed, on pale yellow wove paper. All 
 the balls touch both rings and frame. The b of 
 BERGEDORF has its lower half considerably larger 
 than the upper. There is a full stop very plainly 
 visible after the u. in the value " ein u. ein halb." 
 The line which divides the fraction of 1^ in the 
 right-hand top corner touches the outer border-line 
 of the frame, as does also the similar line of the fraction in the 
 bottom left-hand corner. The shield on the breast of the eagle bears 
 four distinct vertical lines. The second r in bergedorf is of the 
 same size as the first r ; but the tail is placed far too high up, 
 according to our notion of what a capital r should be. 
 
28 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 Forged 1^ Schilling. 
 
 Lithographed, on darkish yellow wove ^Daper. All the balls touch 
 both rings and frame, except the one above the a in the bottom right- 
 hand corner, which does not touch the rings. The upper half of the 
 B of BERGEDORF is larger than the lower half. The end of the wing 
 of the eagle will be seen to touch the two linked rings opposite to 
 the L in the left-hand top corner. There is a very tiny full stop 
 after the u. of the inscription, EiN u. ein halb, which can hardly 
 be seen. The lines dividing the fractions are all much shorter than 
 in the genuine, and none of them touch the frame anywhere. The 
 shield on the eagle's breast contains three lines only. The first R of 
 BERGEDORF lias a squeezed-up look, and is not so broad as the 
 second r. The tail of the latter r is of the usual shape. 
 
 Genuine \\ Schillinge. 
 
 Lithographed, as before. This stamp is exactly the same as the 
 one just described, with the exception of its having the value written 
 as " SCHILLINGE " with a final e, instead of " schilling." 
 
 Forged \\ Schillinge. 
 
 I have not yet come across any forgery of this variety. If, how- 
 ever, any such should exist, either in esse or in jposse, the tests given 
 above for the l\ Schilling will serve to detect it. 
 
 Genuine 3 Schill. 
 
 Lithographed in chalky ultramarine blue, on 
 pale pink, or rose paper. Copies which have 
 passed through the post have the above tints 
 particularly noticeable ; but most of the remain- 
 ders now sold are in a brighter shade of blue, 
 and on quite a bright rose paper. This almost 
 looks as though they were reprints rather than 
 remainders of the actual issue ; but I will leave 
 this to be decided by those who know more about the history of 
 these stamps than I do. All the balls touch both rings and frame. 
 The lower half of the b of bergedorf is larger than the upper 
 half. The d of the same word is rather tall and narrow ; but 
 still it is plainly a d, and nothing else. The lines to the right 
 of the castle are a good deal waved, and they are very close to- 
 gether. The lines between the eagle's wing and neck are also 
 much waved. The post-horn has a very large mouthpiece, but the 
 tube is very much smaller, or rather thinner, than the mouthpiece, 
 until it begins to turn round. The figures in the corners do not 
 touch the outline of the little squares which contain them in any 
 part. The little shield on the eagle's breast bears four lines. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 29 
 
 Forged 3 ScHU. 
 
 Lithographed in dark ultramarine, on pale rose paper. All the 
 balls touch both rings and frame, except the one in the left-hand 
 bottom corner above the a, which does not touch the rings, and the 
 one in the right-hand top corner below the h, which does not touch 
 the frame. The upper half of the b of bergedorp is larger than 
 the lower half. The d of the same word seems to be an o. The 
 lines to the right of the castle are hardly waved at all, and they are 
 far too wide apart. The lines between the eagle's wing and neck are 
 four straight ones instead of the six wavy ones of the genuine. 
 The post-horn is very badly drawn, and it is almost the same thick- 
 ness throughout, except at the " bell " end. The 3 in the top right- 
 hand corner is like the genuine, and does not touch its containing 
 square anywhere ; but the 3 in the top left-hand corner touches the 
 top of its square, the 3 in the bottom left-hand corner touches the 
 top of its square, and the 3 in the bottom right-hand corner touches 
 the bottom of its square. The little shield on the eagle's breast 
 seems to bear two lines only. 
 
 Genuine 4 Schill. 
 Lithographed in dull black, on a sort of dirty 
 Indian red, or Sienna red, wove paper. The cata- 
 logues agree to call this colour hrown ; but I think 
 that Sienna red is the real name for it. All the 
 balls touch both frame and rings. The lettering in 
 each side of the frame is very broad. Just to the 
 right of the top of the right-hand turret the lines 
 of the background are very much waved. The tip 
 of the eagle's wing touches the rings just opposite to the L. The 
 tube of the post-horn is very thin, much about the same thickness as 
 the eagle's leg at the smallest part. Between the wing and neck of 
 the eagle there are six wavy lines of background. The e of the 
 word SCHILLINGE goes very close to the border of the frame. 
 
 Forged 4 Schill. 
 
 Lithographed in intense black, on almost salmon-coloured wove 
 paper. The ball under the h in the right-hand top corner does not 
 touch the rings, the ball above the a in the right-hand bottom 
 corner does not touch the rings, and the ball above the L in the 
 left-hand top corner does not touch the rings. All the lettering of 
 the stamp is very long and thin, not half as broad as in the genuine. 
 All the lines of the background on the riglit of the castle are ahnost 
 straight, and very wide apart. The tip of the eagle's wing does not 
 touch the rings. The tube of the post-horn is far too thick, and is 
 almost the same thickness all the way, except just at the " bell" end. 
 Between the wing and neck of the eagle there are four almost 
 straight lines of backgroimd. The e of the w^ord schillinge is at a 
 considerable distance from the side of the frame. 
 
30 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine are very seldom to be met with postmarked. The 
 forgeries just described are not cancelled. My readers will see that 
 I have been rather elaborate in my description of these stamps, but 
 it is because I consider the forgeries very decidedly dangerous ones. 
 I have seen several other forgeries, but have none in my possession 
 at present. However, they can easily be detected by the difference 
 in the number of linked rings round the central design, having 
 somewhere between forty and fifty instead of the normal lifty-five. 
 
 BERMUDA. 
 
 1865-66. Id., 2d., 6d., Is. 
 
 The head ' on these stamps seems to be a 
 favourite with the engravers, and it is to be 
 found on a number of our colonial stamps, 
 such as Dominica, St. Christopher, etc. All 
 the forgeries bearing an imitation of this head, 
 which will be found described in various parts 
 of this work, have a very strong family like- 
 ness, even if they are not absolutely identical ; 
 and therefore, when my readers have become well acquainted 
 with the forgeries for one of these countries, it will need but an 
 instant's inspection to enable them to detect a forgery for any 
 of the others. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne ; watermarked with crown and cc ; machine- 
 perforated 14. Part of the eyebrow is hidden by the hair. The 
 rim of the ear is shaded, and the lobe is fat, and hangs clown. The 
 shading on the neck does not go quite across, leaving a wdiite patch 
 all down the front of the neck and throat. The thistles in the 
 coronet are nearly as high as the pearls. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; no w^atermark ; pin-perforated 13. The hair is 
 brushed clear of the eyebrow. The rim of the ear is thin, and un- 
 shaded. The lobe is thin also, and does not hang dowm. The 
 shading of the neck goes right across. The thistle towards the front 
 of the coronet is very small, and much lower than the pearls on 
 each side of it. The one over the ear is rather higher than the 
 pearls. In both genuine and forged the framework differs for each 
 value. 
 
 The simplest test for these forgeries is the absence of watermark. 
 I have not thought it necessary to enter into any very elaborate 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 31 
 
 description of the various other discrepancies between the genuine 
 and the forged, because the forgeries are very poor, and not likely 
 to mislead. Of the set, the shilling value is, perhaps, the best. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The forged cancellation is very like the genuine one, but it does 
 not bear the central figures. I cannot help wondering that the 
 forgers should take so little notice of postmarks ; for almost all 
 counterfeits bear some sort of a cancellation, and yet not one out of 
 five hundred bears an obliteration in the smallest degree resembling 
 the genuine, and that five-hundredth is, I believe, only a lucky 
 coincidence. 
 
 BOLIVIA. 
 
 Before I begin with the ordinary stamps and their forgeries, 
 I must warn the inexperienced against some tirages de fantaisie 
 which are very commonly offered for sale to those who do not 
 know any better. They are bogus stamps, 2 centavos, pale 
 yellow ; 2 centavos, bright mauve ; "1 peso," blue. 
 
 Now I suppose that I need hardly say that these values 
 never existed, and all three are simply imaginary stamps. They 
 are more or less copies of the design of the first issue ; but are 
 lithographed. The 2 c, yellow, is so very faint that the design 
 can scarcely be seen. The 2 c, mauve, is rather nicely done. 
 The 1 peso resembles the 100 centavos genuine ; but of course 
 the value " 1 Peso " will instantly condemn it. 
 
 Issue of 1867. 50 Centavos, orange -yellow. 
 
 The forgeries of the nine-star issue of this country were 
 described by Mr. Atlee in the Pliilatelist, and re-described by 
 me in the same journal some time after. I have also dissected 
 them in my articles on " Forged Stamps " in the Bazaar news- 
 paper ; but I believe the forgeries of the first issue have never 
 yet been taken in hand by any one until now. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Very coarsely engraved in taille-douce, on thin, yellowish paper. 
 The shoulder of the bird's wing near the s of correos is pointed in 
 all my copies ; and the outside of this wing is clear of the inner 
 boundary-line of the name- oval from the top to about the first o of 
 CORREOS, where the wing and the outline of the oval run together 
 into one line. All my copies have five curved lines of shading on 
 the globe imder the bird. The stamp is somewhat rounded at the 
 corners, and all four corners are rounded alike. The ink stands up 
 
32 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 a good deal from the surface of the paper, after the manner of all 
 taille-douce engravings, but not absurdly so ; only just enough to 
 make the stamp perceptibly rough to the feel. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 I have been very much puzzled about this stamp, and the 100 
 centavos next to be described, as they are done in quite a new style. 
 All the forgeries which I have seen until now have been lithographs, 
 or very ordinary woodcuts ; but these two stamps bear the signs of 
 taille-douce engravings, even to an exaggerated degree. The ink 
 stands up from the paper most absurdly, in absolute ridges ; and the 
 lines can be felt with the finger perfectly distinctly. Now of course 
 I need not tell my readers that it would not pay the forgers to go to 
 the expense of engraving their wares on steel or copper ; and I have 
 come to the conclusion that these imitations have been made from 
 wood blocks, like ordinary woodcuts ; but that the design has been 
 cut into the wood in the same manner as is done for taille-douce, and 
 the stamps printed in a lithographic press. It will be remembered 
 that in wood engraving all the lines which are to print on the paper 
 are left standing, and that all that is not to mark is cut away ; but 
 in taille-douce it is just the reverse, and all the lines which are to 
 mark on the pa^Der are cut in. Yet, notwithstanding my supposition, 
 I am still rather at a loss to know how the forgers have avoided 
 smearing their stamps, as I do not think a wood block could be 
 wiped clean, like a polished copperplate ; and these forgeries are not 
 smeared in the least. But now with regard to the description of 
 this forged 50 centavos. It is printed, as above-mentioned, on 
 tolerably stout, white wove paper. The tint is more orange than 
 that of the genuine. The shoulder of the bird's wing near the s of 
 CORREOS is very blunt and rounded, as is also the shoulder of the 
 other wing. The outside of the right wing is joined to the inner 
 outline of the name-oval from the very bottom to about level with 
 the last o of correos, just where the shoulder of the wing begins to 
 turn round. There are only four curved lines of shading on the 
 globe beneath the eagle. The bottom corners of the stamp are 
 rounded ; but the top corners are square and pointed. The ink 
 stands out in thick masses and ridges from the surface of the paper, 
 so that it feels ribbed to the touch. 
 
 Same Issue. 100 Centavos, greenish-blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, like the 50 centavos, and of a very 
 similar design ; same sort of paper. The right wing of the eagle 
 only touches the inner outline of the name-oval just at the bottom. 
 Each of the little transverse ovals containing " 100 " touches both 
 name-ovals and also both sides of the outline of the stamp. The 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 33 
 
 figures " 100 " in each of the lower ovals are in their normal position, 
 and this test will serve to detect the forgery very easily. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Printed in imitation taille-douce, like the forged 50 centavos, on 
 stout, very white paper. The right wing of the eagle touches the 
 inner outline of the name-oval from the bottom to about level with 
 the first o of correos. The ovals containing the figures of value 
 do not touch the name-oval at all, and the one at the top right-hand 
 corner touches only the right side of the stamp, and the one in the 
 left bottom corner almost touches the name-oval. The figures of 
 value in the two lower ovals are placed upside down, whereas they 
 ought to be exactly like those in the top corners. 
 
 My readers will please note that I consider these two stamps some 
 of the most dangerous forgeries that I have ever seen, and they will 
 do well to be very careful. 
 
 PostmarJcs. 
 
 Most of my genuine copies are unused, and all the others bear 
 only a word or figure written in ink upon them, so I am unable to 
 say what is the normal postmark of this set. The forgeries are not 
 cancelled. 
 
 Types. 
 
 There are thirty types of the 50 centavos, thirty of the 100 
 centavos, and two hundred and eighty-eight of the 5 centavos, so 
 that the collector of all the varieties will have enough to do to fill 
 his pages of Bolivia. The different types arise from each stamp on 
 the sheet being sej)arately engraved ; and the plate of the 5 centavos 
 was touched up three times after the first edition was exhausted ; 
 and there were seventy-two different stamps on each sheet. The 
 second issue of 1867, with the colours changed, has always been 
 exceedingly rare, and copies are not to be had anywhere. I have 
 not seen any forgeries of that issue. 
 
 1868. 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 Centavos. Nine stars. 
 
 Any collector who allows himself to be 
 sold with such things as the set of forgeries 
 now to be described, deserves to lose his 
 money; for they are coarse lithographic imita- 
 tions of a most beautiful taille-douce design. 
 Yet with all this they are to be found almost 
 everywhere ; and in the many albums sent to 
 me every month by various amateurs for in- 
 spection and opinion, I can safely say that I find these wretched 
 things in nine out of every ten collections, and sometimes in 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 the albums of those who decidedly ought to know better; 
 indeed, perhaps I may venture just to whisper here that I once 
 found a forgery of the 500 Centavos in the collection of one of 
 our leading amateurs ! But now, in saying all this, I must also 
 say that the mere details of the design have been copied with 
 considerable accuracy. It is the exquisite clearness and fineness 
 of the genuine that the forgers have altogether failed to imitate. 
 
 - Genuine. 
 
 Beautifully engraved in taille-douce, on stout, yellowish- white wove 
 paper ; machine-perforated 12. All the lettering is perfectly clear 
 and distinct. The tail of the llama curls upwards, like that of a 
 rabbit. The butts of the right and left flagstaffs (to please my 
 grammatical readers, I will call them " flagstaves ") are shaped like 
 the butts of the old lances of the Middle Ages, familiar to us in the 
 pictures of ancient tournaments. The circle which contains the 
 arms, flags, stars, etc., is composed of horizontal lines of shading ; 
 and the oval containing the arms, mountain, etc., is shaded with 
 lines which are fine, and very close together. There is no snow in 
 the oval shield, except upon the peak of the highest mountain. 
 
 The sjDecial variations of each value from the general design are 
 as follows ; but it will be seen that they are only caused by the 
 necessary alterations to express the monetary denominations; 
 
 5 Centavos. In the word ciNCO the head and tail of the i are both 
 exactly alike. 
 
 10 Centavos. The 1 of the right-hand 10 is almost upright, and 
 the same figure on the left-hand side leans over a little to the left. 
 50 Centavos. The words of value are in fat lettering ; and 50 is 
 
 spelt CINCUENTA. 
 
 100 Centavos. The figure 1 of the value (100) on each side is of 
 an ornamental character ; the ciphers are very nearly upright. 
 
 500 Centavos. I don't possess a copy of this rare value ; but it is 
 more than probable that the lettering is fat, as in the others of the 
 set. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on ordinary white wove paper ; pin-perforated 12| ; 
 rather better than usual. The lettering is ragged, very difterent from 
 the genuine. The llama's tail sticks out obliquely, without any curl. 
 The butts of the outside flagstaves on each side are shaped like 
 arrow-heads. The circle which contains the arms, flags, stars, etc., 
 is composed of solid colour, without any lines in it at all. In the 
 shield there is snow on every salient point of the whole landscape. 
 The head of the right-hand sj)ear is at some distance from the outline 
 of the circle. Special difterences as follows : 
 
 5 Centavos. The i of the word ciNCO is a good deal larger at the 
 bottom than at the top. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 35 
 
 10 Centavos. The 1 of the right-hand 10 is very much inclined, 
 almost as though it were lying upon its back. The 1 of the left- 
 hand 10 leans very much to the left. 
 
 50 Centavos. The words are in tall letters, very thin. The word 
 
 CINCUENTA is Spelt " CINCOENTA." 
 
 100 Gentavos. The figure 1 of each 100 is an ordinary numeral, 
 plain, and free from ornament. The right-hand ciphers lean far too 
 much to the right, and the left-hand ones similarly to the left. 
 
 500 Gentavos. The words quinhentos centavos are in very thin, 
 ragged letters. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine are postmarked with a large figure, or sometimes 
 with an ordinary circular obliteration. The forgeries usually bear a 
 cancellation something like the Danish one, with three concentric 
 rings, only with the middle filled up by six little straight lines. I 
 have, however, seen some of them postmarked with a single circle, 
 containing some unreadable lettering and figures. 
 
 Issue of 1871. Eleven stars. 
 
 I have not yet come across any forgeries of this issue ; but 
 the genuine stamps are almost exactly like the issue just 
 described, only with eleven stars instead of nine. Thus, if 
 such forgeries should exist, I think my readers will be able to 
 detect them at once, as the tests for the 9-star issue will serve 
 equally well for this set also. 
 
 Essay, 1865. No value. 
 
 There is an essay as above, very nicely engraved, in taille- 
 doiice, in black ink on coloured paper. I don't know anything 
 of its character, but thought it might be as well to mention it 
 here for those who care about essays, lest they might be taken 
 in by a forgery of it. I can't afford the space for a full descrip- 
 tion, but I give a few tests of the places where a forgery would 
 be almost sure to fail. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, in black, on coloured paper ; unperf orated. 
 First letter of republica touches the shading on the ribbon, and 
 the last letter touches the cap of liberty. First letter of boliviana 
 touches cap of liberty, and last letter does not touch shading of 
 ribbon. Llama's ears very distinct, and directed forwards. Six 
 shaded stars in shield, with white spots in centre of each. The ink 
 stands out well from the surface of the paper, as is usual in taille- 
 douce impressions. 
 
36 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 BEAZIL. 
 
 Issue of 1843. 30, 60, 90 Reis. 
 
 These stamps have always been rather 
 uncommon, especially the 90 reis; but the 
 forgeries are to be seen everywhere, and I 
 suppose there are few of my readers who 
 cannot remember having been taken in by 
 them before they arrived at what I call 
 "years of suspicion." From the com- 
 parative scarcity of the genuine, and the 
 many years which have elapsed since they 
 were issued, it might naturally be supposed that there would be 
 many imitations in circulation ; but I have only met with five 
 varieties, though one of them, as I said, is extremely common. 
 I must confess that it is a task of no common difficulty to 
 describe these forgeries in such a manner as to enable the 
 possessor of one solitary specimen to say at once whether it be 
 genuine or forged ; for, as the design is nothing but a couple of 
 figures, or rather a figure and a cipher, on an engine-turned 
 ground, there is really nothing to lay hold of. However, I will 
 do my best, and ask my readers to make all due allowances. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce. There are two distinct issues of this set 
 of stamps. The first on thick, yellowish paper, and the second on 
 thin, bluish paper ; both wove. There is a black rectangle, formed 
 of one single line, drawn round each stamj), and touching it in one 
 or more places. The chief part of the background is composed of 
 little square dots, formed by the intersection of the white lines of 
 the engine-turning ; and these black dots are arranged in alternate 
 large and small diamonds, of nine and twelve dots resj)ectively. 
 Inside the ornamental outline (which is broad at the top and bottom 
 and gets thin at each side) there can be discerned no fewer than four 
 concentric ovals, each separated from its neighbours by a more or 
 less distinct fine. The engine-turning of the first oval, close to the 
 ornamental outline, is very lightly done, so as to give almost the 
 appearance of a white oval following the outline spoken of. The 
 division between this oval and the one next inside it is formed by a 
 single line of long dots or strokes, not at all prominent. The other 
 divisions are ])roadish dark bands, crossed by white lines. 
 The special variations of each value are as follows : 
 30 Keis. Genuine. The tail of the 3 is split up into two curls hke 
 those in the tail of a black grouse ; these two curls are level with 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 37 
 
 eacli other. There is no line of shading in the straight, pointed com- 
 mencement of the 3. The little white ornamental ball at the top of 
 the stamp is not so large as the corresponding one at the Bottom. 
 
 60 Eeis. Genuine. The top of the figure 6 ends in a curl, which 
 forms an almost perfect white circle. The ornamental white balls at 
 the top and bottom of the stamp are almost twice as large as those 
 on the 30 reis ; and the top one is very much out of shape, being an 
 irregular oval instead of a circle. 
 
 90 Keis. Genuine. The ornamental white balls at top and bottom 
 are large, and perfectly round. The shading inside the head of the 
 9 only goes half-way round ; and the portion of the background seen 
 through the head has hardly any pattern on it except plain, crossed 
 lines of white. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 
 The following things are common to all the forgeries of the first 
 set. Lithographed on very thick laid paper. The divisions between 
 the dilfferent concentric ovals are formed by a very distinct white 
 chain-pattern on a black ground. This ought to be a very ready 
 test for this set. Immediately inside the ornamental border the 
 groundwork has a design composed of two parallel strokes, and then 
 two dots, placed alternately, and running all round the stamp. This 
 pattern makes this portion of the stamp look darker than the rest 
 instead of lighter, as in the genuine. The chief part of the ground- 
 work of the whole stamp is formed by diamonds of dots, not so 
 distinct as in the genuine, and all of them having nine dots to form 
 each diamond. The different values are as follows : 
 
 30 Reis. Forged. I have not yet met with a 30 Reis forgery of this 
 type, though I dare say that there is one. 
 
 60 Reis. Forged. The curl at the top end of the 6 is an oval 
 instead of a circle. The ornamental balls at the top and bottom of 
 the stamp are smaller than those of the genuine 30, a great deal 
 smaller than those of the genuine 60, and the same size as those of 
 the forged 90 ; both top and bottom ones are circular. 
 
 90 Reis. Forged. The balls are the same size as those in the forged 
 60 Reis. The chain-pattern is very distinct behind the centre of 
 the cipher. The shading inside the head of the 9 goes quite three- 
 quarters of the way round. There are two links of the chain- 
 pattern very distinct in the background, as seen through the head. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 
 Lithographed on rather soft, moderately stout, yellowish wove 
 paper. The separation of the major part of the background into 
 diamonds of dots cannot be made out, as most of the white lines 
 are of equal breadth. The division between the first and second 
 ovals is fornied hy sets of four short parallel black lines, and the 
 next inner division is formed by sets of three similar short parallel 
 lines. 
 
38 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 30 Eeis. Forged. The top white ball is bigger than the bottom 
 one. The left curl of the tail of the 3 is a good deal higher than 
 the right curl. There is a little black line of shading in the white 
 part of the straight pointed commencement of the 3, which is not 
 visible in the genuine. 
 
 60 Keis. Forged. The top curl of the 6 is almost circular. The 
 balls are both of the same size and shape, but smaller than in the 
 genuine 60. 
 
 90 Reis. Forged. I have not seen the 90 Reis of this set. 
 
 Forged. Third Set. 
 Of this set I have only the 60 Reis. Lithographed on rather 
 thin, hard, bluish-white wove paper. There is a zig-zag dotted line 
 just inside the outer ornamental oval, but it only goes part of the 
 way round. The major part of the groundwork is composed of 
 diamonds of dots, far too prominent, and separated from each other 
 by wide lines. There are usually twenty dots in each diamond. 
 The white ball at the bottom is misshapen, but the one at the top is 
 round ; both are about the same size as in the genuine. The division 
 between the first and second ovals is formed by sets of three short, 
 parallel black lines ; the inner divisions are of irregular patterns. 
 The head of the 6 is more oval than round. 
 
 Forged. Fourth Set. 
 Lithographed in very dark, greasy, black ink, on soft, yellowish 
 wove paper, rather thin. Of this forgery I have only the 60 Reis ; 
 and I have never met with any but one copy. It is very like the 
 illustration given at the head of this article. There is no line forming 
 a rectangle round the whole stamp, as in the originals, and in all the 
 forgeries hitherto described. This forgery can easily be detected by 
 the wreath (or whatever it is) in the lower ornamental border, having 
 its white leaves or lines disposed in bunches of four, whereas the 
 originals, and all the other forgeries, have them in sets of three. 
 The white dots at the top and bottom of the stamp are very much 
 too small. It is impossible, on account of the heavy way in which 
 the stamp is printed, to make out how many dots there are in each 
 of the diamonds in the background ; but the diamonds appear to be 
 all of equal size. The division between the first two ovals is formed 
 by sets of two short lines, with a good white space between each 
 set. The next division is composed of three rows of short, black 
 lines, arranged like courses of brickwork. I think this forgery will 
 not j)rove very deceptive ; it is so very black, and the details are so 
 smudged. 
 
 Forged. Fifth Set. 
 I have not any of this set before me, but can describe them from 
 memory sufficiently for their detection. Lithographed on stout, 
 wove paper, of a yellowish white. The design is done in two 
 colours. First of all an oval, the size and shape of the stamp, is 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 39 
 
 printed in a decidedly blue, neutral tint, and then the usual forgery 
 is printed on the top of this. Thus all the parts of the design 
 which ought to show white are blue. I think this will be quite 
 sufficient to describe the forgery, without entering into details 
 which I do not now remember. 
 
 Second Issue, 1844. 10, 30, 60, 90, 180, 300, 600 Reis. 
 
 Two sets of these stamps can be made, one 
 printed on yellowish-white paper, and the other 
 on bluish- white ; both wove. The 1 80, 300, and 
 600 reis have always been exceedingly scarce ; 
 but the lower values are common enough. 
 Those on the bluish paper are scarcer than the 
 other set. There is a very great difference in the way in which 
 different specimens of the genuine are printed ; some of them 
 are in a rich black, whilst others, which have had apparently 
 not enough ink on the plate, look like skeleton, outline copies 
 of the design ; and many a collector would be apt to brand 
 these latter as forgeries. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Finely engraved in taille-douce ; paper varying as above. The 
 design of these stamps is of bewildering intricacy, and yet I shall be 
 obliged to try to describe it, in order to show where the forgeries are 
 at variance with it. Immediately inside the border-line there is a 
 sort of chain-pattern, formed by the white lines of the engine-turning ; 
 but only parts of the oval made by this chain-pattern can be seen ; 
 for the oval, if complete, would be larger than the stamp. Then 
 comes a complete oval, of a sort of lacework, very white, and showing 
 prominently. Then comes another complete oval, formed of what 
 appears to be one single black line, not very perfectly drawn, but 
 which is, in reality, simply formed by the engine-turning. Inside 
 tliis again there is a broad oval, with shadowy-looking crosses on it. 
 Inside this is another chain-pattern oval, then a zig-zag oval, then 
 comes the central oval, filled with a pattern of plain, crossed lines, 
 bounded by a single black line, and with a straight, horizontal, black 
 line in the centre of all. The reader will please understand that 
 there are no breaks in all this intricate design, but that these ovals 
 just described are simply those parts of the design which are most 
 prominent, the intervals between them being entirely filled up with 
 a plainer pattern of engine-turning. The outline of the stamps is 
 formed by two parallel, black lines, with a white space between them ; 
 the outer line being a good deal thicker than the inner one. The 
 thick shading of the figures is very dark, much blacker than the rest 
 of the design ; but sometimes the ink has not taken equally all 
 along the shading, leaving little white spots. The ink of these 
 darkly-shaded portions stands • out from the surface of the paper. 
 
40 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Finally, in glancing at one of these stamps, the first thing which 
 strikes the eye is the central value, and then the wavy, white oval 
 which almost encloses the figures. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 I think this set is rather uncommon. They are very much better 
 than the later ones, but too light. I have only the 10, 30, and 90 ; 
 but most likely there is a full set. Lithographed on soft, rather thick, 
 white wove paper. The outer bordering-line is a very little thicker 
 than the inner one. The first interrupted oval inside the boundary- 
 lines is composed of long, pointed diamonds, placed end to end ; and 
 the next oval, inside this, is the same pattern. This had better be 
 noted as a good test. Then comes an oval formed by interlaced 
 crescents, outlined in black, with their cusps pointing inwards ; the 
 outside of the whole being bounded by a series of long and narrow, 
 pointed white patches. Then comes a dark oval, composed of crossed, 
 black lines ; and this is the darkest portion of the design. Then 
 comes another oval of the outlined crescents, but with their cusps 
 pointing outwards this time. Then comes a narrow white space ; 
 then an oval of plain, crossed, black lines ; then another white space ; 
 then another oval, exactly like the last ; then a plain black line ; 
 then another oval like the last two ; and finally a ^vhite horizontal 
 line in the centre of all. The thick shading of the figures is very 
 faint, and not so dark as some other portions of the stamp. Of course 
 I need not say that none of the ink stands out from the surface of 
 the paper. And finally, in glancing at the stamp, the first thing that 
 strikes the eye, after the central numerals, is the dark oval which 
 almost surrounds them. Now all these things would seem to make 
 up a stamp very different from the genuine ; but in reality these 
 forgeries have a very fair appearance, and I think they would be 
 likely to take in a good many of the unwary ones. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 These are not nearly so good as the ones just described, but in- 
 finitely more common ; in fact I think they form part of the usual 
 stock-in-trade of every swindling stamp-dealer. I have seen a full 
 set, so I know that every value exists. Lithograj)hed on very thin, 
 white wove paper. The inner boundary-line is a little tliicker than 
 the outer one. The two outer ovals, of a sort of chain-pattern, are a 
 colourable imitation of the genuine, but far too white, and very much 
 too prominent. But I think that it will be a needless waste of space 
 to describe this forgery in the way necessary for the last, as the whole 
 of the design is formed by black dots on a white ground ; whereas in 
 the originals, it appears to be like delicate white lines scratched into 
 a Uack background. The figures have a woolly look, and seem to 
 blend with the background, instead of standing out sharply from 
 it. Next to the figures of value, the most prominent part of these 
 forgeries, is the very dark oval almost surrounding the said figures. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 41 
 
 Issue of 1860. 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 180, 300, 600 Keis, 
 black. 
 
 These stamps are usually on a sort of greyish- 
 white paper ; but Moens gives another issue, in 
 1854, with the 10 and 30 reis on white paper. 
 I have also in my own collection a few copies 
 on decidedly yellowish paper, of a very distinct 
 shade; but it is possible that they may have 
 turned this colour from age, or from some other cause, since 
 they were printed. There is a great variety of shade in the 
 ink used in this issue. Some copies are very dark, and some 
 merely grey, instead of black; but I cannot say whether full 
 sets of grey and black can be made. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on grey or white, wove paper, thin and 
 soft. The background is the same for all the values. The design 
 on this background looks, as indeed it is, like white lines cut or 
 scratched out of a solid black groundwork. Setting aside the figures 
 of value, there is no black line anywhere in the whole design, except 
 the small, straight, horizontal one in the very centre of the stamp, 
 and the plain outline of the oval immediately surrounding it ; and 
 these are hidden by the figures in the higher values. The design is 
 not sufficiently pronounced for me to describe it, piece by piece, as I 
 did with the last issue ; so this fact of there being no black lines in 
 the stamps, except the ones mentioned, must be remembered as a 
 principal test. Most of the dots formed by the intersection of the 
 white engine-turning are triangular, and all those which are not tri- 
 angular are diamond-shaped. There are none of any other form but 
 these two. 
 
 10 Eeis. Genuine. 
 
 The white part of the foot-stroke of the 1 on the right-hand side 
 does not stick out so far as the outer edge of the thick shading of the 
 body of the figure. The shading inside the goes straight down 
 inside the figure, without curling round at all to shade the top and 
 bottom bends. 
 
 20 Reis. Genimie. 
 
 The white part of the upward bend of the tail of the 2 is perfectly 
 vertical, and is cut off quite square at the end. The white part of 
 the is exactly the same width on both sides. 
 
 30 Reis. Genuine. 
 
 A line drawn down through the two white balls of the head and 
 tail of the 3 would just touch the projecting shaded part of the 
 centre of the figure, which sticks out like a sort of tongue. 
 
42 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 60 Reis. Genuine. 
 
 The white ball at the top of the 6 curls inwards, until it almost 
 touches the thick shading to the left of it. The white parts of the 
 top and bottom of the are very narrow, and both exactly the same 
 width, 
 
 90 Reis. Genuine. 
 
 There is a mass of thick shading underneath the lowest part of the 
 head of the 9, and the little white ball at the end of the tail comes 
 very close to this shading. 
 
 180 Reis. Genuine. 
 
 The figure 1 is cut off perfectly square at the top, and has a large 
 white foot-stroke. It is as near to the left side of the stamp as the 
 is to the right side. 
 
 300 Reis. Genuine. 
 
 The thick shading of the 3 is so very olose to the next to it that 
 they all but touch each other, and in one of my copies they really 
 do touch. 
 
 600 Reis. Genuine. 
 
 The 6 does not touch the adjoining it. The white ball at the top 
 of the 6 curls inwards in the same manner as that of the 60 
 described above. The shaded part of the is almost as near to the 
 right side of the stamp as the 6 is to the left-hand side. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 
 Of this set I have only the 10 and 20 reis. Lithographed on rather 
 thick, hard paper, not at all like that of the genuine. The paper is 
 very white, with no tinge of either grey or yellow. The design of 
 the background is composed of black dots and lines on a white 
 ground. The dots are of all sorts of shapes, and the scratchy little 
 lines in the design run through some of these dots. The figures are 
 very clearly outlined, almost as well as in the genuine. 
 
 10 Reis. Forged. 
 
 The white part of the foot-stroke of the 1 projects considerably 
 beyond the thick shading running down the right side of the figure. 
 The thick shading inside the is carried round at the top, so that 
 the whole arch of the top is shaded as thickly as the left side. 
 
 20 Reis. Forged. 
 
 The white part of the upward bend of the tail of the 2 leans a 
 little inwards, and is somewhat pointed. The white part of the 
 is a good deal broader on the left side than on the right. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 43 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The forgery just described is not cancelled. I think this forgery 
 is rather a deceptive one, the figures are so very nicely done for 
 lithographs, and they stand out well from the background. How- 
 ever, the feel of the j^aper will condemn them in an instant ; for no 
 Brazilian stamps were ever printed on thick, hard paper like these. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 Lithographed on very thin, soft paper, much like that of the 
 genuine. The design in this forgery is very much blurred, and no 
 sane collector ought to be taken by this set for an instant. The 
 figures are all ragged round their outlines, which are very much too 
 thick. Those who know this forgery will recognize it at once w^hen 
 I remind them that the figures look as though they had been drawn 
 whilst the paper was wet, so that their outlines have " run." The 
 wavy, ornamental oval close round the figures is very much too 
 prominent, and is the first thing which strikes the eye in most of 
 the values, whereas, in the genuine, this particular oval is scarcely 
 noticeable. This forgery is exceedingly common at present, and 
 specimens may be seen in the albums of all our school-boy friends. 
 
 10 Reis. Forged. 
 The figures are like those of the last forgery ; but not so clear. 
 They are put too low down on the stamp, so as to be nearer the 
 bottom than the top. Of course I need not say that the figures in 
 the genuine are placed in the centre, no nearer to the bottom than 
 to the top. 
 
 20 Reis. Forged. 
 I do not possess a 20 reis of this type. 
 
 30 Reis. Forged. 
 The central tongue of the 3 hardly projects at all, and a line 
 drawn down through the two little white balls would pass far to the 
 left of this tongue. The figures are placed far too low down, and 
 too much to the right. 
 
 60 Reis. Forged. 
 The white ball at the top of the 6 is a bulb rather than a ball, 
 and it does not curl inwards at all, and is not near the thick shading 
 to the left of it. The figures are placed absurdly too much to the 
 right, the almost touches the side, whilst there is almost room for 
 another figure to the left of the 6. 
 
 90 Reis. Forged. 
 The lowest part of the head of the 9 is simply outlined. There 
 is no shading underneath it. The figures are not quite so much 
 blurred as in most of the other values ; but they are placed very 
 much too far to the right. 
 
44 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 180 Eeis. Forged. 
 This is the worst forgery of the set. The top of the 1 is a 
 blunt, rouuded point ; the bottom ends in a similar point, there 
 being no footstroke to it at all. The figures are too much to the 
 right as usual, and the almost touches the right side of the stamp. 
 
 300 Reis. Forged. 
 
 The thick shading of the 3 is at a considerable distance from the 
 side of the 0. The figures are placed too low down, and rather too 
 far to the right. 
 
 600 Reis. Forged. 
 The shading of the 6 touches the side of the next to it. The 
 white ball at the top of the 6 is like that of the forged 60. The 
 figures are too low down, and rather too far to the right. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 _ These forgeries are cancelled with an oval formed by twelve straight 
 lines of different length. On some copies the cancellation is very 
 heavy, which is a good tiring, as it helps to conceal some of the 
 defects of the design. 
 
 Forged. Third Set. 
 I have seen a forgery of this issue printed on laid paper. I have 
 no copies by me, and I cannot trust myself to describe the design 
 from memory ; but the fact of their being on laid paper will be 
 abundantly sufficient to condemn tliem ; for no Brazilian of any of 
 the issues hitherto described was ever printed on anything but wove 
 paper. 
 
 Issue of 1854. 10, 30, blue ; 280, vermilion ; 430, yellow, 
 
 orange. 
 
 I do not know what authority there is for putting all the 
 above stamps down for the same date, as Moens does ; but the 
 10 and 30 are of exactly the same design as the black ones 
 described above, whilst the 280 and 430 are of a perfectly new 
 design. I cannot help thinking therefore that the 10 and 30 in 
 blue, which were used, I believe, for newspapers only, were 
 issued at the same time as the set just described, whilst the 280 
 and 430 were somewhat later. Why the latter were printed in 
 colour I do not know. 
 
 10 Reis, blue. Genuine. 
 Engraved in taille-douce, exactly the same design as the last issue, 
 on white wove paper. The colour varies a good deal in depth, but 
 it always seems to be shades of a sort of Prussian-blue. The foot- 
 stroke of the 1 is just the same as in the genuine 10 reis, black. The 
 figures are placed in the centre of the stamp. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 45 
 
 30 Eeis, blue. Genuine. 
 The shaded part of the tongue of the 3 is about in the same line 
 with the two little white balls of the head and tail, as in the 30 reis, 
 black. The shaded parts of these balls do not come anywhere near 
 the tongue. The figures are placed in the middle of the stamp. 
 
 10 Reis, blue. Forged. First Set. 
 The design of this first set seems to be the same as that of the 
 first set of the forgeries in black. The groundwork shows hardly 
 any signs of the ornamental, wavy, concentric ovals seen in the 
 genuine. Lithographed on soft, wove paper, about the same thick- 
 ness as the genuine. The design is made up of blue dots and 
 scratches on a white ground. The right side of the foot-stroke of the 
 1 projects too much, just as in the forged 10 reis, black. The figures 
 are placed too low down on the stamp, so that there is much more 
 space at the top than at the bottom. 
 
 30 Reis, blue. Forged. 
 I hav€ not seen a 30 of this type. 
 
 PostmarJcs. 
 This forgery is not cancelled. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 
 This forgery has the blurred look of the second forgery of the 
 black set, and was probably imitated at the same time. 
 
 10 Reis, blue. 
 I have not seen a 10 reis of this tyj)e. 
 
 30 Reis, blue. 
 
 The groundwork of the design is, as before, of blue dots and 
 scratches on a wMte ground, instead of white lines scratched into a 
 blue ground, as in the genuine. Lithographed on moderately soft, 
 wove paper, a little thicker than the genuine. The tongue of the 
 3 projects a good deal further than in the genuine ; so much so that 
 a line drawn down through the little white balls at the head and tail 
 of the 3 would cut into the ivhite part of the tongue. The dark 
 shading of the top white ball touches the tongue. The figures are 
 placed too much to the right, and slightly too low down. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have never seen a cancelled copy of this forgery. 
 
 Forged. Third Set. 
 Of this forgery also I have only the 30 reis. At present the only 
 10 reis, blue, which I have seen is the one of the first set mentioned 
 above. 
 
46 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 30 Eeis, blue. Forged. 
 
 Litliograplied, in blue dots and scratches, on a white ground ; 
 design very similar to the last forgery ; paper exactly the same. The 
 tongue of the 3 is very short compared with the last forgery, and a 
 line drawn down through the two balls would not go near it. The 
 tongue in the genuine, and in the other forgeries, is gradually tapered 
 off to a point ; but in this forgery it is blunt, and cut off square. 
 The figures are placed almost in their proper position, but the bottom 
 of the 3 comes down a good deal lower than the 0. All the above 
 forgeries are printed in a more or less ultramarine blue, very different 
 from the colour of the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 This forgery is cancelled with the same set of twelve lines forming 
 an oval as I mentioned above. Some of them seem to have had this 
 cancellation really stamped upon them with the usual greasy ink ; 
 for I have seen some copies in which the ink has greased the paper. 
 
 I have been rather " wordy" about the above stamps ; but the fact 
 is that the design is so difficult to describe. 
 
 Issue of 1854. 280 Reis, Vermilion; 430 Reis, Yellow. 
 
 These two stamps are very similar in design, but 
 not absolutely from the same die, as some slight 
 variations can be traced between the two. Moens, 
 in his catalogue, gives them as being found on 
 white paper only ; but most of my copies are on 
 greyish white. I do not know whether they were used for any 
 special purpose, nor the reason of their being printed in colour 
 instead of black. They are very nicely done, showing all the 
 peculiarities of taille-douce engraving in a marked degree ; and 
 I do not think the forgeries will prove dangerous. In conse- 
 quence of the slight variations of which I spoke, I shall have 
 to take each value separately. 
 
 280 Eeis. Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on white or greyish paper, wove, thin, 
 and very soft. The ink stands well out from the surface of the 
 paper, especially in the thick shading of the figures. The central 
 oval is formed of an engine-turned design, with a very distinct wavy 
 outline. This outline touches the boundary-line of the stamp in 
 four places ; viz., to the left of the 2, above and below the 8, and to 
 the right of the 0. Some copies are so heavily printed that occasion- 
 ally other parts of the wavy outline almost touch the boundary-line, 
 besides the four above mentioned ; but there can be no mistake 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 47 
 
 about the said four. Tlie centres of the 8 and of the are very 
 deeply shaded. Not counting the houndary-line, there are fourteen 
 horizontal lines in each of the right and left bottom corners. The 
 colour is a deep red-vermilion, rather dull. 
 
 280 Eeis. First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on very thin, very white wove paper. There is very 
 little attempt at any imitation of the engine-turned central oval ; 
 but the said oval is marked by a very prominent chain-pattern, more 
 like a string of sausages than anything else. There is, of course, no 
 indication of the ink standing out from the surface of the paper. 
 The chain-pattern touches the outer border-line to the left of the 2, 
 to the right of the ; and two of the scallops touch under the 8, and 
 none at all at the top above the 8. 
 
 The centres of the 8 and of the are very lightly shaded. There 
 are only twelve horizontal lines of shading in each of the right and 
 left bottom corners. The colour of this forgery is very different from 
 that of the genuine, being a sort of washed-out brick-dust hue. 
 
 Second Forgery, 
 
 I fancy this forgery is not often to be met with ; I have only seen 
 one specimen during all the years I have grubbed among these 
 Album Weeds. I have put it second on my list, because the one just 
 described is so much more common ; but I think it is highly probable 
 that this latter forgery is the older of the two. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thick bluish- white wove paper. There is 
 no thickness of ink to be seen on the surface of the paper. The 2 
 and the are much larger than the 8, and come considerably below 
 it. The centre is composed of slightly-curved, radiating lines, sur- 
 rounded by an oval of very pointed scallops, not a bit like the 
 rounded wavy outline of the engine-turned oval in the centre of the 
 genuine stamps. None of the scallops touch the outer boundary-line 
 except the one to the right of the 0. There are about twenty hori- 
 zontal lines of shading in the right and left bottom corners ; they 
 are twice as close together as in the originals. In the single copy 
 from which I am describing there is a dark red blotch in the left top 
 corner, but of course I cannot say whether this exists in all the 
 forgeries of this type. The colour is a dull, dirty vermilion ; some- 
 thing between the hue of the genuine and of the first forgery. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The most usual postmark on the genuine is a set of eight V's, 
 placed point to point, though occasionally any of the postmarks 
 hitherto described may be found. The first forgery bears four con- 
 centric circles ; the second forgery has a single circle, with some 
 lettering inside it. 
 
48 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 430 Eeis. Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, almost exactly like the 280 reis. The 
 wavy outline of the central oval of engine-turning touches the outer 
 border-line in three places only ; viz., to the left of the 4, and above 
 and below the 3. There are sixteen horizontal lines of shading in 
 the right bottom corner, and fifteen in the left. The engine-turning, 
 as in the 280 reis, is almost equally dark all over. The colour is 
 what I should call "lemon," and it becomes almost orange where 
 the ink is very thick, though the hue is given as "yellow" in the 
 catalogues. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very thin, very white wove paper. There is a 
 string of sausages, or chain-pattern, as in the first forgery of the 
 280 reis, and this pattern only touches the outer boundary-line in 
 two places ; viz., to the left of the 4, and below the 3. The ink 
 does not stand out from the surface of the paper. There are only 
 nine horizontal lines of shading in the right bottom corner, and 
 twelve in the left. The colour is a dirty yellow-ochre, very pale 
 and chalky, and quite different from the genuine. 
 
 Post7narlcs. 
 
 The genuine are cancelled with the same obliterations as the 
 genuine 280 reis. This forgery bears sometimes four concentric 
 circles, and sometimes an obliteration like that usually found on the 
 British Guianas ; but without the numerals in the centre. I have 
 also seen some of the first forgeries of the 280 reis cancelled with 
 this latter mark. 
 
 Envelope Stamps, 1867. 100, 200, 300 Reis. 
 
 The forgers seem to have reserved 
 their best efforts for the last, as the coun- 
 terfeits now to be described are certainly 
 far superior to any of the forgeries above 
 mentioned. Usually embossed stamps do 
 not tempt the forgers much, on account of 
 the difficulty attending their production ; 
 but the embossing of these counterfeit 
 envelopes is very well done, though I do not know how it has 
 been managed. These stamps strikingly exemplify the advisa- 
 bility of collecting entire envelopes, as the watermark on the 
 genuine cannot be imitated, though it never, or "hardly ever," 
 can be seen on a cut stamp. With reference to this matter, I 
 think I must say that most of the blame for the mutilation of 
 envelopes must be laid upon the shoulders of the album-makers ; 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 49 
 
 for they leave no space in their books for the collection of entire 
 siDecimens, so that those who are what I call slaves to their 
 alhums have no choice but to cut their envelopes, to make them 
 fit the little squares provided for them. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne on white laid paper, with the lines running 
 obHquely, and watermarked in large letters, with the words CORREIO 
 BRASILIERO in two lines, extending almost across the envelope from 
 one side to the other. There is nothing special about the envelopes, 
 except that they are rather large — 6§ in. by 3f , or thereabouts. The 
 flap is plain and rounded, and is gummed almost from end to end. 
 The emperor's nose is rather small, pointed, and perfectly straight. 
 The profile of the beard has two waves in it ; that is to say, it is 
 rounded outwards from the under lip, then goes in again slightly, 
 and then projects outwards once more. The hair on the top of the 
 head is smooth. The point of the bust in front is almost as sharp 
 as the point at the back. I must take the special variations for 
 each value separately. 
 
 100 Reis. Genuine. 
 
 For the tests now to be given the reader must provide himself 
 with something having a straight and flat edge, such as a sheet of 
 paper, or a flat rule. If the rule be laid exactly along the centre of 
 the letter i in reis, it will just touch the b of brazil. In the 
 figures of value on each side, the 1 of 100 is nicely drawn, with a 
 long upstroke or sidestroke, and a very distinct footstroke, showing 
 on each side of the figure. 
 
 200 Reis. Genuine. 
 
 If the rule be laid along the centre of the i in reis, it will pass 
 through the value-label on the left hand, and will just touch the 
 top of the last in 200 ; and if the rule be laid along the centre of 
 the I of BRAZIL, it will cut through the E of duzentos. The o of 
 this latter word is round, which will be found a good test. 
 
 300 Reis. Genuine. 
 
 If the rule be laid along the centre of the first stroke of the b in 
 BRAZIL, it will cut into the E of reis. The 3 of 300 on each side 
 of the head is at some little distance from the outline of its con- 
 taining-label. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 There are two sets of forgeries, one of them much more hkely to 
 deceive than the other ; and I really think that the better one of the 
 two might easily deceive anybody who did not happen to have 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 genuine stamps by him to compare. I will take the inferior forgery 
 first, as it was the first to aj^pear. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 
 Embossed — probably a woodcut — on thin, white, wove paper, no 
 watermark. The nose has a sort of drooping point to it, even sharper 
 than the genuine. The hair on the top of the head is very untidy. 
 The curve of the beard beneath the chin is wavy, whereas in the 
 genuine it is a smooth curve. The wavy profile of the front of the 
 beard is exaggerated, the middle wave projecting beyond the level of 
 the end of the nose. The point of the bust in front is rounded. 
 
 100 Keis. Forged. 
 
 The rule when laid along the centre of the i in reis will not touch 
 the B of BRAZIL, but falls to the left of it. In the figures of value 
 on each side the 1 has scarcely any side-stroke, and only a very small 
 foot-stroke. 
 
 200 Reis. Forged. 
 
 The rule laid along the centre of the i in reis will not touch the 
 left-hand value-label, but goes to the right of it ; and, if laid along 
 the centre of the i of brazil, it will hardly touch the e of duzentos. 
 The o of this latter word is oval instead of round. 
 
 300 Reis. Forged. 
 
 The rule laid along the centre of the first stroke of the b in brazil 
 will pass through the i of reis. The 3 of 300 on each side abnost 
 touches the boundary-line of its containing label. There is a small 
 white dot between the N and t of trezentos, and another between 
 the e and i of reis. Of course I need not say that these dots do 
 not appear in the genuine stamps. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 
 Very well embossed — probably a woodcut — on very thick wove, 
 and on moderately stout, laid paper. Those copies on laid paper 
 have the laid lines running vertically, from top to bottom, instead of 
 obliquely. The hair on the top of the head is tidy, as in the genuine. 
 The bust is rather blunt in front, but very sharply pointed behind. 
 The beard, in profile, is composed of two curves oiily, one smooth 
 curve from the ear to the point of the beard, and another smooth 
 curve from the lip to the point of the beard. The moustache is very 
 highly embossed, and stands out higher than in the genuine. But 
 the chief test of these forgeries is the nose, which is of a thoroughly 
 Jewish type, a regular " beak," with a rather blunt and rounded 
 point, instead of the straight, Grecian type of the genuine. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 51 
 
 100 Reis. Forged. 
 
 A straight-edge through the i of reis runs a long way to the left 
 of the word brazil. The 1 of 100, on the left side of the stamp, 
 has only half of its foot-stroke visible ; i.e. the right-hand half. 
 
 200 Reis. Forged. 
 
 I have not seen a 200 of this set ; but the nose will condemn it, if 
 there should be a forgery of this type. 
 
 300 Reis. Forged. 
 
 Not quite so highly embossed as the 100 reis. The N of trezentos 
 is badly drawn. The lettering and figures are almost exactly the 
 same as in the genuine 300 reis, so that, if it were not for the Jewish 
 nose, this forgery would be very dangerous. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The forgeries are not postmarked. I suppose that the manufac- 
 turers were so pleased with their handiwork that they thought it a 
 pity to spoil it by an obliteration. The genuine envelopes are can- 
 celled with a double circle, with name between the circles, and date 
 m the middle ; and generally a little star at the bottom of the post- 
 mark. Some of them also bear a solid black, circular blotch, out of 
 which a plain cross has been cut. 
 
 I have not yet seen any forgeries of the head issues, either the 
 first or the current issue, though I have made enquiries everywhere ; 
 so it is probable that none have been manufactured at present. Of 
 all the forgeries of Brazilian stamps, the envelopes last described are 
 by far the best ; and I would recommend my readers to be careful 
 about purchasing these envelopes in a cut state. If it be absolutely 
 necessary that they should be cut, at least let the amateur cut them 
 himself, and then he can see the watermark for himself in the body 
 of the envelope, and thus be fully satisfied of the genuineness of his 
 copies. 
 
 BEEMEN. 
 
 The forgeries of the Bremen stamps are very common; at 
 least, some of them are ; and the collections of our schoolboy 
 friends are generally ornamented with one or more specimens. 
 There is a full set of reprints, which will be described hereafter. 
 'No doubt many of my readers have seen a small, orange-coloured 
 one grote stamp in collections. This stamp belongs to a set of 
 fiscals, and ought not to be placed in a collection of postage 
 stamps. 
 
52 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 5 Silbergrosclien, green. 
 
 1855. Unperforated. 1861-4. Saw-perforated, or "Perpe en >S'c?*e." 
 1866. Machine-perforated 13. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thick, yellowish-white, wove 
 paper, with a very shiny surface ; perforated or not, 
 as above, according to the date of issue. The outer 
 border of the stamp is composed of a series of balls 
 and rounded oblongs, placed alternately ; and all 
 the balls are of exactly the same size and shape. 
 There are fifty-eight vertical lines in the back- 
 ground, behind the shield, very regularly drawn ; 
 and a few of the ends of these lines are drawn a little too far, and 
 project very slightly beyond the boundary-line under the letters eme 
 of BREMEN. This is especially plain in the later issue, perforated 13. 
 The chief test for the genuine is, that the little trefoil-shaped orna- 
 ment at the top of the shield, below the em of Bremen, does oiot 
 touch the boundary-line under the said letters. The curly ornaments 
 above the v in each corner are exactly alike, except that they are 
 reversed — one curling to the right, and the other to the left. Sup- 
 posing one of these ornaments were to be turned face downwards, 
 and laid upon the other, they would correspond line for line. The 
 sides of the frame, behind the hanging ends of the top scroll, are 
 shaded by broad, horizontal green lines, on a white background. The 
 top of tlie s is larger than the bottom, and the stop after SGR. is 
 round. The inner ends of the cross-strokes of the v on the left side 
 are exactly the same distance from each other as the corresponding 
 strokes of the v on the right side. There is a quatrefoil ornament 
 punched out of the handle of the key ; and, supposing the key were 
 a real one, there would still be plenty of metal left in the handle to 
 avoid all risk of breakage. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 
 Lithographed, on rather thin paper, very wliite, and not shiny. I 
 have seen copies both unperforated, and also pin-pricked 13 ; the 
 latter seems to be the forgers' usual perforation-gauge. The balls in 
 the border are not all of the same size and shape ; those down the left 
 side more especially being oval, instead of circular, and much too 
 large compared with the rest. The background, behind the shield, 
 contains about eighty vertical lines of shading, but they are exces- 
 sively difficult to count, more especially as one has to guess how 
 many would be supposed to go behind the trefoil ornament at the 
 top. None of these lines ^^roject into the label containing the word 
 BREMEN. The little trefoil-shaped ornament under em of Bremen, 
 at the top of the shield, touches the boundary-line under the said 
 letters ; and this fact had better be borne in mind as the best test for 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 53 
 
 both this forgery and the one next to be described, which has the 
 same fault. The curly ornaments above the v on each side are not 
 exactly alike ; and, if one of them were turned face downwards, and 
 laid upon the other, they would not correspond. The broad, green 
 lines of shading across the left-hand label are well imitated, and very 
 like the genuine ; but those on the right-hand label are quite different 
 — much too thin, and much too close together. Of course I need 
 hardly say that, in the genuine, both sides are alike. The top of the 
 s is no larger than the bottom, and the letter is not nicely rounded 
 at the curves like the genuine, but looks a little like a reversed z. The 
 stop after sgr. is a sort of upright oval. The inner ends of the cross- 
 strokes of the left-hand v are farther apart than the corresponding 
 ends of the cross-strokes of the v on the right-hand. The quatrefoil 
 is not nicely shaped, and, supposing the key to be a real one, I should 
 say that the ornament had been cut out with a very blunt punch. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 
 This forgery is much better than the one just described, and I 
 think it is likely to deceive. Lithographed, on thick, wove paper, 
 unperforated. The outer border of l3alls and rounded oblongs is a 
 fair copy of the genuine. There appear to be about sixty vertical 
 lines of shading in the background outside the shield, but I cannot 
 be certain of the exact number, as I have counted these lines in all 
 these stamps at the top side, and there may be three or more behind 
 the trefoil-shaped ornament. Three or four of these lines project 
 into the label, just under the R of Bremen ; but the projecting line- 
 in the genuine come under the eme of this word. The trefoils 
 shaped ornament touches the boundary-line under em of Bremen, as 
 in the first forgery. The curly ornaments above the v on each side 
 do not exactly correspond, but they are better drawn than in the 
 other forgery. The broad, green, horizontal lines of shading in the 
 side-labels are drawn too close together, especially on the right side, 
 where they almost touch, giving the label the appearance of being 
 printed in solid colour. The bottom of the s is larger than the top. 
 The stop after sgr. is a transverse oval. The inner ends of the 
 cross-strokes of the v on the right side almost touch each other, 
 whilst the corresponding cross-strokes of the left-hand v are at some 
 distance from each other. The quatrefoil ornament, punched out of 
 the handle of the key, is too large ; so that, supposing it were a real 
 key, the handle would probably break if roughly used. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 As all the Bremen stamps are postmarked in exactly the same 
 manner, I will defer the description of the obliteration until I have 
 concluded my notice of all the forgeries. 
 
54 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 3 Grote, black on blue. 
 
 1855. Unperforated. 1861-4. Perge en Scie. 1866. Machine- 
 perforated 13. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed {%) on thick, slate-blue, laid paper, 
 with the laid lines usually running horizontally, 
 though I have some copies in my own collection 
 with the lines running vertically. The stamps 
 are found unperforated, saw-perforated, or ma- 
 chine-perforated 13, as above, according to date 
 of issue. The wards of the key are very like two 
 capital t's placed back to back. The three lobes 
 of each of the strawberry leaves on the top of the crown are of equal 
 size as nearly as possible, though the top one may be a very little larger 
 than the side ones. There are seventeen vertical lines of shading in 
 the little shield, and there is one clear line of shading to the left of the 
 key. The top of the t of amt does not touch the m. The letters of the 
 word BREMEN are very clear and distinct. There is a large shaded 
 figure 3 in an oval on each side of the shield ; and each of these 
 figures has two little circular white dots in the horizontal shading on 
 its right-hand side — one in the top half, and the other in the bottom 
 half. I do not know whether these two dots were placed in each 3 
 as a sort of secret mark against the forgers, but it is possible ; for 
 they are hardly visible, and seem to be of no use as ornaments, or as 
 part of the design. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed on wove paper, of a very pale bluish lavender, 
 or sometimes of a pale neutral tint ; pin-pricked 13, rather l)etter 
 than usual. The wards of the key are like two capital e's placed 
 back to back, with the central tongue of each e sticking out level 
 with the top and bottom projections. The top lobe of each straw- 
 berry leaf in the crown is a great deal larger than the two side lobes, 
 and oval instead of round. There are twenty vertical lines of shading 
 on the shield, and they are not at equal distances apart as the genuine 
 are. There are two clear lines of shading to the left of the key, 
 which by the way are very close together. The top of the t of amt 
 touches the m. The letters of the word Bremen are very ragged, 
 and not clearly cut like the genuine ; and the letters bre are some- 
 what smaller than the letters men in this forgery. There are no 
 little white dots to be seen in either 3. I think the easiest test of 
 this forgery is in the paper, which is wove instead of laid ; but my 
 readers must judge for themselves. 
 
 It will be noticed that I have put a " ? " after the statement that 
 the genuine is lithographed ; for the fact is that I am not absolutely 
 certain ; and some copies look like ejpargne engravings. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 55 
 
 6 Grote, black on pale rose, or flesh. 
 
 1855. Unperforated. 1861-4. Pergeen Scie. 1866. Machine- 
 perforated 13. 
 
 There is a good deal of variety in the 
 colour of the paper of this stamp. I have 
 seen it on pale rose, pale flesh-colour, and 
 even on a sort of salmon-colour; but the 
 tints are usually pale. The forgery is very 
 common, and must have had a good sale, 
 judging from the numbers I have seen. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on rose, or flesh-coloured wove paper, rather thin ; 
 unperforated, perforated en scie, or machine-perforated 13, according 
 to date of issue, as above. There are twelve vertical lines of shading 
 on the shield, regularly drawn, and all at the same distance apart ; 
 but in one type the twelfth line on the left side is so very close to 
 the thick boundary-line of the shield that it is very difficult to see, and 
 seems to form part of the said thick line. The word marke is at 
 exactly the same distance from the bottom of its containing-label as 
 the word franco is from the bottom of its containing-label. There 
 is a httle piece snipped out of the lowest portion of the centre of 
 the ornament joining the above labels, and the centre trefoil on the 
 top of the crown goes a httle way into the angle thus formed, but 
 too much to the left, so that it almost touches the left side of it. The 
 crown is so far off the shield that one of the wavy lines of the back- 
 ground can plainly be seen between the base of the crown and the 
 top of the shield, running the whole way across. The label con- 
 taining the words funf grote is at the same distance from both 
 sides of the stamp. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on pale dirty rose, or very pale or dark salmon- 
 coloured wove paper, rather stout, and nicely perforated 12|. There 
 are twelve vertical lines of shading in the shield ; but the first line 
 on the right side is very close to the outhne of the shield. The word 
 MARKE is rather too high up, so that there is a greater space between 
 the letters and the bottom of the label, than there is between the 
 word FRANCO and the bottom of its label. Tlie central trefoil on 
 the top of the crown goes a good way into the little triangular space 
 just above it, and too much to the right, so that it just touches the 
 right side of it. The crown is so close to the top of the shield that 
 no hue can be seen between the base of the crown and the top of the 
 shield. This is an easy test. The label containing ftjnf grote is a 
 little nearer to the right side of the stamp than it is to the left. 
 
56 
 
 ALBUM weeds; or, 
 
 7 Grote. Black on Yellow. 
 
 1855. Unperf orated. 1866. Machine-perforated 13. 
 
 I have never seen this stamp ]pevcA en scie, and Moens does 
 not catalogue it ; but I will not venture to assert that it is not 
 to be found with the said peculiar perforation. The stamps 
 present very little variety in the colour of the paper, which is 
 a tolerably bright yellow. The forgeries are generally much 
 darker. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on bright yellow paper, usually of a very slightly 
 orange tint ; unperf orated, or machine-perforated 13, according to 
 date of issue. There are eighteen lines of shading in the shield, and 
 the first and last are very close to their respective sides of the shield. 
 In most copies the lines of the shield have evidently been drawn too 
 far, and come up a little way above the upper boundary -line, inside 
 the shield. The key is so placed that the end is cut square off, 
 instead of letting a little of the hollow part of the barrel be seen, as 
 in the 5 grote. Outside the stamp, at each corner, there is a little 
 floral ornament, with a dot outside it ; and the dot at the top left- 
 hand corner does not touch its ornament, and the one at the bottom 
 left-hand corner hardly touches its ornament ; both those on the 
 right-hand side touch their ornaments. There is a figure 7 in an 
 oval on each side, shaded with a sort of fringe of very fine lines most 
 of the way round. This shading does not touch the outline of the 
 oval anywhere, except just where the top of the 7 joins the body ; 
 i.e. at the shoulder of the figure. There is one clear line of shading 
 on the shield to the left of the key. The three knobs on the handle 
 of the key appear to have solid rings upon them where they join the 
 handle. There is a little trefoil at each end of the label containing 
 FRANCO MARKE ; and the one on the right just touches the inner 
 border of the stamp, whilst the one on the left is at some little 
 distance from the border. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This is an admirable forgery, and might deceive almost anybody, 
 though the colour is too pale. Lithographed on pale, dirty yellow 
 wove paper. It is probably perforated ; but the only specunen I 
 have seen is cut closely round, so that I cannot say for certain. 
 There are only fifteen lines on the shield ; and the one to the extreme 
 right is very close to the side of the shield, but crookedly drawn. 
 This crooked line is a good test. The last line on the left is at some 
 distance from the side of the shield. The Hues do not, in any part, 
 come up beyond the top of the inner outline of the shield. The key 
 is cut square off, as in the genuine, so that no portion of the inner 
 hollow of the barrel can be seen. The only dot outside the shield 
 which touches its floral ornament is the one on the top, at the right- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 57 
 
 hand side ; all the others do not touch. The three knobs on the 
 handle of the key appear to be separated from the handle by grooves, 
 instead of solid rings. The trefoils on the ends of the franco marke 
 label do not touch the side of the stamp ; but the one on the right 
 looks at first sight as though it did, because there is a thin line 
 outside the trefoil which does touch the side of the stamp. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is not nearly so good a counterfeit as the one just described, 
 and it has a very blurred look. Badly lithographed on very orange- 
 yellow wove paper ; pin-perforated 13. There are only twelve 
 vertical lines of shading on the shield, and the first and last are at a 
 good distance from the sides of it. None of these lines come up 
 beyond the inner boundary-line at the top of the shield. The end 
 of the key is not cut square off, but shows the circular ring at the 
 top, which is intended to represent a portion of the inside of the 
 hollow barrel. All the dots outside the stamp touch their floral 
 ornaments, except the one in the right-hand bottom corner. The 
 fringe of shading at the bottom of each 7 touches the thick inner 
 outline of the containing oval. The knobs on the handle of the 
 key are very badly done ; the central one is jammed into the base of 
 the shield, whilst the two side ones look as though they would break 
 off at a touch, supposing it to be a real key. Both the trefoils at the 
 ends of the franco marke label are at some little distance from the 
 sides of the stamp. 
 
 I do not think this forgery is very likely to deceive, so it will be 
 scarcely necessary to add anything to the tests just given ; but I may 
 say that I never saw a genuine stamp of the colour of this latter 
 counterfeit. 
 
 2 Grote, orange on white. 
 
 1861-4. Perge'enScie. 1866. Machine- 
 perforated 13. 
 
 Moens catalogues this stamp in yellow as well 
 as in orange ; but the yellow usually is of a 
 very decidedly orange tint. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, porous, soft white wove paper, jperce en scie, 
 or machine-perforated 13, according to the date of issue. The quatre- 
 foil punched out of the centre of the handle of the key is dark. The 
 point of the key does not touch the outline of the oval containing 
 it. The central oval is surrounded by twenty-four rays of white, in 
 the shape of sugar-loaves, each having a dark spot at its point. The 
 ornamental engine-turning of the oval which bears the inscription 
 BREMEN, ZWEI GROTE, touches the inner line of the frame in two 
 places ; namely, at the left side near ad of stadt, and at the right 
 
58 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 side near m of amt. It does not touch, at the top or the bottom. 
 There is a large shaded white stop after the word grote. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very coarsely lithographed, in dark, reddish orange, on thin, white 
 wove paper, imperforated. The quatrefoil punched out of the handle 
 of the key is white, with a dark outline. The point of the key 
 touches the outline of the containing oval. The said oval is sur- 
 rounded by nineteen white rays in the form of pyramids, sharply 
 pointed, of different sizes, and without the dark spots at their 
 points. The imitation engine-turning of the central design touches 
 at the top, under post, and also at the bottom, but not at either of 
 the sides. There is a dim blotch to be seen after the word grote, 
 but it is not the least like the very prominent stop in the genuine. 
 
 I have not gone very much into details in my description of this 
 forgery ; for it is very poor, and I do not thinl^it is at all likely to 
 deceive. The genuine is rather finely done, without a coarse line 
 about it. 
 
 10 Grote, black on white. 
 
 1861-4. Perce en Scie. 1866. Machine-perforated 13. 
 
 I always think this stamp is the best-look- 
 ing of the set; and it would seem to offer 
 very little chance of successful imitation. 
 But the fact is that the forgery now to be 
 described is, I think, the most dangerous of 
 all ; and it agrees with the genuine in all the 
 chief points almost line for line, as in the 
 number of lines of shading in the shield, &c. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on soft, porous, white wove paper ; ferge en scie, or 
 machine-perforated 13, as above, according to the date of issue. 
 There are five of the vertical lines of shading of the background 
 visible in the hollow quatrefoil punched out of the handle of the 
 key, and these Hues are all perfectly straight, and at the same 
 distance apart. The oval immediately outside the central one 
 bearing the key is composed of white lace-work points, or semi- 
 rosettes, joined together by small chains, except the three at the 
 bottom, which seem to be jumbled into each other without the httle 
 white chains. Each of these rosettes contains four concentric rows 
 of ornamental holes ; and each of the chains joining the said rosettes 
 together has three links. The outer w^avy oval, containing the name 
 and value, is composed of a kind of lattice-work of wliite rods on a 
 ground of very fine horizontal black Hues, which can only be seen 
 with the microscope. It would be too much to have to count the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 59 
 
 number of tliese white rods all round the stamp ; but if we take tlie 
 side to the left, where the wavy oval bends outwards, between b of 
 BREMEN and z of ZEHN, and imagine a line drawn exactly across the 
 centre of the stamp, then that imaginary line would be cut by seven of 
 these rods slanting from left to right, and seven rods slanting from 
 right to left. The top of the key touches the outline of its containing 
 oval. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thick, white wove paj)er, pin-perforated 13. 
 The impression is rather too grey in shade, but otherwise this is, as 
 I have said, a most excellent imitation. Six of the vertical lines of 
 shading of the background can be seen through the quatrefoil in the 
 handle of the key ; and the third from the left is very crookedly 
 drawn, sloping from left to right. The rosettes of imitation engine- 
 turning surrounding the key have only three rows of ornamental 
 holes in them ; and none of the chains joining the said rosettes 
 together have more than two links except the one below the b of 
 BREMEN, which lias three like the genuine. The lattice-work of 
 white rods is much too distinct, a great deal coarser than the genuine. 
 If a line were drawn across the middle of the stamp it would be 
 cut by five of these rods on the left side, slanting from right to left, 
 and five slanting from left to right ; and this will suffice to show how 
 much less closely they are set than in the genuine, which has seven, 
 as before mentioned. The top of the key does not touch the outline 
 of its containing oval. 
 
 I am sorry I cannot give better tests for this forgery ; but it has 
 been so very well copied, and the design is so intricate, that I am 
 afraid I shall only be likely to confuse my readers by going into 
 more elaborate details. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 All the Bremen stamps appear to have been cancelled in exactly 
 the same manner, and that was with a large transverse oblong, con- 
 taining the name, date, &c. This cancellation has, for a wonder, 
 been carefully imitated by the forgers, so that it does not help us 
 at all. 
 
 Reprints. 
 
 All the above stamps have been reprinted, and it is exceedingly 
 difficult to tell a reprint from an unused original. They have a very 
 suspicious newness of look about them, and the colours are a good 
 deal brighter. The 10 grote is perhaps the most easily detected of 
 the set, as the ink is so very black instead of being of a greyish 
 shade. They are all perforated 13, gummed with white gum, and 
 unused. 
 
 Envelopes. 1 Grote. On blue and on white. 
 
 These envelopes are hand-stamped, and, like all hand-stamps, 
 are hardly ever seen as perfect impressions. 
 
60 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Hand-stamped in black on white wove, blue wove, white laid, and 
 also on blue ornamental or fancy paper, with wavy laid lines. I never 
 had but one of the latter, and I got it direct from a friend who 
 lived in the town, who was a collector. The stamps are always 
 more or less smudged in one part or another, so that it is impossible 
 to give a minute description of them ; Init the j)oint at the base of 
 the shield, if prolonged, would cut into the e of Bremen below it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very thick, white paper. This forgery is a great 
 deal more handsome in appearance than the genuine, and all the 
 details of the design are beautifully clear. The point at the base of 
 the shield, if prolonged, would cut into the m of Bremen below it. 
 It is obliterated with six parallel bars, a cancellation which was 
 never seen on any genuine Bremen stamp. 
 
 I have taken a good deal of pains with these Bremen stamps, as 
 they have not hitherto been described ; and the forgeries are to be 
 found everywhere. I hope that by means of the descriptions and 
 tests given above my readers will be able to detect with ease any 
 counterfeits in their possession. 
 
 I think I ought to mention that there are three types of the 
 genuine 3 grote, two of the 5 grote, and three of the 7 grote ; but I 
 have, unfortunately, not been able to get hold of all the types of each 
 value. 
 
 BEITISH COLUMBIA. 
 
 The stamps of this colony have not been 
 very extensively forged, so far as I can 
 ascertain. I only know of one rather good 
 forgery of the threepence, and an extremely 
 bad set of counterfeits of the surcharged values. 
 The latter ought not to deceive even the veriest 
 tyro. 
 
 1865. 3d., blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Very nicely engraved in epargne, on white wove paper, rather 
 surfaced ; watermarked with crown and co ; perforated 14. One of 
 the best tests for these stamps is the number of pearls on each of the 
 arches of the crown. There are six rather small pearls on each of 
 the side arches, and only four on the central arch. The ornaments 
 round the centre of the crown are composed of crosses pattee and of 
 Jleurs-de-lys, placed alternately ; and the central cross pattee, at the 
 base of the central arch, is a good deal lower than the points of the 
 jieurs-de-lys on each side of it. There are two largish stars on the 
 oval band, serving as stops to divide the name and the value ; and 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 61 
 
 these stars are eight-pointed, four of the points being large, and the 
 other four very small. Perhaps I ought to call them asterisks rather 
 than stars. The groundwork of the outer corners of the stamp is a 
 sort of lattice-work, and at all the places where the lattice-work 
 lines cross each other there are small white four-pointed stars at the 
 points of intersection. Both the engraving and the printing of this 
 stamp have been very carefully done, and consequently every little 
 detail shows with the utmost clearness, very different from a slip- 
 shod lithograph. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Moderately well lithographed on wove paper, sometimes yellowish ; 
 no watermark ; unperforated. All the copies I have hitherto seen 
 have been unperforated ; but of course the forgers can soon remedy 
 this omission when their attention is called to it. Each of the side 
 arches of the crown bears five pearls instead of six, and the central 
 arch has three instead of four. These pearls are all much too large. 
 The cross pattee at the base of the central arch is somewhat lower 
 than the points of the Jieurs-de-lys on each side of it. The two stars 
 on the oval band are six-pointed, and very different from those on 
 the genuine stamps. There are no stars visible at the intersections 
 of the lattice-work in the outer corners of the stamp. The general 
 appearance of this forgery is tolerably good, considering that it is 
 only a lithograph. The colour of the original has been fairly 
 imitated ; but the tests here given will decide its character at once. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The originals are not often found postmarked ; for, as may be 
 supposed, the amount of correspondence from this colony was not 
 very extensive. My used copies bear a very blotchy cancellation, 
 something like the Canadian. The unused copies, now moderately 
 common, are remainders, bought up by dealers and amateurs on the 
 incorporation of British Columbia into the dominion of Canada. 
 This took place in 1868, and since then the colony has used the 
 Dominion stamps. Tlie forgeries I have not seen cancelled. 
 
 Issue of 1868. 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 c, and $1. 
 
 These stamps are of exactly the same type 
 as the one just described. Probably from 
 motives of economy, when the change of cur- 
 rency from £ s. d. to doUars and cents was 
 eff'ected, and new stamps were required, the 
 die of the threepence was utilised for the six 
 new values, by merely surcharging with the 
 said new values, and printing the stamps in 
 different colours. It will be remembered then that all these 
 new values, though printed in different colours, are from the die 
 of the threepence, blue, and therefore I need not describe them. 
 
62 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very "badly lithograplied, in chalky-looking colours ; imperforated, 
 or pin-pricked 13 ; no watermark. The design of these forgeries is 
 very similar to that of the forged threepence just described, but not 
 nearly so well executed. The tests are the same as above. The 
 surcharge on the highest value of these forgeries is spelt " doUer." 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine are postmarked like the threepence ; the forgeries 
 bear the usual oval of mixed straight and curved lines which seems 
 to be so dear to the hearts of the counterfeiters. I have seen no 
 forgery of the first issue. 
 
 BEITISH GUIANA. 
 
 1862. Provisionals, 1, 2, 4 Cents. 
 
 These stamps are remarkable for two things : first, their ex- 
 cessive hideousness; and, secondly, their equally excessive 
 rarity, for they generally fetch the modest price of £3 each, or 
 thereabouts. They are type-set, and bear written initials, in red 
 
 or black ink, in the central oblong. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Type-set, on rather thick, coloured wove paper. I have never 
 seen the genuine otherwise than unperforated ; but Moens gives the 
 " pearl " type, 1 and 2 cents, as being rouletted. There is not a full 
 set of any of the various borders ; the sets being as follows : 
 
 1. With border of balls or pearls, 1 cent, 2 cents. 
 
 2. With border of ovals, having crossed lines in the centre of each 
 oval, 1 cent, 2 cents. 
 
 ® 
 
 ® 
 
 
 t) 
 
 
 
 
 
 hi 
 
 ® 
 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 St 
 
 D 
 
 ® 
 
 S 
 
 
 i 
 
 ® 
 ® 
 ® 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 wo CEJTTS 
 
 © 
 
 
 ® 
 
 @ 
 
 
 
 ^ > GUIANA.- ^ 
 
 1% 
 
 MSP 
 
 3. With border of little bunches of grapes, 1 cent, 2 cents. 
 
 4. With border of quatrefoils, having crosses in their centres, 4 
 cents. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 63 
 
 5. With "border of intersecting, ornamental arches, having a little 
 ball at the apex of each arch, 4 cents. 
 
 6. "With border of trefoils, 4 cents. N.B. No interior lines in this 
 type. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that there are three varieties of each of the 
 lower values, 1 cent and 2 cents, and three of the 4 cents, but that none 
 of the 4 cent stamps resemble either of the other values. The whole 
 impression of these genuine stamps has a very greasy and blurred 
 look, as though little pains had been taken in their production, and 
 the stamps never seem to have been set truly square. Of the lines 
 forming the interior oblong, the one under the word guiana, and 
 the one above the words of value, are a good deal thinner than the 
 side lines under British and postage. 
 
 Type-set, like the originals, on rather thinner paper, unperforated. 
 The whole impression is considerably better than the genuine ; the 
 border, lettering, and lead-lines being all set truly square. The 
 stamps are not blurred anywhere ; the very paper is exactly the 
 same curiously rough material as that of the genuine ; but the 
 forgers have made one grand mistake. No doubt they found it 
 difficult to obtain specimens of all the varieties of the genuine, and 
 so they have printed the whole set from one type ; namely, that of 
 the 4 cents with trefoil border. Thus the 1 cent and 2 cents may be 
 detected instantly, as there never existed a 1 cent or a 2 cents with 
 trefoil border. All the four interior lines are of the same thickness. 
 I am sorry not to be able to give a better description of these 
 stamps ; but the fact is, I have not a copy of the 4 cents with trefoil 
 border. However, there is one test by which the forged 4 cents can 
 be easily detected, and that is, that the genuine trefoil type has no 
 interior lines, whereas this forgery has them like the other values. 
 
 Thus the mistakes of the forgeries are briefly these : 
 
 1 cent, trefoil type, not found in the genuine. 
 
 2 cents, trefoil type, not found in the genuine. 
 
 4 cents, trefoil type, having the interior lines, which are absent in 
 the genuine 4 cents of this type. 
 
 4- 
 
 5- 
 
 6. 
 
 Forged. 
 
64 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The initials on the genuine are not postmarks ; being, I suppose, 
 the official countersign to guard against l3oth robbery and forgery; 
 for, of course, nothing would be easier than to set up the type- 
 borders again, supposing the printers to be dishonestly disposed. 
 The counterfeit initials in the forgeries are found either written in 
 black ink, or, aj^parently, with a red pencil, whereas the originals are 
 always in ink. 
 
 The genuine postmarks which I have seen are either eight very 
 thick, parallel black bars, forming an oval, or with three straight 
 bars, separated by three curved ones, forming an oval with, a space 
 in the centre, and this space filled up with the lettering " a o 3," or 
 "AO 4." The forgeries are postmarked with a cancellation like this 
 latter one, only lettered "a o 1." 
 
 Issue of 1860. 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24 Cents; perforated 12 and 13; value not 
 close to the word " cents." 
 12 Cents; perforated 10; vahie closer to "cents," 
 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24 Cents ; perforated 15. 
 
 These stamps need not detain us long ; for 
 the forgers have made a grand mistake, which 
 condemns their productions at once. 
 
 Genui7ie. 
 
 Engraved in epargne ; perforation as above, 
 according to date of issue. The inscription on 
 the oval band round the ship is " damus peti- 
 MUSQUE vicissiM." The outer line of the whole 
 stamp is very close to the frame. The in the right-hand bottom 
 corner is cut off almost square at the top. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; pin-pricked 12^. The inscription on the oval 
 band is " damus retimusoue vicissim." This mistake of retimusoue 
 instead of petimusque renders this forgery easy of detection. The 
 outer line round the stamp is at some distance from the frame, there 
 being almost the width of the 1 in the left top corner between the 
 line and the frame. The in the right bottom corner is oval. 
 
 Issue of 1863. 6, 24 cents. 
 
 6 Cents. Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne on yellowish -white 
 wove paper ; perforated 13, 12, 10. The design 
 is rather nicely done, and all the lettering is 
 well formed, and perfectly distinct. The 
 groundwork outside the central circle is of 
 uniform, solid colour, except, of course, the 
 part occupied by the ornamental spandrels. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 65 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very coarsely lithographed on very white paper ; pin-pricked 12| 
 very badly. I have not a copy of this forgery in my possession at 
 present ; but Mr. Atlee's description of it says that there is an oblong 
 space above the central circle, and a similar one below it, each with 
 three lines. There are short strokes of shading at the sides, outside 
 the circle. The q in the word petimusque is almost square instead 
 of being of the normal shape. The numerals vi touch each other. 
 The N of GUIANA has no top-stroke to the first upright, and the N of 
 CENTS shows the same defect. 
 
 24 Cents. Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne ; perforated 13, 12, 10. This stamp is not so 
 nicely done as the 6 cents, the printing being generally too heavy. 
 The bowsprit of the vessel touches the inner boundary-line of the 
 circle, and, if prolonged, it would cut through the first s of vicissiM. 
 The top of the mainmast is at some little distance from the inner 
 outline of the circle, and, if prolonged, it would pass almost midway 
 between us of petimusque. The lower halves of the xx in xxiv 
 are, if anything, a little larger than the upper halves. Each of the 
 ornamental spandrels has four white dots below it. The colour is a 
 rich yellow-green. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very poorly lithographed on very white paper ; pin-pricked 12^. 
 The whole impression is much too light, instead of, as in the genuine, 
 much too dark. The bowsprit of the vessel does not go near the 
 circle, and, if prolonged, it would cut through the c of vicissiM, 
 which, by the way, is spelt " vicissjm." The top of the mainmast 
 almost touches the circle, and, if prolonged, it would ' pass between 
 the MU of petimusque. The upper halves of the xx of xxiv are 
 considerably larger than the lower ones. Each of the ornamental 
 spandrels has only two dots below it, or rather at each end of it 
 there is one dot. The ornamental floret at the bottom of the name- 
 circle is too much to the left. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine bear the same postmarks as before, and sometimes 
 the oval before described is surrounded by a circular line, and the 
 " A 3 " or " A 4 " is in italics. These forgeries are cancelled with 
 a diamond-shaped gridiron. 
 
 I have not seen any forgeries of the earlier issues, nor do I know 
 whether such exist. I think that the provisionals are the best 
 imitations, except for the mistake in the bordering ; but even our 
 youngest philatelic brethren might think it rather suspicious, having 
 these stamps offered freely to them for a few pence when they are 
 worth as many pounds. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 BEITISH HONDUEAS. 
 
 1866-72. Id., 3d., 6d., Is. 
 
 The outer portion of these stamps is not 
 badly done; hut I cannot say that the forgers 
 have been very successful in their " counterfeit 
 presentment" of Her Majesty, to whom they 
 have imparted a truculent and very unpleasant 
 expression of countenance. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne on somewhat glace' paper, machine-perforated 
 14, watermarked with a crown and cc. The frames all vary slightly ; 
 hut the head has only two types — one for the Id., 6d., and Is., and 
 the other for the 3d., which was issued later than the others. The 
 hair covers a good portion of the eyebrow. The lettering does not 
 touch the boundary-lines anywhere. There is a very distinct buckle 
 to the garter in all the stamps, but differing slightly for each value. 
 The nose is straight in the 3d., but somewhat aquiline for the others. 
 The top of the Jieur-de-lys, near the back of the head, just touches 
 the arch of the crown above it in all the values. These stamps, as a 
 rule, are very good specimens of epargne engraving ; but sometimes 
 the copies of the Id. may be met with slightly blurred, and not so 
 well printed ; the fault, however, being with the printers, and not 
 with the artist. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on unsurfaced paper, pin-perforated 13 ; no water- 
 mark, ungummed. The head is the same for all the values, with 
 a moderately straight nose, which is very sharply pointed. The 
 Id., 6d., and Is. have the large square buckle of the garter, which is 
 fomid only on the genuine Id. ; and the 3d. has no buckle at all. 
 The word pejjny (or pence, as the case may be) touches the outer 
 boundary-line of the garter in the lower values. The two little 
 ornamental stops between the name and value are alike in all the 
 forgeries, being copied from the ones found on the genuine Id. 
 They are all different in the genuine. The cross patte'e in front of 
 the crown just touches the boundary of the shaded oval, as also do 
 the orb at the top, and the bunch of hair at the back, though none 
 of them touch the boundary in the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear a postmark something like our own usual 
 cancellation, but with the colony-number, "a o 6," in the centre. 
 All the forgeries which I have seen were obliterated with four 
 concentric circles, like the old Baden, Transvaal, &c. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 67 
 
 I should hardly call the above set dangerous forgeries, but they 
 are sufficiently like the genuine to deceive our younger brethren, who 
 liave not yet learnt to distinguish between an engraving and a 
 lithograph. I believe these counterfeits came from Hamburg, but I 
 am not quite certain of this, though they have the appearance of 
 Messrs. Spiro's productions. 
 
 BEUNSWICK. 
 
 I must say that the Brunswick stamps have been very well 
 forged ; but, with the exception of the first issue, they can be 
 easily detected by the absence of the post-horn watermark, which 
 is so distinct upon the genuine. The first issue does not bear 
 any watermark, so that the forgeries of that set are far more 
 dangerous than any of the succeeding ones. By the way, it 
 may not be out of place here to mention that some of our 
 younger brethren are occasionally in doubt as to how to tell the 
 3 silbergroschen of the first issue from the 3 silbergroschen, rose, 
 of 1862. However, there need be no difiiculty about this, if it 
 be borne in mind that the early one has no watermark, and is of 
 a dull vermilion colour, whilst the later one is watermarked with 
 the post-horn, and is of a deep rose, almost carmine in hue. The 
 first issue has always been rather rare, as it had only about a 
 year's currency ; but all the others are tolerably common. The 
 unused ones of the latest issue, so freely offered at much below 
 face value, are remainders which were sold to dealers and col- 
 lectors when the stamps of this duchy became obsolete. I do 
 not think this latest issue has ever been forged ; at all events, I 
 have never seen any imitations, and I should think that, as the 
 genuine stamps are so very cheap, it would hardly pay to forge 
 them. 
 
 Issue of 1852. 1, 2, 3 Silbergroschen. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Typographed in colour, on thick, white wove paper ; no water- 
 mark ; backed with rose-coloured gum. The impression of these 
 stamps is usually very badly done, and sometimes half the vertical 
 lines in the oval are wanting, or drawn only a part of the way. The 
 design is the same for all the values, except the difference in the 
 figures and words of value. The crown is very indistinct, and the 
 base of it shows three ornaments of some kind, but whether they be 
 jewels or not it is quite impossible to say. The right fore-foot of the 
 horse does not touch the outline of the oval, but it does touch the 
 
68 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 last vertical line on the left side of the oval. The tail ends at the 
 last line but two on the right side. The lettering of the inscriptions, 
 especially of the upper one, is particularly clear, and none of the 
 letters touch each other. The back of the horse^s neck, from the 
 shoulder to the head, is nicely curved and arched. The ends of the 
 lower scroll are at some distance from the bottom outline of the 
 stamp, particularly in the 2 sgr. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Fairly lithographed, on white wove paper, rather thin ; no water- 
 mark ; no gum. Many of these forgeries look rather better than the 
 originals. All the vertical lines in the central oval are well marked. 
 The base of the crown shows five very distinct pearls or dots, which 
 are not visible in the genuine. The right fore-foot of the horse 
 touches the outline of the oval, and nearly touches the very last 
 vertical line on the left side. The tail reaches to the very last 
 vertical line on the right side of the oval. The lettering of the in- 
 scriptions is uneven, and not particularly clear. In the upper scroll 
 the bottoms of the letters ra touch each other, and the letters hwe 
 almost touch at their tops. The back of the horse's neck, from the 
 shoulder to the head, is drawn just in a plain slant, without any 
 graceful curve like that of the genuine. The ends of the lower 
 scroll are very near the bottom outline, and in the 2 sgr. they very 
 nearly touch it. The colour of the 3 sgr. is almost the same as that 
 of the 1 sgr., whereas it ought to be a dull vermilion. The colours 
 of the others are imitated with tolerable accuracy. 
 
 It will be seen that there are no very great and striking differences 
 between the genuine and forged stamps of this issue, and therefore I 
 would suggest to my readers to be careful not to buy of any but 
 well-known dealers. 
 
 Issue of 1853-66. \, i, 1, 2, 3 Silbergroschen, 
 black on colour. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 The tests for this issue are the same as for the first issue. All the 
 genuine have a very distinct watermark in the shape of a large 
 outlined post-horn. I do not think it necessary to go more minutely 
 into the various slight difi^erences between the genuine and forged of 
 this set, as the watermark affords a very ready means of deciding 
 upon the character of any specimen. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Almost exactly like the forgeries of the first issue, except that the 
 letters of the word Braunschweig are rather better done, though 
 the R and a still touch at the bottom. There is no watermark, 
 which of itself is amply sufficient to condemn these counterfeits. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 69 
 
 Issue of 1862-4. | black on green, 1 yellow, 3 rose, both 
 on white paper. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Exactly the same as the last ; watermark post- 
 horn as before. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Like last forgeries ; no watermark. The ^ is 
 generally smudged and blotted to a marvellous 
 extent, so that no sane person would take it for 
 a genuine stamp. The 1 'sgr. is a sort of orange colour ; the 3 sgr. is 
 a bright rose, and cannot be told from the forgery of the 3 sgr. of 
 the first issue. 
 
 I have not seen any forgeries of 
 the I ggr., nor of the embossed 
 set, nor of the envelopes ; but I 
 believe the latter have been re- 
 printed. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 The stamps of the first issue 
 
 face of the stamp in large black letters without any frame. The 
 later issues are generally postmarked with a couple of circles, with 
 name in the outer circle, and date in the inner one, very similar to 
 the Hanoverian postmark ; or with a large diamond, formed of 
 parallel lines of varying length, with a number in the centre. I 
 have occasionally seen the circle cancellation on the first issue ; but 
 very rarely. The forgeries imitate the circle, and the diamond also ; 
 so that a knowledge of the genuine postmarks does not help us much 
 in this case, though it is very seldom that the counterfeiters take the 
 trouble to imitate any genuine cancellation. 
 
 BUENOS AYEES. 
 
 Issue of 1856 ; Steamer. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 pesos. 
 
 If a prize were to be offered for the ugliest 
 stamp, I must say that I think these Buenos 
 Ayres would worthily deserve to have it be- 
 stowed upon them ; for it is very seldom that 
 one has the privilege of beholding such abomin- 
 able specimens of the designer's art. I sup- 
 pose I need hardly say that all the stamps of this first issue 
 are rare, the higher values especially. I have seen the 4 pesos 
 priced at £4 used. The denomination of value on some of the 
 
70 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 stamps is rather puzzling to a beginner. The 1 peso is found as 
 "in," and also as "to and the 4 pesos is labelled "cuato." 
 But I think I cannot do better than transcribe Mr. Pemberton's 
 remarks upon the series from the Handbook, wherein he says 
 that the 4 and 5 pesos had only a six months' existence, when 
 they were suppressed ; the impressions from the cuato die, in 
 brown, passing for 4 reales, and the cinco die having the value 
 partially erased, leaving only the letters in, which passed, in blue 
 and brown, as 1 peso. Later the cuato was erased to to, also 
 to pass as 1 peso. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Very badly lithographed on rather soft, thick, yellowish-white 
 wove paper. The lettering of correos is very much larger than any 
 of the other lettering on the stamp, and the second o of that word 
 is much larger than any of the other letters. In each corner of the 
 stamp there is a large white dot, more or less round, and each of 
 these dots is considerably larger than the last o of correos. The 
 name buenos aires has a hyphen between the two words. Three 
 of the large white dots, and sometimes all four, touch the line out- 
 side them. The sun appears to be about half risen ; and there are 
 four long rays proceeding from his upper liml). The thick oval Hne 
 surrounding the ship, &c., does not go all the way round ; it is 
 broken on the left side, and the shape of the oval is continued by 
 the shading which represents the sea. The stamp which has been 
 imitated is the in peso, and the genuine one has the in very 
 distinct, and just before it there are the remains of the c. The 
 whole of the c has been erased except just the very ends or tongues 
 of the letter. I ought to say here that all the values differ from 
 each other in several respects ; but I have tried to take those points 
 common to all, in order to avoid confusion. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 There are three distinct forgeries, the chief difference being in the 
 size of the lower lettering. 
 
 First Set. 
 
 Eather nicely lithographed in very dark blue on very white, hard 
 wove paper. The value appears as ir ps ; and the partly-erased c has 
 only had just the back taken out of it, leaving the rounded top 
 and bottom as well as the tongues. The lettering of correos and 
 of BUENOS AIRES is all Small, and there is no h}^3hen between the 
 latter two words. All the letters of correos are of exactly the 
 same size, and as small as the letters of the name. The white dots 
 in the corners are quite small, and about the same size as the o of 
 CORREOS. None of these dots touch the border. The sun does not 
 show any lower rays, but still, by his height above the steamer, he 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 71 
 
 oucrht to be quite risen. There are seven short rays proceeding from 
 his°upper liinb. The thick oval Une surrounding the steamer, &c., 
 goes all the way round, unbroken. The easiest test of this forgery is 
 in the value being ir ps instead of in ps. The R is quite distinct, 
 and cannot be mistaken for an n. 
 
 Second Set. 
 
 This forgery is found in brown, in light green, and in dark green ; 
 but all the colours are labelled alike, ir ps, Hke the forgery just 
 described, so that no one need be taken in by theirs Very badly 
 lithographed on hard, yellowish-white wove paper. The lettering at 
 the top and bottom is very large and tall, almost reaching to the 
 top aiid bottom of the containing labels. The word correos gets 
 gradually larger from the beginning to the middle, and then 
 Gradually smaller again from the middle to the end. The white 
 dots in the corners are a good deal smaller than either o ot coRREOS, 
 and they do not touch the border anywhere. The rays ot the sun 
 are very short, and have been placed so close together that they 
 have all run into one semicircular blotch. The oval is unbroken 
 all the way round. I think this forgery is more deceptive than the 
 last: but the great size of the lettering of buenos aires will 
 instantly condemn it. I do not know whether these counterfeits 
 have had much sale ; but I often have them sent to me, so I expect 
 they are tolerably common. 
 
 Third Set 
 
 Of this set I have only the in ps. T believe it is quite a new 
 forgery, and it is dangerously like the original. 
 
 Lithographed in pale, dead blue, on very white wove paper, ihe 
 value is correctly written in ps ; but there is hardly any indication 
 of the erased c before it, just the merest trace. The lettering ot 
 correos and of buenos aires is all of the same size, and all m very 
 thin letters. There is no hyphen between the words of name. ^ The 
 white dots in the corners are large, but not so large as m the originals, 
 and none of them touch the boundary. The sun shows four short 
 rays of eciual length. The thick, oval line surrounding the steamer, 
 &c., is unbroken. The easiest test for this stamp is m the fact that 
 the line which runs round the whole stamp, outside everything, is a 
 very thin, straight Hue ; whereas this line in the genume is thick 
 and waved, almost as if it had been intended to imitate a pertoration. 
 The final o of franco is venj small, and a good deal smaller than 
 the rest of the letters of that word. , , , ^ i. 
 
 This forc^ery is not cancelled ; it is gummed at the back, and has 
 a very new look ; but, at the same time, I think that many collectors 
 might be deceived by it. By the way, there is another good test tor 
 it, which I see I have not mentioned. In the genuine the mast ot 
 the steamer has two flags or streamers on the very top, one just 
 under the other, whilst this forgery does not carry any flags at all. 
 
72 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Concerning the genuine stamps, I ought to add that, besides the 
 varieties mentioned by Mr. Pemberton, I have seen the 1 peso pro- 
 perly labelled " i peso." It is from the matrix of the cuato ps. ; 
 and the t of cuato has had the top cut off, and the o altogether 
 erased. I do not remember seeing more than one specimen of this, 
 so it is probably not common. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps have a cancellation altogether different from 
 that of any other country, and the forgers would have done well to 
 try to imitate it. It is a diamond of dots, surrounded by a fringe of 
 short lines, forming an oval. It forms a splendid cancellation, look- 
 ing at it from an official point of view ; for most of the stamps are 
 so completely covered and obliterated by it that they are altogether 
 undecipherable ; but this very fact renders it extremely obnoxious 
 from our point of view, as it spoils valuable specimens. 
 
 The forgeries are cancelled with two large concentric ovals, with 
 lettering in the centre and between the ovals ; generally in blue. 
 
 Horseman (Guacho) Essays, 1859. 
 
 I have not been able to get any of these 
 essays for description, and this is rather un- 
 fortunate, as there is a fuU set of forgeries. 
 The counterfeits are lithographed on thin 
 paper, very shiny, and generally postmarked. 
 This latter fact would alone suffice to con- 
 demn them, as it is believed that none of 
 these essays ever passed the post. 
 
 Issue of 1869, Paris imprint. 4 Reales, 1, 2 Pesos. 
 
 The first issue of the set with head of 
 Liberty was printed in Paris, and they are 
 nicely done. They are not marvels of execu- 
 tion, but they are infinitely clearer and better 
 in every way than the later ones printed in the 
 Eepublic itself. Indeed, I fancy that some of 
 the latter would be rejected by our younger brethren as counter- 
 feits, though they must yield the palm of ugliness to the first 
 issue. 
 
 Gemcine. 
 
 Well lithographed, on wove paper. The head of Liberty is nicely 
 done ; and there are five lines of shading at the crease formed where 
 the cap doubles over at the top of the head. There are three distinct 
 dark waves of hair in front of the cap ; there is a necklace upon the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 73 
 
 neck, bearing four pearls. All the rest of the necklace, except these 
 four pearls, is hidden by the tail of the cap, which exactly covers 
 over the line, or direction, in which the rest of the necklace would 
 lie. The eye is distinct and open ; the chin is curved considerably 
 forwards. The narrowest part of the shaded background, outside 
 the central circle, on each side, contains four vertical lines of shading. 
 The tail of the cap comes forwards to cover the ear, then it goes 
 straight downwards, getting narrower as it goes, until it gives a twist 
 over, and joins the necklace, as before described. There is usually a 
 hyphen between the words buenos-aires, but I have seen many 
 undoubtedly genuine copies without it, so it is not safe to trust too 
 much to this test. The lettering at the sides is very thin, and the 
 value is at equal distances from both ends of the containing label. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 Moderately well lithographed, on white paper. The head is not 
 well done. There are three lines of shading where the cap bends 
 over, at the top of the head. There is a white blotch at the top 
 of the forehead, being, apparently, part of the cap ; and beneath it 
 there are two waves of hair. The side of the face is shaded with 
 blotches. There is no necklace visible at all ; its place being occu- 
 pied by what looks like dishevelled hair, which has apparently 
 escaped from the cap. The eye is a dark blotch ; the chin points 
 downward, instead of forward. The narrowest part of the shaded 
 background, outside the central circle, has seven vertical lines of 
 shading on the right, and about six on the left, though the latter are 
 so blotched that it is very difficult to be certain as to the real 
 number. The tail of the cap looks like a rough representation of a 
 leg and foot, the knee coming over the ear, and the rest of the leg 
 pointing forward, so that the toe, if prolonged, would cut into the 
 u of BUENOS. There is no indication of any hyphen between the 
 words of name. The lettering at the sides is stumpy and fat ; and, 
 in the 2 pesos, the value has been altered by simply changing the 1 
 into a 2, and adding an s to the end of peso ; thus the last s of pesos 
 is much nearer to the one side of the label th^ the 2 is to the other 
 side. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 Tliis forgery may possibly be found in all the values, but I have 
 only seen the 2 pesos. It is very badly done. Lithographed on 
 white paper. Poor Liberty looks like a very shrewish old woman, 
 and her cap is a real nightcap. The front corner of the base of the 
 neck is cut off" altogether. There are four vertical lines of shading 
 on each side, just outside the central circle; but they are very 
 crookedly drawn, so that they look very different from the genuine. 
 The s of BUENOS looks like a z reversed and inverted. There is no 
 stop between the words buenos aires. The final s of pesos is much 
 too near its own end of the label. The tail of the cap points to 
 the of BUENOS. 
 
74 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. Third Set. 
 
 Of this I have only seen the 1 peso in red. Lithographed on hard 
 wove paper, of a yellowish white. The upper part of the head is 
 tolerably well done, but the lower jaw is swollen, as if the poor 
 goddess were suffering from tooth-ache. The shading in the crease 
 formed where the cap doubles over at the top of the head consists 
 of five lines radiating from a thick line, like twdgs from a branch. 
 There are four very distinct twists or waves of hair in front of the 
 cap. ■ There is no necklace; but the tail of the cap comes right 
 forward to the very front of the neck, and entirely covers that part 
 where the necklace ought to be found. The eye is moderately 
 distinct, but not quite so clear as in the genuine. There is no 
 chin to speak of; for the usual curve, between the lower lip 
 and the chin proper, is filled up by the swelling of which I spoke. 
 The narrowest part of the shaded background, outside the central 
 circle, has six lines on the right side and four on the left. There 
 is a very faint hyphen between the words buenos aires. The 
 lettering at the right side is too large and thick. The first o of 
 CORREOS is a Q. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The usual cancellation of the genuine is a smallish oval, filled 
 with crossed, oblique lines. But many of the genuine stamps of 
 this issue passed the post without being cancelled, owing to a habit 
 on the part of the Buenos Ayreans of applying the stamp or stamps 
 by way of seal to their letters, so that they escaped the notice of the 
 officials. I have not seen the first and second forgeries cancelled ; 
 but the third is obliterated with a double circle, containing the 
 name and some figures. This postmark is imitated from the usual 
 cancellation found on the genuine local impressions now to be 
 described. 
 
 Issue of 1860. Local Imprint. 4 Beales, 1 Peso. 
 
 This issue can easily be distinguished from the last by the 
 extreme badness of the impression. The type is, I believe, 
 really the same ; but it looks very different, owing to the faulty 
 execution of the printing. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Very badly lithographed on soft wove paper, as before. The pearls 
 of the necklace are merged into one dark line, which is joined to the 
 tail of the cap. In all my copies there is a dot between the words 
 BUENOS AYRES. There is no stop after the s in the 4 reales value. 
 It will be understood that this issue is exactly like the last in all 
 points, except that the whole design is blotchy, and very badly 
 printed. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 75 
 
 Forged.. 
 
 Lithographed on hard, white i^aper. The whole front and base of 
 the neck seem to be merged into the background, and are almost 
 invisible. There is no necklace to be seen, nor the part of the tail 
 of the cap which ought to join it. The waves of hair of the originals 
 are here made part of the cap instead, and, in some copies, this part 
 is perfectly white. The tail of the cap points in the same direction 
 as that in the first set of forgeries of the Paris-printed issue. There 
 is no dot between the words buenos aires. There is a stop after 
 REALES in the 4 reales value. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine bear an oval of diamond-shaped dots, and also a 
 double circle containing the name of the rejDublic between the circles, 
 with figures in the middle. The forgeries are cancelled with part of 
 an oval with a very thick outline, but most of them are un- 
 obliterated. 
 
 CABUL. 
 
 The issues, types, varieties, and values of these stamps are 
 quite bewildering in their number; and, unless a collector happen 
 to have a pretty deep purse, I am afraid he will be obliged to be 
 content to see a good many blanks in the portion of his album 
 devoted to this State. I only know, at present, of one forgery, 
 which came out in 1877. The forgers must have set to work 
 almost immediately upon the appearance of the stamp, and I am 
 afraid their handiwork had a considerable sale ; for the counter- 
 feit is tolerably well done, and the genuine stamps had been in 
 the market but a very little while before these imposters came 
 over from Germany. The imitation purports to be the 
 
 Issue of 1876. One Anna, grey. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thick, laid paper. 
 The catalogues generally give the colour as 
 being grey, but I should rather call it a sort of 
 neutral tint, of a bluish cast. The outer border 
 of the stamp is a white ring, dotted at tolerably 
 close, but irregular intervals, with coloured 
 blotches. The tiger has very distinct eyebrows, 
 composed of dots, and his face has a number of 
 spots on it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, on thin wove paper. The colour is, what I should 
 call, a dark grey, quite different from that of the genuine! The 
 
76 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 outer border of the stamp is a rope, the strands of it being quite 
 distinct. These strands do not at all resemble the dots on the 
 genuine. The tiger has no eyebrows, and his face is not spotty. 
 There are, of course, a good many other little differences, but I think 
 the ones I have here given will enable anyone to detect the counter- 
 feits. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The only cancellation which I have ever seen on these Cabul 
 stamps consists in a small piece being torn or cut out of the stamp 
 itself. The forgeries are not mutilated. The following quotation 
 from Mr. Pemberton's Handbook explains how this curious cancelling 
 is done : 
 
 "A native generally takes his letter to the post-office with money 
 for a stamp (he does not keep any by him) ; the stamp-seller takes 
 the letter and money, and, having first torn a piece out of the stamp 
 with his finger and thumb, he puts it on the letter, and the opera- 
 tion is complete. This barbaric mutilation commenced in 1871, and 
 has continued till now ; though it is true that the small stamps 
 oftener have a triangular piece snipped out, presumably because 
 there is not sufficient of them to begin tearing at." 
 
 I would remind my readers that the above stamp exists in neutral- 
 tint, lilac, black, and green, according as it is used for Cabul, 
 Kandahar, Jellalabad, or Khoulloum, so that nothing would be 
 easier for the forgers than to print their counterfeit in any of these 
 colours. At present, however, I have only seen the forgery in dark 
 grey, as above described. 
 
 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 
 Issue of 1857. Id., 4d., 6d., 1 shilling. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stoutish 
 wove paper ; watermarked with an 
 
 anchor, but unfortunately the said >^^f^^^^ 
 anchor is often very difficult to see. .^0§iB»ji^^ 
 The right foot of the figure of Hope >^mfj^^^^V^^%. 
 is in profile ; but the left foot is .^M^'g^8iii^S^MK9k. 
 turned sideways, so that all the toes ^tf.i 'J aff il M[ till m mm^^ 
 can be seen. The background to the figure is made up of engine- 
 turning, but the lines are so very close together that they seem to 
 make one uniform groundwork of plain colour. Both flukes of the 
 anchor beside the figure are of the same size and shape, and the 
 anchor is nicely drawn. The engine-turning, behind the lettering, 
 is composed of fine curved lines in white, apparently scratched out 
 of a dark background. The letters of name, &c., are equal in height, 
 and of the same thickness. The engraving of these stamps is very 
 beautifully done, and I think nobody ought to be taken in by the 
 miserable imitations now to be described. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 77 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 Very coarsely lithographed on rather thick, wove paper ; no water- 
 mark. The feet of the figure are in much the same position as in 
 the genuine, but the toes cannot be counted, and both feet are mis- 
 shapen. The background to the figure is made up of crossed, wavy 
 lines, very coarsely done, and very wide apart. The fluke of the 
 anchor which is nearest to the figure is much thicker than the other, 
 and absurdly out of shape ; the whole thing looking like a boy's first 
 attempt to draw Hope's emblem. The engine-turning behind the 
 lettering is formed by almost straight, coloured lines on a white 
 background, and these also are very coarse. The letters have a 
 ragged, unfinished look about them, and they are not all alike 
 in height and thickness. In the Id. the value appears as 
 " ONEPENNY," and in the 4d. as " fourpence," without any sepa- 
 ration between the words. The o of fourpence is squeezed flat 
 at the bottom. In the 6d. the words of value are smaller than 
 the other lettering. In the Is. the one is a good deal larger than 
 any of the other lettering. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 These are very much better counterfeits than the set just described, 
 and I have only come across them lately. They are good enough 
 to take in any young collector who does not know the difterence 
 between a taille-douce engraving and a lithograph. Lithographed 
 on rather thin, wove paper ; no watermark. The figure of Hope has 
 only four toes, the little toe being twice the breadth of the others. 
 The of POSTAGE is much smaller than the rest of the letters, and 
 the background behind the lettering is composed of coloured lines 
 on a white ground. The top of the anchor ends in a small spike, 
 which is not found in the genuine. The star, or flower, or whatever 
 it is, in the top point of the stamp has eight points of very nearly 
 equal size, and a very tiny dot in the centre, surrounded by a 
 coloured ring ; whereas, in the genuine, four of the points are very 
 large, four very small, and the centre is a large dot, without any 
 coloured ring round it. The background behind the figure is a fair 
 imitation of the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The postmarks of the genuine stamps are very various. The 
 most general is a set of undecipherable blotches ; but I have some 
 with a sort of gridiron pattern, and some vidth a diamond of thin 
 parallel lines very close together, each of these two containing 
 " G. H." in the centre. Another of my copies bears the name of the 
 town in block letters, arranged in an oval form, without any lines 
 round it ; and I have also one with the name of a town within 
 a large outlined oval. The forgeries have a cancellation formed of 
 five thick, parallel lines very far apart, and some of them have a 
 pen-stroke in addition. This cancellation is found on both sets of 
 forgeries, which looks as though they came from the same maker. 
 
78 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Issues of 1864-76. Id., 4d., ed., Is. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, machine -perforated 14 ; 
 watermarked with, a crown and cc. The head of 
 the figure of Hope comes exactly beneath the first 
 o of the word good. The eye, mouth, and horn 
 of the emblematic ram are very plain and distinct. 
 The lettering is so tall that it reaches almost from 
 top to bottom of the containing labels. There is a 
 tiara on the head of the figure. The dress is 
 fastened mtli a distinct brooch on each shoulder. The flukes of the 
 anchor are diamond-shaped. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 These counterfeits are very common, and I am afraid they have 
 had a sale much beyond what their appearance would lead us to 
 expect ; for one glance at them will to a practised eye be quite 
 sufficient to decide upon their worth, or rather worthlessness. Poorly 
 lithographed on very white paper ; no watermark ; pin-pricked 13. 
 The head of the figure of Hope comes just under the g of good. 
 The head of the ram seems to be all eye and horn, and very in- 
 distinct. The lettering is a good deal too small, and it does not come 
 anywhere near the top and bottom of the containing labels. The c 
 of CAPE appears to be a g. There is no tiara on the head of the 
 figure, and there are no brooches on the shoulders. 
 
 1868. 4d. ; Surcharged on Lilac, 6d. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 The words postage six-pence are obliterated by a broad bar of 
 dull carmine, and the surcharge value four-pence is printed near 
 the top of the stamp in the same colour as the bar, with a stop after 
 the said words. All the other tests are exactly the same as in the 
 genuine set just described ; for it will be understood that this stamp 
 is merely the 6d. of the last set, with the new value surcharged 
 upon it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 I suppose the forgers have not been able to imitate the cancelling 
 of the old value properly, so they have left the bottom of the lilac 
 design blank. On this blank space there is a broad band of vermilion, 
 with the words postage six pence in white letters on the band, in- 
 stead of underneath it. The surcharged words four pence are in 
 the same vermilion hue, and there is no stop after them. All the 
 tests for the other parts of the design are exactly the same as in the 
 forged set last described. I do not think this particular forgery is at 
 all likely to deceive anybody. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 79 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Amongst my copies I find only three varieties of cancellation. 
 One is an oval, formed by very thick parallel bars, with a square or 
 a rectangle in the centre, containing numerals. Another is the same 
 rectangle with numerals, but the rectangle is surrounded by a fringe 
 of fine lines like a sort of halo. The third is a plain circle, contain- 
 ing the name of the town, date, &c. The forgeries are postmarked 
 with a set of five parallel bars, forming a large oblong, the same as 
 the forged cancellation of the first issue. 
 
 I have not yet seen or heard of any forgeries of the native tri- 
 angular provisionals, known as the " wood blocks ; " but I should 
 have thought them the easiest of all to forge, as they are very 
 poorly done, and almost always very much blotched. 
 
 CEYLON. 
 
 Issue of 1857. Id., 6d., lOd., imperforate. 
 
 I have forgeries of the above values, but they are badly done, 
 and I do not think them very likely to deceive anybody. They 
 came to me out of a German album, and I believe they were 
 made in that country. They are not very common in England, 
 and I only remember seeing one more copy besides the ones now 
 in my possession. I expect what sale they have had has been 
 chiefly on the continent, where the stamps of our colonies are 
 not so common as they are here. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thin white paper ; unperforated ; 
 watermarked with a star, which is generally very distinct. There 
 are two little square ornaments in the top corners, and each of these 
 squares has its inside lower corner projecting very slightly into the 
 outline of the central oval. The coronet is composed of alternate 
 crosses pattee and things which look like shamrocks, though the 
 latter may be some leaf or flower emblematic of the island. The 
 last cross and the last shamrock towards the back of the head are 
 smaller than the rest, or rather, placed on a lower level, and the coil 
 of hair at the back of the head stands up high above these last two 
 ornaments. The queen's forehead is distinctly rounded, and the 
 lower lip does not project so far as the upper one. There are two 
 curls of hair, of almost equal length, hanging down from the back 
 of the coronet to within one-eighth of an inch from the bottom of 
 the back of the neck. Following the curve of the word ceylon 
 there will be seen two ovals of white dots, formed by spaces in the 
 engine-turning of the background, but they are not very prominent ; 
 and inside these again there are two more ovals a little less distract. 
 There are only eight variously-shaped jewels to be seen in the lower 
 band oi the coronet. 
 
80 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on tliin, wove paper — the Id. on blue, the other 
 values on white ; unperforated ; no watermark. The little square 
 ornament on the left side, at the top of the stamp, encroaches con- 
 siderably on the outline of the central oval ; but the one on the right 
 side does not even touch the said oval. The ornaments on the 
 coronet appear, at first sight, to be all crosses patUe, but they are 
 not exactly alike. The last two are quite as tall as the rest, and the 
 coil of hair at the back of the head does not stand up so high as 
 they do. The queen's forehead is slightly hollowed in the centre, 
 and the lower lip projects, if anything, slightly further than the top 
 one. The two curls hanging down from the back of the coronet are 
 very badly drawn ; the inner one is barely half the length of the 
 outer one, and the outer one is quite quarter of an inch from the 
 bottom of the neck. There are two very prominent ovals of dotted 
 lines following the curve of the word ceylon ; and there are two 
 other ovals inside these, also of dotted lines, and nearly as distinct. 
 All these ovals can be seen at a glance. There are either eleven or 
 twelve jewels round the base of the coronet. In these forgeries Her 
 Majesty has been favoured with a very forbidding cast of counten- 
 ance by the designer, though she looks very amiable on the genuine 
 stamps. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 One or two of my copies of these unperforated stamps bear some 
 shapeless blotches by way of obliteration ; but all the rest are post- 
 marked with a set of twelve long, parallel bars, forming an oval, but 
 without any oval outline round them. The forgeries bear either a 
 pen-stroke, or an oval outline, filled with eight parallel bars, making 
 a sort of gridiron. 
 
 I have taken all these three stamps together, so as to avoid having 
 to describe each value separately; but it will be understood that 
 the lower part of each of the genuine differs from the others, accord- 
 ing to the value. However they are all alike in the parts taken 
 for description, and the above tests will suffice for the detection of 
 either the Id., the 6d., or the lOd., or of all three. The engine- 
 turning of the originals has been very well copied in these forgeries, 
 especially in the Id. value, which is the best of the three ; and I 
 cannot imagine how the forgers managed to prevent the fine lines 
 from running together, and making a solid background. 
 
 Issue of 1868. Sd., Rose. 
 
 I have only seen the above value of this 
 set ; but as [it exists, it is probable that the 
 Id. exists also. The forgery is poorly done, 
 and not at all dangerous. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 81 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on rather stout, hard, and somewhat glac^ 
 wove paper ; perforated 12^ or 14 ; watermarked with a crown and 
 cc. The diamond-shaped jewels along the base of the coronet seem 
 to stand out well from it. The face is shaded all over, except the 
 front of the forehead. The large jDearls on the top of the coronet 
 are shaded almost all over. The letters of the word ceylon do not 
 touch the outline of their containing-label anywhere, and both name 
 and value are in beautifully clear and clean-cut letters. The colour 
 of the stamp is a bright rose, or rose-pink. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed in a very washed-out lilac-pink, on very white 
 wove paper, very thin ; pin-pricked 12^; no watermark. The 
 ornaments along the base of the coronet appear to be oval holes, 
 instead of diamond-shaped jewels. The face is white all round the 
 mouth. The large pearls on the top of the coronet are only slightly 
 shaded ; at least three-fourths of each are left white. The c of 
 CEYLON touches the bottom of the containing-label, and the Y and l 
 touch at the top. The whole stamp has a blurred and indistinct 
 appearance, very different from the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps generally bear an oval, formed by three very 
 thick, parallel straight bars at each end, and two curved, parallel 
 bars at each side, leaving a space in the centre which contains a large 
 capital letter. The forged cancellation is something similar, but 
 very much smaller, and with the lines thinner. 
 
 CHILI. 
 
 Issue of 1853. 1, 5, 10, 20 Cent. 
 
 The forgeries of this set have been in 
 existence a long time, and are very common ; 
 indeed I seldom see a youth's collection which 
 does not contain one or more of these counter- 
 feits. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on soft wove paper ; watermarked with 
 the value in figures. They are all from the same die, so that the 
 description of one will answer for all the rest. The ink stands out 
 well from the surface of the paper. The ground of the central circle 
 is formed by a multitude of engine-turned lines, very close together, 
 and there are a great many very tiny triangular white spots between 
 the intersections of the engiae-turning, but these spots are quite in- 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OK, 
 
 visible at a little distance, being not at all prominent. In each of 
 the top corners of the stamp there are two little ovals, or rather links 
 of a chain ; and just below them, also in each corner, there are four 
 similar links or ovals ; but the first o of correos cuts into the lowest 
 link of the four on the left side of the stamp, and the o of franco 
 cuts into the lowest of the four on the right side. The o of forte 
 is rather taller than the rest of the letters of that word. The f of 
 FRANCO is too thin, and the R is too thick. There is a slightly 
 scalloped line of white running all round, immediately inside the 
 outline of the central circle, but it is so very faint that it would not 
 be noticed unless purposely looked for. There is a very great variety 
 in the printing of these stamps ; the earlier ones are beautifully ex- 
 ecuted, but the later ones are often very much smudged, so that the 
 details of the design can hardly be seen. The first-issued 5 centavos 
 was printed on very strongly hleute paper. The forgers have not 
 ventured to imitate this ; at least, I have never seen a copy. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, hard paper ; no watermark. The ink does 
 not stand out from the surface of the paper. The ground of the 
 central circle is formed by a sort of mry coarse network of colour, 
 the spaces between the network being very large, mostly round or 
 oval, and each space having two or three thin lines crossing it. This 
 gives a very spotty look to the whole groundwork, and the white 
 spots can be seen at a considerable distance, being the first thing to 
 strike the eye after the head and lettering. In the left top corner of 
 the stamp there are parts of three ovals or links, and below them 
 there are four more, like the genuine, only the lowest one does not 
 go near the word correos. In the right top corner there are two 
 links, and below them four more, the o of franco going rather close 
 to the lowest one, but not absolutely cutting into it. The o of forte 
 is the same height as the rest of the word, and the f and r of franco 
 are of the same thickness as the other letters. Inside the outline of 
 the central circle there is a very prominent scalloped line running 
 right round the circle, which is far more conspicuous than that in 
 the genuine stamps. In many copies the first o of colon is badly 
 drawn, but I notice that this is not always the case, so that it is not 
 much of a test. The easiest test is the spotty ground of the central 
 circle, which condemns these counterfeits at a glance. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The normal cancellation of the genuine appears to be a set of shape- 
 less blotches, utterly undecipherable ; but I have some copies j)ost- 
 marked with four concentric circles, with six parallel straight lines in 
 the centre. Another postmark is an oval of straight lines, with large 
 lettering in the centre. The forgeries are cancelled with an imitation 
 of the four concentric circles with six straight lines in the centre. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 83 
 
 Issue of 1867. 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 Centavos. 
 
 These stamps are really very handsome, and 
 are much superior in design and execution to 
 those of the issue just described — every detail 
 showing with clearness. The forgeries are 
 very poor, and ought not to deceive anybody. 
 
 * Genuine. 
 
 Beautifully engraved in taille-douce, on thick, 
 hard wove paper ; no watermark ; perforated 12. The stars in the 
 lower corners are of exactly equal size. The white lines of the 
 engine-turning of the central circle are all curved. There is no dark 
 line round the outline of the bust of Columbus, or President Freire, 
 or whoever the worthy may be. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very coarsely lithographed on stout wove paper ; no watermark ; 
 imperforated, or pin-pricked 13. The star in the left lower corner is 
 somewhat larger than the other. The white lines of the imitation 
 engine-turning in the central circle are all straight and oblique, in- 
 stead of curved. There is a broad, and very prominent line of 
 shading all round the bust. The whole impression is very poor and 
 coarse, and immeasurably inferior to the genuine in every way. The 
 broad line of shading round the bust is a very easy instant test. 
 Some of the forgeries are to be found unperforated, as I have already 
 said ; the originals are always perforated. It will be noticed that I 
 have not troubled to give many details of these last forgeries, for 
 they are so very poor that it would be almost an insult to my 
 readers to suppose them capable, for one instant, of being taken in 
 by these miserable counterfeits. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Shapeless blotches, as before, seem to be the favourite obliterations 
 of the genuine ; but a few of my copies are cancelled with four 
 triangular blotches, leaving a white cross in the centre. If a cork 
 were to have a plain cross of about j inch wide cut out of its end, 
 and were then used as a hand-stamp, it would accurately represent 
 this cancellation which I have been endeavouring to describe. The 
 forgeries are obliterated either with a large oval, formed of parallel 
 straight lines, or with a sort of imitation of the British Guiana 
 postmark. 
 
 Issue of 1872-5. 5 c, envelope. 
 
 It is possible that the whole set of envelopes may have been 
 forged, but at present I have only come across the 5c., violet on 
 
84 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 yellow. It is not badly done, but I do not 
 think it is very common. Of course the 
 forgery only represents a cut envelope, which 
 gives us yet another argument in favour of 
 collecting entire envelopes only, if any such 
 argument be really needed. For my own 
 part, I must say that my opinion in the 
 matter of entire envelopes is so strong that 
 I would not give a penny for the rarest cut 
 envelope in existence. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 There is a key-pattern rectangle round the bust in the centre of 
 the stamp. This key-pattern forms a very easy test ; for, counting 
 the outer points of the pattern, there will be found sixteen points 
 on each side, and thirteen each at the top and bottom. The figure 5 
 is of a natural shape ; the word chile is well embossed ; the c of 
 CEiSTS is the same size as the other letters of the word. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 The colour of this forgery is a dull mauve instead of violet, and 
 the paper is yellowish- white instead of a decided yellow. The points 
 in the key -pattern are very different from the genuine ; there are 
 fifteen points on the right side of the stamp, sixteen on the left, and 
 twelve each at the top and bottom. The head of the 5 is abnormally 
 large ; the word chile is not embossed at all ; the c of cents is 
 smaller than the other letters of the word, and the ground behind 
 the word chile is blotchy and imperfect. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have not yet seen any postmarked copies of either the genuine 
 or forged, so am unable to give any information on this point. 
 
 CONFEDEEATE STATES. 
 
 I am afraid my readers will be rather disappointed with this 
 portion of my book ; but the fact is that I have been unable to 
 obtain more than a few specimens of the rare locals to describe 
 from ; and therefore most of the forgeries will have to be passed 
 over altogether. However, my first business is with the Govern- 
 ment issues, which naturally take precedence of the locals. 
 
 Some of these Government issues are decidedly rare, but the 
 majority of them are to be had at considerably less than the 
 original face value. Whether they are reprints, or bond fide 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 85 
 
 remainders of the stock in the hands of the Postal authorities 
 at the conclusion of the war, I do not know. My own personal 
 feeling on the suhject may be guessed when I confess that I do 
 not care for any but post-marked copies ; but of course this is a 
 matter of opinion. 
 
 Issue of 1861. 2 Cents, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Badly lithographed, on thick, very soft, coarsely -wove paper. The 
 groundwork behind the bust is composed of crossed vertical and 
 horizontal lines. This is very plain on the left side of the stamp ; 
 but near the back of the head the lines are so dark, and so very close 
 together, that the background appears almost solid, or uniform. The 
 nose of the figure is broad all the way down, and rounded at the 
 tip. The eyes are very large, the pupils round, the eyelashes well 
 marked. The eyebrows are far apart, so that there is a good space 
 across the base of the forehead. The coat is shaded with strong, 
 oblique lines. The hair is rather curly, and is brushed away so as 
 to show a large space of white at the side of the head. There is a 
 stop after each of the letters c. s. a. ; but the one after the s is not 
 quite so plain as the other two. There is no stop after the word two, 
 either on the left or on the right side of the stamp. The ribbon at 
 the bottom of the stamp, containing the words two cents, appears 
 to be folded into a sort of bow in the centre, between the two words ; 
 and the s of cents goes right up to the forked end of the ribbon, so 
 that the fork absolutely cuts into the s. In the word postage the 
 head of the p is too high up, the cross-stroke of the t is very thin, and 
 the G is of the usual type : the ribbon containing two cents is very 
 wavy. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed on thick paper, very hard. The feel of the 
 paper is almost like that of exceedingly thin card, quite different 
 from the soft paper of the genuine. The groundwork behind the 
 bust is composed of horizontal lines of shading ; and this will serve 
 as a very easy instant test. The nose is tiiin, pinched up, and 
 acutely pointed at the tip. The eyes are very small and piggish, and 
 the pupils small, and irregularly shaped. The eyelashes cannot be 
 made out. The eyebrows almost meet over the nose. The coat 
 appears to be composed of solid colour ; but some of the lines can 
 be seen on very close inspection. The hair sticks up almost straight 
 on end, and there is a lot of it on the temples, which are bare in the 
 genuine. There is no stop after any of the letters c s a ; but there 
 is a very plain one after the two on the left side of the stamp. The 
 ribbon at the bottom of the stamp is almost straight ; the centre 
 appears to be folded on itself, but without any indication of a bow ; 
 
86 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 and in the middle fold there is a very distinct l, which does not 
 exist in the genuine. The forked end of the ribbon on the right 
 side is quite clear of the s of cents. In the word postage the p is 
 like a d, the cross-stroke of the T is as thick as the rest of the letter, 
 and the g has a most peculiar tail, extending almost to the bottom of 
 the E. 
 
 The genuine stamp is rather rare, and used copies very especially 
 «o ; the unused ones sell for six or seven shillings. The forgeries do 
 not seem to be very common. I have only seen two copies ; but 
 they were very clean and new in appearance, so we shall probably 
 see plenty of them after a while. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have not seen any postmarked originals, and the forgeries also 
 are uncancelled. However, the almost universal postmark of the 
 Government issues was a very large circle, struck in black or blue, 
 containing name, month, and day of month, without the year ; and 
 those of my readers who possess copies which have passed the post, 
 will probably find them bear the above cancellation. 
 
 1861, Five Cents, blue ; Five Cents, green. 
 
 These are the large stamps, with portrait of Jefferson Davis 
 to right. They are tolerably common, used as well as unused. 
 1 have noticed that the used copies are usually not nearly so 
 ■well printed as the uncancelled ones ; but I will not venture an 
 opinion as to whether this tends to prove the unused ones to be 
 reprints or not ; for I know very little of their history, and 
 I do not like to give an opinion without being quite sure. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thick, soft wove paper. The background, 
 behind the portrait, is composed of crossed vertical and horizontal 
 lines, but they are set so very close together that it almost requires a 
 microscope to see that the background is not solid. Both corners of 
 the shirt-collar are very distinct. The beard is small, and appears 
 to be partly hidden beneath the necktie. In the word postage the 
 dark spot of shading in the P is just like a n ; the shading of the o 
 goes almost to the to^J and bottom of the letter ; there is a white dot 
 above the a ; and a small white blotch after the e, level with the 
 centre of it. The letters on of confederate almost touch each 
 other. The last s of states and the e of America are altogether 
 out of shape and deformed. There is some shading on the cheek, 
 and a line near the side of the mouth, which give Davis the appear- 
 ance of having very high cheek-bones. There is a slight line marking 
 the hollow in the centre of the upper lip, but it is so slight as to be 
 hardly noticeable. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 87 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithograplied on very similar paper to the genuine, also on thin card- 
 board. It is found in red, as well as in blue and green. I suppose I 
 need hardly say that there never was a 5 c. red of any of the Govern- 
 ment issues, so that the red one may be laid aside at once as a humbug, 
 without examination. The design of this forgery is remarkably good, 
 and might easily deceive anyone who had not a genuine copy to 
 compare, and some specimens look almost better than the originals. 
 I do not know where it was made. The l)ackground, behind the figure, 
 is of crossed vertical and horizontal lines, like the genuine, but not 
 quite so close together. The chief difference between this counterfeit 
 and the originals is that the designer of it has made a mistake in his 
 copying, and evidently taken the left corner of the shirt-collar to be 
 part of the beard, (When I say " left " I mean the one which would 
 actually be the left if it were a real bust.) Thus there appear to be 
 two wedge-shaped patciies of white hanging from the chin ; and 
 these are very distinct, and will serve as good tests of this imitation. 
 These wedge-shaped patches give the beard an unduly prominent 
 look, and it seems to come over the necktie, instead of beneath it. 
 In the word postage the dark spot of shading in the p is perfectly 
 oval ; the shading of the o does not go near to either the top or 
 bottom of the letter ; there is no white dot over the a ; and no 
 blotch after the e. The letters on of confederate are the same 
 distance apart as the other letters of that word. The last s of states 
 and the e of America are properly shaped. The dimple in the 
 upper lip is very strongly marked ; and the portrait does not appear 
 to have high cheek-bones. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is a very poor imitation, not to be compared with the one 
 just described. It is found in blue, green, and also in red, like the 
 first forgery. The portrait is not like an American at all. The 
 beard and necktie are so indistinct that it is almost impossible to 
 make them out. The eyes, instead of being directed forward, appear 
 to be slyly looking over the shoulder. Only the right side of the 
 shirt-collar is visible. The background, behind the figure, is of very 
 coarse, crossed lines. The words postage five cents are in thin 
 letters, instead of the very large, fat letters of the originals ; and the 
 words confederate states of America are so small as to be 
 almost unreadable. Altogether this is a wretched attempt, and I 
 think I need say no more about it. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on very thick, hard wove paper. This forgery is 
 only a slight reminder of the design of the originals, and hardly 
 seems to have been copied from them at all. The face is rather more 
 like that of Jefferson Davis than the last forgery; but the back- 
 
88 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 ground is composed of horizontal lines only, which will immediately 
 condemn it. I have only seen this forgery in greeny a fit emblem of 
 those who could be taken in by it. 
 
 Postmarks. ' 
 
 All my copies are cancelled with a very large circle, containing 
 the name of the post-town, the month, and the day of the month. 
 The forgeries are mostly unused ; but I have one copy which has 
 what appears to be a part of the large circle upon it, though there is 
 no lettering in the circle. 
 
 Of all the forgeries just described, the first is the only one which 
 may be called dangerous ; the others are very poor, and not likely to 
 deceive. 
 
 Issue of 1862. 10 Cents, blue ; 10 Cents, rose. 
 
 This is the large stamp, with head of Madison to right. It 
 is rather more uncommon than the 5 c, especially the one in 
 rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on wove paper, a little thinner than that of the 5 c, 
 and slightly surfaced in the unused copies. The background, beliind 
 tlie figure, is composed of crossed, horizontal and vertical lines, even 
 closer together than in the 5 c. The mouth is darkly shaded, which 
 makes Madison look as though he had a moustache, but there is not 
 one in reality. The high cravat and open shirt-front of the Georgian 
 era are very white and distinct. The coat appears to have a stand- 
 up collar. There are twenty-one scallops round the central circle, 
 the ones immediately below confederate states and immediately 
 above of America being very much more distinct and prominent 
 than the others. Outside these scallops there are five stars on the 
 right-hand, and four on the left. Each of these stars has four points, 
 blunt and indistinct. There is a white circle in the middle of each 
 star, and a dark spot in the centre of this. I must state that these 
 stars are not at all easy to make out ; for ut a first glance they appear 
 to be white balls or rings, instead of stars. The s and g of postage 
 are both misshapen. The words ten cents are in fat, squeezed-up 
 letters ; and the s of cents is like a reversed z. There are two very 
 distinct coloured lines under ten cents. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very thin wove paper. The background is an 
 easy test for this counterfeit, as it is composed of coarse, horizontal 
 lines only, instead of the fine, crossed lines of the genuine. There 
 is a moustache, rather small, but perfectly distinct. The dress is 
 very poorly copied, as Madison appears to have a stift' stock and 
 cuirass, instead of a cravat and shirt-frill ; the cuirass, of course, does 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 89 
 
 duty instead of a coat. The central circle is surrounded by twenty- 
 six scallops, the side ones being very nearly as distinct as the ones at 
 the top and bottom. Outside these scallops there are five coloured 
 rings on the right-hand side, and four on the left, each having a 
 blotch of lighter colour in its centre ; these do not, in the smallest 
 degree, resemble tlie stars of the original stamps. The s and q of 
 POSTAGE are of the normal shape ; the words ten cents are in thin 
 block letters ; the s of cents is correctly shaped. There is only one 
 coloured line under the words ten cents. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear the cancellation mentioned above, but 
 sometimes they are obliterated merely with a pen-stroke. I have 
 not seen any of the forgeries cancelled. 
 
 I can't help fancying that the unused stamps usually offered for 
 sale must be reprints. They look very new, though the design is 
 always smudged ; and the paper is evidently surfaced, though the 
 paper of the used copies shows very little trace of this glossiness. 
 However, I must leave this matter for others to decide. 
 
 1862. Five Cents, blue. 
 
 This is the small stamp, with bead of Davis to rigbt. Mr. 
 Pemberton gives two printings of this stamp ; the London print, 
 on glazed paper, and the local print, on rough paper. I do not 
 remember ever having seen one of the stamps on glazed paper 
 which had passed the post, all niy own used copies being on the 
 rough paper. But I may add to this, that these " rough paper " 
 copies look almost like lithographs, whereas the others are un- 
 mistakably epargne engravings. The roughest, poorest-looking, 
 and most dingy stamp of this issue which I ever saw was one 
 which I took off the envelope myself during the war, and which 
 had come to a friend of mine from the Southern States. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on rather thin, rough paper, local print ; or 
 on somewhat thicker, hard, glace paper, London print. The upper 
 lip is well shaped, with a very strong, vertical hollow, or dimple, in 
 the centre of it. Tlie nose is straight, and not in the least like the 
 Jewish type. The eyes look to the right of the stamp. The hori- 
 zontal lines of shading in the background are set so very closely 
 together as to make the whole background look very dark. The 
 white centres of tlie four stars in the corners are all of the same size 
 and shape. The c of confederate is at the same distance from the 
 left border of the stamp as the last s of states is from the right 
 border. The central tongue of the first E in confederate is much 
 
90 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 shorter than the top and bottom strokes ; but the tongue of the 
 second e in that word projects almost as far as the top and bottom 
 strokes. The first T of states is a very little taller than the s which 
 precedes it. The s of cents stands perfectly upright. The line 
 running round the outside of the stamp is dark, and well-defined. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in pale greenish-blue, on thin wove paper, smooth, 
 but not shiny. The upper lip appears to have been crushed in, so 
 as to give Davis a sort of hare-lip. The nose looks like a regular 
 Jewish " beak," which is a good test for this counterfeit. The eyes 
 seem alniost to look towards the spectator. The horizontal lines of 
 shading in the background are farther apart than in the genuine, and 
 quite pale, so that the bust appears many shades darker than the 
 lines. The white centres of the stars in the bottom corners are 
 smaller than those in the top corners, and the centre of the right- 
 hand bottom star is not round like the rest. The c of confederate 
 is nearer to the left border of the stamp than the last s of states is 
 to the right border. The central tongue of the first e in confede- 
 rate is as long as the top and bottom strokes ; and the tongue of the 
 second e in that word is very much shorter than its top and bottom 
 strokes. • The first t of states is no taller than the s which precedes 
 it. The s of CENTS seems to be falling over to the right. The line 
 running round the outside of the stamp is very faint, and would 
 hardly be noticed on a first inspection. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 All my used copies are cancelled with a word, or words, written in 
 pen-and-ink. Thejorgeries are generally unobliterated, but I have 
 one specimen postmarked with the letters p D in largish capitals. 
 
 I do not think this forgery is very common ; I have never seen 
 more than three or four sjoecimens. Except for the Jewish hooked 
 nose, it is not at all badly done, and would no doubt deceive many a 
 young collector, whose faith was greater than his experience. 
 
 1862. 10 Cents, blue. 
 
 This is the stamp here illustrated, with pro- 
 file portrait of Davis to right. Mr. Pemberton 
 gives it as existing in three types, but I do not 
 possess all the three. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce., on rather thin wove 
 paper, generally backed with brown gum. The 
 oval of crossed lines, immediately behind the head, is very much the 
 darkest part of the stamp. The profile of the beard almost forms a 
 right angle with the neck where it joins it. The front of the base of 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 91 
 
 the neck goes to the very edge of the dark oval background of crossed 
 lines. The s and t of postage do not touch each other at the top ; 
 and the o of that word has its central line of shading extending 
 almost from the top to the bottom, very nearly cutting the letter in 
 two. The word cents is nicely drawn, each letter being of the same 
 size as the rest. In the inscription on the left side of the stamp, the 
 T of THE is not mixed up with the boundary of the containing-label, 
 and the e of that word is an ordinary Gothic e, just like the others. 
 In the inscription on the right-liand side of the stamp there is a very 
 small OP, in tiny, block letters, between the words states America ; 
 but though so extremely small, it can be readily seen with a micro- 
 scope, or, indeed, with a good pair of eyes either. The ornament to 
 the left of 10 contains four very heavy bars of shading, placed 
 obliquely ; and the similar ornament to the right of the s of cents 
 has also four bars in it. The outlines of all the various ovals in the 
 design are drawn perfectly true, without any wavering or unsteadiness. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on stout wove paper ; no gum. The oval of 
 crossed lines behind the bust is very pale, and does not show off the 
 portrait at all. There is a rounded hollow where the beard joins the 
 neck. The front of the base of the neck does not come to the edge 
 of the oval of crossed lines. The s and t of postage touch each 
 other at the top, and the o of that word has its central line of shading 
 not nearly reaching from the top to the bottom of the letter. The 
 word cents is very badly drawn, and this will be, perhaps, the 
 easiest test for this counterfeit ; the c is much smaller than the other 
 letters, and the n is very straggling. The t of the is mixed up with 
 the border of its containing-label, so as to be hardly readable ; and 
 the E of that word is a very poor attempt at a Gothic e, and not like 
 the others in the word confederate. In the inscription on the 
 right-hand side of the stamp the of between the words states 
 AMERICA is represented by a couple of dots ; I suppose the counter- 
 feiter could not make the word out, or could not draw such tiny 
 letters. The ornament to the left of 10 contains four thick bars 
 and one thin one ; the similar ornament to the right of cents con- 
 tains five thick bars. The outlines of the various ovals in the design 
 are wavy, almost as though they had been drawn by an unsteady 
 hand, and very different from the firm, smooth lines of the genuine. 
 Although there are so many differences between the genuine and the 
 forged, still this counterfeit might deceive. However, if my readers 
 will remember that it is a lithograph, and the genuine ones are taille- 
 douce engravings, they need not be taken in. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have never seen a cancelled copy of the genuine. The forgeries 
 are sometimes uncancelled, but more generally bear the letters p d, 
 in thick, largish capitals. 
 
92 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 1862. 20 Cents, green. 
 
 This stamp is very common in an unused 
 state, but I do not remember having seen more 
 than one postmarked copy. The forgery of it 
 is very poor, and need not detain us long. 
 I have only seen it lately, and it came over 
 from JSTew York with a packet of forged Con- 
 federate locals, of which I shall speak presently. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on very thin wove paper, usually so thin 
 that the desio;n can be plainly seen from the back of the stamp. 
 The nose of Washington is well formed, and straight. The forehead 
 is very lightly shaded, so that it is impossible to see where the fore- 
 head ends and the wig begins. The cravat and shirt-front seem to 
 be all in one piece, as there is no division-line between the two. The 
 background, behind the bust, is composed of very distinct, vertical 
 lines of shading. The 20 at the top of the stamp is printed very 
 much darker than any other part of it. The coat stands out well 
 from the background, and it is shaded with very thick, oblique lines, 
 which are quite plain. The Gothic lettering, the confederate 
 STATES OP AMERICA, is also distiuct, and in good-sized letters. The 
 part of the lower ribbon immediately behind the word twenty is 
 almost totally devoid of shading, so that the word stands out plainly. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Badly lithographed on thick, hard wove paper. The design can- 
 not be seen through the back of the stamp, on account of the thick- 
 ness of the paper. The nose is a mere caricature, being knocked all 
 to one side ; and the mouth is very badly shaped, instead of being 
 almost a straight line as in the genuine. The forehead is darkly 
 shaded with horizontal lines, and the wig is perfectly white, so that 
 it contrasts strongly with the forehead, as in our illustration, which 
 rather resembles this forgery in many respects. There is a dark line 
 dividing the cravat from the shirt-front. The background, behind the 
 bust, seems to be solid, though there are indications of shading in one 
 or two places. The coat is perfectly invisible, owing to the darkness 
 of the background. The 20 at the top of the stamp is no darker than 
 the rest of the design. The words confederate states of America 
 are very faint, and almost unreadable ; the lettering is much thinner 
 than in the genuine. The ribbon is a good deal shaded behind the 
 word twenty, so that the letters do not stand out from it, and the 
 last t is just like a Y. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The originals, when postmarked, bear the same cancellation as I 
 have described above. The forgeries are not obliterated. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 93 
 
 PEOVISIONAL LOCAL ISSUES. 
 
 - These are not quite so numerous as the locals of the Northern 
 States, but still there are quite enough of them to dishearten 
 the average collector, who possesses little experience, and, perhaps, 
 less money ; for many of these provisionals are somewhat dubious 
 in character, and nearly all of them are very expensive to buy. 
 As I said before, I have not been able to procure many of the 
 undoubted originals ; for I find that collectors, as a rule, are not 
 particularly fond of lending valuable stamps out of their albums, 
 and thus I cannot give a description of all the forgeries in my 
 possession. To show how numerous the latter are, I subjoin a 
 list of the contents of a packet lately received from a dealer in 
 the o^^orthern States, who is, I am sorry to say, rather too well 
 known as a vendor of falsities. The stamps all look very new 
 and fresh, and I think that a good many of them are only lately 
 issued ; but I recognize a few which I used to know years ago. 
 The forgeries in the said packet are : 
 
 Athens, Ga. ; red, blue, mauve. 
 Bucks Richmond Express ; 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 cents. 
 Baton Rouge, La. ; 5c., on green, blue, and orange papers. 
 Charleston, S.C; numeral in garter ; 5c. 
 Charleston ; fort in centre ; 1, 2, 5c. 
 Confederate States ; flag ; lOc, green, blue, black. 
 Confed. Blockade Postage ; 1 dollar, blue, green, brown, red, mauve. 
 Columbia, P.O. ; 5c., blue on white, red on bkie, red on white, red 
 on orange. 
 
 P.O. Columbia, S.C. ; 5c., blue on green, red on bhie, red on orange. 
 Florida Express ; mauve, red, blue, green, brown, also red on green. 
 Fredericksburg ; 2c. 
 Greenville, Ala. ; 5c., 10c. 
 Houston, Texas ; 30c. 
 
 Knoxville, Tenn. ; eagle ; 5c., green on green, red on orange. 
 Knoxville, Tenn. ; numeral ; lOc, blue. 
 Livingston ; 5c. 
 Macon, Ga. ; 5, 10c. 
 
 Madison ; 3c., green on white ; 2c., blue on green. 
 Memphis ; numeral ; 5c. 
 Mobile ; 2c., 5c. 
 
 Nashville ; small numeral ; 5c., 10c. 
 
 Nashville ; large numeral ; 3c. 
 
 New Orleans ; head ; 20c., blue, mauve. 
 
 New Orleans ; numeral ; 2c., blue, red ; 5c., brown, red, mauve. 
 Petersburg, Va. ; 5c., blue, red. 
 Rheatown, Tenn. ; 5c., red. 
 
94 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Eiclimoiid ; crossed cannons ; black, blue, also red on green. 
 Richmond ; flag ; 5c., red, green. 
 Savannah ; 2c., 10c. 
 Selma, Ala. ; 5c., red, blue. 
 Sparta, Ala. ; 2c., 5c., 10c. 
 
 Statesville, N.C. ; 3c., brown, blue, also red on blue. 
 Weldon ; 5c. 
 
 Wilmington ; 1, 2, 3, 5, 10c. 
 
 All these labels are, as I said, very new-looking, have plenty 
 of gum at the back, and most of them are probably new concoc- 
 tions. Of course it will be understood that some of the stamps 
 here named never had any existence, except in the too fertile 
 brain of their forger ; but many of them are counterfeits, more 
 or less good, of undoubtedly real stamps, most of them of great 
 rarity. Of the Livingston, for instance, I never saw but one 
 copy ; but, as far as I remember at this distance of time, the 
 imitation in my forgery-album is an exceedingly good copy of 
 the genuine. I fancy that the list here given will show that it 
 is almost an impossibility for any average Englishman to Avrite 
 a description of the endless number of counterieit Confederate 
 locals. However, as many of the genuine ones are only to be 
 found treasured up in the collections of our leading amateurs, it 
 is extremely improbable that any of my readers will ever have 
 specimens of the rarest of them offered ; so I need say no more 
 about them, except to suggest that no7ie of these stamps should 
 be accepted without a certain guarantee from some irreproach- 
 able authority. 
 
 Knoxville, Tenn. 5c., vermilion ; lOc, blue. 
 
 These are the rectangular stamps, with figure of value in the 
 centre, under the word paid, surrounded by eleven stars. They 
 are tolerably rare, unused copies being worth about ten shillings. 
 This same design, with the necessary alterations of name, &c., 
 is found on the stamps of Athens, Nashville, &c. 
 
 5 Cents, vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed rather badly, in yellowish-vermilion, on thin, grey 
 laid, and thick, yellowish- white wove papers. There is a comma 
 after charlton, another after knoxville, and a colon after tenn. 
 The word paid is level with the H of c.h. charlton. The letters 
 XV of KNOXVILLE are joined together at the top. There are eleven 
 large, five-pointed stars round the central oval. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 95 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed rather better than the genuine, on thin, white wove 
 paper. There is a full-stop after the word charlton, a full-stop 
 after the word knoxville, and a full-stop after tenn. The word 
 PAID is level with the c of c.h. charlton. The letters xv of knox- 
 ville are not joined together anywhere. There are eleven small 
 five-pointed stars round the central oval. 
 
 10 Cents, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 This stamp is the same as the 5 cents in design, except that the 
 value is altered. The tests are exactly the same as those of the 
 genuine 5 c. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 This stamp is the same as the forged five cents, except that the 
 value is altered. The tests are exactly the same as for the forged 
 5 cents. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have not seen obliterated copies of either genuine or forged. 
 
 5 Cents, circular, black. 
 
 This is the stamp with eagle in centre. I believe the envelope 
 and adhesive are exactly the same type, but I have not an 
 envelope to compare. Both are on white ; but the adhesive is 
 gummed, and on thinner paper than the envelope. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Typographed (engraved in ^pargne), usually on very thin, white 
 quadrille paper. Mr. Pemberton says that it is found on several 
 difi'erent kinds of paper ; but he does not specify them, and I have 
 only seen the stamp printed on the paper above described. The 
 words knoxville, Tennessee are in very ornamental letters, much 
 like those of the word twenty in the 20c., Government issue, green. 
 The eagle is very nicely drawn, and there is no white blotch in the 
 centre of its body. The outline round the whole stamp is composed 
 of two concentric circles, the inner one of the two being very thin, 
 even thinner than the circle immediately round knoxville, 
 TENNESSEE. The stops after c.s. postage are very tiny squares. 
 The four little dots in each of the hour-glass ornaments on each side 
 of the stamp are diamond-shaped. The eagle's eye is distinct, and 
 the beak is slightly open. 
 
96 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in blue, on green wove ; also in vermilion, on orange 
 wove ; also in brick-red, on blue laid. Of course, these imitations 
 may be instantly condemned as being on coloured paper ; but no 
 doubt they can be printed in black on white, if required. The 
 words KNOxviLLE, TENNESSEE, are in plain block letters. The eagle 
 has a very distinct white blotch in the very centre of the dark part 
 of the body. The inner one of the two circular boundary -lines 
 round the stamp is much too thick, even thicker than the circular 
 line round knoxville, Tennessee. The stops after c.s. postage 
 are large square dots. The little dots in the hour-glass ornaments on 
 each side of the stamp are of all sorts of shapes, except the right 
 one. The eagle's eye is not visible ; his beak is badly shaped, and 
 almost straight, and closely shut. 
 
 I do not think these forgeries are likely to have much sale ; their 
 very look condemns them as things merely made for the juveniles. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 My genuine and forged specimens are all unused, so that I am not 
 able to say what is the usual cancellation. 
 
 Memphis. 5 Cents, red. 
 
 This is the ugly stamp, with " paid 5 Memphis, tenn." on a 
 sort of plaid ground. The originals are poorly done ; and one 
 of the forgeries is considerably better looking than the genuine. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in a sort of vermilion, on stout, yellowish-white 
 wove paper. The plaid groundwork will have to be carefully 
 examined, as the chief test of the genuine is to be found there. 
 Counting the white lines which run from the left-hand top to the 
 right-hand bottom, there are ten whole sets of four lines, with a half 
 set at each end. Of the lines which run from the right-hand top to 
 the left-hand bottom, there are ten whole sets of four, with half a 
 set at the bottom. The p of paid has its up-stroke carried too high, 
 so that it shows considerably above the rounded part. This is very 
 plainly to be seen, and will form a good test. The D of the same 
 word is of the proper shape. The figure 5 has its lower curl pro- 
 jecting too far, with a very large ball at the end of it. The inside 
 of the hollow of the 5 is so filled up with the white lines that, at 
 first sight, it might almost be supposed to have a solid white back- 
 ground. There are thirty-eight scallops round the outside of the 
 stamp, and some of them are very much blotched, though they are 
 all about the same size and shape. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 97 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin wove paper, the tint of the stamp 
 being almost exactly the same as that of the genuine. There are ten 
 sets of four white lines running from the left-hand top to the right- 
 hand bottom, but there are three lines, instead of two, at each end 
 to fill up. There are ten whole sets of four lines running from the 
 right-hand top to the left-hand bottom, with two lines at the top, and 
 three at the bottom, to fill up. The p of paid is an ordinary block 
 letter, with the up-stroke level with the top of the rounded portion 
 as usual. The d of the same word is almost square. The figure 5 
 is almost exactly like the genuine, but the white lines inside it are 
 not so conspicuous. There are thirty-eight scallops round the stamp, 
 but they are too large, too regular, and too light in colour, and not 
 at all blotched. I should call this a dangerous forgery. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in rose- carmine, on thick, soft, very white wove 
 paper. There are only nine whole sets of four white lines running 
 from the left-hand top to the right-hand bottom, with half a set at 
 each end. There are ten whole sets of lines running from the right- 
 hand top to the left-hand bottom, without any parts of sets at the 
 ends. The up-stroke of the p of paid shows slightly above the 
 rounded portion, but only very slightly. The outline of the d of the 
 same word is perfectly rectangular, without any rounded corners. 
 The lower curl of the figure 5 gets far too thin towards the end, and 
 the ball at the end of the tail is absurdly small for the size of the 
 figure. The inside of the hollow of the figure shows almost as much 
 colour as white, because the lines are too far apart. There are thirty- 
 eight scallops round the stamp, but they are of all shapes and sizes, 
 and those on the right are so blotched and out of shape as to be 
 hardly counted. This forgery is very poor. The deep rose-colour of 
 the impression will condemn it instantly. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 None of my forged specimens are postmarked. I have one copy 
 of the genuine which bears part of a large circle, with the letters 
 " PI " or " PH " in it ; very probably part of the word MEMPHIS. 
 
 NASHVILLE. 
 Issue of 1861 (?) 5c., brown, rose. 
 
 I have only been able to obtain the 5c., brown, 
 but I believe that both it and the 5c., rose, are 
 exactly the same in everything except colour, so 
 that a description of one will hold good for both. 
 The brown 5c. is worth about 7/6, the rose, which 
 is a good deal more uncommon, sells for 15/-. 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OE, 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on bluish-gray wove paper, rather hard and 
 thin. There is a large comma after the word Nashville, a colon 
 after tenn., and a comma after nish. The white line under paid is 
 equidistant from the bottom of that word and the top of the 5, The 
 upright stroke of the p in paid is too short, making the letter look 
 ahnost like a d. Both the lower points of the w in the postmaster's 
 name are cut off square. The c of mc is a small capital, with the 
 usual head. The head of the i in nish is too large on the right-hand 
 side, and the tail of that letter is too large on the left-hand side. The 
 two upright strokes of the h of nish are far apart. In the word 
 tenn., the first two letters are a good deal larger than the last two. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 At present I have only seen the 5c., red, but no doubt it also exists 
 in the other colour. Lithographed in carmine-red, on very thick, 
 green wove paper. There is a little upright, oblong stop after Nash- 
 ville, a similar one after tenn., and a full-stop after nish. The 
 line under paid is nearer to the bottom of that word than it is to the 
 toj) of the 5. The p of paid is properly shaped. The left lower 
 point of the w is cut off square, but the right one is pointed. The 
 c of MC. is a small (or " lower-case ") letter. The head of the i in 
 nish is properly formed ; the tail is not perfect on the right-hand 
 side. The top of the s in the same word is very much larger than 
 the bottom. The upright strokes of the h in this word almost touch 
 each other, and the top and bottom strokes extend right across the 
 letter, though they are short and separate in the genuine. All the 
 letters of the word tenn. are of equal size. 
 
 10c. , deep green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 I have not a copy of this, but I believe that it is the same die as 
 the 5c., with the necessary alteration in the value. At any rate, if 
 my readers possess a stamp answering to the following description, 
 they may know that it is a counterfeit. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in bluish-green, on white wove paper, rather thin 
 and soft. The whole of the outer frame is rather smudged in the 
 printing. There is a full-stop after nashville, an upright, oblong 
 stop after tenn., and a full-stop after nish. The white line under 
 PAID is close to the bottom of that word, and a long way from the 
 top of the 10. The 1 of 10 is taller than the 0, and the top of it is 
 damaged. The letters of the word tenn. are all of equal size. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have seen no cancelled copies of either genuine or forged. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Issue of 1861. (?) 
 
 I believe that the unused copies of these 
 stamps now so common must be reprints, as 
 they have all the appearance of being quite 
 used up, and yet are evidently from the original 
 matrix. 
 
 2c., red, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thickish, hut somewhat transparent, wove paper. 
 The lower front corner of the 2 breaks into the white circle sur- 
 rounding it, and the point of the tail is curled up until it touches 
 the white line round the back of the numeral. The ornaments 
 on each side, between paid and cents, are evidently cotton -pods, 
 and the three pointed ends of the calyx, or cup-shaped part, which 
 holds the cotton, are very distinct. There is a white full-stop 
 between the words new Orleans, and the letters are large and per- 
 fect. The R of RiDDELL, at the top of the stamp, is imperfect ; and 
 there is a distinct full-stop after that name, both at the top and 
 bottom of the stamp. There is also a full-stop after each of the 
 initials J. L., at the top and bottom of the stamp. The coloured 
 line running round the whole stamp is at some little distance from 
 it, and does not touch it anywhere. There are many little differences 
 between the genuine and forged in the ornamental spandrels, but 
 they are dilSicult to describe without a diagram. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Badly lithographed on very thick, wove paper. The lower front 
 corner of the 2 does not touch the white circle round it, and the 
 point of the tail does not touch the white line round the back of the 
 numeral. It is impossible to say what the ornaments are between 
 the ends of the labels containing paid and cents, and only the 
 central point of the calyx can be made out. There is a white hyphen 
 between the words new Orleans, and the o is simply a white blotch. 
 The stop after the initial l at the top is misshapen and blotchy ; the 
 R is tolerably correct in shape ; the last l looks something like an i. 
 There is no stop after the J at the bottom, and none after riddell, 
 and the r is smaller than the rest of the letters. The coloured line 
 running round the whole stamp is very close to it, broken, irregular, 
 and touching the stamp in several places. The easiest test for this 
 forgery will be found in the hyphen between new Orleans, and the 
 white blotch instead of an o in the latter word. 
 
100 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 5c., brown on white, brown on blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white or bine paper. The tail of the 5 ends 
 in a large white ball, as thick across as the broadest part of the 
 numeral. Inside the hollow formed by the tail of the 5 there is an 
 8, in white, very distinct. I do not know the meaning of this small 
 numeral, nor whether any of the copies bear a different one, but all 
 my specimens have it. The i of paid, if prolonged upwards, would 
 pass between the letters rl of Orleans. The o of the latter word 
 is almost circular. One of the points of the ornament in the left- 
 hand upper corner extends right under the initial l of the postmaster's 
 name. The ornament in the left-hand lower corner is a sort of leaf. 
 There are nine little dots between the top of the stamp and the 
 upper label containing the name J. L. riddell, and eight very 
 much larger dots between the lower border and the lower label. 
 The upper dots are generally blotched, but the lower ones show the 
 white centres very plainly. The s of Orleans is at some distance 
 from the end of the label containing it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in brown, on white wove, rose on white wove, mauve 
 on yellowish wove, and brown on blue wove paper. The mauve 
 stamp is on very thick paper, but all the others are on thin, like the 
 genuine. The tail of the 5 ends in a very small white ball, much too 
 small for the size of the numeral. There is no 8 inside the hollow 
 of the 5, though the brown on blue has an indistinct blotch there, 
 which is wanting in the other copies. The i of paid, if prolonged 
 upwards, would cut into the L of Orleans, except in the brown on 
 blue, which is like the genuine in this respect. The o of this latter 
 word is oval, and badly formed. The central point of the leaf- 
 ornament in the left-hand upper corner of the stamp does not extend 
 beyond the initial J. of the postmaster's name. The ornament in 
 the left-hand lower corner is in three separate pieces, the outer one 
 being exactly like a four-pronged dinner-fork, with a stout handle. 
 This is an easy test, and is very distinct ; it is not in the least like 
 the leaf-ornament of the genuine. There are only eight little dots 
 between the top border of the stamp and the upper label containing 
 J. L. RIDDELL ; and the similar dots at the bottom of the stamp are of 
 the same size as the ones at the top, and generally solid. The s of 
 ORLEANS very nearly touches the end of its containing-label. It will 
 be seen, from the foregoing remarks, that the forgery of the brown 
 on blue differs from the rest in several points ; but I have not thought 
 it worthy of a separate description. The brown on white is the best 
 forgery, but of course I need hardly say that the red and mauve 
 stamps are in altogether imaginary colours. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 101 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The only cancellation which I have seen on the genuine is a pen- 
 and-ink cross. The forgeries are unobliterated. 
 
 The reprints now sold are dreadfully smudged and "used-up." 
 In some of them the letters J. L. of the name at the top have entirely 
 disappeared. 
 
 Petersburg, Va. 6c. 
 
 I have not been able to obtain a genuine copy to compare 
 with the nice-looking forgeries before me (printed in rose and in 
 blue) ; but I would refer my readers to a very elaborate article 
 on this stamp in the PhUatelical Journal for April, 1872, 
 pp. 57, et seqq., together with some further remarks, p. 100. 
 
 MEMPHIS, TENN. 
 
 First Issue. 2e., blue. 
 
 This is the stamp, without name of issuing town, inscribed 
 PAID, M.c. CALLAWAY, with numeral in the centre, crossed by 
 the word cents. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in pale greenish-blue, on pelure paper. The n of 
 cents is very thin, the letters E, T and s are thick, and the c is very 
 thick. The front bottom corner of the 2 is blunt, and the dark line 
 round this numeral is unbroken, except just under the t of cents, 
 where there is a little flaw. The stars in the circle are very large, 
 and the rays are fat, and not very acutely pointed. The star to the 
 left of the c of cents is on a considerably higher level than that 
 letter. The d of paid is very square. The first l of callaway 
 comes nearer to the bottom of the stamp than the second L does. 
 The white lines of the plaid groundwork are all perfectly straight 
 and parallel. Of those running obliquely down from right to left 
 there are fourteen complete sets of four, with three lines at the left- 
 hand top corner, and two at the right-hand bottom corner. Of those 
 running obliquely down from left to right, there are fifteen complete 
 sets of four, with three lines at the right-hand top corner, and none 
 at the left-hand bottom corner. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in dark blue, on rather stout, hard paper. All the 
 letters of the word cents are about the same thickness, except the 
 N, which is thicker than the rest, instead of thinner. The front 
 bottom corner of the 2 is very sharply pointed ; there is a very slight 
 flaw in its outline, under the t of cents, and a very distinct flaw at 
 the top, near the ball. The star to the left of the c of cents is very 
 
102 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 much below the level of that letter. The d of paid is properly 
 shaped. The second L of callaway comes as near to the bottom of 
 the stamp as the first L does. Some of the white lines of the plaid 
 roiindwork are wavy and irregular. Of those running obliquely 
 own from right to left, there are fifteen complete sets of four, with 
 three lines at the right-hand bottom corner. Of those running 
 obliquely down from left to right, there are fourteen complete sets of 
 four, with three lines at the right-hand top corner, and three also at 
 the left-hand bottom corner. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have not seen a cancelled specimen of the originals. The forgeries 
 are unused. 
 
 COSTA EICA. 
 
 1863. I, 2, 4rs., 1 Peso. 
 
 There is not much to chronicle concerning 
 these stamps, except that the genuine ones are 
 very nicely and artistically engraved, and that 
 the forgeries are exceedingly common. When I 
 was some years younger than I am now, a forged 
 2 reales occupied a very honourable place in my 
 collection, so I fancy that one forgery, at any 
 rate, is a very old one. Moens and Pemberton 
 both give the ^ and 2 reales as existing unperforated. I have 
 never seen the 2, and cannot remember whether the ^ had passed 
 the post. I mention this because Moens offers the 2 and 4 reales, 
 and the 1 peso unperforated, in the original colours, as essays ; 
 and, in the absence of any information concerning the paper upon 
 which these essays are j)rinted, I would suggest the possibility 
 of the ^ and 2 reales unperforated being essays also; or else 
 that the whole set was really issued unperforated at first. I 
 must leave this question to be decided by those who know 
 more about the history of these stamps than I do. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Beautifully engraved in taille-douce, on thick, yellowish-white 
 wove paper ; machine-perforated 12 ; very cleanly cut. Moens gives 
 the perforation as being 14, but this is a mistake ; at any rate, all 
 the copies I possess, or have ever seen, are perforated 12. The 
 groundwork, behind the whole design, is composed of exceedingly 
 fine, parallel horizontal lines, quite straight. The shafts of the 
 right-hand spears are all dark, without any white on them at all. 
 The spear-head, last but one on the left side, has a double point ; 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 103 
 
 indeed, it looks as if there were two heads, one a little behind the 
 other, and slightly to one side of it. The bottoms of the ornamental 
 leaf-border, encircling the shield, project below the bottom of the 
 value-label, showing live ornamental curls below it of various shapes. 
 There are four spear-heads to the right, and three of them are very 
 much longer and thinner than those on the left, and of a different 
 shape. At the bottom of the shield there is a trefoil-shaped orna- 
 ment, the centre peak of which is perfectly distinct, and as large as 
 the other two, though darker. The three-cornered piece of sea, 
 between the mountains and the distant ship, is shaded all over with 
 fine horizontal lines. The central star is a good way below the 
 bottom ends of the little wreath above it ; the stars at each end of 
 the row do not touch the inner outline of the shield ; and all the 
 five stars are of exactly the same size and shape. On each side of 
 the trefoil ornament, at the base of the shield, there is a sort of cup, 
 from which the thick side -leaves issue ; the right-hand cup is 
 encircled by a row of three pearls ; the left-hand one has four. The 
 word PORTE has the top stroke of the t, and the projecting ends of 
 the E, very thin. The outer ends of the two labels containing 
 CORREOS DE COSTA RICA are shaded with vertical lines, before the c 
 of CORREOS, and after the a of rica. There is some little space 
 between the two inner ends or corners of these labels. In the highest 
 value there is a little four-leaved flower on each side of the words 
 UN PESO, having a little white dot at each of the four angles where 
 the petals join one another. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have all but the 2 reales. Lithographed, rather well 
 done, on rather thin, and very soft, white wove paper, generally of a 
 very slight yellowish tint ; nicely perforated 12^. I may mention 
 that this is about the best perforation that I have ever seen on a 
 forgery. The shafts of the right-hand spears are all white along 
 their centres. There is no double point to any of the spear-heads 
 on the left-hand side. There are no ornamental curls projecting 
 below the bottom of the value-label, at the base of the stamp. 
 There are four spear-heads to the right, but they are of the same 
 shape and size as those on the left. The centre peak of the trefoil, 
 at the base of the shield, is very small, and hardly to be seen. The 
 three-cornered piece of sea, below the distant ship, is very slightly 
 shaded in the broad part, and perfectly white at the small end. The 
 central star comes too close to the ends of the little wreath at the 
 top ; the outer ones on each side touch the inner border of the 
 shield ; and one of the lower points of the outer star on the right- 
 hand side is much too long. There are no pearls round the cups on 
 each side of the trefoil at the base of the shield, their places being 
 supplied by short lines of shading. The word porte has the top- 
 stroke of the T, and the projecting ends of the e, as thick as the 
 perpendicular strokes of those letters. The outer end of the label 
 
104 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 containing costa rica is shaded like the genuine ; there is no shading 
 on the outer end of the label containing correos de ; and the inner 
 ends or corners of the said labels almost touch each other. The bottom 
 label in the UN peso value has a double line round it, which is not 
 found in the genuine ; and there are only three white dots round the 
 right-hand flower, and two round the left-hand flower, at the ends of 
 that label. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have a full set. Poorly lithographed on thin, hard, very 
 white wove paper ; badly pin-pricked 12^, or sometimes unperf orated. 
 The groundwork, behind the whole design, is composed of horizontal 
 lines like the genuine, but they are irregular, and wavy, instead of 
 being straight. The right-hand spear-heads are the same size and 
 shape as the left-hand ones. These left-hand ones are so faintly 
 drawn that they are hardly visible ; and not one of them has a 
 double point. The bottoms of the leaf-border encircling the land- 
 scape project below the base of the value-label, almost exactly like 
 the genuine, though there seem to be only three ornamental curls. 
 The pearls on the cup, to the right of the trefoil-shaped ornament, 
 are all jumbled together, and cannot be counted ; and there are five 
 pearls on the left-hand cup. The three-cornered piece of sea, 
 between the mountain and the distant vessel, is shaded nearly all 
 over ; but there is a white patch at the lower point. The upper 
 point of the central star comes up too close to the ends of the little 
 wreath above it, and almost fits into the space between the said ends. 
 All the stars vary slightly in shape ; and the right-hand one is at 
 some little distance from the inner outline of the shield, whilst the 
 left-hand star almost touches the border of the shield on the left-hand 
 side. The letters te of porte are like the genuine, only not so clearly 
 cut. The outer ends of the labels containing the words correos de 
 COSTA RICA are correctly shaded ; but the inner end of the right-hand 
 label is rounded, instead of being cut off square ; and the outer end 
 of the same label ends in a curious sort of upward hook, not in the 
 least like the genuine, where the end runs under the leaf ornament 
 to the right of it. The little wreath at the top touches, with both 
 ends, the oval containing the figure of value, which is not the case in 
 the genuine. The shafts of the right-hand spears are dark, like the 
 genuine. In the highest value there is no little flower either before or 
 after the words UN peso. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 This appears to be exactly similar to the last, except that the value 
 at the top is written " porte 1 peseda," and at the bottom " una 
 peseda." Of course it will be understood that there is only the one 
 value ; and I think that very possibly this was originally the high 
 value of the set last described ; but that the forgers, on finding out 
 the mistake which they had made of " una peseda" instead of " UN 
 peso," printed it correctly, and thus made up the set as above. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 105 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have only the | and 2 reales. Kather well lithographed^ 
 on thin, hard white paper ; perg4 en scie, or saw-perforated 13. This is a * 
 very unusual sort of perforation for forged stamps ; and of course I need 
 hardly say that no genuine Costa Kica stamp was ever so perforated. 
 There are only three spears on the right-hand side, and no double- 
 pointed one on the left. There are too many curls projecting under 
 the base of the label at the bottom of the stamp ; they seem to be 
 all run together, and twelve projections can be counted. There are 
 lines of shading, instead of pearls, round the cups from which the 
 ornamental leaves issue, at the bottom of the shield. Most of the 
 triangular piece of sea, between the distant vessel and the mountain, 
 is white. The central star does not come under the middle of the 
 little wreath, as in the genuine, but is too much to the right. The 
 right-hand star is badly shaped. The labels containing the words 
 CORREOS DE COSTA RICA are not shaded at the outer ends, they are a 
 good distance apart ; and the right-hand label ends in a very large, 
 upward hook. The easiest test for this forgery is in its having only 
 three spears, instead of four, on the right-hand side ; and the saw- 
 perforation will also condemn it. 
 
 PostTnarJcs. 
 
 The originals bear an oval, containing eight lines, in the 
 " gridiron " style ; or an oval of very thick bars ; or a small can- 
 cellation of little diamond-shaped dots ; or a thick pen-marked bar ; 
 or a heavy, undecipherable blotch. The forgeries have an oval of 
 thick bars and blotches alternately ; or, which is the usual cancella- 
 tion, a large- thick horseshoe, or " u " with a scalloped outline, and 
 containing some unreadable dots and marks. Quite ninety per cent, 
 of the counterfeits have this latter curious obliteration. Whether it 
 ever did appear on the originals or not I am unable to say, but I 
 never saw it. 
 
 The one great failing in all these forgeries is their want of clearness. 
 In the genuine every line comes out clearly and sharply cut ; but 
 the lettering of the counterfeits is ragged, and the design " cottony." 
 Neverthless, these impositions are very common ; and the collections 
 of our youthful friends are generally ornamented with one or more 
 specimens. 
 
 CUBA. 
 
 Most of the various issues of this country have been forged, 
 and several of them very well forged ; especially the issues for 
 1867 and 1873. The watermarks on the first two issues were 
 more than the counterfeiters could manage ; but yet, as will be 
 seen below, the 2 reales of the first set has been copied by them, 
 though, of course, sans watermark. 
 
106 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 Issue of 1855. |, 1, 2 Reales. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne (or taille-douce?), on greenish- 
 l^liie wove paper ; watermarked with loops at the 
 top and bottom very distinctly. The circle round 
 the queen's head contains seventy-three pearls ; and 
 this will have to be particularly noted as being the 
 chief test of the genuine. The netted or fish-scale 
 groundwork comes close up to the white circle all 
 round the top half of the stamp ; but there is a 
 gap between the network and the circle in the bottom half of the 
 stamp, from the left-hand side to about level with the sharp peak at 
 the base of the bust. The pearls are all the same size, and the same 
 distance apart. The c of correos has the same sort of end both at 
 top and bottom of the letter ; and it is as far from the left-hand end 
 of the top label as the s at the end of the word is from the right- 
 hand end of the label. The head of the figure 2, at the bottom of 
 the stamp, is not simply bent over into a plain hook, but is curled 
 inwards into a spiral. The said figure is at a good distance from the 
 border of the label, and the stop after it is not anything like touch- 
 ing it. The s of r? is perfectly upright. The stop after the f is on 
 the same level with the stop under the s of r? ; and both are higher 
 than the stop after the 2. The side-borders of the stamp are com- 
 j)osed of little florets almost in the shape of horse-shoes, and of little 
 dots, placed alternately ; and the topmost dot in the left-hand side is 
 exactly above the centre of the little floret below it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Except for the lack of watermark this forgery is exceedingly de- 
 ceptive. Lithographed on soft bluish-green wove paper, smoother 
 than the genuine ; no watermark. The circle round the queen's 
 head contains seventy-eight pearls ; and those above the chignon and 
 the top of the head are smaller than the rest, and farther apart. The 
 netted groundwork comes tolerably close to the white circle all the 
 way rouiid ; and there is no distinct gap between the two in the 
 bottom half. The head of the c of correos is larger and more 
 distinct than the tail ; and it is nearer to the left-hand end of the 
 border than the s of the same word is to the right-hand border, 
 though the diflerence is not very great. The head of the figure 2 is 
 a plain hook, not curled in upon itself. The figure is as close to the 
 left-hand end of the label containing it as it can be without abso- 
 lutely touching it ; the stop after the figure almost touches it. The 
 s of slants over very distinctly to the right. The stop after the 
 F is on the same level as the stop after the 2, and a good deal lower 
 than the stop after the s of R?. The dot above the highest floret or 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 107 
 
 horse-shoe, in the left-hand side of the frame, is not exactly above 
 the centre of the floret, but far too much to the right of the centre. 
 I have not seen any forgeries of the lower values of this issue. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 These stamps were used in the Philippine Islands, as well as in 
 Cuba, Porto Rico, &c. ; and the postmark on those from the former 
 place is an oval, containing lattice-work lines, with a four-pointed 
 star at each place where the oblique lines of the lattice-work inter- 
 sect each other. Those used in Cuba seem to have been usually 
 cancelled with a large postmark of small diamond-shaped dots. The 
 forgeries bear four parallel lines, far apart, and very thin. 
 
 Issue of 1857. |, 1, 2 E-eales. 
 
 The forgeries of this set are particularly good, and very likely 
 to deceive, especially as the genuine are lithographed, and bear 
 no watermark. There is considerable variety in the paper and 
 execution of the originals of this issue ; the early ones are on a 
 very rough paper, which would hardly take the ink ; and the 
 later ones are on a thicker paper, but very smooth and shiny, 
 and the impression is clear. I have noticed that the early 
 ones cannot be distinguished, by their faces, from the stamps of 
 the second issue, which bear a watermark of crossed oblique 
 lines, or " lozenges," as they are usually called. The later ones 
 are very like the forgeries in general appearance. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper, varying as above described ; 
 no watermark. The design is exactly the same as that of the first 
 issue, including the seventy-three pearls round the central circle, the 
 gap between the lower part of the circle, and the netted back- 
 ground, &c. ; so that the description of the first issue will serve for 
 this one. In the | real the slanting line dividing the fraction is very 
 much sloped, and points upwards towards the very centre of the 
 queen's head, and the dot under the little L is high up. In the 
 1 real the stop after the 1 is no larger than that after the F ; and the 
 F itself is at the same distance from the right-hand end of the label 
 containing it as the 1 is from the left-hand end of the label. The 2 
 
 3ales is exactly the same as the genuine one, already described, of 
 
 le 1855 issue. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on smooth, white wove paper ; no watermark. The 
 sign is exactly the same as that of the forged 2 reales of the 1855 
 ue, described above, having the seventy-eight pearls, no particular 
 
108 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 gap between the lower half of the central circle and the netted 
 background under it, &c. In the ^ real the slanting line dividing 
 the fraction is not much sloped, and only points upwards towards 
 the chignon at the back of the queen's head. The dot under the 
 little L in this value is low down, level with the bottom of the R 
 immediately preceding it. In the 1 real the stop after the 1 is 
 very much larger than the one under the L, or the one after the F ; 
 and the f itself is closer to the right-hand end of the label than the 
 1 is to the left-hand end of it. The 2 reales is exactly the same as 
 the forged 2 reales of the 1855 issue, already described ; except, of 
 course, that both genuine and forged 2 reales of this issue are pink 
 on white, instead of crimson on bluish-green. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 All my obliterated genuine specimens bear a heavy oval blotch ; 
 design totally undecipherable. The forgeries are cancelled with 
 several bars, far apart, and rather thick, in the Hamburg fashion. 
 
 N.B. — There is a local stamp for Habana in each of the issues of 
 1855-7, formed by surcharging upon the 2 reales the legend " Y J," 
 which stands for " Ynterior, un cuartillo." I do not think the forgers 
 of the batch, above described, have turned out an imitation of any 
 one of these three locals ; at any rate, I have not seen any ; but I 
 understand that much more dangerous forgeries have been manu- 
 factured, by taking a genuine 2 reales of either of the issues, and 
 forging the surcharge upon it. Unfortunately I have not been able 
 to procure any specimens of these forgeries at present, and cannot 
 give any tests for their detection. 
 
 The stamps found cancelled with a thick black bar are remainders, 
 sold to dealers and amateurs by the Government when the issues 
 became obsolete. 
 
 Issue of 1862. I Real, black. 
 
 I do not think this stamp need detain us 
 long, as the forgery is very poorly executed, and 
 not at all likely to deceive. The original is 
 scarce ; but the type is the same as that of the 
 1860 issue of Spain, except, of course, in the 
 monetary denomination ; so that the latter, 
 which are common enough, can be used for com- 
 parison with any suspected copy. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, in black, on thinnish, tinted wove paper ; no 
 watermark. There are forty-three small regular pearls down the 
 right-hand border of the stamp, forty-four down the left-hand side, 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 109 
 
 thirty-six across the top, and thirty-six across the bottom, counting 
 the corner ones in, in ail four cases. Each of these little pearls has a 
 very small curved line, or dot, in its centre. The ends of the scroll 
 containing correos do not touch either the border of the stamp or 
 the central circle. There is a very distinct line down the shank of 
 the anchor in the right-hand lower corner of the stamp, and a 
 similar line down the stem of the caduceus in the left-hand lower 
 corner. There are at least sixty-five horizontal lines of shading in 
 the background, outside the central circle ; but they are very diffi- 
 cult to count, being so close together. The ornamental border to this 
 central circle has within it a dotted line and an unbroken line 
 running all round ; but the dotted line is the outside one in the 
 upper and lower quarters on the left-hand side, and the unbroken 
 line is the outside one in the upper and lower quarters on the right- 
 hand side. The groundwork behind the queen's head is perfectly 
 solid, and not blotched. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Badly lithographed in blue, on pink wove paper, rather hard. I 
 have not seen the stamp in the proper colour, black, but most 
 probably it exists. There are only twenty-nine pearls on the right- 
 hand side of the stamp, twenty-seven down the left-hand side, and 
 thirty-one at the bottom, of different sizes ; and some of them being 
 oval instead of round, and having, in many cases, the little line of 
 shading straight instead of round. The only specimen of this 
 forgery at present in my possession is damaged at the top, so that I 
 am not able to say how many pearls there are across the top of it ; 
 but it will be seen that all the other sides differ from the genuine in 
 the number of pearls ; so most probably the proper number will not 
 be found at the top any more than on the other sides. The outer 
 left-hand end of the scroll containing the word correos almost 
 touches the border of the stamp, and the inner right-hand end 
 touches the outline of the central circle. The shanks of the anchor 
 and caduceus are plain, without any line down their centres. The 
 lines of shading in the background, outside the central circle, are 
 very coarse, far apart, and only fifty-three in number ; they are 
 easier to count than the genuine. The ornamental border to this 
 central circle has two lines all round it, as in the genuine ; but the 
 dotted one is the outside one, and the unbroken line is the inside 
 one all the way round. The groundwork behind the queen's head 
 is very blotchy, and hardly appears to be solid, I think our illustra- 
 tion is a better imitation of the genuine than this forgery which I 
 have been describing ; so it will be seen that the latter need not be 
 classed with the dangerous forgeries. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have never seen the genuine postmarked ; but the forgery before 
 me bears an oval, containing six lines, d la gridiron. 
 
110 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Issue of 1864. ^, ^, 1, 2 Reales. 
 
 These stamps are exactly the same type as 
 the accompanying illustration, except that they 
 bear the value expressed in recdes, and are not 
 dated. The forgeries are exceedingly well done, 
 though there is, fortunately, one little matter 
 in which they fail, which, once known, renders 
 them very easy of detection, otherwise they 
 
 would be decidedly dangerous. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^joargne, on moderately thick, usually tinted wove 
 paper ; no watermark. The ornaments in the scroll clown each side 
 of the stamp consists of zig-zag points, with a little pearl on a stalk 
 between every two of the zig-zags ; these pearls point, alternately, 
 to the outside and the inside of the stamp. The thing to be remem- 
 bered is, that none of these pearls touch the outlines of the scroll 
 containing them anywhere. The zig-zags are acutely pointed, and 
 just touch the outlines of the scroll. In each corner of the scroll 
 there is a star, with four of the little stalked pearls radiating from 
 each star ; and none of these pearls touch the circular outhne outside 
 them. The upper ray of the star in the left-hand top corner points 
 directly upwards. The stop before correos is nearer to the end of 
 the label than to the c, and the stop after that word is slightly nearer 
 to the s than to the end of the label. The pearls and jewels on the 
 coronet are very distinct, and the chain -pattern round the head is 
 very regular, and quite plain. The fine inner line of the lower scroll, 
 below the words and figures of value, runs the whole way from end 
 to end of the scroll. 
 
 Lithographed, very much better than usual, on wove paper. In 
 the specimens before me the ^ and 1 real are on thick, soft, coloured 
 paper ; the ^ real is on rather thick, hard, white paper ; and the 
 2 reales is on very thin, very hard, tinted paper. All the little stalked 
 pearls which point inwards touch the inner boundary-line of the 
 scroll containing them, and most of those which point outwards 
 touch the boundary-line also, though not all of them. Several of 
 the zig-zags are rather blunt, though many of them are like the 
 genuine. One at least of each of the four pearls radiating from each 
 of the stars in the angles touches the circular border round it. The 
 upper ray of the star in the left-hand top corner is slanting too much 
 to the right, instead of pointing directly upwards. The stop before 
 CORREOS is nearer to the c than to the end of the label, and the stop 
 after that word is a good deal nearer to the s than to the end of the 
 label. The pearls and jewels on the coronet are not very clear ; and 
 
 Forged. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 in most copies the chain-pattern round the liead is blotchy. The line 
 inner line, below the words and figures of value, is broken and 
 irregular in the 2 reales, and in the lower values it is altogether 
 absent, except a very small portion just at the left-hand end of the 
 label. 
 
 I must call particular attention to the J real of this set ; for it is 
 so well done that almost anybody would be deceived by it, and I do 
 not hesitate to class it among the dangerous forgeries. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps usually bear an oval, with lattice- work lines, 
 and stars where the lines intersect, as in the earlier ones described 
 above. The forgeries have the gridiron, like the forged ^ real of 1862. 
 
 Issue of 1866. 6, 10, 20, 40 Centimos. 
 
 These are exactly the same type as the last, 
 except that they are dated, and have the value 
 expressed in centimos instead of reales, as in the 
 annexed illustration. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on very thin, white wove 
 paper ; no watermark. The type, with the exception of the altera- 
 tion of value, is exactly the same as that of the issue last described ; 
 and all the tests are the same as for the genuine stamps of 1864. All 
 my copies are printed on much thinner paper than that used for the 
 last-described set. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Badly lithographed on thinnish, white wove paper. These for- 
 geries are exactly like the counterfeits of the last issue, except that 
 they bear the value in centimos instead of reales, and are dated, like 
 the genuine. All the tests for the last forgeries will hold good for 
 these, and, in addition, I may mention that this set of counterfeits 
 is not nearly so well printed as the last, so that they are not so likely 
 to deceive. However, a carefully-executed copy would have a very 
 good appearance ; but those which I have seen of this set have 
 always been more or less smudged. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 All my used genuine copies bear some very faint and totally unde- 
 cipherable blotches. The forgeries have a sort of oval, formed by 
 four straight lines of different length at each side, and three curved 
 lines at each end ; and occasionally there are four curved lines at 
 each end. 
 
112 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Issue of 1867. 5, 10, 20, 40 Centimos. 
 
 These stamps are exactly the same as the last,, except that the 
 date is altered to 1867, and that they are perforated. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on thin, white wove paper, dated 1867, and 
 perforated 14. All the tests are exactly the same as for the last 
 two issues. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Badly lithographed on thinnish white wove paper ; dated 1867 ; 
 pin-pricked 12^. The type is exactly the same as that of the last 
 two forgeries, so that the tests for them will hold good for this set 
 also. The impression is usually blotchy, but otherwise it is a fairly 
 good imitation. The perforation is in oval holes, which can be 
 readily seen if two unsevered stamps be examined. 01 course the 
 perforation of the genuine is in round holes. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The cancellation of the genuine stamps is usually illegible, but one 
 of my copies bears two concentric circles, with lettering between 
 them. The forgeries are obliterated in the same way as the counter- 
 feits of the set of 1866. 
 
 Issue of 1870. 5, 10, 20, 40 Centimos. 
 
 The forgeries of this set are not equal to some 
 of those described above ; for, though the design 
 is tolerably well copied, the appearance of these 
 counterfeits is poor, and they all have a sort of 
 washed-out look, very different from the originals. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on thin, soft, white wove paper ; machine- 
 perforated 14. The bottom of the chin of the figure is darkly shaded, 
 and there are horizontal lines of shading down both sides of the neck, 
 leaving a white space down the centre of the neck. Just below the 
 bottom of the neck, in the solid groundwork, there are the two letters 
 E.J. in very small white capitals, but plainly visible. The crown is 
 very distinct, and four coloured dots can be seen along the top of 
 each of the turrets on the crown. The right side of the face {i.e. on 
 the left side of the stamp) is shaded, from the side of the forehead 
 down to the bottom of the chin, with short, but distinct, horizontal 
 lines. The outer border of the stamp is very wavy all round ; and eight 
 waves can be seen on each side, and seven at the top and the bottom. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 113 
 
 The outline of the label containing the value and date is perfect all 
 round. The down-stroke of the 7 in 1870 is thinnest at the top, and 
 gets gradually thicker to the bottom ; and the of 1870 is not quite 
 round, though this would hardly be noticed, unless expressly looked 
 for. 
 
 Forged, 
 
 Lithographed on very thin white paper; pin-pricked 12| very 
 badly. There is only the merest trace of shading on the bottom of 
 the chin, and the neck is only shaded down the left-hand side above 
 1870, all the rest of the neck being white. The letters E. J. (the 
 initials of the engraver) are not visible in these forgeries. The crown 
 is very indistinct, even in the most heavily-printed copies ; and the 
 tops of the turrets, when visible at all, seem to have only a little 
 blotch on them, instead of the four dots of the genuine. There is a 
 little shading down the right side of the face, but it is indistinct and 
 not regular, and the lines are omitted here and there. The outer 
 border of the stamp is very slightly waved, and it is almost impossible 
 to say how many waves there are. The label containing the value 
 and date is always broken somewhere, and is very faint and unde- 
 cided. In the date, the down- stroke of the 7 is the same thickness 
 all the way, and the is perfectly round. There is a peculiar white, 
 flat look about the face in these forgeries which condemns them at 
 once ; and yet the design has been carefully copied. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps of tliis issue are usually cancelled with two 
 concentric circles, rather small, and closely resembling the present 
 obliteration in use in France. One of my own copies bears, in the 
 outer circle, " dinas de cuba," and in the centre, " NOV. 70." The 
 forgeries bear either an oval, formed of parallel bars, or the combi- 
 nation of straight and curved lines found on the imitations of the 
 1866 set. 
 
 Issue of 1871. 12, 25, 50 c, 1 Peseta. 
 
 The forgeries of this set are tolerably faithful 
 copies of the genuine, but they are hardly what 
 I should call dangerous. It will be observed 
 that there is some alteration in the values of 
 this set. The coinage was, first of all, reckoned 
 in reales ijlata fuerte ; i.e. sterling, instead of 
 the island currency; then, from 1866, it was in 
 centimos de escudo ; and now there is another change to centimos 
 de peseta^ which has continued ever since, and which is a pretty 
 close approximation to the coinage of France, Belgium, Italy, 
 and Switzerland. 
 
lU 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne on thick, white wove paper ; machine-perfor- 
 ated 14. The rampant lion on the shield has the normal compliment 
 of legs, and his tongue is not visible. The hair of the figure, and 
 the wreath round her head, are very plainly drawn, as are also the 
 hand and fingers holding the branch. The right foot is sharply 
 pointed, and the point touches the inner boundary -line of the frame. 
 The wand borne in the left hand is formed by two parallel coloured 
 lines. The cross-bar of each a of the lettering, in all the values, is 
 a good deal lower down than is usually the case in ordinary capital 
 letters. I think the easiest test for the genuine stamps is, that the 
 stop after the d. of c. d. peseta, in the three lower values, is placed 
 level with the centre of the D, as in our illustration, instead of being 
 level with the bottom of the letter, and that in the 1 peseta there is 
 no stop at all, except after the figure 1. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, poor paper ; pin-pricked 13. The rampant 
 lion on the shield hangs his tongue out, and he has been deprived 
 of one of his legs. The hair of the figure, and the wreath round 
 her head, are blotched and indistinct, whilst the hand holding the 
 branch is a mere smudge, and the fingers cannot l)e counted. The 
 right foot is blunt, not to say stumpy, and it does not touch the inner 
 boundary-line of the frame. The wand in the left hand is, in most 
 copies, merely one thick line instead of two thin ones. The cross- 
 bar of each a in the lettering of all the values is level with the centre 
 of the letter, as in an ordinary capital a. The stop after the d of 
 c. D. PESETA, in each of the three lower values, is level with the 
 bottom of the letter, instead of being in the middle of the line ; and, 
 in the 1 peseta value, there is a sort of faint hyphen before the 1, a 
 very small stop after the 1, and a faint hyphen and a stop after the end 
 of the word peseta. 
 
 Postmarlcs. 
 
 In the genuine these are very various. In my own collection I 
 have one stamp with thick parallel bars, another with the double 
 circle described with the last set, another with the oval containing 
 lattice-work and stars described with the first set, another with 
 blotches, and another with a very peculiar obliteration of diamond- 
 shaped dots, arranged in an oval form, in groups of four, each group 
 forming a larger diamond. The forgeries seem to be always obliter- 
 ated with the combination of straight and curved lines, forming an 
 oval, found on the counterfeits of the 1866 and 1870 sets. 
 
 Issue of 1873. 12|, 26, 50 c, 1 Peseta. 
 
 The forgeries of these stamps are remarkably well done, and 
 I am continually finding them in the collections of our youthful 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 115 
 
 friends, who have such sublime faith in any- 
 thing that the swindlers choose to sell them 
 as genuine. In the originals the engraver 
 has shaded the king's nose in such a peculiar 
 way that Mr. Cxeorge Cruikshank might very 
 well have taken it to adorn one of the 
 figures in his " Bottle " picture ; for it cer- 
 tainly appears as though it had been coloured 
 by something stronger than tea. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargm, on very thin white wove paper ; machine- 
 perforated 14. The king's right shoulder {i.e. to the left of the stamp) 
 forms a continuation of the shape of the oval of horizontal lines of 
 the l^ackground. The end of the moustache wliicli projects upon the 
 shading of the background has two very distinct points instead of 
 one. The top of the white collar, towards the back of the neck, is 
 formed by two lines. The braiding on the collar of the uniform is 
 worked into what seems to be the letters " w.c," after the fashion of 
 a monogram. At the bottom of the central oval, about where a 
 cravat would come, there are the words " e. jdlia," in very small 
 white letters, almost requiring a microscope to read them. This, as 
 I said before, is the name of the engraver of the stamps. Between 
 the central oval and the line encircling it there is a white space, 
 which is of equal width all round ; and the line itself, encircling the 
 oval, is single under the words ultramar, ano 1873, but all the rest 
 of it is formed by short horizontal lines placed close together. This 
 is very distinct towards the lower part of the oval, where the line 
 gets gradually thicker. None of the letters at the top of the stamp 
 touch the outline of the oval below them. The final r of ultramar 
 is not cut off at the top by the outline of the frame, but is simply 
 dwarfed purposely to make it fit into the small space provided for it. 
 The outline of the king's neck, from the ear to the collar, is not 
 formed of one single vertical line, but of a number of very fine 
 parallel and slightly oblique lines ; this requires a close inspection. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thinnish white wove paper ; unperforated, or 
 pin-pricked 13. The king's right shoulder, on the left-hand side of 
 the stamp, projects considerably into the white space between the 
 shading and the line round it, so as to cause an interruption in the 
 shape of the central oval. The left-hand end of the moustache, 
 which stands out from the shaded background, appears to have only 
 one point, and is indistinct. The top edge of the white collar, to- 
 wards the back of the neck, is formed by a single line only. The 
 central design of the braiding on the collar of the uniform seems to 
 
116 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 be a sort of figure 3 when it can be made out at all, but it is usually 
 smudged. There are a few white marks at the bottom of the central 
 oval, but " E. JULIA does not appear. The white space between the 
 central oval and the line round it is very much wider on each side 
 than it is at the top and bottom. This is very well marked, and 
 forms an easy test. The line surrounding this central oval is solid 
 all the way round. The t and the final ar of the word ultramar 
 touch the outline of the oval below them. The final r of this word 
 appears to be a full-sized letter, but with the top cut off by the out- 
 line of the frame. The outline of the king's neck, from the ear to the 
 collar, is formed by a single vertical line. The tilde, or accent, over 
 the N of ANO is, in the genuine stamps, shaped like a very obtuse-angled 
 triangle, but, in these counterfeits, it is represented by a straight 
 horizontal line. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps have either the double circle like the present 
 French cancellation, or a large oval formed of eight very thick 
 parallel bars. The forgeries are ornamented by the combination of 
 curved and straight lines before described, which, by the way, appears 
 to be a favourite with the counterfeiters, though 1 never remember 
 seeing it on any genuine stamp. 
 
 Issue of 1876. 12J, 25, 50 c, 1 Peseta. 
 
 There may possibly be a full set of the 
 forgeries of this issue ; but I have only seen 
 the 25 c, and that in a wrong colour. The 
 originals are like the illustration, only dated 
 1876. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^mrgne, on rather thin, hard 
 wove paper, machine-perforated 14. The label 
 at the bottom of the stamp, containing the 
 value, is cut off perfectly square at each end. There is the word 
 CORREOS in very small white letters, in a little label on each side of 
 the stamp. The hair makes a very slight peak at the back of the 
 head, level with about the centre of the forehead. The engraver's 
 signature is visible, in white letters, on the broad, dark part, towards 
 the back of the base of the neck. The signature appears to be " jig," 
 but it is so exceedingly small that I have not been able to decipher it 
 with certainty. The triangular white outlines of the spandrels con- 
 taining the fleurs-de-lys are not broken in any part. The lions and 
 castles in the four corners of the stamp are quite distinct. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 The only one which I have seen at present is the 25 centimos, in 
 black, on green ; but if it were in the proper colour, on proper 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 117 
 
 aper, it would certainly be a dangerous forgery, as the design has 
 
 een very faithfully copied. 
 Typographed in black, on thick dark green laid paper, unper- 
 forated. The label containing the value is cut off square on the 
 left-hand side, but somewhat obliquely on the right-hand side, 
 sloping from left to right. There are some marks or letters in the 
 little labels on each side of the frame, but they cannot be deciphered. 
 The back of the head is rounded evenly, without any peak of hair 
 projecting from it. There is no engraver's signature at the base of 
 the neck. The white outline of each of the triangular spandrels is 
 broken in one or more places. The lions and castles in the corners 
 are very indistinct, and much smudged. When the forgers have 
 corrected their little mistakes, I think our youthful friends will have 
 to look out. It will be noticed that this forgery is typographed, so 
 it may possibly be an impression from some electrotype cliche, used 
 for fraudulent purposes, though it is very much more like the 
 genuine than the illustration here given. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Some of my used copies bear the oval with lattice-work and stars, 
 and some have an obliteration formed by two large concentric circles, 
 the outer one very thick, and containing letters and hgures. The 
 forgeries are unused. 
 
 ESSAY. 
 
 The accompanying illustration represents a 
 stamp very beautifully engraved in taille- 
 douce, evidently the work of the American 
 Bank ISTote Company. Whether it is an 
 essay for the insurgents, or a stamp ordered 
 by them, or merely an essay on the credulity 
 of collectors, I do liot know ; but the en- 
 graving would seem to prove that it is not a 
 mere forgery ; and the inscription, " rep. de cub a," apparently 
 shows that the Government had no hand in it. The ordinary 
 essays for this island are well known. 
 
 DANISH WEST INDIES. 
 
 I have never yet seen any forgeries of the 
 earlier issues, 1860-73, of the design of the 
 accompanying illustration ; but if any should 
 exist, my readers will please remember that all 
 the genuine bear a very distinct crown water- 
 mark, which the counterfeiters cannot imitate. 
 
118 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Issue of 1874. 1, 3, 4, 7, 14 Cents. 
 
 The forgeries of this set are a very decent 
 imitation of the genuine ; but I think they 
 need not detain us very long, as the absence 
 of the crown waterwark, and of the hyphen 
 between the words dansk-vestindisk will in- 
 stantly condemn them. I have at present seen 
 no forgeries of the 10, 12, and 50 cents, and 
 of the 1 dollar. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Nicely engraved in &pargne, on wove paper, white, and rather 
 thick; machine-perforated 13|, which, by the way, is called "13"' 
 in some of the catalogues. All the values bear the crown watermark, 
 similar to that on the early stamps of the mother country. There is 
 a very distinct hyphen between the words dansk and vestindisk. 
 The vertical lines of shading in the central oval go quite up to the 
 oval, without leaving any white space between the lines and the 
 coloured oval. The cross on the top of the crown touches the 
 coloured oval. The wreath round the central design is evidently a 
 wreath of harleij. The bell end of the post-horn is nicely shaped, 
 with a little white place inside the bell. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thinnish white wove paper ; no watermark ; pin- 
 pricked 13. There is no hyphen between the words dansk and 
 VESTINDISK. The vertical lines of shading in the inner oval do not 
 go close to the coloured oval outside them, so that there is a small 
 white space nearly all the Vv^ay round, inside the said coloured oval. 
 The cross on the top of the crown does not touch the oval above it. 
 The wreath cannot be said to be barley ; it might be leaves, or 
 thistle-buds, or almost anything. The post-horn is not nicely drawn ; 
 the bell end especially is very clumsy, and ends in a sort of club. 
 The double colours of the genuine have been nicely imitated ; and I 
 think that these forgeries have had a good sale. In the genuine 
 stamps the central numeral and the other white parts are slightly 
 embossed, as is usual in epargne engravings. As these forgeries are 
 lithographs, I need hardly say that they show no sign of any such 
 embossing. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 All my used genuine copies are cancelled with five concentric 
 circles, very similar to the postmark of the old issues of Denmark 
 itself The obliteration of the forgeries is the combination of four 
 straight lines above, four below, and four curved ones each side, 
 forming an oval, which has been so often described already in the 
 course of this work. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 119 
 
 These forgeries are not gummed. The genuine stamps are backed 
 with a white crystal gum, which has a bad habit of sticking when it 
 is not required to do so. Some little time ago, when I was away from 
 home for a few weeks, one of my albums had been put into a slightly 
 damp place, and on my return I found that all my stamps of this set, 
 mounted, as usual, by the top only with a hinge, were firmly stuck 
 down into the book. The present issue of the United States has 
 this same disagreeable peculiarity. 
 
 DANUBE STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY. 
 
 In the catalogues these stamps are usu- 
 ally placed under the head of Austria, to 
 which country tlie company belongs, but 
 I place the stamps here alphabetically for 
 convenience of reference. The forgeries 
 are not particularly well done, though 
 
 they are very common ; some of them are ^ss^^==i^^^^^^ 
 printed, in altogether fancy colours. The 
 
 genuine stamps are only found in mauve, green, and vermilion. 
 Issue of April, 1866. 17 Soldi, vermilion. 
 
 Rather nicely lithographed on pelure paper ; very badly perforated 
 9;|. I have seldom seen worse perforation on any genuine stamps ; 
 but probably the extreme thinness of the paper prevented the little 
 punches from cutting out clean holes. The wavy lines which com- 
 pose the groundwork outside the central oval are continued to the 
 very edge of the stamp, where they are cut short off, without any 
 boundary-line at all. The outer oval is formed of two lines, the 
 inner of the two being much thinner than the other ; and the letters 
 of the upper inscription do not touch this thin inner line of the 
 outer oval in any place, nor do the letters of the lower inscription 
 touch the outline of the central oval anywhere either, or the line be- 
 low them. The circle round the 17 is composed of one thick, dark, 
 zig-zag line, between two similar but thin ones. Both the anchors are 
 well drawn. Both flukes of each anchor are perfectly distinct, and 
 so are the cables twisted round their shanks. There is a single large 
 round stop after the 17. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on smooth wove paj^er, venj white, and thicker than 
 the genuine ; pin-pricked 13. There is a very thin boundary-line 
 all round the stamp ; but I have remarked that the counterfeiters 
 occasionally cut off the perforations, and then, of course, the said 
 tliin line disappears. All the taller letters of the upper inscription 
 
120 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 touch the thin inner line of the outside oval, and, in most copies, the 
 whole of the letters of the word gesellschaft touch the line below 
 tliem, and the taller letters touch the line above them. The circle 
 round the 17 is very indistinct and blotchy, but the inner zig-zag 
 circle appears to be about the same thickness as the middle one, and 
 the outer one runs into the solid background in several places. The 
 17 is well provided with stops; as there is one before and below the 1, 
 and a large one and then a small one after the 7. The inner fluke 
 of the left-hand anchor is quite invisible, and the cable twisted round 
 it is not nearly so distinct as that round the right-hand anchor. 
 
 Issue of August, 1866. 10 Soldi, mauve. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Exactly the same as the last, except the change in the central 
 numerals ; so that the tests for the genuine 17 soldi hold good for this 
 10 soldi also. It is printed in a bright, pretty shade of mauve. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Exactly the same as the forged 17 soldi, except that the numerals 
 are altered ; so that the tests for the forged 17 soldi will hold good for 
 the forged 10 soldi also. This particular value is printed in several 
 colours. I have seen it in red-brown, red-violet, dull vermilion, &c., 
 but never in the bright mauve of the genuine. 
 
 Issue of 1868. 10 Soldi, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed, but much better printed than the other two, though 
 the design is the same. The tests are exactly as before. The colour 
 is a yellow-green. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Exactly the same as the last forgery, but printed in a bluish-green. 
 
 Issue of 1871. 10 Soldi, red. 
 
 I have not seen a forgery of this value, but the tests given 
 above will suffice for its detection, supposing there should be 
 one. 
 
 Postmarlcs. 
 
 The genuine stamps are not very often obliterated. In my OM^n 
 collection I have a 10 soldi, green, postmarked with a large circle, 
 struck in blue, and containing the word " G ALATA," and some letters 
 and numerals. Another of my copies is cancelled with a black bar, 
 like that found on some of the Spanish " remainders." Some of the 
 forgeries bear a cancellation consisting of four concentric circles ; and 
 some bear, in a single circle, " K.K. ZEITUNGS-EXPEDITION." 
 
 I have only described the first issue fully, as the others are 
 from the same matrix. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 121 
 
 DECCAN. 
 1866. 1 Anna, olive-green. 
 
 Genuine, 
 
 Very nicely engraved in taille-douce, on 
 thin yellowish-white paper, which appears 
 to be laid, but the laid lines are very 
 indistinct, so that it might easily be 
 thought to be wove ; machine-perforated 
 12. The groundwork of the stamp, out- 
 side the central design, is formed by a 
 network of diamonds, in forty-eight verti- 
 cal rows. These rows are of large and of 
 very small diamonds alternately. The first 
 row on the left-hand side is composed of halves of the large diamonds; 
 the last row on the right-hand side is of halves of the small ones ; 
 the row along the top is of halves of the large ones ; and the row 
 along the bottom is of halves of the small ones, but these latter are 
 so very close to the border that they are almost invisible. Between 
 the bottom of the stamp and the bottom of the central design there 
 is only one horizontal row of the large diamonds, between two rows 
 of the small ones ; this is best seen towards the right side of the 
 stamp, as the central design comes a little lower down on the left 
 than on the right. The central design bulges out at the bottom, a 
 little to the right of the middle, in order to allow one of the char- 
 acters room ; and this character, in the curl of its tail, follows the 
 shape of the bulge, and fills it up evenly. The three ujDper points 
 of the central design are of equal height ; but the middle one ends 
 in a very sharp point, and the ones on each side of it end in rounded 
 points. It will be understood that I speak only of the outline of 
 the frame containing the characters, and not of the thick dark lines 
 which follow that outline. These three upper points do not touch 
 tlie inner outline at the top of the frame ; indeed, there is one of the 
 large half-diamonds between each point and the top of the frame. 
 The ink, especially of the thick Oriental characters, stands out well 
 from the surface of the paper, as is usual in taille-douce engraving, 
 and the design is very distinct all over, and not blotched anywhere. 
 
 Forged, 
 
 Lithographed on thick wove paper ; pin-perforated 13^, very 
 badly. There are only thirty-five vertical rows of diamonds, and 
 the small diamonds are not very much smaller than the large ones. 
 The first vertical row on the left-hand side of the stamp is composed 
 of parts of the small diamonds, but the line of the frame to the left 
 of them is generally so blotched that the whole row cannot be seen. 
 The last row on the right-hand side, as in the genuine, is formed by 
 
122 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 halves of the small diamonds. The row along the top is of parts of 
 the large diamonds, but they are cut into smaller portions than the 
 genuine. Tlie row along the bottom is of large diamonds on the left 
 side of it, and small ones on the right side. At the bottom of the 
 stamp, between the outline of the design and the outline of the 
 frame, there are parts of three horizontal lines of the diamonds 
 plainly visible, two of the rows being of large diamonds. The bulge 
 at the bottom of the central design does not touch the bottom of the 
 frame as the genuine does ; and the Oriental character, whose tail 
 ought to fill up this bulge neatly, only goes a very little way into it, 
 leaving the left side of the bulge quite blank. The left upper point 
 of the central design is rather lower than the other two, both of 
 which touch the frame at the top of the stamp ; the left and middle 
 points are both rather sharp, but the right-hand one is rounded. 
 The ink does not stand up from the face of the stamp, and the design 
 has an indistinct and woolly look, and is always more or less blotched 
 somewhere round the outline. I hope I have been distinct enough 
 in my description ; but the stamp is very well copied, and it is ex- 
 tremely difficult to give the points of difference clearly without 
 being unduly verbose. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have never seen a postmarked copy of the genuine. The forgeries 
 are cancelled with three concentric circles, containing something un- 
 decipherable in the centre. 
 
 Issue of 1869 (?). 2 Annas. 
 
 Of the stamps of this issue, commonly called 
 skeletons," I have not, as yet, seen any for- 
 geries. The genuine ones are on native paper, 
 very similar to that of the issue just described, 
 with very faint indications of horizontal laid 
 lines. They are taille-douce engravings, though 
 so very sketchy in appearance ; and the ink 
 stands out boldly from the paper. These re- 
 marks may be of assistance in detecting any future forgery. 
 
 Issue of 1870. 1 Anna, brown. 
 
 The full set of these stamps consists of ^, 1, 
 2, 3, 4, 8, and 12 annas, but I have only met 
 with the forgery of the 1 anna ; and as the 
 design seems to have been separately engraved 
 for each value, it will be understood that the 
 following description applies only to the 1 anna, 
 which, by the way, is found in various shades 
 of dark brown. 
 
I 
 
 HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 123 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Nicely engraved in taille-douce, on yellowish-wMte wove paper, 
 rather thicker than the last two issues; machine -perforated 13. 
 Immediately outside the central circle, which contains Oriental 
 characters on a horizontally shaded ground, there is a broad, dark 
 ring, or rather what would have been a broad ring, only its 
 outer circumference is, as it were, bitten all the way round into a 
 series of semicircular holes. This is rather difficult to describe 
 verbally, but the outer edge of the ring is just like the edge of an 
 ordinary perforated stamp in appearance, the dark body of the ring 
 answering to the paper, and the semicircular white dots answering 
 to the perforations in it. The dark parts, between the white dots, 
 are cut off square, and they do not reach out far enough to touch the 
 very thin ring of colour encircling this scalloped ring. The letters 
 of the words post stamp in the upper label are equidistant from 
 both top and bottom of the label ; i.e. the tops of the letters are no 
 nearer to the outline above them than the bottoms of the letters are 
 to the outline below them. Just below the st of stamp there is a 
 character which looks like the letters UTT in block capitals, but 
 with the tops of all three letters joined together, the cross-bar extend- 
 ing also right across the U. Outside the whole stamp there is a very 
 fine line, very close to the outline of the stamp itself ; but it is so 
 fine that it will require a good pair of eyes to see it, and in blotched 
 copies it runs into the outline of the stamp part of the way round. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper, rather thinner and softer than 
 the genuine ; pin-pricked 13, in small holes, far apart. The ring round 
 the central circle is exactly like a circular saw, with pointed teeth 
 which extend so as to touch the next circle outside them. This is, per- 
 haps, the easiest test for this forgery. The letters of the words post 
 STAMP are too high up in the label, and show a greater space between 
 their bases and the line below them than between their tops and the 
 line above them,- In the character under the st of post, which I 
 have compared to the letters UTT, the top of the U is not crossed. 
 There is no indication of any fine line outside the stamp. The colour 
 of the forgery is a warm histre, totally unlike the various shades of 
 dark brown found in the originals. The general appearance of this, 
 counterfeit is poor, and washy, and yet, when examined closely, the 
 main points of the original design are seen to be copied with wonderful 
 exactness, and I must confess that it has cost me a great deal of time 
 and trouble to discover and point out the differences here offered to 
 my readers. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have no postmarked copies of the genuine. This forgery is 
 cancelled with a number of diamond-shaped black dots. 
 
 I do not think this forgery is very common ; I have not seen more 
 than two or three copies. 
 
124 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 DENMAEK. 
 
 Until lately I thought that none of the Danish stamps had 
 been forged except the 2 E.B.S. of 1851, and the essays; but I 
 have recently come across a couple of poorly-executed counter- 
 feits of the 1858 set, which seem, judging by their appearance, 
 to have been in existence some time. I almost wonder that any 
 but the first issue should have been imitated, as all the others 
 are extremely common ; but no doubt the forgers know their 
 own business best. 
 
 Issue of 1851. 2 R.B.S., blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on decidedly yellowish-white wove 
 paper, rather thin ; watermarked with a crown. 
 This watermark is particularly distinct, and can 
 very often he traced even on the fice of the stamp 
 as it lies on the table. There is a "6^(re/e " pattern, 
 in pale brown, over the face of the whole stamp ; 
 but in some copies this is so faint as to be hardly 
 visible. This same pattern will be found on the 
 next issue, 4 R.B.S., brown, which is common enough in all 
 collections ; and this will be a guide to those who do not possess a 
 genuine specimen of the 2 R.B.S. The front of the tail of the 2 is 
 very sharp, and points obliquely towards the top of the i of rigs- 
 bank. The back end of the tail of the 2 curls upwards, and almost 
 inwards towards the rounded shoulder of the figure. The letters of 
 the central inscription are all slightly sunken into the paper, as is 
 also the numeral above them. There are very well marked cross- 
 strokes to the top and bottom of the r of rigsbank. The i is a 
 little taller than the r. The top of the g comes well forward, and is 
 level with the bottom of it. The s is nearer to the g than to the b. 
 The A is very much squeezed up, i.e. the sides do not spread out 
 much. The upper oblique tail of the k is quite as large as the lower 
 one. The s of skilling is almost exactly under the r of rigsbank, 
 and is of the same width. The two tail-strokes of the k meet at 
 the centre of the letter. The bottoms of the letters kil all touch 
 each other. The cross-strokes of the i are large. The letters ll are 
 very close together ; the next i almost touches the last L, and its 
 cross-strokes are distinct. The g is smaller than the N, and is at 
 some distance from it. There is a stop after skilling, which just 
 touches the border of the circle round it. There is a hyphen after 
 the word rigsbank. The coloured line immediately round the 
 centre of the stamp is very thin just under the crown, but broader all 
 the rest of the way, and broadest on the right-hand side. The lower 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 125 
 
 Sart of the crown, i.e. the part from which the arches spring, is 
 ivided into three compartments ; the middle compartment has one 
 largish square dot in the centre of it ; each of the others contains 
 three small dots. There are only two clots on the central arch ; the 
 dots on the other arches cannot be counted, as they generally run 
 together more or less in the printing. The cross on the top of the 
 crown is not at all distinct ; the upright stroke of the said cross is 
 very thick, and slants over a little to the left ; the cross-stroke is very 
 much thinner. There is a large white hyphen, with squarely-cut 
 ends after the word post. The little piece of dark background, 
 behind the cross on the top of the crown, is of a more or less circular 
 shape ; but not at all prominent, and would hardly be noticed unless 
 expressly looked for. There are four places between the arches of 
 the crown, where the dark background of the circular label shows 
 through. These dark places are irregular in form ; the two outside 
 ones are very small, and the two inner ones are large. All four are 
 of a sort of three-cornered shape. Outside the circle containing the 
 words PRiMiERKE, &c., there is a white line running just outside the 
 rim on the circle ; but only extending from about level with the i of 
 FRiM^RKE, round the top of tlie circle, to about level with the o of 
 POST. The floral work outside this circle is all in one unbroken 
 piece ; and every one of the crescent-shaped portions of the scroll- 
 work touches the outer border of the stamp. These last two tests 
 ought to be particularly noticed. The scroll-work forms a sort of 
 rough trefoil in each of the corners. The central coil of the post- 
 horn is very large, quite dwarfing the mouthpiece and the bell. 
 Indeed, this coil is so large that it reaches almost to the rim of the 
 bell. There is a row or ring of small dots all round this coil, about 
 25 in number, but so small as to be " uncountable " without a micro- 
 scope. The hyphen after the word post is level with the bottom of 
 the T. There is a large white stop after kgl, very close to the l. 
 The watermark is like tliat on all the small square Danish stamjDs ; 
 it is evidently made in the usual way, i.e. during the manufacture of 
 the paper itself. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on laid paper, thin and soft, sometimes very white, 
 but more generally of a dirty yellowish- brown tinge. I believe 
 these latter are soaked in coffee to give them the appearance of being 
 very old. There is no watermark, neither is there any burel^ pattern 
 over the face of the stamp. The front of the tail of the 2 is blunt, 
 and points towards the G of rigsBxVNK. The back end of the tail 
 curls upwards, but not inwards. None of the lettering is sunken. 
 The cross-strokes at the top and bottom of the R of rigsbank are 
 not at all prominent. The i is the same height as the r. The top 
 part of the g does not come forward enough, and so it is not level 
 with the bottom part. The s is almost equidistant between the q 
 and the b. The a is not squeezed up, and the sides spread out well. 
 
126 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 The lower tail of the k is considerably larger and longer than the 
 upper one. The s of skilling is not centrally under the r of 
 RiGSBANK, but is too mucli to the right, and it is very much larger 
 than the r. The two tail-strokes of the k of skilling meet a good 
 deal above the centre of the letter. The bottoms of the letters ki 
 touch each other, but the L does not touch them. The letters ll are 
 far apart. The next i is not near the last l, and its cross-strokes are 
 very small, and indistinct. The g is rather taller than the N, and 
 tolerably close to it. There is no stop after skilling, but there is a 
 small hyphen after rigsbank. The coloured line immediately round 
 the centre of the stamp is of one uniform thickness all the way 
 round. The lower part of the crown, from which the arches spring, 
 is not divided into compartments at all, but contains a straight row 
 of eight dots, all of the same size and shape. There are four dots 
 on the central arch, very small, but quite distinct. The cross on the 
 top of the crown is small, but very distinct ; and its cross-bar is 
 thicker than the upright stroke. There is no hyphen after post. 
 The little piece of dark background, behind the cross on the top of 
 the crown, is of an oblong shape, and very dark, standing out 
 prominently from the lighter portion of the stamp. The four places 
 in the arches of the crown, where the dark background shows 
 through, are all large ovals of equal size. Outsi'te the circle which 
 contains frim^grke, &c., there is no white rim, except just for a very 
 little way at the very top. The floral work outside the circle is 
 broken uj) into separate crescent-shaped ornaments, and very few of 
 them touch the outer line of the boundary. There is no trefoil in 
 any of the corners. The central coil of the post-horn is quite small, 
 and it does not encroach at all upon the bell or the mouthpiece. It 
 is shaded with a few short transverse strokes, very different from the 
 clear, coloured dots of the originals, which are perfectly round. 
 There is a very small white stop after kgl, and it is equidistant 
 from the l and from the p of post. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is very much better than the last, and I should call it an ex- 
 ceedingly dangerous forgery ; in fact I was taken in by it myself 
 quite lately ; lithographed on wove paper, rather thinner than the 
 genuine ; watermarked with a crown. How the forgers have managed 
 to imitate this watermark I cannot say ; but it seems to me that the 
 crown has been embossed on the stamp with heavy pressure, and 
 then smoothed flat again, leaving its traces on the stamp. The water- 
 mark is visible both looking at the light through the stamp, and even 
 when the stamp is lying on the table. It is rather difterent from 
 the genuine watermark, somewhat larger, and neater ; but is other- 
 wise a very good imitation. The paper is only very slightly 
 yellowish, and there is no hurele pattern over the face of the stamp. 
 I have seen one or two copies of this forgery steeped in some dirty 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 127 
 
 concoction, like those of tlie last described counterfeit ; but they are 
 generally on white paper. The front of the tail of the 2 is rounded, 
 and points between the g and s of rigsbank. The back end of the 
 tail curls upwards, but not inwards. None of the lettering is 
 sunken. The r of rigsbank has hardly any bottom stroke. The i 
 is taller than the r, as in the genuine. The G is badly shaped, the 
 shoulder is cut slantingly, and the top comes too much forward. The 
 s is exactly equidistant from the g and b. The a is not squeezed up. 
 The lower tail of the K is larger than the upper one. In the word 
 SKiLLiNG the s is under the r of rigsbank, as in the genuine. The 
 two tail strokes of the K meet too high up. The bottoms of the 
 letters kil do not touch each other. The i has no cross-strokes. The 
 letters ll are not close together, and they lean away from each other 
 at the tops. The next i is placed at an equal distance from the L 
 and the n, and the cross-strokes do not show on the right-hand side. 
 The G is the same size as the n, but is placed on a lower level. The 
 stop after skilling is not near the outline of the circle at all. The 
 hyphen after rigsbank touches the outline of the circle ; but it does 
 not touch in the genuine stamps. The coloured line immediately 
 outside the central circle is the same breadth all the way round. 
 The lower part of the crown from which the arches spring is not 
 divided into compartments at all, and bears a row of nine oblong 
 dots. There are two dots on the central arch, as in the genuine ; but 
 they are very much too small. The cross on the top of the crown is 
 very distinct, though the ball on which it rests is almost invisible. 
 Both strokes of the cross are about the same thickness, and it is 
 perfectly upright. There is a hyphen after the word post ; but only 
 one of its ends is cut square, the other is more or less rounded. The 
 little piece of dark background behind the cross is quite circular in 
 shape ; and stands out too prominently from the background, though 
 not so much so as the last counterfeit. The dark places in the arches 
 of the crown are very like those of the genuine, except that the 
 outer ones are rather too large, and the inner ones are not triangular 
 in shape. There is no white line running round the outer rim of 
 the dark circle. Many of the crescent-shaped ornaments of the 
 scroll-work touch each other, as in the genuine ; but all those along 
 the top of the stamp are distinctly separate, and one or two on the 
 left-hand side do not touch the border of the stamp ; the others 
 touch the border too much, i.e. the border seems to cut part of them 
 away. The corners have a sort of trefoil-pattern, but they are not 
 all alike. The central coil of the post-horn is too small, and does 
 not encroach at all upon either the bell or the mouthpiece. There 
 are about four dots on the coil, just at the top of it ; and very 
 different from the complete circle of dots in the genuine. The 
 hyphen after the word post is too high up, and almost level with the 
 middle of the t. There is a white stop after the letters kgl, but it 
 is almost as near to the p of post as it is to the l ; at any rate, it 
 does not nearly touch the l. And now I think that any amateur 
 
128 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 who allows himself to be taken in, after this extremely minute 
 description of both genuine and forged, richly deserves to lose his 
 money. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Both genuine and forged bear a cancellation consisting of concen- 
 tric circles. The genuine stamps sometimes have four circles, with 
 a dot in the centre, but sometimes only three, with a numeral in the 
 centre. The forgeries imitate this latter variety of obliteration. 
 
 Issue of 1863-7. 8 sk., green, dotted ground. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on rather thin yellowish- 
 white wove paper ; very distinctly watermarked 
 with a crown ; the cross on the top of the crown 
 is very plain, though small. The handles of the 
 crossed sword and sceptre do not touch the wreath, 
 though the handle of the sword comes very close to 
 it. The wreath touches the lettered outer frame at 
 the top, and almost touches it at the bottom, but is 
 not near it at the sides. All the letters of all the inscriptions are 
 very far apart. The top and bottom tongues of the g in the left-hand 
 inscription do not touch each other ; the l is well formed, and there 
 is a small stop after it. In the right-hand ins.cription there is a stop 
 after the r, and another after the m ; and the r is nearer to the f 
 than to the m. In the bottom inscription there is such a distance 
 between the 8 s. and the winged rods on each side of them, that 
 there would be plenty of room to put another full-sized letter to 
 right and left of the inscription. The dotted groundwork, between 
 the wreath and the frame, is of no particular pattern ; i.e. the dots 
 are disposed irregularly. The bell-mouths of the little j)ost-horns 
 in the four corners are quite distinct. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 This is one of the two forgeries which I said I had not seen until 
 recently. It is very poorly done, and ought not to deceive anybody. 
 
 Lithographed, very badly, on white wove paper, thinner and harder 
 than the genuine ; no watermark. There is a white blotch projecting 
 from the top of the crown, but it does not, in the smallest degree, 
 resemble a cross. The handles of the crossed sword and sceptre both 
 touch the wreath, and the sceptre is very crooked towards the middle. 
 The wreath hardly seems to touch the frame at the top or bottom, 
 but touches it very distinctly at each side. The letters of all the 
 inscriptions are much too close to each other, especially in the word 
 POST, where they almost touch. In the left-hand inscription the top 
 and bottom tongues of the g touch each other, the upright stroke of 
 the L is hollowed out on its left-hand side, and there is a very distinct 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 129 
 
 stop after it, much plainer than in the genuine, where the stop would 
 hardly be noticed. In the right-hand inscription there is no stop 
 after the r, an almost invisible stop a long way after the M, and the 
 R and M touch each other at the bottom. In the bottom inscription 
 where is no room for the introduction of any more letters, and the 8 
 looks like a badly-formed 3. The dots of the groundwork, between 
 the wreath and the frame, are arranged in a wavy form, being, appar- 
 ently, a sort of compromise between the genuine stamp of tliis issue 
 and the 8 sk. of 1853, which had the groundwork composed of wavy 
 lines instead of dots. The curl of the tube in each of the little post- 
 liorns is so much exaggerated that the bell-mouth can hardly be seen 
 at all, being hidden by the curl. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The cancellation of both genuine and forged is the same as described 
 for the first issue. 
 
 Same Issue. 16 sk., lilac, dotted ground. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on yellowish-white wove paper, like that of 
 the 8 sk. ; watermarked with a crown. This stamp is exactly the 
 same type as the last, only lettered 16 s. instead of 8 s. All the 
 tests are just the same as for the genuine 8 sk. This value was never 
 issued with the wavy ground, and this fact will serve to detect, in- 
 stantly, the forgery now to be described. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, more carefully than the 8 sk., on thin white wove 
 paper ; no watermark. The handle of the sceptre is a very long way 
 from the wreath, as though the bottom knob had been broken olf 
 altogether ; the handle of the sword touches the wreath. The 
 wreath itself appears to touch the frame on all four sides. The top 
 and bottom tongues of the g in the left-hand inscription touch each 
 other. The top inscription resembles that of the genuine. There is 
 no stop alter either the fr or the m, in the left-hand inscription, and 
 the tail of the r is curiously splayed out. The winged rod almost 
 touches the m, though it is at a considerable distance from it in the 
 genuine. And, lastly, the groundwork, between the wreath and the 
 frame, is composed of wavy lines, though, as I said, the genuine is 
 never found with anything but the dotted ground. Thus this forgery 
 is much more easy to detect than the one last described, though it is 
 very much better executed. I do not think this counterfeit is very 
 common ; I have never seen but one copy, which was kindly lent to 
 me, for the benefit of my readers, by Mr. J. Albert, of Paris. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Same as last for both genuine and forged. 
 
 E 
 
ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 DOMINICA. 
 
 Issue of 1874. Id., 6d., Is. 
 
 I do not think the forgeries of this set are 
 likely to prove dangerous : for the execution 
 of the genuine is very fine, though there is 
 nothing very original about them. If our 
 English engravers would take the trouble to 
 invent really new and original designs, I 
 think we might challenge even the American 
 Bank Note Company to produce finer stamps 
 than we can turn out; but, as it is, we are 
 never favoured with anything more striking and uncommon 
 than the same tiresome and aggravating old portrait, which is 
 about as much like Her Majesty as I am. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on thin, white wove paper, slightly surfaced ; 
 machine-perforated 12^ ; watermarked with a crown and cc. All 
 the values are from the same die. The circle containing the name 
 does not touch the value-label. The t of postage is very much 
 dwarfed. The lower part of the tiara is divided into three compart- 
 ments, with an oblong jewel in the first, over the forehead, a diamond- 
 shaped one in the centre, and another oblong one in the third, over 
 the ear. The lobe of the ear is very round and fat. The last pearl 
 of the tiara, over the ear, leans towards the left. The portrait is 
 shaded all over with very fine lines. The hair covers part of the 
 eyebrow at the outer corner. 
 
 The colours of the genuine are : Id., bright mauve ; 6d., emerald- 
 green; Is., rich rose, with a very slight tint of blue. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on soft, white wove paper, rather thick, and un- 
 surfaced ; pin-pricked 13, very badly ; no watermark. All the 
 values are from the same stone. The circle containing the name 
 runs into the value-label below the t of postage, and the said t is 
 the same size as the other letters of that word. There is no jewel 
 over the forehead ; the centre jewel is blotched ; and the one over 
 the ear is very indistinct. The lobe of the ear is quite thin, and 
 does not hang down. The last pearl of the tiara over the ear is 
 upright. The forehead is unshaded, and there is a white patch at 
 the back of the neck. The hair does not touch the eyebrow. 
 
 The colours of these counterfeits are : Id., lilac ; 6d., dark, 
 yellow-green ; Is., chalky rose. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 131 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have not yet seen any postmarked specimens of tlie genuine. 
 The forgeries are cancelled with the oval, so often mentioned, with 
 four lines at the top, four at the bottom, and curved lines at the 
 sides ; only, in this case, there are Jive curved lines each side, instead 
 of the usual four. 
 
 DUTCH INDIES. 
 
 I think all the forgeries of these stamps are above the 
 average, as the design has been very carefully copied in all 
 the issues. 
 
 Issue of 1864. 10 Cents., brownish-carmine. 
 
 This stamp was first issued unperforated ; but 
 
 m 1864 it was machine-perforated 12. The 
 type of both perforated and unperforated is 
 exactly the same. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Finely engraved in taille-douce, oii soft, thin, 
 yellowish-white wove paper, the face of which almost invariably 
 shows a tinge of the same colour as the stamp, no doubt owing to the 
 imperfect wiping of the plate during the process of printing. The 
 same thing may be very well seen on some specimens of the current 
 blue 5c. of the United States, and on the 50 reis, blue, of the first 
 head issue of Brazil. The stamp is either unperforated, or 
 machine-perforated 12, as above-mentioned ; and the gum with 
 which it is backed is of a dark, yellowish-brown colour, almost as 
 dark as that on the first 3 cents of S. Thomas. The background 
 behind the head is composed partly of crossed, vertical and horizon- 
 tal lines, and partly of horizontal lines only ; the portion of the 
 background in the top, left-hand corner, has only horizontal lines. 
 The king's nose stands out well, with a blunt, and rounded point. 
 The front of the moustache is clipped rather short, so that the 
 contour of both lips can be seen ; the upper lip is decidedly 
 pointed in front. On the shoulder, above the L of zegel, will be 
 seen a dim, white blotch, and one or two indistinct white lines, 
 forming the button and part of the shoulder-strap of the epaulette ; 
 but the whole would not be noticed unless expressly looked for. 
 The ground of the two side-labels containing nederl indie is very 
 decidedly shaded with crossed, vertical and horizontal lines, which 
 can be easily seen. The side-stroke of the 1 of 10 does not touch 
 the tail of the left-hand dolphin ; and the bottom of the said 1, and 
 that of the t of cent are both slightly pointed, instead of being cut 
 
132 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 off square. There are four lines of shading on the label to the right 
 of the T of CENT, and all four are of different lengths. This is very 
 well marked. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Eather nicely lithographed, on white wove paper, very thin, not 
 at all tinted, backed with white gum ; unperf orated. The whole of 
 the background behind the head is shaded uniformly with crossed, 
 vertical and horizontal lines. The king's nose is much too white, 
 and the point is quite sharp compared with the genuine. The front 
 of the moustache hides the upper lip altogether, and the outline of 
 the mouth is one straight line. On the shoulder, above the L of 
 ZEGEL, there is a verij prominent and distinct mark like a V on its 
 side, with a large white dot or blotch inside it. The ground of the 
 two side-labels, containing the words nederl indie, appears to be 
 perfectly solid and uniform at first sight, though, it is really formed 
 by crossed lines, which are set so close that they have run 
 together in almost every part. The side-stroke of the 1 of 10 
 touches the tail of the left-hand dolphin ; and the bottoms of the 
 1, and of the T of cent, are cut off almost square ; indeed, that of the 
 T is quite square. The four lines of shading to the right of the T of 
 CENT are of equal height. The colour of this forgery is something 
 like that of the genuine, but with more red and less brown in it. 
 Mr. Pemberton calls the genuine stamp " rose," but I never saw one 
 that could be said even to approach that colour. One of my own 
 specimens slightly resembles the tint of our own ordinary Id., just 
 obsolete ; and I suppose even that would hardly be called rose. 
 
 Some time ago I saw another forgery of this stamp ; but it was a 
 frightful caricature ; lithographed on bright yellow paper, and not 
 in the least likely to deceive, so I did not trouble to take notes of it. 
 If any reader should possess a specimen he can easily decide its 
 worthlessness by the tests of the genuine given above. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps usually bear a large, thin circle, with letter- 
 ing and numerals inside it. The forgeries have an imitation of the 
 old Dutch obliteration — an oblong, containing the word FRANCO 
 in large letters. 
 
 Issue of 1869. 5, 10, 20, 50 Cents. 
 
 I have only seen the forgeries of the above 
 , four values ; but it is quite possible that the 
 J stamps issued five years afterwards; i.e. the 1, 
 ^ 2, 2 J, 15, 25, and 2g. 50c., may also have 
 been forged. The counterfeits are remarkably 
 well done, and are found everywhere. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 133 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on thickish white wove paper ; no water- 
 mark ; machine-perforated 14. All the stamps are from the same 
 die. There are eighty-seven pearls in the circle round the head of 
 the king. The lower lobe of the ear is very small, and part of it is 
 shaded. The wings on the serpents round the rods in the tops of 
 the side-labels are very distinct, each having four feathers. The 
 bottoms of the anchors are both alike, and both pointed ; and their 
 flukes also are all alike, and very distinctly barbed, like arrow- 
 heads. The tails of the serpents round the rods do not touch the 
 outline of the central circle. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, rather carefully done, on very white, and rather 
 thick wove paper ; pin-pricked 13|. There are only eighty-six pearls 
 in the circle round the head of the king. The lower lobe of the ear 
 is much larger than in the genuine, more prominent, and altogether 
 without shading. The wings on the rods are not very distinctly 
 drawn ; they only show three feathers each ; and the serpents have 
 no eyes, though these can be very well seen in the genuine. The 
 tail of one of the serpents round the right-hand rod almost touches 
 the outline of the circle round the king's head ; and in many copies 
 it does touch it. The bottom of the left-hand anchor is generally 
 more acutely pointed than that of the right-hand one ; and the 
 barbs are not all alike, one or more being invariably a mere blotch. 
 The colours, except in the 5c., are a very close approximation to 
 those of the genuine. The 5c. is too bright. It will be seen, from 
 the above description, that the chief difference between the genuine 
 and the counterfeits is the number of pearls in the central circle. 
 If the designer of these latter had taken the trouble to put one 
 more pearl in the circle I should have called these dangerous 
 forgeries. The pearls are easy to count, even in the forgeries ; but 
 they are not so clear or so round. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps are found with at least three different varieties 
 of cancellation. Among my own specimens I have some obliterated 
 with the large, thin circle, described with the first issue ; some with 
 a diamond of diamond-shaped dots, with a numeral in the centre ; 
 and some have a very peculiar postmark, consisting of three-fourths 
 of a circle, with a chord at the bottom, name and date inside the 
 circle, and FRANCO in large letters below the chord. The forgeries 
 imitate this latter obliteration, for a wonder. 
 
134 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 ECUADOE. 
 
 The counterfeits of the Ecuador stamps will not he found 
 particularly dangerous, except the imitations of the 1873 set, 
 which are ahove the average. There are two timbres de fantaisie, 
 which I had better take first ; it will he understood that these 
 two stamps never existed. 
 
 Bogus stamps : dos (2) reales, green; doce (12) reales, scarlet. 
 
 Both of these stamps are very nicely done, and, if they had 
 heen imitations of any of the values really issued, they would 
 have heen decidedly dangerous. They are of the type of the 
 1865 set, of which only the values medio real (|-) and un real (1) 
 were issued. There is no need to go any further into the details 
 of these two essays on credulity, as their facial values will at 
 once condemn them. 
 
 Postmarks, 
 
 The dos reales is not cancelled ; the doce leales bears three con- 
 centric circles, with numerals in the centre. 
 
 Issue of 1866. Medio Real, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in slate-blue, and also in ultra- 
 marine, on thin, greyish- white wove paper. The 
 sun's face has several dots on it, but they cannot be 
 said to resemble eyes, nose, and mouth, as in all 
 legible copies there is merely a straight row of dots, 
 touching each other, where the eyes would be, and 
 two dots, very much to the left, where the nose ought 
 to come. There are seventeen rays round the sun, 
 including those which form part of the rainbow. The key-pattern 
 is in four separate pieces, each piece containing five " keys." The 
 branch on the left side, between the oval and the flag, bears thirteen 
 leaves. The right-hand flag has five white stripes on it, and the 
 left-hand flag has four. The head of the axe shows very distinctly, 
 sticking out from the left-hand end of the fasces^ below the central 
 oval. The steamer in the oval has a large, dark flag flying from the 
 left-hand mast. There are seventy pearls round the large circle ; they 
 are large, uniform in size and shape, and not touching each other 
 anywhere. The vertical lines of shading in the spandrels are very fine, 
 and many of them run together, so that I have been unable to count 
 them. Some copies of these stamps are very badly lithographed, so 
 that the design can hardly be made out at all ; this is more especially 
 the case with those printed in slate-blue. The ones printed in ultra- 
 marine, especially the dark shades, are usually much better executed. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 135 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in Prussian blue, on greasy-looking wove paper, 
 which has a very strong shade of greenish-blue on the surface, show- 
 incT more or less through the substance of the paper. The sun s face 
 bears rec^ular eyes, nose, and mouth, which can easily be seen, ihere 
 are tweSty-eight rays round the sun. The key-pattern is very coarse, 
 and there are only three " keys " in each piece. The branch on the 
 left-hand side bears nine leaves only. The right-hand flag has hye 
 white stripes on it ; the left-hand flag has five also. The /asces would 
 hardly be recognized, and there is no axe-head to be seen projecting 
 from the left-hand end. The steamer has no flag, and what ought 
 to be the funnel appears like a palm-tree with a dome-shaped head. 
 There are 102 pearls round the large circle ; they are very small, and 
 some of them are uointed instead of being round. The vertical lines 
 of shading in the^spandrels are very coarse, more especially on the 
 left-hand, at the bottom. 
 
 PostmarJzs. 
 
 The genuine stamps show a considerable variety in this respect. 
 Some of my copies bear a single circle, containing name and date ; 
 some have a double circle, with name between the circles, and date 
 in the centre ; and some have a large diamond of round dots, gener- 
 ally in red, with large numerals in the centre. The forgeries bear a 
 thick, single circle, with name, &c., in a straight line in the centre. 
 
 Same Issue. Un Real, shades of Yellow. 
 
 I have called this the same issue ; but the fact is that_ the 
 medio real, blue, and the un real; green, are said to have circu- 
 lated in the interior only, and this un real, yellow, was used for 
 letters to foreign countries. 
 
 «( Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in pale yellow, ochre -yellow, orange -yellow, or 
 greenish-yellow, on greyish-white, or on bluish-white paper. The 
 greyish- white paper is wove ; but the bluish white is usually what is 
 called " pa'pier quadrille" having laid lines in it forming oblongs or 
 squares. The large circle contains seventy-seven pearls, but they are 
 not so large nor so regular as those of the medio real. There are five 
 " keys " in each of the four pieces of key-pattern, as in the genuine 
 medio real. The white lines forming this key - pattern, and the 
 crosses in the four corners, and the letters of both top and bottom 
 inscriptions, are all of as nearly as possible the same width. There 
 is a white stop before UN, and a similar one after real, and these 
 two words do not anything like fill up the label which contains them. 
 There are five white stripes on the right-hand flag, and four on the 
 left-hand one, as in the genuine medio real; and seventeen rays 
 round the sun, including those which form part of the rainbow. 
 
136 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very coarsely lithographed in vermilion, on roughly-made, bluish- 
 white wove paper. The large circle contains 108 pearls, very irregular 
 in shape and size, and many of them running together. There are 
 only three " keys " in each of the four pieces of key-pattern. The 
 words ECUADOR CORREOS are in thin letters, like the genuine, but 
 the bordering lines of the key-pattern are thicker than the lettering 
 of the said words. The words UN real are thicker still, and the 
 crosses in the corners are thickest of all ; whereas, as I have pointed 
 out, all these are of the same thickness in the genuine. I hope I 
 have made it sufficiently clear that the above description has refer- 
 ence to the thickness or thinness of the white lines composing the 
 said letters, key-pattern, and crosses. The words UN real fill up 
 the label containing them, and there is no stop either before or after 
 them. Each flag has five white stripes in it. I have only a very 
 bad copy of this forgery to describe from, but there seem to be far 
 more than seventeen rays round the sun, and they are blotched to- 
 gether a good deal. This forgery is not at all likely to prove danger- 
 ous ; it is even coarser than the forged medio real. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine, at least all the copies which I have seen, bear a very 
 singular cancellation, ditfering from any others with which I am ac- 
 quainted. It consists of four concentric oblongs, with a very boldly 
 zigzagged outline, and containing P. I. in large outlined letters. I 
 have six or eight copies of this un real, yellow, in my collection, and 
 they all, without exception, bear this postmark, the oidy variation 
 being that one of them is struck in red, and all the others in black. 
 The forgery bears the often-described imitation of one of our own 
 postmarks, consisting of an oval, formed by three straight lines at 
 the top and bottom, and four curved lines on each side. 
 
 It will be noticed that I have not described the genuine so minutely 
 as the medio real ; but the colour is invariably so very faint that it is 
 extremely difficult to make out any details at all. The forgery is a 
 downright vermilion, about the same shade as the normal hue of the 
 40 centimes of the French Republic of 1849. 
 
 Issue of 1873. 1 Real, orange-yellow, and orange-vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 This stamp is an evident copy of the Costa 
 Eica set, but of very inferior execution com- 
 pared with those beautiful stamps. Litho- 
 graphed on white wove paper, usually rather 
 thin and soft, but I have one copy on quite 
 stout paper; perforated 11. The condor's 
 neck is very thin, but not unnaturally so ; 
 it is about the same thickness as the upright 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 137 
 
 stroke of the t in porte. The sun is set rather high up on 
 the rainbow ; that is to say, supposing the rainbow passed in front 
 of the sun, instead of behind it, the lower part of the sun's face 
 would be hidden, and the upper third of it would appear above 
 the rainbow. There are seventy-eight horizontal lines of shading, 
 including the border lines, counting down the right side of the stamp. 
 The horizontal lines inside the scroll-work, that is to say, behind the 
 condor, flags, and shield, are very close together, quite twice as close 
 as the lines on the outer portion of the design. This is, perhaps, the 
 best test of the genuine, for it can be very readily seen. The cross- 
 strokes of the T and e of porte, and of the E and l of real, are very 
 thin, much thinner than the vertical strokes of the said letters. The 
 white outline of the little oval containing the figure 1 at the top of 
 the stamp is perfect all round, and the top of this oval touches the 
 fourth line from the top of the stamp, including the outer line. The 
 two lines running round the whole stamp are very close together, so 
 much so, that there is not room for another line to be put between 
 them. The white spot representing the paddle-box is in its proper 
 place in the centre of the hull of the steamer ; the lower part of the 
 funnel is dark, and the uj)per half is white. There is a very distinct 
 cloud of steam or smoke coming out of the funnel, and going to the 
 right. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 This is not at all a bad imitation, and I have no doubt it has 
 taken in a good many unwary ones. Lithographed in pale ver- 
 milion, on thin, yellowish- white wove paper ; pin-pricked 12|. 
 The condor's neck is unnaturally thick, being quite twice as thick as 
 the upright stroke of the t of porte. The sun is set centrally on 
 the rainbow ; that is to say, supposing the rainbow were to pass in 
 front of it, it would hide the centre of the sun's face, leaving a little 
 bit of equal size showing both at the top and the bottom. There are 
 only sixty-nine horizontal lines of shading in the general back- 
 ground of the stamp, counting down the right-hand side, and in- 
 cluding the top and bottom lines. The horizontal lines inside the 
 scroll-work, behind the condor, flags^ shield, &c., are no closer 
 together than the others, being, in fact, merely continuations of 
 them. This is very easily seen, and will be a good test for this 
 forgery. The cross-strokes of the t and e of porte, and of the e 
 and L of real, are the same thickness as the upright strokes of the 
 said letters, except that the lower cross-stroke of the e of real is a 
 little thinner than the rest. The white outline of the little oval 
 containing the figure 1 at the top of the stamp is broken below, just 
 above the word del ; and it is placed too high up, so that it touches 
 the third line from the top, counting the top line as one. The two 
 lines running round the whole stamp are at some distance from each 
 other, so that another line could easily be put between them. The 
 white spot representing the paddle-box is too much to the left ; the 
 
138 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 funnel is dark all the way up ; and the cloud of steam, or smoke 
 appears to be issuing from the left-hand mast, instead of from the 
 funnel. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I onl}'- possess one obliterated copy of the genuine, and it is can- 
 celled with dots, which almost pierce the paper ; but I cannot make 
 out the form of the handstamp. The forgery is obliterated with an 
 oval, formed of straight and curved lines, like that found on the 
 last-described imitation. It must be borne in mind that this forgery 
 is deceptive, not because it is so good, but rather because the genuine 
 is so poor. 
 
 Issue of same year. TJn Peso, rose, carmine. 
 
 This stamp is very much prettier than any 
 of those before described ; and so is the 
 medio real which was issued at the same 
 time, but which I have not yet seen imitated. 
 The forgery is exceedingly good, and very 
 likely to deceive. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Typographed (?) in rose or carmine, on very white wove paper ; 
 perforated 11, and also 8, and 10. I give the perforation 10 on the 
 authority of M. Moens, as I have not seen it ; but I have both the 8 
 and 1 1 myself. There is a good space of white between the rays of 
 the sun and the border of the shield. The mountain-peaks have a 
 sort of oblique snow-line marlted upon them, and their points are 
 rather higher than the smoke from the steamer. The front flags are 
 shaded all over, except a very small portion near the outer edge. 
 The axe, in the lictor's fasces, below the shield, has its head properly 
 shaped. There are eighty-three square white dots round the circle. 
 The inside of the u of UN is square at the bottom, and the inside of 
 the o of PESO is nearly square. The point of the condor's right 
 wing, i.e. on the left-hand side of the stamp, does not touch the 
 outline of the circle. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very nicely lithographed in carmine, on white wove paper, which 
 shows very plainly the meshes of the w^ire gauze on which it was 
 made; pin-pricked and also 13, The upper rays of the sun 
 almost touch the top of the shield. There is no oblique snow-line 
 upon the mountain peaks, and their summits are slightly lower than 
 the smoke of the steamer, A large portion of the front flags is alto- 
 gether unshaded. The head of the axe in the lictor's fasces appears 
 to be cleft in two. There are only sixty-eight of the square white 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 139 
 
 dots round the circle. The inside of the u of UN is rounded, and the 
 inside of the o of peso is very nearly round. The point of the con- 
 dor's right wing touches the circle below the e of Ecuador. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps usually bear a double circle, with name be- 
 tween the circles at the top, FRANCA at the bottom, and date, &c., 
 in the centre of the inner circle. The forgeries are cancelled with a 
 rectangle, or a diamond, of square dots. 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 One peculiarity I have noticed, with regard to the first issue 
 for Egypt, on the part of the vast majority of collectors, and 
 even of catalogue-makers who ought to know better ; and that 
 is their very determined habit of placing these unfortunate 
 stamps any way but the right one. All the later issues are 
 evidently intended to be placed with their longest sides top and 
 bottom ; and so I suppose that, as the stamps of this hrst issue 
 are much about the same shape, it is thought that they ought to 
 be placed in the same position ; but the proper way of placing 
 them is with the oval loop of the central surcharge upwards, as 
 is done in our illustration of the 10 paras value, which renders 
 three out of the five surcharges legible at once, and the other 
 two with httle difficulty. The watermark will also assist in 
 the proper placing of the stamps, though I have seen many 
 copies in which it is inverted. As regards the surcharges, the 
 central one, according to my reading of the characters, means 
 " Egypt," the left-hand one, probably " Egyptian." The bottom 
 one is the value in words, and the others are beyond my small 
 skill to decipher. Some stamps, apparently of this first issue, are 
 not uncommonly found on thickish paper, without watermark, 
 but of much the same colours as the normal specimens. Moens 
 calls them essays ; but I fancy they are very likely proofs. 
 
 As officials in the country in question are ever ready to turn 
 an honest penny (or a dishonest one either, as some of my 
 friends say, who are Egyptian bondholders), it is more than 
 probable that very many of the unused specimens of this first 
 issue now to be found in the albums of collectors are reprints, 
 issued, on purpose for sale to philatelists, since the issue became 
 obsolete; and therefore I, with many others, decidedly prefer 
 used specimens. 
 
140 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Issue of 1866. 6, 10, 20 Paras ; 1, 2, 5, 10 Piastres. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 As the design varies for each separate value, I shall have to 
 describe them one by one ; but first I may take the things common 
 to all the values. 
 
 Typographed (?) in colour, on thin, greyish-white wove paper ; 
 watermarked with a ten-rayed star, or flower, whichever it may be, 
 over a pyramid and sphinx ; perforated 13 all round, or sometimes 
 perforated 13 top and bottom, and unperforated at the sides. The 
 characters of the top surcharge are all joined together ; the one like 
 a magnified comma touching the oblique stroke to left of it with its 
 tail. 
 
 5 Paras. Genuine. 
 The right-hand end of the middle surcharge is a very small, blunt, 
 upward hook ; and the left-hand end of it is a long, large, upward 
 hook, whose upper point ends on a level with the right-hand hook. 
 In the bottom surcharge there are one dot below the first character on 
 the right-hand end, three clustering dots below the centre of the 
 said surcharge, and one dot above a short wavy line above the sur- 
 charge, a little to the right of the centre. Each 5 in the corners is 
 small and compact, with its head quite as large as its tail. The 
 central flower has fourteen petals. The borders of the stamp are 
 formed of diamond-shaped ornaments ; but the point of a large 
 diamond runs into the middle of each piece of bordering, at the top 
 and bottom and sides. The top border has three entire diamonds to 
 left of the large one, and almost three entire diamonds to the right ; 
 but the large diamond hides a small part of the inner diamond on 
 the right. The bottom border contains three entire diamonds to 
 right, and also three entire ones to left of the large one. The inner 
 points of these large diamonds at top and bottom do not touch the 
 frame, or rather the points of the frame, of the central flower, 
 
 5 Paras. Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, very white wove paper ; no watermark ; 
 perforated 12, and sometimes 12^. The character like a magnified 
 comma in the top surcharge does not touch the oblique stroke to the 
 left of it with its tail. The right-hand end of the middle surcharge 
 is a small knob, which points downwards obliquely to the right. The 
 left-hand side of the said surcharge ends merely in a curve, with a 
 blunt end, a good deal lower than the level of the right-hand end. 
 The bottom surcharge is quite different from the genuine, being a 
 copy of the bottom one of the genuine 20 paras, to be described 
 hereafter. There is a stroke under the first character of this sur- 
 charge to the right, three clustering dots under the last character to 
 left, and no dot at all above the surcharge. Each 5 is of a peculiar 
 shape, with the tail very much larger than the head. The central 
 flower has nineteen petals. In the top border there are only 2^ 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 141 
 
 entire small diamonds on each side of the point of the large diamond. 
 In the bottom border there are 3 to the left, and 2h to the right of 
 the large diamond. The inner points of the top and bottom large 
 diamonds are joined to the points of the frame round the central 
 flower. 
 
 10 Paras. Genuine, 
 
 The paper, watermark, and perforation are the 
 same as in the genuine 6 paras ; the central sur- 
 charge also is exactly the same. In the bottom 
 surcharge there is a short upright stroke at the 
 right-hand end, and a thing like a figure 8 with 
 the top broken, at the left-hand end, with three 
 clustering dots below it. There are twenty-eight 
 circles round the central oval. The coloured line 
 outside this oval is not blotched anywhere, and 
 it is the same thickness all the way round. The 10 in the left-hand 
 upper corner has the 1 without any oblique side-stroke ; i.e. it is 
 simply a straight line, and the is very much thicker than the 1. 
 The 10 in the lower left-hand corner has its 1 a simple straight 
 stroke like the other, and the 1 and the are of equal thinness. 
 
 10 Paras. Forged. 
 
 Paper, perforation, &c., same as in the forged 5 paras. The large 
 central loop of the middle surcharge is broken at the top. In the 
 bottom surcharge there is a dot at the right-hand end, a large hook 
 at the left-hand end, and three separate dots and a sort of comma at 
 various distances along the top of the inscription. (This is a copy 
 of the bottom surcharge on the genuine 1 piastre.) There are only 
 twenty-seven circles round the central oval. The coloured line 
 surrounding this oval is blotched to the left of the bottom of the 
 oval, and too thick to the right of the bottom of the oval. There is 
 a stop before the 1 of the 10 in the upper left-hand corner, and the 
 1 has an oblique side-stroke ; the 1 and the are of equal thickness. 
 The 10 in the lower right-hand corner is like the other, but there is 
 no stop before the 1. 
 
 20 Paras. Genuine. 
 
 - Paper, perforation, watermark, &c., same as in the genuine 5 paras. 
 The right-hand end of the middle surcharge is a very small loop 
 with a white centre. The right-hand end of the bottom surcharge 
 is like a capital V laid on its side, with its point to the left, and 
 with a short, wavy stroke below it. There is a thick small o form- 
 ing the top of the central letter of the inscription, and three 
 clustering dots below the left-hand end of it. The p of para in the 
 upper left-hand corner is of the same thickness as the rest of the 
 letters of the word ; and the top of each a is pointed. The p of 
 PARA in the lower right-hand corner is like the other one ; but the 
 
142 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 top of each a is cut off square. The bottom, heart-shaped point of 
 the central cross or ornament inclines too much to the right of its 
 proper position. 
 
 20 Paras. Forged. 
 
 Paper, perforation, &c.,same as in the forged 5 paras. The right-hand 
 end of the middle surcharge is a black knob ; and the centre of the 
 middle loop of it is round, instead of being oval as the genuine is. 
 The bottom surcharge is like that of the genuine 5 paras, with a dot 
 below the first letter at the right-hand end, a dot and a stroke above 
 the middle of it, and three clustering dots below the middle. The 
 p of PARA in the upper left-hand corner is very thin, and squeezed- 
 up, compared with the rest of the letters of the word ; the first A is 
 pointed, and the second a is cut off square. The p of para in the 
 lower right-hand corner is very badly shaped ; the first A is cut off 
 square, and the second a is rounded at the top. The bottom point 
 of the central cross or ornament inclines too much to the left of its 
 proper position. 
 
 1 Piastre. Genuine. 
 
 Paper, perforation, watermark, &c,, same as in the genuine 5 paras. 
 The little loop at the right-hand end of the central surcharge is on a 
 level with the line to the left of it. This surcharge exactly fills up 
 the width of the central oval ; that is to say, it is as long as the oval 
 is wide. The semicircular portions of the arabesque oval, which 
 project into the corner labels containing the figures and letters, are 
 all of exactly equal size and shape. There is a round white stop 
 between the letters p.e in the left-hand upper corner, and the e is 
 taller than the p. There is also a round white stop between the 
 letters p.e in the lower right-hand corner, and the e is verij much 
 taller than the p. There are ninety-seven equal-sized pearls round 
 the frame. The outer line of the stamp is thicker at the top and 
 bottom than at the sides. 
 
 1 Piastre. Forged. 
 
 Paper, perforation, &c., same as in the forged 5 paras. The right- 
 hand loop of the central surcharge is bent downwards below the 
 level of the line to the left of it. This surcharge is too short, and 
 does not fill up the width of the central oval. The pieces of the 
 arabesque oval, which project into the corner labels, are of different 
 sizes ; and those which go into the corners containing the figure 1 
 are very much larger and rounder than those which go into the 
 other corners containing the letters p.e. There is a square white 
 stop between the letters p.e in the upper left-hand corner, and both 
 the said letters are of the same height. There is an almost invisible 
 stop between the letters p.e in the lower right-hand corner, and both 
 the letters are of the same size. There are eighty-four pearls round 
 the frame, of all sizes and shapes. The outer line of the stamp is 
 thinner at the top and at the bottom than at the sides. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 143 
 
 2 Piastres. Genuine. 
 The paper, watermark, perforation, &c., are the same as in the 
 genuine 5 paras. The right-hand end of the middle surcharge is a 
 small round loop, which is level with the line to the left of it ; the 
 centre of the large loop in the middle of this surcharge is an oval ; 
 the left-hand end of it is a large upward hook, as before, with its 
 tail pointing almost towards the large central loop. The design or 
 ornament in the central circle is not at all prominent, and has very 
 little white about it ; indeed, the colour of the stamp is usually so 
 pale that it is almost impossible to describe the shape of the central 
 flower. The ring round this central circle is shaded all the way 
 round with crossed, vertical, and horizontal lines. The octagonal 
 frame round the whole design is filled with a double spiral pattern, 
 difficult to describe, but almost exactly like the twined snakes to be 
 seen on the stamps of the Dutch Indies, though, of course, smaller, 
 and not in the least like a rope. There is a distinct white stop after 
 each of the letters p.e. In the left-hand upper corner the letters are 
 very thick and clumsy, and the middle tongue of the E projects as 
 far as the upper and lower strokes. The same description exactly 
 holds good for the letters p.e. in the lower right-hand corner. The 2 
 in the upper right-hand corner is compact in shape, the tail is quite 
 as thick as the rest of the figure. The other 2 in the lower left-hand 
 corner is exactly the same. The ordinary colour of this stamp is a 
 pale, dull " ochreish " orange. 
 
 2 Piastres. Forged. 
 Paper, perforation, &c., same as in the forged 5 paras. The small 
 loop at the right-hand end of the middle surcharge is bent down- 
 wards, below the level of the line proceeding from it ; the centre of 
 the large loop in the middle of this surcharge is triangular in shape ; 
 the left-hand end is a semicircle, whose end points directly upwards. 
 The central design is very white and prominent, looking like four 
 white ivy leaves arranged in the form of a cross. The ring round 
 this design is shaded with vertical lines only. The pattern filling 
 the octagonal frame round the whole design is a rope, with rather 
 loose strands, and not in the least like the double spirals of the 
 genuine. There is a very small stop after the p. in the upper left- 
 hand corner, but only a sort of indication of a stop after the e ; the 
 letters are not too thick, and are properly made ; and the central 
 tongue of the e is shorter than the upper and lower ones. This 
 description will hold good also for the letters in the lower right- 
 hand corner, except that there is a small stop after both p and e. 
 The 2 in the upper right-hand corner is thin, thinner than the 
 letters opposite to it, and the tail is thinner still. The 2 in the 
 lower left-hand corner is just the same, except that its tail, or part of 
 it, is so thin as to be almost invisible. The colour of the forgery is 
 generally either a greenish-lemon, or greenish-orange ; the latter, I 
 think, is the more common. 
 
144 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 5 Piastres. Genuine. 
 
 Paper, watermark, perforation, &c., same as in the genuine 5 paras. 
 The middle surcharge is exactly like that on the genuine 2 piastres 
 just described. In the lower surcharge there is a dot below the first 
 letter on the right-hand side, and above the surcharge, counting from 
 the right-hand end, there is, first of all, a dot with a short vertical 
 stroke below it, then a dot a little to the left, then a comma, and 
 then another dot with a stroke beneath the dot ; it will be under- 
 stood that these are all at various distances along the top of this 
 surcharge. The central design is a flower with seven petals ; and 
 immediately round the flower there is a small ring, shaded with 
 vertical lines. Just inside the largest oval there is a very narrow 
 one filled with pearls ; these pearls are very indistinct, and would 
 hardly be noticed at a first glance. There are eleven of them in the 
 top part of the oval, twelve in the bottom part, eleven on the right- 
 hand side, and thirteen in the left-hand side. There is a stop after 
 each of the letters p.e. in the upper left-hand corner, and a stop 
 after the p only in the lower right-hand corner. There is a stop after 
 the 5 in the upper right-hand corner, and the head and tail of the 
 figure are both of the same thickness. There is no stop after the 5 
 in the lower left-hand corner, and the head of the 5 is much thinner 
 than the tail. Each of the corner circles distinctly touches both 
 sides of each corner ; indeed, the upper right-hand circle projects 
 slightly beyond the right side of the stamp. 
 
 5 Piastres. First Forgery. 
 
 Paper, &c., as in forged 5 paras. The large central loop of the 
 middle surcharge is broken at the top, and the left-hand hook has a 
 blunt point instead of a very sharp one. The lower surcharge is a. 
 passable imitation of the genuine. The central design is a flower 
 with six petals, and the little ring round it is perfectly white, without 
 any shading at all. This is a very easy test. The pearls are far too 
 distinct, and too far apart ; there are ten of them in the top of the 
 oval, ten in the bottom of it, twelve on the right-hand side, and ten 
 on the left. In both the lettered circles there is a stop only after 
 the P. There is no stop after either 5 : the upper one is a large, 
 straggling figure, with the tail larger than the head ; the lower one 
 is more compact, with head and tail of equal thinness. The corner 
 circles do not really touch any of the boundary-lines, though there 
 is a blotch to the left of each of the ones on the left side, which 
 makes them look as though they touched the left-hand outline of 
 the frame. 
 
 5 Piastres. Second Forgery. 
 
 Paper, &c., same as forged 5 paras. The right-hand end of the 
 middle surcharge is opened out into a semicircle, and the left-hand 
 hook is blunt. The lower surcharge is not in the least like the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 145 
 
 genuine, being a copy of that upon the genuine 10 piastres. There 
 are only six petals to the central flower, and the ring round it is 
 white, as in the first forgery of this value. The pearled oval has ten 
 pearls at the top, ten at the bottom, thirteen on the right-hand side, 
 and ten on the left-hand side. There is a stop after both p and e in 
 the upper left-hand corner, and a stop after the p only in the lower 
 right-hand corner. There is a stop after the upper 5, which figure 
 has its head larger than its tail. There is no stop after the lower 5, 
 which figure has its tail very much larger than its head. The head 
 and tail of both these figures are of equal thickness ; the corner 
 circles do not touch the outline of the frame. 
 
 5 Piastres. Third Forgery. 
 
 Paper, &c., same as last forgery. The right-hand end of the 
 middle surcharge is opened out into a semicircle. The large loop in 
 the centre of this surcharge is broken at the top, and the tail of the 
 left-hand hook is blunt. The central flower has six petals. The 
 ring round it is white instead of being shaded. There are ten pearls 
 in the top of the pearled oval, nine at the bottom, about twelve on 
 the right-hand side, and ten on the left-hand side. There is a stop 
 after each of the letters p.e. in the upper left-hand corner ; but a 
 stop after the e only in the lower right-hand corner. The upper 5 
 is altogether undecipherable, being blotched into the background. 
 The lower 5 has its tail very sharply pointed, and larger than the 
 head, and thinner. The circles do not touch the outline of the frame. 
 This is the worst forgery of the lot, and ought not to deceive anybody. 
 
 10 Piastres. Genuine. 
 
 Paper, watermark, &c., same as in the genuine 5 paras ; middle 
 surcharge exactly the same as the last. The central oval is filled 
 with an arabesque design, but so faint that the details cannot be 
 described. The points of the large corner triangles do not anything 
 like touch each other, and there is a space of at least a quarter of an inch 
 between them on each side of the outer oval, and rather less at the 
 top and bottom of it. There is a white stop after both p and b in 
 both corners, and one also after the upper 10. The letters do not 
 touch the boundary of the little frames containing them. The 
 colour of the stamp is slate. 
 
 10 Piastres. Forged. 
 
 This appears to be from another set. The paper is thicker and 
 smoother, and of a decidedly yellowish tint. The little loop at the 
 right-hand end of the middle surcharge is broken at the top, and the 
 hook at the left-hand end points directly upwards instead of towards 
 the large central loop. The top surcharge is not all in one piece. 
 The tail of the magnified comma does not touch the oblique line to 
 the left of it. The central oval is the best test for this forgery, as it 
 
 L 
 
U6 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 is filled simply with crossed, vertical, and horizontal lines, without 
 any arabesque pattern in it at all. The points of the large corner 
 triangles come very close together ; those on the right almost touch, 
 those on the left are nearly as close, but those at the top and bottom 
 are a little further from each other. There is a white stop after the 
 p only in the top corner, a stop after both p and e in the lower 
 corner, and the top e touches the outline of the little frame round 
 it. There is no stop after either 10. At a first glance this forgery 
 looks rather better than the genuine ; but the oval of crossed lines 
 will at once betray it. The colour is a greenish neutral tint, not at 
 all like the dull slate of the genuine. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 These in my genuine copies are very much blotched and indistinct ; 
 but, as far as I can make out, the usual cancellation is a large circle, 
 containing name and date in Koman letters and figures, and also in 
 Turkish. The forgeries bear either three concentric circles, or three 
 concentric oblongs or rectangles, after the manner of some of the 
 Turkish stamps, from which this latter obliteration is evidently 
 copied. 
 
 Issue of 1867. 5, 10, 20 Paras; 1, 2, 5, Piastres. 
 
 According to Moens, there are four varieties of each value 
 in this issue ; but I have not been able to obtain entire 
 sheets of the different values. Some of the forgeries are 
 rather well donOj and are considerably more deceptive than the 
 counterfeits of the first issue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 All the values are engraved in colour on hard, moderately thick, 
 white wove paper, watermarked with a star over a crescent ; per- 
 forated 15. I have called the design on the back a " watermark 
 but the fact is that this design is, I believe, impressed after the 
 paper is made, something after the manner of the oval design on 
 the backs of the current Swiss stamps ; whereas a proper watermark 
 is made in the paper before it is quite solidified. 
 
 5 Paras. Genuine. 
 
 The head of the sphinx does not touch the two outlines of the 
 front face of the pyramid, and there is a pretty good space betw^een 
 the head and the said outlines. There are twenty horizontal lines 
 of shading in the left-hand haK of the central oval, and only 
 nineteen in the right-hand haK. The point of the pyramid projects 
 mry slightly above the topmost line of shading. The dark oval 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 147 
 
 touches the frame to left, to right, and at the top ; but not at the 
 bottom. The left shoulder of the sphinx (i.e. to the right of the 
 stamp) has two horizontal lines across it, separating it, as it were, 
 into three divisions ; but these divisions are not like steps. The 
 point of the pyramid is rather blunt. The labels at the bottom 
 containing the figures of value are very much wider than the width 
 of the side frames which contain the pillar and "needle;" indeed 
 they are nearly as wide as the two labels at the top which contain 
 the word para. 
 
 5 Paras. First Forgery. 
 
 I have only one copy of this counterfeit. It is very good, and not 
 common. The specimen is cut closely, so I am not able to say 
 whether it has been perforated or not. Lithographed on hard, white 
 wove paper, very like that of the genuine, but without any water- 
 mark. The head of the sphinx almost touches the two outlines of 
 the front face of the pyramid. There are twenty-one horizontal 
 lines of shading in the left-hand side of the central oval, and the 
 same nmiiber on the right-hand side. The pyramid ends in a 
 tolerably sharp point, which only just comes up as far as the upper- 
 most line of shading, and does not project beyond it. The dark 
 oval touches the frame on the right side only, and very nearly 
 touches it on the left ; but is at a considerable distance from the top 
 and bottom of the frame. The left shoulder of the sphinx, on the 
 right side of the stamp, is cut into three very distinct steps. The 
 labels at the bottom containing the figures of value are as wide in 
 this forgery as in the genuine. 
 
 5 Paras. Second Forgery. 
 
 This is much less like the genuine than the one just described, but 
 is very much more common ; in fact, I continually find the whole 
 set of this type in the collections ^ent to me for opinion. 
 
 Lithographed in reddish orange, instead of golden yellow, on thick, 
 rather soft, very white paper ; no watermark ; badly pin-perforated 
 12^, The head of the sphinx almost touches the outlines of the 
 front face of the pyramid, as in the first forgery. There are twenty- 
 two horizontal lines of shading on the left-hand side of the oval, and 
 twenty-one in the right-hand side. The pyramid is sharply pointed, 
 and the point does not project beyond the topmost line of shading. 
 The left shoulder of the sphinx, on the right-hand side of the stamp, 
 is cut into three distinct steps, as in the first forgery. The great 
 test, however, for this counterfeit is in the fact that the lower labels 
 which contain the figures of value are only as wide as the width of 
 the side frames which contain the " needle " and the pillar. The 
 dark oval touches the frame on the right side only. The Egyptian 
 inscription in the bottom label is that of the genuine 5 piastres, to be 
 described hereafter. 
 
148 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 10 Paras. Genuine. 
 
 Perforation, watermark, 
 same as in the genuine 5 paras. Indeed, to 
 save trouble and unnecessary repetition, I 
 may say here that all the genuine are alike in 
 these characteristics. The head of the sphinx 
 does not touch the two outlines of the front 
 face of the pyramid. In one type there are 
 twenty horizontal lines of shading on each 
 side of the central oval behind the pyramid ; 
 and in another type there are twenty in the left-hand side, and 
 nineteen in the right-hand side. In the former type the point of 
 the pyramid projects considerably beyond the topmost line of 
 shading, and in the other type it does not project at all, the dark 
 oval touches only the right-hand side of the frame. The left 
 shoulder of the sphinx looks somewhat as though it had been cut 
 into steps, but not so markedly as in the forgery of the 5 paras. 
 The labels at the bottom are nearly as wide as the corresponding 
 ones at the top. The 1 of 10 in the left-hand label has a distinct 
 side-stroke, exactly like the 1 in the right-hand label. The last 
 character at the left-hand end of the lower inscription does not touch 
 the left-hand side of its containing frame, but is at a considerable 
 distance from it. 
 
 10 Paras. Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper, perforation, &c., same as in the second 
 forgery of the 5 paras. The head of the sphinx almost touches the 
 two outlines of the front face of the pyramid. There are twenty- 
 two horizontal lines of shading to the left of the pyramid in the 
 central oval, and the same number on the right-hand side. The 
 point of the pyramid is sharper than in the genuine, and projects 
 very slightly beyond the topmost line of shading behind it. The 
 dark oval touches the frame at the sides only, and not at the top or 
 bottom. The left shoulder of the sphinx is cut into three unmistak- 
 able steps. The labels at the bottom are like the genuine. The 1 
 of the 10 in the left-hand one has no oblique side-stroke ; the 1 in 
 the right-hand label is like the genuine. The last character at the 
 left-hand end of the lower inscription touches the left side of its 
 containing frame. The colour of the genuine stamps varies from 
 lilac to mauve ; the forgeries are more of a violet colour. 
 
 20 Paras. Genuine. 
 
 "Watermark, &c., same as in genuine 5 paras. There is a distinct 
 space between the head of the sphinx and the two outlines of the 
 front face of the pyramid. There are twenty horizontal lines of 
 shading in the central oval to the left of the pyramid, and the same 
 number to the right of it. The point of the pyramid is very blunt, 
 and comes just up to the topmost line of shading. The dark oval 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 149 
 
 touches the frame on the right-hand side, and very nearly touches 
 it on the left-hand side ; but the top and bottom are at a good 
 distance from the frame. The hieroglyphics on Cleopatra's needle 
 are so very faint that they are hardly visible, and the needle appears 
 to be white at a first glance. Pompey's pillar is very lightly shaded, 
 and the main shaft of it is not put centrally on to the base, but far 
 too much to the left. This is an easy test for the genuine. The 
 white line of the frame to the right of the pillar, if prolonged 
 downwards into the lower label, would cut exactly through the of 
 the 20 in the left-hand lower label. The shoulder of the left-hand 
 2 does not project backwards further than just level with the end of 
 the tail. 
 
 20 Paras. Forged, 
 
 Paper, &c., same as in the second forgery of the 5 paras. The 
 head of the sphinx almost touches the two outlines of the front face 
 of the pyramid. There are twenty-two horizontal lines to the left 
 of the pyramid, and the same number to the right. The point of 
 the pyramid is very sharp, and the dark part of it comes right up to 
 the very top of the central design, and touches the thin, coloured 
 line which runs round it. The dark oval outside this touches the 
 frame to the right and to the left, and almost touches it at the top. 
 The hieroglyphics on Cleopatra's needle are very dark and heavy. 
 The pillar is very heavily shaded, and it is put centrally on to the 
 base, thus altering the mistake of the engraver of the genuine. The 
 white line of the frame to the right of the pillar, if prolonged down- 
 wards, would only pass through the left side of the of 20, instead 
 of through the centre of it. The shoulder of the left-hand 2 projects 
 backwards beyond the level of the end of the tail. The originals are 
 in yellowish green ; these forgeries are much darker, and of almost 
 a bluish green. 
 
 1 Piastre. Genuine. 
 
 There is a good space between the head of the sphinx and the two 
 outlines of the front face of the pyramid. There are twenty 
 horizontal lines of shading in the oval on each side of the pyramid. 
 The dark oval touches the frame only on the right-hand side. The 
 hieroglyphics on the needle are very faint, and the shading on the 
 pillar is Ught. One of the easiest tests of the genuine is that the 
 white line to the left of the e in the right-hand upper corner of the 
 stamp is an exact continuation of the line below it which forms the 
 left side of the frame of the needle. The figures in the bottom 
 corners are very broad, even broader than the upright strokes of the 
 p and E in the upper corners. 
 
 1 Piastre. Forged. 
 
 Paper, &c., same as in the second forgery of the 5 paras. This is 
 a nice-looking stamp, and very likely to deceive. The head of the 
 sphinx touches the two outlines of the front face of the pyramid. 
 
150 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 There are twenty-two lines of shading in the central oval to the left 
 of the pyramid, and the same number to the right of it. The dark 
 oval touches the frame to right and left, and almost at the top. The 
 hieroglyphics on the needle are dark and distinct, and the right side 
 of the pillar is heavily shaded. The white line to the left of the B 
 is far too much to the right, and does not form a continuation of the 
 white line to the left of the needle. The figures in the bottom 
 corners are very thin, and much thinner than the upright strokes of 
 the p and e in the upper corners. 
 
 2 Piastres. Genuine. 
 
 Paper, watermark, &c., same as in the genuine 5 paras. The head 
 of the sphinx does not touch the two outlines of the front face of 
 the pyramid. There are twenty horizontal lines of shading in the 
 left-hand side of the central oval, and nineteen in the right-hand 
 side. The dark oval just touches the frame on the left-hand side, 
 but not on any of the other sides. The white line to the left of the E 
 in the right-hand upper corner forms one continuous line down to 
 the bottom of the stamp ; i.e., it is joined to the line which passes 
 to the left of the needle, as in the genuine 1 piastre, just described. 
 The tail of each 2 is just about level with the rounded shoulder of 
 the figure ; i.e. it does not project further to the right than the 
 shoulder of the letter does. All my copies of this value are rather 
 blotchy, and more heavily printed than the other values ; I fancy 
 this may be on account of the blue colour being more difficult to 
 work than the other tints. 
 
 2 Piastres. Forged. 
 
 Paper, &c., same as in the second forgery of the 5 paras. The 
 head of the sphinx almost touches the two outlines of the front face 
 of the pyramid. There are twenty-two horizontal lines of shading 
 in the oval to the left of the pyramid, and the same number to the 
 right of it. The dark oval touches the right side, and almost touches 
 the left side of the frame. The white line to the left of the E is not 
 continuous with the w^hite line to the left of the needle, but a good 
 deal too much to the right of where it ought to be, as in the 
 forged 1 piastre just described. The body of the right-hand 2 leans 
 forward a little to the left, and the tail of the left-hand 2 projects 
 further to the right than merely level with the rounded shoulder of 
 the figure. The colour of this forgery is exactly the same as that of 
 the genuine. 
 
 5 Piastres. Genuine. 
 
 Paper, watermark, &c., same as in the genuine 5 paras. The head 
 of the sphinx does not touch the two outlines of the front face of 
 the pyramid. There are nineteen horizontal lines of shading in the 
 left-hand side of the central oval, and the same number in the right- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 151 
 
 hand side of it. The dark oval touches the frame at the top only. 
 The white line to the left of the e in the right-hand upper corner is 
 continuous with the white line down the left of the needle. The 
 needle and pillar are very lightly shaded, so as to appear almost 
 white. 
 
 5 Piastres. First Forgery. 
 
 This is printed on thick paper, like the first forgery of the 5 paras. 
 My only copy is cut close, so that I cannot tell the perforation. 
 There is no watermark. The head of the sphinx almost touches the 
 two outlines of the front face of the pyramid. There are twenty- 
 two horizontal lines of shading in the oval on the left of the 
 pyramid, and the same number to the right of it. The dark oval 
 touches the frame on the right, and almost on the left. The white 
 line forming the left side of the frame of the needle does not corre- 
 spond either with the line to the left of the e in the upper right- 
 hand corner, or with the similar line to the left of the 5 in the lower 
 right-hand corner, being too much to the left of both of them. 
 This is an easy test for this forgery. The inscription in the lower 
 label is the same as that on the genuine ; the little frames in the 
 bottom corners containing the figures of value are also about the 
 same width as in the genuine. 
 
 5 Piastres. Second Forgery. 
 
 Paper, &c., same as in the second forgery of the 5 paras. This is 
 not nearly so good as the last, though much more common. The 
 head of the sphinx almost touches the two outlines of the front face 
 of the pyramid. There are twenty-two lines of shading in the 
 central oval on each side of the pyramid. The dark oval touches 
 the frame to right and left, but not at the top or bottom. The white 
 Hne down by the left-hand side of the needle is not continuous with 
 the similar white line to the left of the e in the upper right-hand 
 corner ; but is set too much to the left. The easiest test of this 
 forgery is in the fact that the forgers have made the lower labels, 
 which bear the figures of value, twice as wide as the upper labels 
 which bear the letters p, e. In fact, the lower labels in this stamp 
 have been copied from the genuine 5 paras value, which has them 
 broad. There is also another error not so obvious ; for the inscrip- 
 tion at the bottom is the same as that on the genuine 5 paras, instead 
 of that on the 5 piastres ; and the second forgery on the 5 paras, 
 described above, has the inscription which ought to appear on this 
 value, so that the forgers have evidently mixed up the two values. 
 The proper inscription in the lower label of the genuine 5 paras is 
 in three separate words, or sets of characters ; whilst the proper 
 inscription in the lower label of the genuine 5 piastres is in five 
 separate words, or sets of characters ; but the two, as I have said, are 
 just reversed in these two forgeries. 
 
162 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps are cancelled with a large thin circle, con- 
 taining the words poste vice-reale, egiziane, and some Egyptian 
 characters ; but in many copies the postmark is so blotched or 
 faint as to be unreadable. The forgeries are obliterated with a large 
 rectangle of diamond-shaped dots, which is a postmark that I have 
 never seen upon the genuine stamps. 
 
 With regard to the first forgery of the 5 paras, and the first forgery 
 of the 5 piastres above described, I fancy that there must exist a full 
 set of all the values forged in that particular type or style, though, 
 as I have said, I only know of the two values just mentioned. How- 
 ever, I think my readers will be able to decide upon the worth or 
 worthlessness of any particular specimen by counting the lines in the 
 central oval, and by seeing whether the white line down by the left- 
 hand side of the needle goes straight up and down from top to 
 bottom. 
 
 Issue of 1872. 5, 10, 20 Paras ; 1, 2, 2^, 5 Piastres. 
 
 The stamps of the 1867 issue are not what 
 would be considered marvels of beauty ; but 
 they are very superior to the set now to be 
 described. Some of the later copies of the 
 1872 issue are so extremely bad as to be 
 almost undecipherable, and look as though 
 they had been boiled for an hour or two 
 after being printed. Fortunately for me the general differences 
 between- the genuine and forged are so well marked that I shall 
 be able to describe the whole set at once, instead of having to 
 take each value separately, as in the issues already dissected. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne on thick, rough, rather hard, yellowish-white 
 wove paper ; watermarked — or rather impressed at the back — with 
 a star over a crescent ; and machine-perforated 13. The 10 paras, 
 and the 1 and 5 piastres, were also issued unperf orated in 1873 ; these 
 latter are rare. There are four white stripes in the hair on the head 
 of the sphinx, three of them being particularly distinct. The ear is 
 small, and the top of it is level with the eyebrow. There is a dis- 
 tinct white line running almost across the stamp near the top, 
 forming the lower outline of the label containing the Egyptian 
 inscription, and there is a similar distinct white line running almost 
 across the stamp near the bottom, forming the upper outline of the 
 frame containing poste, &c. The right side of the top stroke of the 
 T of POSTE is altogether wanting, the inscription thus reading posie 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 153 
 
 KHEDEUIE EGiziANE. The A of this latter word is a distinct A, and 
 not an r. There is hardly any indication of a dark line round the 
 broad white outline of the central oval. The p of poste is almost 
 invariably jammed against the side of the frame to left of it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on paper very similar to the genuine, but smoother 
 and whiter ; no watermark ; pin-perforated 11. There are five white 
 stripes in the hair on the head of the sphinx, four of them being 
 particularly distinct. The top of the ear is placed much too low, 
 being hardly level with the bottom of the eye. The whole ear is 
 apparently like a large S, curling down into the back of the neck. 
 There is the faintest possible indication of a white line to form the 
 lower outline of the upper label which contains the Egyptian 
 inscription ; and there is no white line at all to form the upper out- 
 line of the label at the bottom, containing poste, &c. The t of 
 POSTE is shaped like an ordinary capital t, and the a of egiziane is 
 changed into an r ; thus the whole inscription reads poste khedeuie 
 EGiziRNE. There is a wide dark line surrounding the white outline 
 of the central ovaL There is a good space between the p of poste, 
 and the upright line of the frame to the left of it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps invariably bear, as tar as my experience goes, 
 a thickish circle, smaller than that of the cancellation of the second 
 issue, inscribed poste egiziane, with name at the bottom, and date 
 in the centre. The forgeries are obliterated either with two concentric 
 circles containing something undecipherable, or with three con- 
 centric oblongs or rect- 
 angles, after the manner of 
 the Turkish cancellation. 
 
 I have not yet seen any 
 forgeries of the current 
 issue, nor of the provision- 
 ally surcharged 5 and 10 
 paras of 1879. 
 
 FIJI ISLANDS. 
 
 Issue of 1871. No surcharge; Id., 3d., 6d. 
 
 I don't think these stamps need occupy us very long, as the 
 forgers have made a grand mistake in imitating all the values 
 from the die of the Id. ; though all the values are quite 
 different from each other in the genuine. 
 
154 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 One Penny. Genuine. 
 Engraved in epargne on thin, soft, white wove paper, badly per- 
 forated I2h, watermarked fiji postage in the sheet. The dark 
 shading at the bottom of the crown is in a perfectly straight line. 
 The ends of all the white strokes forming the letters C K are tapered 
 off until they are quite fine ; but they get wider in the centre as 
 they would in ordinary written capitals made with pen-and-ink. 
 The central circle is surrounded by sixty white pearls, all circular in 
 shape, and of one uniform size. The bottom of the p of postage is 
 a little sloped off, so as not to touch the outline of the frame to the 
 left of it. The y of penny has its arms splayed out far too much. 
 The whole of this lower inscription is slightly sunk into the paper, 
 almost as though it had been done with type. The outline of the 
 circle, just inside the pearls, is formed by a very thin, coloured line, 
 between two thin white ones. 
 
 One Penny. First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on very white paper, thicker than the genuine, pin- 
 perforated what seems to be about 15, but so extremely badly done 
 that it is impossible to say what is the proper number ; no water- 
 mark. The dark shading at the bottom of the crown is considerably 
 curved or rounded in the centre downwards. The strokes forming 
 the letters C R are as nearly as possible the same thickness through- 
 out their whole length. The central circle contains only fifty-five 
 pearls, and they are oval, instead of round, and some of them 
 smaller than the others. The bottom of the p of postage is joined 
 to the frame to the left of it. The y of penny is of the normal 
 shape ; i.e., the arms are not unduly splayed out. As the stamp is a 
 lithograph, I need hardly say that the lower inscription does not 
 show any appearance of being sunk into the paper, but is perfectly 
 flat. The outline of the circle, immediately inside the row of 
 pearls, is composed of one broadish white line only. 
 
 One Penny. Second Forgery. 
 This is not nearly so good an imitation as the last. Lithographed 
 on soft paper, very like that of the genuine ; no watermark ; per- 
 forated 14. The dark shading at the base of the crown is rounded 
 downwards, instead of being in a straight line, and the crown itself is 
 extremely blotchy and indistinct. The letters C R are tapered more 
 like the genuine than the first forgery ; but their outline is ragged. 
 There are only fifty-two pearls in the circle, and they are very 
 irregular both in shape and size. The p of postage does not touch 
 the side of the frame to the left of it, but the bottom of the letter is 
 not sloped off at all. The t of the same word is very tall and 
 lanky ; the o of one is very much smaller than the ne ; and the E 
 of penny has hardly any indication of a central tongue. This 
 inscription is not sunken at all. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 155 
 
 Threepence. Genuine. 
 Paper, watermark, perforation, &c., same as in the 
 genuine one penny. The design of this stamp is 
 different from that of the penny ; the circle having 
 little rectangles instead of pearls. The crown and 
 the letters C R are the same as in the genuine 
 
 penny. Threepence. Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin white paper, rather harder than the genuine ; 
 no watermark ; perforated 12|. Except for the inscription postage 
 THREE PENCE, this stamp is an exact copy of the first forgery of the 
 penny ; having the fifty-five pearls, the rounded base to the crown, 
 the C E, in letters of uniform thickness, &c. 
 
 Sixpence. Genuine. 
 Paper watermarked, perforation, &c., same as in the genuine one 
 penny. This stamp again is difterent from either of the other values. 
 The outline of the central circle is composed, not of pearls as in the 
 one penny, nor of little white rectangles, as in the threepence ; but 
 of a dark, zig-zag pattern on a lighter ground. The base of the 
 crown is straight ; the letters C E, are tapered nicely at their 
 ends, as before ; the lower corners, above pos of postage, and above 
 NCE of PENCE, contain large triangles composed of white dots. The 
 ends of the upper label, which contains the name, are of peculiar 
 curly ornaments, instead of crosses as in the one penny and three- 
 pence values. The tail of the s of six is drawn considerably too 
 long, as are also the lowest strokes of both the first and second e of 
 
 PENCE. . 
 
 Sixpence. Gorged. 
 Lithographed on white wove paper, similar to that of the genuine, 
 but harder ; no watermark, perforated 12. The forgers have copied 
 nearly the whole of this stamp from the forged one penny. The out- 
 line of the circle contains fifty-five pearls, instead of the zig-zag line 
 of the genuine. The base of the crown is rounded downwards. The 
 letters C E, are of uniform thickness throughout, instead of being 
 tapered at their ends. The triangles above pos of postage, and 
 above ence of pence are formed each of one broad white line, 
 instead of dots. This is very conspicuous. The ends of the upper 
 label are copied from the genuine sixpence. Each e of pence is of 
 the normal shape, as is also the s of six, though they are very much 
 out of shape in the genuine. 
 
 Issue of 1872. Same stamps surcharged 2, 6, 12 Cents. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 These are exactly the same as the genuine stamps described above, 
 except that the one penny is surcharged in black two cents, the 
 threepence is surcharged six cents, and the sixpence is surcharged 
 
 TWELVE cents. 
 
156 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 These will easily be detected, as they are simply the forgeries just 
 described, with the surcharge added. Both the above-described 
 forgeries of the one penny value are found with the two cents sur- 
 charge. 
 
 I have not seen any other forgeries of the other varieties ; but, if 
 such should exist, my tests will probably suffice to condemn them. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 All my genuine copies bear a very peculiar cancellation, consisting 
 of a number of lines forming a sort of halo round an imaginary 
 centre, something like the spokes of a wheel with the tyre and a 
 large portion of the centre taken away. These lines must have been 
 highly embossed on the hand-stamp, with sharp edges ; for they 
 cut through the stamp, and sometimes even through the paper of the 
 envelopes to which the stamps are affixed. I suppose the Fiji postal 
 authorities are resolved that the stamps shall never do duty a second 
 time. I have found two varieties of cancellation on the forgeries ; 
 one is a set of three concentric circles, with numerals in the centre ; 
 and the other is an oval, formed by fourteen thin, parallel straight 
 lines. 
 
 FINLAND. 
 
 The first stamps issued for this country were envelopes only, 
 and it was not until 1856 that adhesives came into use. The 
 earliest envelopes are rather puzzling to collectors, not only on 
 account of their rarity, but also because there were two separate 
 issues of the 1845 envelopes, differing from each other in colour, 
 paper, and slightly in type. All the sets also have been re- 
 printed. 
 
 First issue of 1846. Envelopes; 10k., black; 20k., red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in colour, on rough laid paper, 
 stamped on left lower corner of the envelope. 
 The lower arm of the cross, where it rests upon 
 the orb on the top of the crown, is wedge- 
 shaped, and thicker at the bottom than at the 
 top. The circlet at the base of the crown con- 
 tains five very long, diamond-shaped jewels, 
 with dots between them ; but the jewels are so 
 long that their points run into the dots. These 
 jewels are not by any means prominent ; and at 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 157 
 
 a first glance they look more like a sort of irregular wavy line tlian a 
 row of jewels. I think this is the easiest test for the genuine. The left 
 upper corner of the shield is quite sharp, but the right upper corner 
 of it is cut off. The left lower corner is nicely rounded ; but the right 
 lower corner is cut off somewhat obliquely, instead of being rounded 
 like the other. The outline of the circular bend of the right-hand 
 post-horn is broken just where it would almost touch the middle of 
 the right-hand side of the shield if complete. The P of porto is 
 nearer to the top of the left-hand post-horn than the L of stempel 
 is to the top of the right-hand post-horn ; but the difference is not 
 very marked. The lower ends of both post -horns curl inwards, towards 
 the rounded bottom corners of the shield. 
 
 Forged, 
 
 Lithographed on very smooth, laid paper, with the laid lines 
 running straight up and down, instead of obliquely. The lower arm 
 of the cross is the same width as the others all the way. The circlet 
 at the base of the crown contains five very stumpy diamonds, very 
 far apart, with dots between them ; but the diamonds do not touch 
 the dots at all. These diamonds are very distinct, and can be readily 
 seen at a glance. Both the upper corners of the shield are quite 
 sharp, and both the lower corners are nicely rounded. The outline 
 of the ring of the right-hand post-horn is not broken, and it is at 
 some little distance from the outline of the shield. The l of stempel 
 is a good deal nearer the top of the right-hand post-horn than the 
 p of PORTO is to the top of the left-hand post-horn. In nearly all 
 the forgeries the lower end of the right-hand post-horn points down- 
 wards, almost towards the last k of kopek. 
 
 Second issue of 1845. Envelopes; 10k., rose, vermilion, 
 20k., black, greenish-black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved, very similar to last issue ; stamped on flap of the 
 envelope. On the rough laid paper with oblique laid lines, like that 
 of the last issue, are found the 10k., rose, the 10k., vermilion, the 
 20k., black, and the 20k., greenish-black. On thick, yellowish- white 
 wove paper are found the 10k., rose-red, and the 20k., black. T 
 think these are about all tlie varieties. The tests for this issue are 
 the same as those for the issue just described. In the 10k., the last 
 K of kopek does not run into the stop after that word. 
 
 Forged, 
 
 Lithographed on thick, smooth laid paper, with the laid lines 
 running straight up and down, or on thmnish, and rather hard, 
 
158 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 white wove paper. The tests are exactly the same as for the 
 forgeries of the first issue. In the 10k. there is a queer little tail to 
 the last K of kopek, which runs into the stop after that word. 
 
 The genuine stamps are usually very badly printed, so that the 
 arms and the lines of shading on the shield are all "blotched and 
 almost undecipherable. The forgeries are a little more clear and 
 distinct. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 All the originals that I have seen were cancelled with a pen-and- 
 ink cross, or with a word, or part of a word written upon them. 
 The forgeries are generally unobliterated ; but some of them bear 
 part of a large circle or oval, with unreadable letters. 
 
 Reprints. 
 
 There is a complete set of reprints of these envelopes ; but I have 
 only seen them cut, so I am not able to say whether they are printed 
 on envelopes like the originals, or in sheets. They are on thick, 
 very smooth, white wove paper ; and look very clean and fresh, and 
 are very much more carefully printed than the originals. These 
 reprints sell at about 3s. 6d. each. The originals are worth from 
 10s. to 12s. 6d., cut ; but are worth a good deal more entire. 
 
 Issue of 1860. Envelopes ; 5, 10, 20 kopeks. 
 
 The stamps of this issue may be known from the very 
 similar ones of 1856 by the bell-mouths of the post-horns 
 below the shield having no balls or pearls in them ; whereas, 
 in the 1856 issue, each horn has a little white pearl in its 
 mouth. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved, in a transverse oval, instead of the upright oval of the 
 two issues of 1845, stamped on the flap of the envelope, in the 
 following varieties : 
 
 5k., blue, 10k., rose; both on thin, blue wove paper. 5k., 
 blue, 10k., rose, 20k., black, and greenish-black, all on thick, 
 yellowish-white wove paper. 
 
 20k., black, and greenish-black, on ^ white laid paper. This 
 latter 20k. was the last issued of this* set, and did not appear, 
 I believe, until just before the next set with the pearls in the post- 
 horns, to be hereafter described. The design is much clearer than 
 that of the two issues of 1845. There are seven five-pointed stars 
 in the shield, and the lines in it are a good deal farther apart than 
 in either the genuine or forged stamps of 1845. The lion's crown 
 has five distinct rays or points to it. The point at the base of the 
 shield is rather long and sharp, and it points exactly between the 
 
HOW TO DETECT POROED STAMPS. 
 
 159 
 
 crossed mouthpieces of tlie post-horns below it. The cross on the 
 top of the large crown has a wedge-shaped base, as before, resting on 
 the orb. There are nine pearls on each of the side arches of the 
 large crown, and four pearls in the central arch. Issuing from the 
 top of the lower circlet of the crown there are seven rays something 
 like teeth, as in the last issue, though I did not mention them then, 
 as the forgeries were similarly provided. The jewels in the lower 
 circlet consist of five longish diamonds tolerably far apart with no 
 dots between them. In some very darkly-printed copies I notice 
 that the ground behind some of the diamonds is dark ; but 
 usually the jewels are light, on a light ground. The Hon holds an 
 uplifted sword in his right front paw, and treads on a short sheath 
 with the other three, the left front paw coming just to the front end 
 of the sheath. Neither of the post-horns touches the shield any- 
 where. The lettering on the left side is in Finnish, that on the 
 right side is in Russ, the final letter on the right being like two 
 capital I's joined together at the top. All the stops after the letters 
 and figures are diamond- shaped. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 I have seen but one forgery of this set, very poorly done and not 
 Kkely to deceive. Very coarsely lithographed on thick, soft, 
 coarsely-made, white wove paper, showing the marks of the meshes 
 of the canvass or wire-gauze very distinctly. There are only four stars 
 on the shield, and they are six-pointed. The lion's tail is single, 
 instead of being double like the genuine, and has a star at 'the end 
 of it, by way of tassel, I suppose. The crown on his head has no 
 rays or points on it, and is very indistinct. The point at the base of 
 the shield is very short, and points to the left of the centre of the 
 crossing of the horns. The cross on the top of the large crown is 
 too large, and very badly-shaped ; it touches the outline of the 
 frame above it ; and the lowest arm is not wedge-shaped. There are 
 eleven pearls on the right arch of the crown, ten on the left arch, 
 and none at all in the central arch. The orb is unshaded, though 
 there ought to be two transverse lines across it. The circlet at the 
 base of the crown is quite plain, and has no jewels upon it ; there 
 are no rays issuing from the top of the said circlet. The lion has no 
 sword, and the sheath is so long that it reaches as far as the raised 
 front paw. The middle curl of the right-hand post-horn touches 
 the base of the shield. The final letter of the right-hand inscription 
 is an English capital H ; and all the stops are round, or as nearly 
 round as the artist could make them for the money. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Of this set I have seen only the 5 kopeks, and the 20 kopeks, 
 cleanly lithographed on very thin, hard, white wove paper. There 
 are eight stars in the shield, one being added just above the lion's 
 
160 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 crown, which is not very plain. These stars are mostly four-pointed, 
 though the two in the rounded corners of the base of the shield are 
 five-pointed. The pearls on the side arches of the cro-woi are so 
 exceedingly small, and so jumbled together, that it is quite impossible 
 to count them, though there seem to be about twelve on the right- 
 hand arch, and thirteen on the left-hand one. The pearls in the 
 central arch are even smaller still. The orb and cross are all on one 
 side, leaning considerably over to the right ; this can be seen in an 
 instant, and is an easy test for these forgeries. On each side of the 
 central diamond in the circlet at the base of the crown there is a 
 little white S. Andrew's cross, which, of course, does not appear in 
 the genuine. The stops in the inscription are all round, instead of 
 being diamond-shaped. The word of value on the right-hand side 
 reads koil, and has no stop after it ; this will suffice, of itself, to 
 condemn this counterfeit. I do not think this set of forgeries is 
 very common. I have only seen one specimen each of the 5 and 20 
 kop., as mentioned above. They have a German look, but I do 
 not know where they came from. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps are postmarked with a large transverse oblong, 
 containing a Finnish inscription in large capitals, and some are 
 found cancelled with a pen. The forgeries bear part of a large oval, 
 containing lettering. 
 
 ^ Reprints. 
 
 The reprints of this issue are printed on very hard, very thick, 
 very white wove paper, and look clean and fresh. They are more 
 carefully printed than the originals, and are, of course, always 
 unused. 
 
 Issue of 1856. Envelopes and Adhesives, 6, 10 kopeks. 
 
 There are some slight differences between these stamps and 
 those of the issue just described; but the most noticeable points 
 are, that there is a small white pearl in the open end of each 
 of the post-horns, and a very small pearl underneath the crown, 
 between it and the top of the shield, and somewhat to the left 
 of the centre; i.e., just above the face of the lion. The varieties 
 are as follows : Envelopes, 5 k., blue, 10 k,, rose, both on 
 yellowish-white wove paper; 5 k., blue, 10 k., rose, both on 
 thick, hard laid paper, with laid lines running obliquely. 
 Adhesives, 5 k., blue, 10 k., rose, both on stoutish yellowish- 
 white wove paper. These adhesives are exactly like the en- 
 velopes, and, when the latter are cut, those on the wove paper 
 cannot be distinguished from the adhesives. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 161 
 
 5 Kopeks. Genuine. 
 
 Engraved as before, paper, &c., as preceding. The lion's paw- 
 holding the sword is only partly shaded, and the point of the upper 
 tail almost touches the bend of the lower 
 one. The pointed base of the shield goes 
 down so low as to come almost into the 
 angle formed by the crossed mouth-pieces 
 of the horns. The dot between the top of 
 the shield and the base of the crown is 
 tolerably round. Three out of the five 
 diamonds on the circlet at the base of the 
 crown (i.e., the three to the left) have their 
 points drawn out so as to touch, thus all 
 the three are linked together. Tliere are 
 three distinct pearls in the central arch of the crown, and there i& 
 some appearance of a fourth just at the very point of the central ray 
 which touches them, and they and the ray are all joined together. 
 All the stops are very large, and very distinctly diamond-shaped. 
 The pearls in the wide ends of the post-horns are perfectly round, 
 and the left-hand one is a good deal larger than the other. The 
 final letter of the right-hand inscription is, as before, like two 
 capital I's, with a line running across the top from one of the 
 uprights to the other. The crown is put exactly midway between 
 the two sides of the shield. 
 
 5 Kopeks. Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on white or bluish-white wove paper. The paw of 
 the lion which holds the sword is of absolutely solid colour, and is 
 much the darkest part of the whole of the design on the shield. 
 The point of the upper tail does not nearly touch the rounded part 
 of the under one ; in fact, there is a good space between them. The 
 dot between the top of the shield and the base of the crown is of a 
 very well-marked diamond-shape. The five diamond-shaped jewels 
 on the circlet at the base of the crown do not touch each other. 
 There are three small pearls in the central arch of the crown ; but 
 they appear to hang down from the orb above them, and do not 
 touch the pointed ray beneath them. Some copies have no stop 
 after the 5 on the left-hand side, and those which have it show the 
 stop rounder and smaller than the others. The pearls in the open 
 ends of the post-horns are anything but round, and both are about 
 the same size. The final letter of the right-hand inscription is 
 formed by two capital I's, without any line running across to join 
 their tops together. The crown is slightly nearer to the right-hand 
 side of the shield than to the left-hand side. The pointed base of 
 the shield is very short, and does not go near the angle formed by 
 the crossed mouthpieces of the post-horns. 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 10 Kopeks. Genuine. 
 
 Engraved as before, paper, &c., as described above. The upper 
 tail of the lion is very wide at the end, and touches the rounded 
 part of the lower one. There are four vertical lines of shading on 
 the arm which holds the sword. The white dot between the top of 
 the shield and the base of the crown is diamond-shaped. There are 
 three pearls in the central arch of the crown, indistinct, and far 
 apart. The two sides of this central arch project slightly above the 
 level of the side arches, but do not stand up higher than the pearls 
 on the said side arches. The uppermost star on the left-hand side of 
 the shield just touches the upper boundary-line of the shield, and 
 the uppermost star on the right-hand side very nearly touches the 
 boundary-line above it in a similar manner. There is a tiny dark 
 dot to the right of the uppermost star on the right-hand side of the 
 shield, caused by the vertical line of shading being broken. The 
 point at the base of the shield is like that of the genuine 5 kopeks, 
 and comes down to almost within the angle formed by the crossed 
 mouthpieces of the post-horns. These mouthpieces are of a sort of 
 funnel-shape. The pearls in the large ends of the horns are very 
 smaU, and the right-hand one is a little the larger of the two. 
 The last letter of the right-hand inscription is, as before, distinctly 
 joined at the top. 
 
 10 Kopeks. Forged, 
 
 Lithographed on slightly yellowish, very thin, white wove paper. 
 The upper tail of the lion is not particularly wide at the end, and it 
 does not nearly touch the rounded part of the lower tail. There is 
 one oblique line of shading on the arm which holds the sword. The 
 white dot between the top of the shield and the base of the crown 
 is round. There appear to be four pearls on the central arch of the 
 crown ; but I am not quite sure, as they are very indistinct, and very 
 close together. The two sides of this central arch project a great 
 deal too far above the level of the side arches ; in fact, they come up 
 almost as high as the very top of the orb, and far above the level of 
 the pearls on the side arches. The stars in the upper corners of the 
 shield are at some distance from the outline of the top of the shield. 
 There is no dot to the right of the right-hand top star. The point 
 at the base of the shield is like that of the forged 5 kopeks, and 
 does not go near the angle formed by the crossed mouthpieces of the 
 post-horns ; besides which it is placed too much to the left, instead 
 of being central. The said mouthpieces end in things just like 
 button mushrooms, instead of being funnel-shaped. The j^earls in 
 the large ends of the horns are far too large, being almost as large as 
 those of the genuine and forged 5 kopeks, and the left-hand one is 
 larger than the other. The last letter of the right-hand inscription 
 has no join at the top. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 16a 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine are very often only pen-stroked ; but many copies bear 
 part of a large circle, wliich contains name and date. I have some- 
 times seen both these cancellations on a stamp together. Sometimes 
 also a word is written upon tlie stamp ; and I have seen this both on 
 the envelopes and adhesives. The forgeries usually bear a small 
 circle, smaller than the size of the stamp instead of larger, containing 
 lettering and figures ; and some of them are pen-stroked besides. 
 
 lleijrints. 
 
 These stamps have been reprinted on very white, very hard, thick 
 wove paper, the impressions, thougli very clean iind fresh, showing 
 a very marked deterioration of the dies, and being generally blotchy. 
 
 When the amateur has got thus far in collecting Finland stamps 
 he usually becomes rather "mixed" in his ideas ; for the varieties 
 are certainly rather puzzling. In the stamps now to be described 
 there are two dift'erent types of the envelopes, one having only seven 
 stars in the shield, the shield itself being shaded with fine vertical 
 lines ; and the other having an additional star just over the lion's head, 
 and having the lines in the shield far apart. The first type is found, 
 normally, impressed on yellowish white wove paper ; but tlie 
 authorities, I suppose, found that it would be a pity to waste all tlie 
 stock of the oval envelopes, and so impressed this new rectangular 
 design upon the old envelopes in the left-hand upper corner, at tlie 
 same time cancelling the oval stamp whicli had origianlly been 
 struck on the flap. Thus the present set is found on the thick laid 
 paper of the earlier set, with the laid lines running obliquely ; also 
 on the yellowish white wove paper of which I have just spoken, 
 &c. ; but it would take up too much space to attempt to describe 
 each variety, as they have little to do with the detection of counter- 
 feits, so I had l:)etter, perhaps, simply give Moens's list of the double 
 envelopes. 
 
 Of the seven-star type he gives : 
 
 5 kojD., on the 5 kop. of 1850. 
 5 kop., on the 10 koj). of 1850. 
 5 kop., on the 20 kop. of 1850. 
 
 Of the eight-star type he gives : 
 
 5 kop., on the 5 kop. of 1850. 
 
 5 kop., on the 10 kop. of 1850. 
 10 kop., on the 10 kop. of 1845. 
 10 kop., on the 20 kop. of 1845. 
 10 kop., on the 5 kop. of 1850. 
 
 As the paper varies in these old envelopes of 1845, &c., it will be, 
 of course, understood that it will naturally vary for these " economy- 
 envelopes " now under discussion ; and thus the variety-seeker will 
 have enough to do to till his pages of Finland. If any argument. 
 
164 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 were needed for the retention of entire envelopes it would be 
 supplied by these envelopes ; for it is impossible to show both the 
 stamps unless the whole envelope be kept. But now for the tests of 
 the genuine. 
 
 Issue of 1860. Type 1., seven stars; 5, 10 kop. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne on any, or all, of the different kinds of paper 
 hitherto mentioned. The stars in the shield are all small, and five- 
 pointed. There seem to be twenty-one lines in the shield, counting 
 them along the extreme base of the shield ; but they are diflScult to 
 see clearly. The cross on the top of the crown comes almost under 
 the tail of the K above it. The lion has two tails, and a face like 
 that of a monkey. The shield has a thick outline all the way 
 round, except just under the base of the large crown. The lower 
 peak of the shield points to the tail-end of the k below it. There 
 are nine upward-pointing " keys " of the key-pattern in the left-hand 
 frame, and nine downward-pointing "keys" in the right-hand 
 frame. The white lines which define the circlet at the base of the 
 large crown are very much curved upwards in the middle. The orb 
 on the top of the crown, underneath the cross, is very distinct. The 
 final letter of the upper inscription is joined at its top, but not at 
 the bottom ; and the two upright lines of the letter are far apart. 
 It will be understood that all these tests serve equally for the 5 and 
 10 kop. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 I have only seen the 10 kop. forged, but the tests given above will 
 easily serve to detect the 5 kop., if that value should exist. It is 
 lithographed on thinnish, white wove paper, rather hard. The stars 
 in the shield are large, flat-looking, and all six-pointed. There are 
 only eighteen lines of shading in the shield. The cross on the top 
 of the crown comes exactly under the straight commencing stroke 
 of the K above it. The lion has only one tail, and that has a large 
 tassel at the end of it, instead of the small bulbs at the ends of the 
 tails in the genuine. The lion's face is something like that of a 
 man, with a pointed beard ; but it is not very distinct. The shield 
 has a thick outline only at the base and the right-hand side, and its 
 lower peak points to the first stroke of the k below it. There are 
 only eight upward-pointing " keys" in the left-hand frame, and the 
 same number of downward -pointing "keys" in the right-hand 
 frame. The white lines which define the cii'clet at the base of the 
 crown are not nearly so curved as in the genuine ; in fact, the upper 
 one is almost straight. The orb on the top of the crown is almost 
 invisible. The two perpendicular lines forming the last letter of the 
 upper inscription are joined by cross-strokes both at the top and 
 bottom, and are so close together that they almost run together. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 165 
 
 Same issue. Adhesives, 5, 10 kop., seven stars. 
 
 Genuine, 
 
 These are exactly the same as the envelopes 
 just described ; but they are printed on toned 
 wove paper, which is very distinctly coloured 
 throughout its substance, and are perforated " en 
 serpenti7i." This mode of separation ought rather 
 to be called " roulette" for there is no portion 
 of the paper removed ; but the stamps dovetail, 
 as it were, into each other. I think it is about 
 the very worst mode of separation which could 
 well have been imagined ; for any attempt to 
 tear two stamps apart almost invariably results in a much more 
 extensive tear than was intended. It is needless to repeat the tests 
 for this set, as the stamps are exactly the same as the envelopes. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 I have not yet seen any forgeries of these adhesives ; but if there 
 should be any, the tests for the genuine envelopes will serve to 
 detect them. 
 
 Issue of 1860. Second type, eight stars, 5, 10 kop. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne as before, on any, or all of the papers 
 hitherto mentioned for the envelopes. There are some differences 
 between the two stamps of this set. For instance, the wavy lines 
 outside the central oval are very wide apart in the 5 kop., and very 
 close together in the 10 kop. I will take, however, the points 
 common to both values. The blade of the sword is single. The 
 head of the lion has the same monkey-face as before. The lettering 
 of the two inscriptions is so tall as to extend to the very top and 
 bottom of the containing labels. The top figure of value is even 
 further from the k of the inscription than the bottom figure is from 
 the K following it. The circlet at the base of the crown contains three 
 very distinct diamond-shaped jewels, and portions of two others. 
 Both the upper corners of the shield are sharp, and the base of the 
 shield does not touch the dotted oval anywhere. There are ninety- 
 two dots in the oval in the 5 kop., and eighty-four in the 10 kop. 
 There are fourteen vertical lines of shading in the shield of the 5 kop., 
 and seventeen in the shield of the 10 kop., not counting the outlines 
 of the shield itself. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 The counterfeiters have made an adhesive of this, and have not 
 thereby improved its appearance. Lithographed, in a very blotchy 
 
166 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 way, on thm, white wove paper, pin-pricked 14. I only possess the 
 10 kop. of this set of forgeries. The blade of the sword is double, 
 so that the lion appears to have two swords in his hand or paw. 
 His head is like that of a goat, with a little, pointed beard, and 
 open mouth. The lettering of the upper and lower inscriptions is 
 far too low and dumpy, so that the figures and letters do not extend 
 nearly to the top and bottom of their containing labels. The o of 
 the top 10 is almost touching the k immediately following it, but 
 the o of the lower 10 is at a good distance from the k which 
 follows it. The circlet at the base of the crown contains six oblong-^ 
 white dots, not very distinct. The right-hand upper corner of the 
 shield has been cut off, and the rounded portion of the base of the 
 shield on the right-hand side touches the dotted oval, and the 
 similar portion on the left-hand side almost touches it. There are 
 only sixty -four dots in the oval, and no fewer than twenty-five 
 vertical lines of shading in the shield. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 In both these issues the genuine are usually cancelled either with 
 a pen-stroke, or with two lines of capitals in an oblong frame. The 
 forgeries bear either a set of five parallel bars, or an inscription in 
 an oval with a very peculiar, thin, wavy outline. 
 
 The cancellation on the flap design on the " economy-envelopes " 
 is a simple cross in pen-and-ink. 
 
 Issue of 1866. 8 Pennia, adhesive. 
 
 There is, of course, a full set of the 
 genuine, comprising 5, 8, 10, 20, 40 pen., 
 and 1 mark; all, by the way, differing 
 greatly from each other; but I have only 
 met with the 8 pen. forged. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in e'jpargne as before, on coloured 
 wove or laid paper, very thin ; serpentine roulette. The lion has 
 the usual monkey-face, and the mouth is shut. There are three 
 distinct, diamond-shaped jewels in the circlet at the base of the 
 crown, and portions of two others. The shield bears 20 vertical 
 lines of shading, counted from the base, and not including the out- 
 lines of the shield itself. There are 105 dots in the oval, and they 
 are all more or less square. The base of the shield is a long way 
 from these dots. The wavy lines outside the oval are rather coarse, 
 and far apart, so that they show no tendency to run together. The 
 large crown is a long way from the dotted oval. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 This is a fair copy, but the printing is so badly done that it is not 
 likely to deceive in its present state. Lithographed on thick, bluish- 
 m-een wove paper unperforated. The lion has the goat's face of the 
 last-described forgery, with open mouth and pointed beard. There 
 are eight oblong blotches in the circlet at the base of the crown, and 
 several of these blotches run together. The shield bears about 27 
 lines of shading, but they are very much blotched, and difficult to 
 count. The oval has only 64 dots, and most of them are round 
 instead of square. The rounded base of the shield, at the right- 
 hand side, touches the dots, and the left-hand side of the shield 
 almost touches them also. The crown comes very close to the 
 dots, indeed it almost touches them on the left-hand side. The 
 wavy lines outside the oval are very fine and close together, so that 
 they almost touch each other. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps are usually cancelled with a rough circle, 
 containing name and date. The forgeries bear the five parallel bars 
 as before. 
 
 N.B. — The description given above will only serve for the 8 
 pennia ; for, as I have said, the different values vary greatly, each 
 being separately engraved. 
 
 I have not seen any forgeries of the current issue. 
 
 FEANCE. 
 
 Issue of 1849-50. 10, 15, 20, 20, 40c., Ifr. 
 Genuine, 
 
 Very nicely engraved, on thickish wove paper, 
 more or less tinted, but never quite white. In the 
 large majority of copies the paper presents a very 
 strong yellowish tinge, probably due to age. The 
 fifth dotted line of shading on the neck, counting 
 from the bottom, goes right across the neck from 
 front to back. There are five very distinct ears of 
 wheat in the head-dress, on the side shown, and the tips of two 
 other ears can be seen peeping round from the other side of the head. 
 The front of the eyebrow does not touch the front outline of the 
 face. There is a distinct line of shading on the lower lip to mark 
 the form of the red part of it. There are ninety-seven pearls round 
 the portrait, all large, round, very close together, and most of them 
 touching the white ring outside them. The key-pattern down the 
 
168 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 left-hand side of the stamp has four entire "keys" pointing out- 
 wards, in the part of the frame which is above the central circle, 
 and a portion of a fifth " key " as well ; there are also four entire 
 ones and part of a fifth in the lower portion of this left-hand frame. 
 The key-pattern on the right-hand side of the stamp has four entire 
 " keys " both above and below the central circle, counting, as before, 
 only those " keys " which are turned outwards. There is a small 
 but distinct stop both before and after every word, &c., of both 
 inscriptions. Taking the 25c. value for instance, the inscriptions 
 run . REPUB . FRANC . . 25 . c . POSTES . 25 . c . The line above the 
 frame of the value-label is the same width as the similar white line 
 below the name-label. The vine-leaf in the head-dress is very 
 distinct, and there are seventeen grapes in the bunch, though several 
 of them are partly hidden by the rest. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 
 I have before me a full series of this set of counterfeits. They 
 are lithographed on very white wove paper, rather thicker than the 
 genuine. The fifth line of shading on the neck, counting from the 
 bottom, does not go across from the back to the front. The ears of 
 wheat on the front of the head-dress are here represented by very 
 long willow-leaves, a little more serrated at the edges than willow- 
 leaves usually are, and there seem to be only four of them, all in one 
 bunch, instead of two separate bunches or groups. The tips of the 
 two ears of wheat which ought to be visible from the other side of 
 the head are absent. The front of the eyebrow just touches the 
 front outline of the face. There is no line of shading on the lower 
 lip to mark the shape of the red part of it. There are just one 
 hundred pearls round the portrait ; they are small and far apart, 
 and none of them touch the white ring round them. There are only 
 four outward-turned " keys " in the top half of the left-hand frame, 
 four in the bottom half, and the same number in each of the halves 
 of the right-hand frame. The stops before and after the different 
 words and figures of the two inscriptions are so very small as to be 
 almost invisible, and, in several of the values, the stop before repub., 
 and the one before the first figure in the bottom label, are absent. 
 The white line above the frame of the value-label is very much 
 wider and more prominent than the similar white line below . re- 
 pub . FRANC . The large leaf in the head-dress is not much like 
 a vine-leaf. There seem to be only fifteen grapes in the bunch, but 
 they are very indistinct, and difficult to count. 
 
 Forged. Second Set, 
 
 Of this set I have only seen the 25c., and the 1 franc, very 
 coarsely lithographed on particularly rough, coarse, Avove paper, of a 
 decidely yellowish tint. The fifth line of shading on the neck does 
 not go across from back to front. The ears of corn are tolerably 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 169 
 
 well represented, but the two which ought to show from the other 
 side of the head are absent. The vine-leaf is very badly drawn, and 
 there are only fourteen grapes in the bunch. There are only 
 eighty-six pearls round the circle, and they are exceedingly small, 
 and very far apart, and none of them touch the white ring round 
 them. The eyebrow touches the outline of the front of the face. 
 There is a large stop between the words repub . franc, and a stop 
 each side of the word postes in the lower label. There is no line of 
 shading on the lower lip to mark the outline of the red part ; but 
 the lip is abnormally hollowed out in the part where the " imperial " 
 would grow in a man. There are four outward-turned "keys" of 
 the key-pattern in both halves of the frame down the left-hand side 
 of the stamp, four in the lower half of the right-hand frame, and 
 five in the upper half of it ; but the two immediately above the 
 circle in this latter compartment are jumbled together. I do not 
 think this set ought to deceive anybody, the execution is so very 
 coarse. 
 
 Forged. Third Set. 
 
 Of this set I have only the 1 franc, though I think I have seen 
 others some time ago. It is lithographed in a peculiar sort of orange- 
 red, on thick, hard wove paper, of a pale yellow tint, not yellowish- 
 white. None of the dotted lines of shading on the neck run right 
 across from back to front. There are five ears of wheat, moderately 
 distinct, in the headdress ; but they are in one group instead of two, 
 and there are none visible from the other side. The front of the 
 eyebrow is a long way from the outline of the front of the face, even 
 more distant than in the genuine. The red part of the lower lip is 
 outlined as in the genuine. There are eighty-six very small pearls 
 round the circle, far apart, and not touching the white ring round 
 them. There are four outward-turned " keys " in each of the four 
 pieces of key-pattern at the sides. All the stops in the inscription 
 are as in the genuine, except the one before the first 1, and the one 
 after the last pr., both of which are absent. The leaf is like that of 
 a horse-chestnut, and there are only sixteen grapes in the bunch. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 These, in the genuine, are very various. My earliest copies bear 
 a diamond-shaped frame, filled with crossed lines in a sort of lattice- 
 work ; others have a diamond of large square dots ; others a diamond 
 of small round dots, with numerals in the centre of the diamond 
 among the dots ; others have a six-pointed star, composed of small 
 round dots, and with numerals in the centre of the star. But the 
 latter cancellation is not common on this set, being more used later 
 on. The forgeries bear either the lattice-work diamond, or a square 
 of oblong dots. There is a 20c., blue, of this set, which is rare. It 
 must not be taken for a forgery, but was simply an error. I do not 
 remember ever having seen a used copy. 
 
170 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Issue of 1852. Presidency, 10c. , 25c. 
 
 These stamps, it will be remembered, have the head of 
 Napoleon replacing that of Liberty ; but still bear the old 
 inscription repub . franc. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved on similar paper to that of the first 
 issue, but a little softer. The shading on the chin 
 comes forward as far as the point of the moustache, 
 and the base of the imperial. The front of the 
 neck is shaded down to the very bottom. There 
 is some very light shading along the front of the 
 nose. Below the bottom of the neck there is a 
 very distinct b, the initial of the engraver, whose 
 name was Barre, I believe. This can be seen very 
 easily, and is a good test. There are eighty-eight pearls in the circle. 
 The rest of the frame seems to be an exact copy of the first issue. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Kather nicely lithographed on thick, wove paper, very white. The 
 shading on the chin does not touch either the imperial or the point 
 of the moustache. There is no shading at all down the front of the 
 neck, nor on the front of the nose. The engraver's initial is wanting. 
 The circle contains only eighty-five pearls. There are only three 
 outward turns in each of the lower key-pattern ornaments at the 
 sides, and four similar ones in each of the upper ornaments. Besides 
 all these discrepancies, there is one very marked thing which strikes 
 the eye at once, and that is the very broad white line right across the 
 stamp, just above the lower inscription, which is two or three times 
 as broad as the similar line below the upper inscription. This is 
 certainly the most marked feature of these counterfeits, and is of 
 itself quite enough to condemn them. 
 
 Postmarlcs. 
 
 All my own genuine copies bear the large six-pointed star, com- 
 posed of small round dots, with numerals in the centre of the star ; 
 but I have seen others cancelled with the diamond of large square 
 dots. The forgeries are obliterated with a diamond or square of 
 large oblong dots, or with a similar square of pear-shaped dots. 
 
 Issue of 1853-60 ; Empire ; 1 franc. 
 
 I have only met with the 1 franc of this set forged ; but it is 
 quite possible that others may exist, even though there may 
 not be a full set. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 171 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved on rather strongly-toned wove paper. Tlie tests for 
 this stamp are exactly the same as those for the genuine Presidency 
 issue just described, except that the upper inscription reads empire 
 FRANC, instead of repub . franc, and that the engraver's initial at 
 the base of the neck is absent. The number of pearls in the circle, 
 key-pattern, &c., are just as before. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Same as the forgeries of the Presidency issue, except for the 
 necessary alteration from repub. to empire. In this stamp the 
 white line across the stamp, forming the upper outline of the bottom 
 label, is narrower, and more like the genuine. The wrong shading, 
 and the defective key-pattern, as in the last-named forgeries, will 
 suffice to detect this counterfeit. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I fancy there is not much variety in the cancellation of the 
 genuine. My own specimens are all obliterated with the large 
 square of dots already described. Tlie forgeries have a square of 
 variously - shaped dots, some small and irregular, others large 
 and pear-shaped. 
 
 Issue of 1869. 5 Francs. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne on tinted 
 wove paper, perforated 13|. The 
 circle round the head contains sixty- 
 four pearls. There is a distinct 
 five-lobed leaf at each corner of 
 the inside oblong. The figure 5 is 
 equidistant between the outside of 
 the circle and the inside line of the 
 inner frame. The value is generally 
 of a different tint from that of the 
 rest of the stamp, being printed afterwards. All the lettering is in 
 very thin French type. The Emperor's eye is well open, with a 
 distinct pupil. There is a very strong wrinkle on the forehead. The 
 key-pattern bordering is very thin, being distinctly thinner than the 
 letters of the inscription at the top and bottom of the stamp. The 
 dots at the four corners of the stamp are small and round. There is 
 a distinct cedilla under the c of franqais. The m of empire is 
 rather like an inverted w, as is also the m of timbre. 
 
172 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on wove, and also on vertically-laid paper, both 
 being thinner and harder than the genuine ; badly perforated 13. 
 The front of the paper has been tinted with a surface-colouring. 
 There are only sixty- three pearls round the head. The five-lobed 
 leaves are extremely indistinct, being generally nothing more than 
 blotches. The back of the 5 nearly touches the outline of the 
 circle ; but this is not a particularly trustworthy test, as I have 
 found that the position of the genuine 5 occasionally varies. The 
 inscription 5 f is exactly the same tint as the rest of the impression. 
 All the lettering is thick and clumsy. The eye is nearly closed, and 
 the pupil is indistinct. There is no wrinkle on the forehead. The 
 key-pattern border is as thick as the lettering. The dots at the four 
 corners are blotchy, the one in the left-hand lower corner being oval 
 instead of round. There is no cedilla under the c of francais. 
 The M of EMPIRE is an unmistakable w turned upside down, and so 
 is the M of TIMBRE. The colour of the stamp is a redder shade than 
 that of the originals. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 My genuine copies all bear the large six-pointed star of small 
 round dots, with numerals in the centre, as described above. The 
 forgeries are cancelled, not to say daubed, with five extremely thick 
 parallel bars. 
 
 FKENCH COLONIES. 
 
 Issue of 1860-66. 1, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80c. 
 
 There are two sets of counterfeits of these stamps ; the first 
 set being rather good, the second very bad, and not at all likely 
 to prove deceptive. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Nicely engraved in epargne on toned paper, 
 wove, and rather thin. There is a small, but 
 distinct cross at the top of the crown, which is 
 upright, and comes under the first stroke of the 
 M of EMPIRE. The ground on which the eagle is 
 standing touches the inner circle of pearls at both 
 ends. There are ninety-six pearls in the said inner 
 circle, and one hundred and twelve in the outer circle. All the 
 stops in the inscription are of equal size. The ground- work, behind 
 the eagle, is composed of thirty-six horizontal lines — counting them 
 to the left of the eagle — with small, coloured dots in the channels 
 between the lines. There is a very distinct apostrophe between the 
 L and E of l'empire. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 173 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Nicely lithographed on toned paper, both laid and wove, and 
 rather thick. The little cross on the top of the crown is not par- 
 ticularly distinct, and appears to be leaning far too much over to the 
 right, coming slightly to the right of the first stroke of the m of 
 EMPIRE. The ground on which the eagle stands touches the pearled 
 circle at both ends, as in the genuine. This " ground," by the way, 
 is, I believe, intended for one of Jupiter's thunderbolts grasped in 
 the^ eagle's claws, but it is not very distinct, either in the genuine 
 or in the counterfeit. There are only ninety-two pearls in the 
 inner circle, and one hundred and fifteen in the outer one ; and all 
 the pearls are inclined to be oval or oblong, instead of round. The 
 stops after the letters and figures of value are not all of the same 
 size, some of them being almost invisible. The groundwork behind 
 the eagle has the same number of lines as the genuine, but many of 
 the dots between the lines are absent. The apostrophe between 
 the L aifd E of l'empire is more like an accent than a comma in 
 shape. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed on very yellowish- white wove paper, thicker 
 and harder than the genuine. The cross at the top of the crown is 
 a complete failure, having hardly any perpendicular stroke, and the 
 horizontal stroke being absurdly too long. The ground or thunder- 
 bolt on which the eagle is standing does not touch the pearls of the 
 inner circle on either side. There are ninety-two pearls in the inner 
 circle, of all shapes and sizes ; and one hundred and fourteen in the 
 outer circle, most of them similarly malformed. The stop before 
 colonies is absent, and the others are of different sizes. The 
 groundwork behind the eagle, counting on the left side, has thirty- 
 two horizontal lines of shading, but there are no dots in the channels 
 between the lines. There is no apostrophe between the l and e of 
 l'empire. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have only noticed two varieties of cancellation on the genuine ; 
 the first is a diamond of dots, with two or three letters of the name 
 of the colony in the centre, mqe, for instance, standing for Marti- 
 nique ; and the second is a double circle, the outer one plain, the 
 inner one dotted, containing name and date, &c. This latter 
 obliteration is exactly like the postmark on the current French, 
 except that the inner circle is dotted, instead of plain. The cancella- 
 tion of the forgeries is a diamond of dots, without any letters in the 
 centre. 
 
 I have seen no forgeries of the later sets ; but of course this does 
 not prove that there are none. The second of the above-described 
 counterfeits is very badly done, and hardly worthy of a place in this 
 book. 
 
174 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 GHEECE. 
 
 Paris-printed, 1861 ; Athens-printed, 1862. 
 
 Some of the forgeries of the stamps of this 
 country are remarkably well done, and would 
 deceive most persons at a first glance ; but some 
 are just as bad as the others are good, and 
 ought not to take in even our youngest brethren. 
 The originals, as my readers know, are primarily 
 divided into two sets ; those printed at Paris, 
 which are very finely executed, and with very light shading, 
 especially on the neck ; and those printed at Athens, which are 
 much coarser in execution, and with much heavier shading on 
 the neck, &c. The former have no numeral at the back, except 
 the 10 lepta, which has a very large 10 upon it; whilst the 
 latter have a numeral, except the 1 and 2 lepta, whilst the 10 
 lepta of this latter set has a small 10. The Athens-printed 
 stamps vary a good deal ; those earliest issued were very much 
 better done than the later ones, so that it would be possible to 
 make an early and late Athens-printed set, as well as a Paris- 
 printed one. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne on wove paper, varying very greatly in 
 colour, from yellowish-white to very strongly toned, and in texture 
 and substance from the very transparent and hard pehire paper on 
 which many of the specimens of the 40 lepta, especially, are printed, 
 to quite stout and much softer paper. There are eighty-eight pearls 
 in the circle round tlie head of Mercury, and they are large, uniform, 
 and close together. The shading on the neck goes almost up to the 
 very outline of the Ijack of the neck, only leaving the faintest 
 possible white line to show up the neck from the background. The 
 back peak of Mercury's winged cap is blunt. The outline of the 
 central circle is so very close to the outer edges of the side-frames 
 that there is hardly room in the narrowest part to draw even a fine 
 line between the circle and the edges of the said frames. The ground- 
 work in the corners, outside the central circle, is comjjosed of wavy 
 lines, with small coloured dots all along the channels between the wavy 
 lines. The upper half of the frame, down the left-hand side of the 
 stamp, shows three outward turns of the key -pattern, and also a very 
 faint line, not connected with them, which marks a portion of another 
 outward turn of the pattern, but which might be very easily over- 
 looked. This same thing will be seen more distinctly in both halves 
 of the key-pattern in the frame down the right-hand side of the stamp, 
 but the lower half of the left-hand frame does not show it. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 175 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on white or tinted wove paper, moderately stout. 
 Those which are supposed to imitate the Paris-printed set have no 
 figure on the back, not even in the 10 lepta value ; the others have 
 the figure, as in the genuine ; the face of the stamp in each case 
 being exactly the same, and not differing in the shading as in the 
 two genuine issues. There are only seventy-five pearls in the central 
 circle, but they are moderately uniform. The easiest test is that the 
 shading on the back of the neck does not go anything like up to the 
 outline of the back of the neck ; but leaves a broad line of white to 
 mark the back of the neck, which is very conspicuous. The back 
 peak of Mercury's winged cap is quite sharp. The outline of the 
 central circle is at some little distance from the outer edges of the 
 side-frames, so much so that in the narrowest part it would be 
 almost possible to draw a row of pearls (of the same size as those in 
 the circle) between the outline of the circle and the edges of the 
 side-frames. The groundwork in the corners, outside the central 
 circle, is composed of wavy lines, somewhat as in the genuine, but 
 there are no dots to be seen between the wavy lines. The upper 
 half of the left-hand key-pattern has only three outward turns, 
 without any indication of any part of another turn. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is very poor compared with the one just described. Litho- 
 graphed on white or tinted paper, something like that of the 
 genuine, with or without the figure at the back, according to which 
 issue they are intended to represent. There are only sixty-six pearls 
 in the central circle; some of them are mere oblong dashes, and 
 all of them are very much too small. There is, as in the first 
 forgery, a very distinct white line down the back of the neck, and 
 the lines of shading near it are very much too short. Mercury's 
 winged cap is very indistinct and blurred. The outline of the cen- 
 tral circle is a long way from the edges of the side-frames, so that 
 two rows of the pearls might ahnost be placed in the narrowest part, 
 between the outline of the circle and the edges of the side-frames. 
 The groundwork in the corners, outside the central circle, is com- 
 posed of straight lines, instead of wavy ones, and there are no dots 
 between the lines. The key-pattern in the side-frames is very badly 
 and unevenly drawn. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear either a large diamond of small dots, 
 with numeral in the centre, or else two concentric circles, with name 
 between the circles, and date in the centre. The forgeries have the 
 diamond of dots, but without the numeral in the centre. 
 
 It will be noticed that I have not gone minutely into the differ- 
 ences between the two sets of the genuine. I did not think it 
 
176 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 necessary, because, as I have already said, the forgeries which are 
 supposed to represent the Paris-printed set only differ from the ones 
 supposed to represent the Athens-printed set in having no numeral 
 at the back. 
 
 Some copies of the forged 20 lepta are in a bluish slate-colour, 
 and many of the others are in very peculiar shades ; but the genuine 
 stamps vary so enormously in shade that it would be useless to call 
 attention to the vagaries of either genuine or forged. Some of the 
 later stamps printed at Athens are most shamefully done, and are 
 mere blotches of colour ; the dies, I should say, having about as 
 much ink on them for one single impression as would very well serve 
 for at least three clear copies. 
 
 GRANADA CONFEDERATION. 
 
 Many of tbe stamps of this country being uncommon, and 
 some of them decidedly rare, I need hardly say that the forgers 
 have tried their hands, more or less successfully, on most of the 
 issues. As the originals are only lithographed, the forgeries are 
 rather above the average ; but still I do not think I should class 
 any of them as dangerous counterfeits, except the second, or 
 latest, forgery of the 1861 set, which is extremely good, being 
 done, I beheve, by the photo-lithographic process. 
 
 Mr. Pemberton, in his Handbook, says, speaking of the issues 
 of 1859 and 1860, "Most excellent counterfeits, transferred by 
 lithography from the original stamps, have been made of these 
 issues, notably of the 1 peso." I have unfortunately not been able 
 to meet with any of the said forgeries, except that of the 20c. 
 of 1860, now to be described. 
 
 Issue of 1860. 20 Centavos, blue. 
 
 This is the issue with arms on white shield, with 
 small figures of value above and below the shield,, 
 on a ground of wavy vertical lines. The full set 
 includes the 2J, 5, 10, 20c., and 1 peso; but I 
 have only seen the forgery of the 20c., as men- 
 tioned above. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed, generally in shades of dark ultramarine, on greyish 
 white wove paper, thin, and rather hard. The lowest compartment 
 of the shield contains an isthmus, darkly shaded with wavy hori- 
 zontal lines. The portion of sea above the isthmus is very nearly 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 177 
 
 as large as the somewhat similar portion below it ; and the dark 
 object in the centre of the lower sea is shaped like the hull of a 
 boat, without masts or sails. The very curious object in the top 
 compartment of the shield is shaded with irregular oblique lines. 
 There are forty-four large, round, and uniform pearls in the circle 
 round the shield. The plain white circle outside the pearls is very 
 wide, almost as wide as the diameter of one of the pearls, and wider 
 than the width of the white strokes of any of the letters of the 
 inscription. The figures of value above the top of the shield are 
 very nearly the same size as the corresponding figures below the base 
 of the shield ; perhaps they may be just the least trifle bigger. There 
 are forty wavy lines of shading in the Ijackground above the shield, 
 and forty-one below it, though they are not very easy to count. The 
 outline of the white circle outside the pearls is broken at the sides, 
 and runs into the inner side-frames just by the D of confed., and by 
 the CIO of NACIONALES. The stop between cent. 20 is midway 
 between the t and the 2, and almost touches both. The s of 
 NACIONALES is just level witli the angle of the inner frame to the 
 left of it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, in more or less slaty-blue, and also in pale rose, on 
 white wove paper, thicker and softer than the genuine. The isth- 
 mus in the lowest compartment of the shield is dotted with several 
 irregular blotches, and with no lines of shading on it anywhere. 
 The portion of sea above the isthmus is not more than a quarter of 
 the size of the corresponding portion below it. The dark object in 
 the lower sea is a transverse oblong. The curious object in the top 
 compartment is shaded with about sixteen vertical lines. There are 
 forty-five pearls in the circle round the shield, and most of them are 
 oblong instead of round, and they are all much too small. The plain 
 white circle outside the pearls is narrow, even narrower than the 
 white strokes of the letters of the inscription. The figures of value 
 above the top of the shield are a good deal larger than the corres- 
 ponding figures below the shield. There are forty-four wavy lines of 
 shading above the shield, and thirty-eight below it ; and many of 
 them are. blotched, and run together, so that they are even more 
 difl&cult to count than the genuine. The outline of the plain white 
 circle outside the pearls is broken on the left side, and does not run 
 into the frame to the left of it, but appears to go under it. The out- 
 line of this circle is complete on the right side, and does not even 
 touch the frame to the right of it. The stop between cent. 20 does 
 not touch either of the letters, l^ut is very much nearer to the 2 than 
 to the T. The letters of the lower inscription are tall and thin, 
 reaching almost from top to bottom of the frame ; but they are 
 stumpy in the genuine, and do not nearly reach from top to bottom 
 of the frame. The s of nacionales is lower than the level of the 
 corner of the inner frame to the left of it. 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps usually bear two rather large concentric ovals, 
 with an ornamental line in the centre, and name in thick capitals 
 between the ovals. The forgeries are obliterated with a rectangle of 
 large, square dots. Both genuine and forged are also occasionally found 
 cancelled with a written word. 
 
 Issue of 1861 (?) 2|, 5, 10, 20 c. ; Un Peso. 
 
 The stamps of this set have always been rare, but the 
 forgeries are very plentiful. Of the latter there are at least 
 five distinct sets. 
 
 Gemmie. 
 
 Lithographed on very thin, yellowish -white 
 wove paper. The shield, as in the issue just 
 described, is divided into three portions, the 
 central one only being white. The upper portion 
 of the shield contains two horns of plenty, their 
 mouths turned towards each other, and an un- 
 known thing between them, which is of an oval 
 shape, with an oblique line in the centre of it. 
 This upper portion is shaded with nine hori- 
 zontal lines on the left side, and eight on the right side, counting 
 the bottom line in each case. The central portion contains a 
 cap of Liberty on a pole. The lower portion contains an isthmus, 
 with a ship on each side of the isthmus, though the said ships 
 are represented merely by blotches. The left top corner of the 
 shield is a good deal higher and more pointed than the right top 
 comer. The portion of sea above the isthmus extends rather further 
 to the right than to the left of the shield, and the portion of sea 
 below the isthmus entirely fills up the lower point of the shield. 
 The oval band outside the shield contains, at the bottom, nine eight- 
 pointed asterisks or stars, the points being tolerably easy to count. 
 The cross-stroke of the t of -ESTADOS is very short, and is of equal 
 length each side of the perpendicular stroke. The word de at the 
 top of the oval is in very small capitals, and is placed in the centre 
 of the top. The lines in the shaded ground, outside this oval, are 
 rather inclined to be blotchy, and are difficult to count. There 
 ought to be fifteen in the right-hand top corner, sixteen in the left- 
 hand top corner, fourteen in the right-hand bottom corner, and 
 sixteen in the left-hand bottom corner, counting the outer line in 
 each case. I am almost afraid that these lines do not form a very 
 reliable test ; because, as I have said, they are inclined to be blotchy, 
 and the two top lines and two bottom lines often run together ; 
 however, I give them as they will be found on good specimens 
 of the genuine. The second o of correos is a transverse oval, but 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 179 
 
 not so markedly so as the o of nacionales. Tlie letters of the 
 outer inscription are tall and thin, and moderately regular ; those 
 of the inner inscription are thinner, and a little taller, and more 
 regular. The lowest value is lettered 2 i | centavos, and the highest 
 value is lettered UN peso. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 I have never seen this forgery, but from Mr. Pemberton's 
 description of it fancy that there will be no difficulty in at once 
 deciding on its worthlessness. All three divisions of the shield are 
 white. There are no stars at all at the bottom of the oval. The 
 letters of the outer inscription are thick and unequal. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have only seen the 2^ centavos. It is lithographed on 
 paper which is thicker and a good deal harder than that of the 
 genuine. The upper portion of the shield is so much blotched that 
 the design upon it is quite undeci])herable. The pole upon which 
 the cap of Liberty is placed is so very short that the cap seems 
 almost to rest upon the line below it. The ship in the sea above the 
 isthmus is represented by a very small projection from the land 
 below the centre of this upper sea. The left top corner of the 
 shield is very slightly higher and more pointed than the right top 
 corner, but it would hardly be noticed. The portion of sea above 
 the isthmus is set equally distant from each side of the shield, and is 
 too short. The lower sea is too small, and the ship in it is repre- 
 sented by a large blotch hanging from the land above this lower sea. 
 The oval band outside the shield contains nine asterisks as in the 
 genuine ; but they are extremely blotchy, and it is impossible to 
 count the eight points which onght to appear. The easiest test for 
 this forgery is in the word at the top of the oval band, which is 
 " be " in small letters, instead of de in small capitals. The lines in 
 the shaded ground outside this oval are so blotched that I have not 
 been able to count them ; indeed, in the right-hand bottom corner 
 they are all merged into one solid piece. The second o of correos 
 is larger than the o of nacionales, and almost round. The letters 
 of the inner inscription are far too thick and blotchy. The value is 
 correctly lettered 2 i | centavos. This forgery is sufficiently like the 
 genuine to be deceptive, supposing it were printed more carefully. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 This is the common one, and seems to be in universal request 
 among young collectors. It is lithographed on white wove paper, a 
 little thicker and harder than the genuine. The left top corner of 
 the shield is very little higher than the right. The upper portion 
 of the shield contains an extraordinary thing, like the head and 
 
180 
 
 ALBUM weeds; or, 
 
 wings of a young owl. This upper portion is shaded with nine 
 lines on the left-hand side, and six on the right-hand side, counting 
 the bottom line in each case. The central portion contains an 
 ornamental flower-vase, with a plant growing out of it. There is a 
 small projection from the land under the top sea of the isthmus 
 to represent the upper ship. The lower sea is represented simply 
 by a very distinctly-marked white comma, which does not go near 
 the bottom of the shield. There are only eight asterisks, or stars, 
 in the bottom of the oval band, and the points on them cannot be 
 counted. The cross-stroke of the t of estados is long, and the side 
 towards the a is a good deal longer than the side towards the s. 
 The word de at the top of the oval is like the genuine. The lines 
 in the shaded portion outside the oval are too distinct, and very 
 easily counted. There are fourteen in the right-hand top corner, 
 sixteen in the left-hand top corner, eleven in the right-hand bottom 
 corner, and fourteen in the left-hand bottom corner, counting the 
 outline of the frame in each case. The second o of correos is 
 about the same size as the o of nacionales, but not so oval in shape. 
 The letters of the inner inscription are nearly as thick as those of 
 the outer one. The lowest value is lettered 2 12 centavos, and the 
 highest value is lettered i peso. 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper. This seems to be a bad copy 
 of the last forgery, and need not detain us long. The left top corner 
 of the shield is no higher than the right. The upper portion of the 
 shield contains the head and wings of the young owl, as in the last 
 counterfeit, with seven lines of shading to the left of it, and tlie 
 same number to the right of it. The thing in the central portion of 
 the shield is a plain glass or tumbler, containing a blotchy plant. 
 The sea above the isthmus is like two small basins side by side ; for 
 the thing projecting from the land below it to represent the upper 
 ship is so large as to divide this upper sea into two portions. The 
 lower sea is represented by a small, curved white line. There are only 
 eight asterisks at the bottom of the oval band ; the eight points of 
 two of them can be counted. The cross-stroke of the t of estados 
 is of normal length, longer than that of the genuine, and is of equal 
 length on each side of the perpendicular stroke. The word de, at 
 the top of the oval band, is a good test for this counterfeit, as it is 
 placed far too much to the right, instead of being at the very top. 
 Outside the oval band there are twelve lines of shading in the right- 
 hand top corner, seventeen in. the left-hand top corner, eleven in the 
 right-hand bottom corner, and seventeen in the left-hand bottom 
 corner. The o of nacionales is perfectly round, and much larger and 
 thicker than the second o of correos, the latter o being too oval. I 
 only possess the 2|c. of this set, and it is lettered 2 12 centavos, as 
 in the last forgery. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 181 
 
 Fifth Forgery. 
 
 Of this forgery I am unable to give any description, as it was lent 
 to me for a day, at a time when I had none of the genuine stamps 
 by me ; and I was thus unable to take any useful notes of the points 
 of difference. Lithographed on paper a little thicker than that of 
 the genuine, but a marvellously correct copy in all other respects, as 
 far as my memory will serve me. It was produced, I believe, by 
 photo-lithography, and varies very little from the genuine. How- 
 ever, any reader possessing specimens of this set will, very probably 
 be able to detect them by the tests for the genuine given above. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 The genuine stamps usually bear the name of the town in medium- 
 sized capitals. The forgeries bear either the same medium-sized 
 capitals, or the name in ordinary large and small letters, or in enor- 
 mous letters about one quarter the height of the stamp itself, or part 
 of an extremely thick oval. 
 
 Issue of 1863. 5c., buff; 10c. , blue ; 20c., red ; 20c., green 
 (error); 50c., green; 50c., red (error). 
 
 These are the stamps with branches on white 
 ground, as in the annexed illustration. The for- 
 geries are good, and not very common. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thin wove paper, rather hard, and 
 usually with a very slight surface-tint of the same 
 colour as the stamp ; and also on blue paper. Both of the cornu- 
 copise in the top compartment of the shield have blunt, rounded 
 outer ends, very nearly touching the sides of the shield, and neither 
 of them curling downwards more than the other. Each of them is 
 disgorging pieces of money, which are tolerably distinct. The 
 flower standing up between them, and separating them from each 
 other, is apparently a tulip, almost closed, and leaning over to the 
 right. The cap of Liberty in the central compartment is Lirge and 
 distinct, and is shaded all over with oblique lines, running from the 
 right downwards to the left. The tassel or top of the cap bends 
 over to the left, and hangs down level with the bottom of the part 
 which is supposed to go on the head. The pole which bears the cap 
 gets suddenly wider towards the top. The bend of the cap just 
 touches the transverse line above it. Two parallel lines clo-e to- 
 gether separate the top compartment of the shield from the second, 
 and two similar lines, equally close together, separate the second 
 compartment from the bottom one. The peaked part at the centre 
 
182 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 of the top of the shield is a good deal higher than the corners. 
 Above the shield there are nine six-pointed stars, arranged in two 
 rows, the npper row curving upwards in the centre, the lower row 
 curving downwards in the centre, so that the whole looks like a 
 narrow, transvjerse, oval ring of stars. The leaves in the two 
 branches of the wreath are unmistakable oak-leaves, and they are 
 all shaded more or less all over with oblique lines running from the 
 left downwards towards the right. The point of the lowest leaf on 
 the left-hand side touches the corner of the inner frame, just under 
 the letter e of e. u. de, etc. The side of the top leaf but one in the 
 right-hand branch touches the frame very distinctly, beside the i of 
 Nacionales. The s of this latter word is exactly level with the e 
 of E. u. DE, etc., on the opposite side. There is an eight-pointed 
 star or asterisk at the top of the frame between Colombia and 
 CORREOS. The bottom end of the right-hand branch, which crosses 
 over to the left, is nearer to the line below it than the corresponding 
 bottom end of the left-hand branch which crosses under it to the 
 right. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thick, soft, very white wove paper. The outer 
 end of the left-hand cornucopia is blunter than the outer end of the 
 right-hand one, and neither of them touches the outline of the 
 shield. The outer end of the right-hand one bends down a good 
 deal lower than the other. Their mouths are very close together, 
 and there is no money coming out of them. The flower between 
 them is of irregular shape, and might be a helmet, or a dustpan, or 
 almost anything ; but is not in the least like a flower. The cap of 
 Liberty is like a chemist's retort, and the pole which supports it is so 
 mry short as to be hardly visible. There is some shading on the 
 cap ; but it is irregular. The bend of the cap does not touch the 
 transverse line above it. The two lines which separate the top com- 
 partment of the shield from the central one are very much closer 
 together than the two lines which separate the central compartment 
 from the lower one. Most of the stars above the shield have only 
 five points instead of six. The leaves on the branches are oak- 
 leaves ; but the shading on them is irregular. The point of the 
 lowest leaf on the left-hand side is a very long way from the outline 
 of the frame, and is higher than the e outside it. The side of the 
 top leaf but one in the right-hand branch does not touch the frame 
 either. The s of nacionales comes very much lower than the E of 
 e. u. de, etc., on the other side. There is a six-pointed star each 
 side of the value. The star at the top of the stamp, which ought 
 to be equally distant from the a of Colombia and the c of correos, 
 is very much nearer to the c than to the a. The bottom end of 
 the left-hand branch which crosses under to the right is a good deal 
 closer to the line of the frame below it than the bottom end of the 
 right-hand branch which crosses over to the left. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 183 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is not nearly so good as the last. It is lithographed on very 
 soft, white wove paper, rather thicker than that of the genuine. The 
 cornucopiae are both joined into one, Avith a large, dark ball on the 
 top of a pole sticking out from the middle. The outer ends of this 
 affair are extremely sharp points, curling downwards into a hook, 
 and both ends being at a long distance from the sides of the 
 shield. There is, of course, no money to be seen. The cap of 
 Liberty is like a mushroom three parts grown, with a tail coming 
 out of the top and hanging over to the left, ending in a sharp 
 point instead of a blunt tassel. This point does not come down 
 anything like level with the base of the cap. The pole is the same 
 thickness all the way up. The top compartment of the shield is 
 separated from the second by one thick line ; and there is no line 
 separating the second compartment from the lower one, except just 
 across the top sea of the isthmus, where there is a short single line 
 to support the pole. The peaked part at the centre of the top of the 
 shield is level with the corners. Above the shield there are nine 
 eight-pointed stars in two rows, and both rows curve upwards in the 
 centre. The leaves in the two branches are of some unknown species 
 of tree ; at any rate they are not oak leaves, and they are principally 
 shaded with blotches of colour instead of lines. None of the leaves 
 touch the frame, except the large leaf at the bottom on the right- 
 hand side, near the es of nacionales. The s of this word is higher 
 up than the e of e. u. de, etc., on the opposite side. The star at the 
 top of the stamp has twelve rays or points, and it is a little nearer 
 to CORREOS than to Colombia. The bottom ends of the branches 
 point almost towards the bottom of the stamp instead of towards the 
 lower comers. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps usually have either the name of the town in 
 large capitals, within an ornamental oval, or else an enormous letter 
 (generally an " O "), which may possibly form part of a word. The 
 first forgery is cancelled with a smallish oval, formed by straight 
 lines at the top and bottom, and curved lines at the sides. The 
 second forgery bears part of a very thin oval, but I have not been 
 able to see any lettering in it. 
 
 I have not got specimens of all the types and values of this issue. 
 Mr. Pemberton enumerates them as follows : On white paper ; 5, 
 huff ; 10, blue ; 20, red ; 50, green. Errors, reversed colours ; 20, 
 green ; 50, red. On blue paper ; 10, blue ; 20, red ; 50, green ; also 
 10 blue, with dot after numerals. With star after cent ; 5, 10, on 
 white ; 50, on blue. He also says that the unattainable errors are 
 comparatively common in an unused state as forgeries, and that they 
 lack the clearness of the originals. I have not met with any of the 
 said forgeries, and am, therefore, unable to give any description of 
 them. 
 
184 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 Issue of 1864. 5, 10, 20, 60 c. ; 1 Peso. 
 
 These stamps are almost exactly like the ones just described 
 and illustrated, except that the background, behind the 
 branches, is of solid colour, instead of being white. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper. The shield, and the 
 arms on it, are exactly the same as in the genuine stamps of the 
 last issue ; and, as before, there are two distinct thin parallel lines 
 separating the top compartment of the shield from the second, and 
 two similar ones separating the second from the third. What 
 seemed like a single leaf at the bottom of the left- 
 hand branch in the last issue is now evidently 
 double ; i.e., one leaf laid over another, and partly 
 covering it. The dark outline of that part of the 
 front leaf which overlaps the other is scalloped, and 
 shows four scallops or waves, whilst the leaf behind 
 it has no dark outline, and the edge visible has only 
 one faint indentation in it. This latter leaf almost 
 touches the corner of the frame beside the E of E. u. 
 i)E., etc. ; and the corresponding leaf of the right- 
 hand branch almost touches the corner of the frame between E and 
 s of NACiONALES, but is not quite so close. The bottom end of the 
 left-hand branch crosses under the other, and points towards the 
 ornament outside the right-hand bottom corner of the frame ; and 
 the bottom end of the right-hand branch crosses over, and points 
 more towards the bottom of the stamp ; i.e., at the figure or figures 
 of value. All the outer leaves of the left-hand branch almost or 
 quite tonch the frame, and the outer leaves of the right-hand branch 
 are very close to the frame also. There is, as in the last issue, an 
 eight-pointed asterisk at the top of the frame, which is equally 
 distant from the a of Columbia and the c of correos. The e and 
 S of NACIONALES are not joined together, and the s is level with the 
 E of E. u., etc., on the opposite side of the frame. There is a small 
 oblong mark in each of the seas of the isthmus to represent ships. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thick, hard, white wove paper. This is really a 
 most excellent counterfeit. The mouths of the two cornucopi£e are 
 open, and show the money tumbling out, as in the genuine ; but the 
 outer e; ds decidedly touch the sides of the shield, instead of almost 
 doing so, and the outer end of the left-hand one curls downwards 
 and inwards up )n itself considerably more than the outer end of the 
 other one. The part of the cap of Liberty which is supposed to go 
 on to the head is too tall and narrow, like half a cocoa-nut, instead of 
 beirg something like an inverted bird's-nest, and the pole does not 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 185 
 
 get any wider towards the top. There is no mark in the upper sea, 
 but in the one below the isthmus there is a tiny, but distinct vessel, 
 with mast, etc. All the leaves of the two branches are at some little 
 distance from the sides of the frame, and the lowest leaves, which 
 ought to be nearest to the frame, are the farthest from it. The 
 lowest leaf in the left-hand branch has five scallops instead of four 
 on its top edge, and the white leaf behind it is deeply scalloped, 
 instead of being almost smooth. The bottom end of the left-hand 
 branch points between the N and t of cent, and the bottom end of 
 the other points at the figure or figures of value. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is not so good as the last in some respects, though tolerably 
 deceptive. Lithographed on very thin, white wove paper. The two 
 cornucopiae in the shield are drawn as one, with no mouths or money 
 showing, and the outer end of the left-hand one is much more 
 sharply pointed than the other ; the outer ends of both are at some 
 distance from the sides of the shield. The flower on a stalk in the 
 centre, between the cornucopise, looks like half a broken egg-shell, 
 and points directly upwards. The top compartment of the shield is 
 divided from the second l^y one thick line, and the second is divided 
 from the bottom one also by one thick line. The cap of Liberty is 
 drawn too high up, so that it appears to be quite jammed up against 
 the line under the cornucopiae, instead of just merely touching it. 
 The pole also is much too tall. The sea above the isthmus is made 
 very small, and has no mark on it to represent a ship. The top edge 
 of the bottom leaf on the left-hand side has tbree scallops, and the 
 top edge of the white leaf behind it has four scallops. All the leaves 
 of both branches are a long way from the sides of the frame. The 
 bottom end of the left-hand branch, crossing under to the right, is of 
 a concave form, and the end bends upwards until it points almost at 
 the s of NACIONALES. The ends of both branches are a long way 
 from the bottom frame. The first o of correos is absurdly tall and 
 thin, and the letters es of nacionales are very much squeezed 
 together, and joined at the bottom. Besides the normal colours, there 
 is a forgery of the 5 centavos of this type printed in blue, making a 
 bogus variety. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 This is a very poor attempt, and ought not to deceive. The 20 
 centavos of this type, printed in a brilliant orange- vermilion, is very 
 common, and I have seen many copies lately. The cornucopiae are 
 represented by a pair of buffalo-horns, acutely pointed, the points 
 touching the sides of the shield, and almost resting on the line below 
 the compartment. Standing up from behind them is a " poppy-head 
 i.e., the seed-capsule of a poppy, on a very thick stalk, and pointing 
 directly upwards instead of leaning to the right. This compartment 
 is divided from the second by one thick line, and the second is 
 
186 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 divided froju the third also by one thick line. The easiest test for 
 this forgery is the cap of Liberty in the second compartment of the 
 shield, which is represented by an unmistakable ace of clubs, with a 
 sort of feather or hook hanging from the top of it over to the left. 
 The isthmus is very faint, so that the upper sea seems to extend 
 right across the shield. There is no ship in this sea ; but there is 
 one in the lower sea, or rather a mark to represent one, as in the 
 genuine. All the leaves of both branches (not very much like oak- 
 leaves by the way) are at some distance from the sides of the frame. 
 The lowest leaf in each branch is not double, but each of the said 
 lower leaves has a dark vein in its centre. The ends of both 
 branches jDoint downwards, one between the figure or figures and 
 CENT, and the other to the middle of the N of cent ; and there is no 
 shading to show which branch crosses over the other. The asterisk 
 at the top of the stamp, which has twelve points, is very much 
 nearer to the c of correos than to the a of Colombia. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps iTSually bear the ornamental oval before 
 described, containing the name in large, thick capitals. The first 
 forgery imitates this ; but the outline of the oval is very thin. The 
 other forgeries are uncancelled. 
 
 Issue of 1865. 6, 10, 20, 50, 50 c. ; 1 Peso. 
 
 This, as the illustration shows, is an entirely 
 new type. There are many shades of the 
 genuine. The catalogues generally give 5 c, 
 yellow; 6 c, orange; 10 c, lilac; 10 c, violet; 
 20 c, blue; 50 c, small figures, emerald-green; 
 50 c, large figures, emerald-green ; 50 c, dark 
 green ; 1 peso, rose ; ] peso, vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on white, and also on bluish-white wove paper, 
 rather thin. There are nine lines of shading in the top compart- 
 ment of the shield, if those be reckoned which run into the middle 
 peak of the shield. The cap of Liberty, though small, is very dis- 
 tinct, and shaded with oblique lines running down from right to left. 
 The two seas in the bottom compartment are both larger than the 
 isthmus which separates them. There is a distinct ship in the lower 
 sea, and a mark something like a ship in the upper one. The label 
 or ribbon above the top of the shield is bent down in the middle so 
 as to touch the top point of the shield ; and the forked ends of the 
 ribbon do not touch the oval outside them. The neck of the condor 
 is very much narrower than the width of the ribbon. The eye is 
 very small and round, and there is a distinct ring of white feathers 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 187 
 
 round the base of the neck. There are eighty-nine little pearls 
 round the white oval. They are all distinct, and moderately uniform 
 in size and shape. Between these pearls and the inscription there 
 are nine eight-pointed asterisks or stars, placed in the following 
 positions : the first is exactly above the head of the bird, and one 
 of its points touches the stop after Colombia ; the second comes 
 below the space between re of correos ; the third below na of 
 NACIONALES ; the fourth below on of nacionales ; the fifth below 
 s of NACIONALES ; the sixth under e ; the seventh under the E of 
 DE ; the eighth under the L of Colombia ; and the ninth below mb 
 of COLOMBIA. There is a stop after the words e.u. Colombia and 
 CENT or PESO, but none after the other words. At the bottom of the 
 coloured oval there are two little white branches, very easily seen, 
 and with their bottom ends crossing. All the lettering is distinct, 
 and the letters nicely formed. The a of Colombia is pointed at the 
 top. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper, about as thin as that of the 
 genuine, but much softer. About four lines of shading can be seen 
 in the top compartment of the shield ; but they are so l3lotched that 
 they are very difficult to make out. The cap of Liberty in the 
 middle compartment is an utterly shapeless blotch. The base of the 
 shield is hardly to be distinguished from the flags on each side of it. 
 The isthmus is larger than either of the seas. There is no mark in 
 the upper sea, and a large, shapeless blotch in the lower one, not in 
 the least like a ship. The ribbon above the shield is bent, like the 
 genuine, in the middle ; but the right-hand end touches the oval 
 outside it, and the left-hand end very nearl}^ touches the oval also. 
 The neck of the condor is quite as broad as the width of the ribbon, 
 and there is no ring of feathers at the base of the neck. The eye is 
 large, blotchy, and of a sort of triangular shape. There is a dark 
 line down the centre of the neck, which is not visible in the genuine. 
 In some copies the oval of pearls is almost invisible, in others many 
 of the pearls are missing, and in the clearest copies there are only 
 about seventy-three pearls to be seen. The stars or asterisks are 
 very blotchy. Most of them are six-pointed, and they are placed 
 as follows : the first is over the head of the bird ; the second under 
 RE of CORREOS ; the third under N of nacionales ; the fourth under 
 o of that word ; the fifth under ES of that word ; the sixth under 
 the stop after e. ; the seventh under c of Colombia ; the eighth 
 under o of that word ; and the ninth under b of that word. There 
 is a stop after the e. which commences the inscription, and another 
 stop under the s. of nacionales ; but there is no stop after any of 
 the other words, except the word of value. The little white branches 
 at the bottom of the coloured oval are so blotched and indistinct 
 that it is quite impossible to make out what they are. The letters 
 of the inscription are irregular in size and shape. The top of the a 
 of COLOMBIA is broken off. 
 
188 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper, a good deal thicker than that 
 of the genuine. The lines in the top compartment of the shield are 
 verij close together, so that it is difficult to see them. The cap of 
 Liberty in the second compartment is of a better shape than that in 
 the genuine ; the end leaning over to the left is quite blunt, instead of 
 terminating in a very sharp point. The lower compartment is a 
 failure ; for the upper sea is a mere white dot, with no mark in it. 
 The lower sea has a thing like a sirloin of beef instead of a ship, 
 and the isthmus is white instead of being shaded. The middle of 
 the label or ribbon above the shield is not bent downwards, and it 
 touches the right-hand corner of the shield as well as the middle 
 point ; both ends touch the oval outside it. The neck of the condor 
 is the same width as the ribbon, the eye is oblong, there is a dark 
 crest at the back of the head, and the ring of feathers at the base of 
 the neck is dark, instead of white. There are eighty pearls round 
 the oval, more distinct than in the first forgery, but some of them, 
 especially at the bottom of the oval, are mere specks of white. 
 The stars or asterisks outside the pearls are all six-pointed, and not 
 much blotched ; they are placed as follows, the first is at the top, 
 over the head of the bird ; the second is under he of correos ; 
 the third is under the end of the N of nacionales ; the fourth is 
 exactly under the second N of that word ; the fifth is quite beyond 
 the s of that word ; the sixth is under E ; the seventh is under 
 the E of DE ; the eighth is under the L of Colombia ; the ninth is 
 under the beginning of the B of that word. There is a stop after 
 the E, and after the u, but none after any of the other words, and 
 none after the word of value. The letters of the inscription are 
 much better and more regular than in the first forgery ; but the a 
 of COLOMBIA is blunt at the point. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 This is not very common, and I have only seen one or two 
 specimens. It is lithographed on thick, hard, yellowish-white wove 
 paper. The shield will instantly condemn this counterfeit ; as there 
 is nothing on it except a shading of eight lines in the top com- 
 partment, and a vague attempt at part of the isthmus in the bottom 
 one ; the flower, cornucopia, cap of Liberty, etc., being altogether 
 wanting. The stars on the oval would not be noticed at a first 
 glance, for they are exceedingly small, and are placed among the 
 pearls, instead of outside them. There is no stop after any part 
 of the inscription except after the word of value. The little white 
 branches at the bottom of the oval are very much too large and 
 too prominent, almost touching the e and the s to left and right 
 of them respectively. The above tests will be amply sufficient for 
 this forgery. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 189 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps have either a pen- stroke or a written word, 
 or, more frequently, the ornamental and thick oval before described, 
 bearing the name. The first forgery is cancelled with a set of four 
 concentric rings, with three straight strokes in the centre, or with 
 five or six parallel bars ; or with a plain, thin oval, containing the 
 word Bogota, in very thick and clumsy capitals. The third forgery 
 bears an oval, formed by four thick, straight lines at the top and 
 bottom, and six parallel curved lines each side, with a numeral in 
 the centre. 
 
 Note. 
 
 The genuine 50 centavos of this issue with small figures of value, 
 is of a difierent type from the others. The asterisks are placed as 
 follows : Above the head of the bird, under re of correos, under 
 N of NACiONALEs, Under o of that word, under e of that word, 
 under the space between the letters e u, under the c of Colombia, 
 under the space between lo of that word ; and under the b of that 
 word. All the forgeries which I have seen of the 50c. are copied 
 from the one with large figures of value. 
 
 Issue of 1866. " Anotados," 6c., black. 
 
 Mr. Pemberton says that this stamp was 
 probably used for registered letters which 
 were unaccompanied with the declaration 
 of value, and that the " rejistro " was used 
 for those which had the value of the con- 
 tents declared. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Apparently typographed on thin wove paper 
 of a very grey tint. There is a stop after the e and u, and the stop 
 of CENTS is not exactly under the s, but much nearer to the t. 
 There are eight very distinct berries on the left-hand branch, at 
 varying distances. The point of one of the leaves touches the c of 
 correos, and the side of another leaf almost touches the first r of 
 that word. The e of de is distinctly over the middle of the top leaf 
 on the left-hand side. The top leaf on the right-hand side is blunter 
 than the corresponding one on the left, but not very much so. There 
 are eight oblique lines of shading in the triangular hollow of the a, 
 twenty below the cross-bar, seventeen down the right-hand side, 
 eighteen on the left foot, and twenty -four on the right foot. The 
 base of the 5 is at some distance from the leaf to the left of it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on greyish-white wove paper, moderately thick. 
 There is no stop anywhere except to the word cents, and this stop 
 
190 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 is placed exactly under the s. By a close inspection three berries 
 can be discerned in the left-hand branch, but they are very small 
 and would hardly be noticed. None of the leaves touch any part of 
 the word correos. The e of de is over the point of the top leaf 
 in the left-hand branch. The top leaf in the right-hand branch is 
 verQj blunt and rounded, being as broad as the very widest part of 
 the corresponding leaf in the left-hand branch. There are four 
 oblique lines of shading in the triangular hollow of the a, eleven 
 below the cross-bar, eleven down the right-hand side, sixteen on the 
 left foot, and sixteen on the right foot. The base of the 5 almost 
 touches the leaf to the left of it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 My cancelled copies of the genuine all bear a written word, or 
 part of a word. The forgeries are obliterated with four concentric 
 circles, thick and large. 
 
 Same Issue. **Rejistro," 5c., black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Tolerably well printed, on very thin, grey- 
 white, wove paper. In the inscription there 
 is a dash after the e., a very short dash, almost 
 like a full stop, after the u., and no other 
 stops. The c of Colombia is a c, and does not 
 toucli the outline of the star below it. The 
 s of NACIONALES is very near the outline of 
 the star, but does not actually touch it. The 
 centre of the star has a j)attern in black and 
 white, behind the r, like horizontal courses of 
 brickwork ; and there are thirty-two of these horizontal courses. 
 The r has been drawn too big for the circle which ought to contain 
 it, and therefore the part of the brickwork behind the tail of the R 
 is bulged out very considerably, so far, indeed, that it touches the 
 bottom of the 5 in the right-hand lower corner, and thus totally 
 destroys the outline of the central circle. There is a very thin line 
 running all round the inside of the white outline of the large r, and 
 this line goes almost to the very end of the tail of the said letter. 
 All the letters of the inscription are thin, and none of them are 
 blotched. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in a greasy-looking black, on very yellowish white 
 wove paper, very thick. There is a thick dash after the e. of the 
 inscription, a triangular-shaped full stop after the u ; the c of 
 COLOMBIA is a G, it touches the outline of the star below it ; the s of 
 NACIONALES touches the outline also. There are thirty-one hori- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 191 
 
 zontal lines of brickwork in the central circle. This circle has a 
 slight bulge under the tail of the large r, but it is not at all con- 
 spicuous, and does not touch the 5 to the right of it. This is the 
 easiest test for the forgeries. The line running round the R just 
 inside the outline of it is thick and coarse. It is so much broken 
 that it looks as though it were intended for a dotted line instead of 
 a continuous one, and it does not go anything like to the end of the 
 tail of the letter. All the letters of the inscription are thick and 
 clumsy, and many of them are blotched. Except for the above 
 differences, I think this is a moderately successful counterfeit. The 
 thick, yellowish paper will be found a good test, it is so very 
 different from the greyish, thin paper of the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have never seen the genuine cancelled in any other way than by 
 being written on, and I think that the unused copies are more 
 common than obliterated ones. The forgeries are uncancelled. 
 
 Same Issue, Sobre Porte. 26, 50c. ; 1 Peso. 
 
 These stamps are for additional postage. All the values 
 differ from each other ; the 25c. has the words sobre porte 
 curved like an inverted U, or a horse shoe ; the 50c. has sobre 
 PORTE 50 cs. in an octagon ; and the peso has sobre porte $i, 
 in a circle. I have never seen a forgery of the highest value. 
 
 25 Centavos. Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed (i) in black, on dull blue wove paper, rather thin. 
 All the lettering is very thick and coarse. The frame is damaged 
 under the N of cents. The 5 is a good deal taller than the 2. The 
 condor is very black, with a white patch on the 
 cheek ; the eye can usually be seen, and the left 
 wing goes right under the R of porte. The 
 cannons are thick, black smudges, with some- 
 times a very faint bit of white about the centre 
 of each, and the wheel on the carriage of the one 
 on the right-hand is not so distinct as the wheel 
 of the left-hand one. Slight breaks can be ob- 
 served in the horizontal lines of shading in the 
 background ; that is to say, many of them do not 
 go right across from one side to the other in one continuous line, but 
 are broken here and there where the ink has missed. Outside the 
 frame of the stamp, in all copies which have any margin, a little 
 spot or round stop can be seen exactly under the stop after the t of 
 
 CENTS. 
 
192 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 25 Centavos. Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on darkish blue wove paper, rather thinner than the 
 genuine. The lettering is very thin, and much more elegant than 
 in the genuine stamps. There is no blotch or break in the outline of 
 the frame under the n of cents. The 2 is as tall as the 5. The 
 condor is not very darkly shaded, there is no white patch on the 
 cheek, the eye is not visible, the head and neck are equally shaded 
 all over, there is a broad white ring round the base of the neck, and 
 the left wing is cut short off just before it reaches the r of porte. 
 The cannons are very lightly shaded, and both wheels are equally 
 distinct. Almost all the horizontal lines of shading in the back- 
 ground run across from one side to the other without any break. 
 There is no spot outside the outline of the frame. I think, on the 
 whole, the forgery has a better appearance than the genuine. 
 
 50 Centavos. Genuine. 
 
 This is like the accompanying illustration. It 
 is very boldly drawn, and is enclosed in an 
 octagonal frame. It is typographed on yellow 
 wove paper, which seems to be rather harder than 
 that of the 25c. 
 
 50 Centavos. Forged. 
 
 The artist has made a great mistake with this value, and has 
 copied it from the 25c, The words sobre porte are in a horseshoe 
 form ; the bird is an eagle, the cannons are not visible, the octagonal 
 frame, is of course, absent. 
 
 Issue of 1865. Registration label, 25 Centavos. 
 
 This stamp and the 50 centavos of the same issue, which 
 later value I have not seen forged, are both intended to be 
 gummed to the backs of registered letters. They are something 
 like the annexed illustration, which depicts the issue of 1867 ; 
 but, in the issue before us, the flagstaff, &c., are pointing the 
 opposite way, and the value and inscriptions are differently 
 arranged. They are printed partly in brown and partly in 
 yellow, and the flag is a tricolour, yellow, blue, and magenta. 
 The 25 centavos, which, as I have said, is the only one which 
 I have seen forged, is really a most admirable counterfeit ; and, 
 even with the original before me, I should be almost inclined to 
 pass the imitation as genuine. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 193 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on very stout wove paper. Below the outside of 
 the frame, at the bottom of the label, there are two inscriptions ; 
 the one towards the left-hand corner is lit. de avala i medrano ; 
 
 and the one towards the right-hand 
 corner is Bogota. 1865. The flagstaff 
 is composed of four lines, two being the 
 outlines, and the other two by way of 
 shading. There is a very small trans- 
 verse stroke across the flat top of the 
 A of ESTADOS, and a larger and more 
 distinct one over the a of Colombia. 
 The dot over the i of sin is sensibly 
 nearer to the upper outline of the flag 
 than the corresponding dot over the 
 last I of CERTiFiCACioN. Part of the 
 head of the i of contenido, as well as 
 the little oblique stroke projecting from 
 that letter, shows outside the right- 
 hand outline of the flag. The hollow 
 centre of the o of cinco is narrower 
 than the hollow portion of the o of 
 CENTAVOS ; and both the said letters 
 are distinctly octagonal in their outline. 
 The central tongue of the e of the latter 
 word is thicker than any of the other 
 strokes forming the back and top and 
 bottom of it. In the inscription salio 
 
 DE EN DE DE 186 
 
 the accent over the o of salio is per- 
 fectly straight, and almost as long as 
 the line projecting from the right-hand 
 side of the o ; and the various words 
 are joined by a thin, but distinct line, 
 which is not dotted anywhere ; the 
 
 portion of it after 186 goes to the 
 
 very edge of the boundary-line. The 
 slanting stroke before the e of en does 
 not touch the e ; nor do the similar 
 strokes before the d of the second and 
 third DE touch their respective letters. 
 
 The 1 of 186 is as tall as the 8, 
 
 and the 6 touches the corner of the 
 frame above it, which contains 25 c. 
 The point of the flagstaff" does not touch 
 the frame above it ; but it is so very 
 close to it that I fancy it might do so in 
 heavily-printed copies. 1 seem to have 
 o 
 
194 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 pointed out a good many tests, "but they are really things which 
 would hardly be noticed unless particular attention were called to 
 them. The chief difference between the genuine and the forged is 
 in the shading of the flag. From the lower corner of the yellow 
 part, beginning above the e of vale, there are thirty-two oblicjue 
 lines of shading, the last one ending above the t of certificacion ; 
 none of the long lines pass through the curved head, or the tall thin 
 stroke of the first c of that word, but one of them just touches the 
 toj) point of it ; two pass through the head of the e, but do not 
 touch it anywhere else. The next lot of shaded lines begins above 
 NT of veinte, and extends to the last i of certificacion. There 
 are thirty-three of them, and none of them touch the line above the 
 T of VEINTE. There are two lines by themselves, above in of veinte, 
 but I have not quoted these, as they are the same as in the forgeries. 
 The next lot of lines begins above the c of centavos, and there 
 are thirty-one of them ; some touching the i of sin, and some 
 touching the first o of contenido. The last lot of lines extends 
 from the middle of the a of centavos in the blue part, right up to 
 the top right-hand corner of the yellow ; and there are thirty-three 
 of them. The outline of the flag at the bottom, between the words 
 EN DE, is nearer to the line below it than the corresponding con- 
 vex portions on each side of en de. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very nicely lithographed on wove paper, very nearly as stout as 
 the genuine. The yellow of the flag is a canary-colour instead of 
 golden ; and the blue is dull, instead of being a bright, clear tint. 
 The engraver's inscrijjtion below the frame on the left-hand side is 
 unreadable ; that on the right-hand side is, as far as I can make out, 
 "de 1865." The flagstaff is composed of three lines only. There is 
 a very slight indication of the stroke across the a of estados, but 
 none whatever over the a of Colombia. The dot over the i of sin 
 is a good deal further from the upper outline of the flag than the dot 
 over the last i of certificacion. Only the little oblique stroke pro- 
 jecting from the top of the i of contenido shows outside the outline 
 of the right side of the flag. The hollow centre of the o of cinco 
 is as wide as the centre of the o of centavos ; and the o of the 
 former word hardly shows the octagonal outline. The central 
 tongue of the e of centavos is thinner than the bottom and back 
 of the letter, and very much thinner than the top of it. In the 
 
 inscription salio de en de de 186 the accent over 
 
 the o of SALIO is curved almost like a comma, and very much 
 shorter than the oblique stroke projecting from the right-hand side 
 of the letter. Between salio de and en part of the connecting line 
 is wanting, and part of the rest is dotted. The portion of the line 
 
 after 186 does not touch the frame to the right of it. The 
 
 slanting stroke before the a of salio does not touch the a ; nor does 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 195 
 
 the one Lefore the d of the second de touch its letter ; Lut that 
 before the D of the last de does touch the letter. The 1 of 186 is a 
 good deal shorter than the 8 ; the 6 does not touch the frame of the 
 oval which contains 25 c. The point of the flagstaff touches the 
 thick outline of the frame above it. There are twenty -three oblique 
 lines of shading from the e of vale up to the t of certificacion. 
 One long line passes through the tall thin stroke of the- first c of 
 certificacion, and two very distinct ones through the curved top 
 of the head of that letter ; these two pass also through the body of 
 the e, and two more pass through the head of the e. The next lot of 
 lines begins above the top of the t of veinte, and extends to the last 
 I of CERTIFICACION. There are thirty-two of them, and many are 
 broken ; two of them distinctly touch the line above the t of veinte. 
 The next lot of lines begins between cinco and centavos ; and 
 there are twenty-one of them, some being very faint, and others 
 missing altogether ; none of these lines touch either the i of sin 
 or the first o of contenido. The last lot of lines extends from 
 the bottom of the A of centavos in the blue part to the top right- 
 hand corner of the yellow ; there are thirty of them, but there is a 
 wide break under the ni of contenido, dividing them into two 
 separate lots. The outline of the flag, where it curves slightly down- 
 wards between en de, is no nearer to the line below it than the 
 
 corresponding convex part to the left of en, and only a very little 
 nearer to the line than the convex part to the right of de. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have not seen the genuine stamp cancelled ; but the blanks will 
 probably be filled up in w^riting. The forgeries are unobliterated. 
 
 Issue of 1867 (?). 5, 10 Pesos. 
 
 These two high-value stamps are said to have been used to 
 frank packages of coin, just as the high value Griqualand 
 stamps are said to be for packages of diamonds. Both this set 
 and the larger ones of 1870 are rare, which is not surprising. 
 
 5 Pesos. Black on green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed (?) in black, on thick, white wove S^mH^ 
 per, the face of which is surface-coloured a bright f<ii^^^§ 
 
 paper 
 
 green, and highly glazed. The condor has a head 
 just like a goose, and the eye is placed absurdly far 
 back, quite at the back of the head in fact. The 
 backgrounds, both inside and outside the oval, are 
 extremely dark, so that the oval shows up very 
 prominently. Most of the curly lines round the 
 
196 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 oval are separate from each other ; indeed, on the right-hand side, 
 towards tlie bottom, every curl is distinctly separate from its neigh- 
 bours. There is a stop after E., another after u., another after 
 COLOMBIA., and a very faint cross-shaped blotch after nacionales. 
 The right-hand branch crosses distinctly over the left one, and has 
 ten leaves on it. The left-hand branch has nine leaves. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very similar paper to the genuine ; but the value, 
 5 pesos, is printed instead of being lithographed. The condor has a 
 rounded head, like a pigeon, and the eye is in its proper place. The 
 whole stamp is very faintly printed, so that no part of the design is 
 more conspicuous than the rest. The curly lines in the oval are all 
 joined together, except under the first o of correos, and beside the 
 last A of nacionales. There is no stop after any of the words or 
 letters, nor is there any cross-shaped blotch after nacionales. The 
 left-hand branch seems to cross over the right-hand one ; but the 
 stems are very indistinct. The right-hand branch bears eleven 
 leaves, and the left-hand branch has eight ; but both lots are 
 exceedingly difficult to count. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps appear to be most frequently cancelled with 
 a written word ; but they are occasionally found bearing a large 
 oval, with capital letters inside it, as in the older issues. The 
 forgeries which I have seen were all unobliterated. 
 
 Same issue, 10 Pesos, black on vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thick, white wove paper, sur- 
 face-coloured a deep vermilion, and very highly 
 glazed. The condor's head and neck are shaded all 
 over, with horizontal lines. The eye is very small, 
 and placed far back, almost in the neck. The right 
 wing almost touches the frame near the l of 
 COLOMBIA ; but the rest of the wing is not near the 
 frame. There are nine eight-pointed asterisks below 
 the shield. There is a stop after e., after u., after 
 COLOMBIA., after nles., and after pesos. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on paper very like that of the genuine. There is no 
 shading on the head and neck of the condor. The eye is very large 
 and blotchy, and placed in the proper position, or perhaps a little too 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 197 
 
 miicli forward. The right wing is actually partly obliterated by the 
 frame, beside LU of " Columbia," which is spelt with a u instead of with 
 an o. This, of course, is a very easy test. There are twelve asterisks 
 below the shield, the outside ones being mere dots, and the largest of 
 them having only six points. There is a stop after u., and another 
 after pesos ; but none after any of the other words or letters. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The only cancellations I have seen on the genuine have been the 
 oval, or the written word, as in the 5 pesos. The forgeries are not 
 obliterated. , . 
 
 It will be seen that this 10 pesos is not nearly so good an imitation 
 as the 5 pesos just described. 
 
 Issue of 1865. 2| Centavos, triangular. 
 
 This stamp, I believe, was used for unpaid 
 letters. The shape is extremely awkward, 
 for it is evidently intended to stand with 
 the value at the bottom ; and as the upper 
 angle is not a right angle, it is impossible to 
 make it lit in any way into the corner of an 
 envelope in the way that the old Cape stamps 
 used to do. The arms are tripled, owing, I suppose, to the diffi- 
 culty of making any ordinary shield, broadest at the top, fit 
 nicely into the said triangle, broadest at the bottom ; and so the 
 engraver has put thi^ee shields instead of one. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Very clearly printed in pale black, on very thin, lilac wove paper. 
 All the details of each shield are perfectly distinct, with cornucopicB 
 and flower in the top compartments, cap of Liberty in the centre 
 compartments, and isthmus and ships in the lower compartments. 
 The Y-shaped line dividing the three shields from each other is very 
 thin, and the ends come in the following positions : after the first o 
 of COLOMBIA, under the first stroke of the first N of nacionales, and 
 above the first stroke of the e of centavos. There is a stop after the E. 
 and a dash after the u. of the inscription E.u. de Colombia, and 
 the letters of this inscription, with the exception of the de, are 
 larger than the letters of either centavos or correos nacionales. 
 The i of 2 i ^ is a great deal shorter than the 2, even including the 
 dot. The 1 of I has a very distinct oblique side-stroke, and the 
 fraction-line dividing the J 'is very thick, thicker than the little 
 figures themselves. This is very well marked, and will be a good 
 test. The c of centavos is perfectly square at the shoulders, and 
 
198 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 the o is almost exactly like a d. The outline of the whole stamp is 
 cpmjDOsed of spikes, teeth, or thorns, or little triangles, whichever 
 my readers may like to call them ; and there are a hundred and 
 sixteen round the whole stamp. The insides of both the hrst and 
 second o of Colombia are very square, and the second o is too near 
 the M, and too far from the l. The i of nacionales is very much 
 too tall comjmred with the o and the o each side of it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Badly lithographed in dark black, on pale violet paper, a good deal 
 thicker than the genuine. The shields are very coarsely done, and 
 all the details are more or less smudged. The liowers, which in the 
 genuine rise on stalks from between the two cornucoj)iae, are here 
 represented by disconnected balls very near the top points of the 
 shields. The caps of Liberty and the isthmuses are mere blotches. 
 The Y-shaped line, dividing the three shields, is lar too thick, and 
 yet indistinct. The ends come respectively opposite the middle of 
 the first o of Colombia, between the words correos nacionales, 
 and after the E of centavos, Tliereis a plain full-stop after both the 
 E. and the u. of E.u. de Columbia. All three inscriptions are in 
 letters of exactly the same size, except that the letters of de are 
 smaller than the rest. The i of 2 i ^ is level with the bottom of the 
 preceding 2, and the dot of it is level with the top of the 2. The 1 
 of \ has hardly any visible side-stroke, and the fraction-line is 
 exceedingly thin, far thinner than the fraction-figures themselves. 
 The c of CENTAVOS is round at the shoulders, as in an ordinary c, 
 and the o is round, or rather oval. There are only eighty-six spikes 
 round the ontline of the whole stamp, and they are irregular, and 
 not uniform like the genuine ones are. The insides of both the first 
 and second o of Colombia are oval, and the second o is placed mid- 
 way between the l and the m. The second o of correos is absurdly 
 small, and is at too great a distance from the r and the s on each 
 side of it. The i of nacionales is of proper size. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamp is usually unobliterated ; but I have seen it 
 with the ornamental oval, before described, with lettering in the 
 middle. The forgery is not obliterated. 
 
 I do not consider this counterfeit at all likely to deceive ; the 
 coarse blotchy way in which it is printed, and the violet colour of 
 the paper, are alone enough to condemn it. 
 
 Issue of 1867. 50 Cents, green. 
 
 There are two full sets of the stamps of this issue, one on 
 thick, and the other on thin paper, each comprising 5, 10, 20, 
 50c., and 1 peso ; but I have only seen the 50 centavos forged. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 199 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in yellow-green, on thick wliite wove 
 paper, and also in dark green, on thin wove paper, 
 both rather soft. The shield is surrounded by nine 
 very large white stars, on a ground of crossed lines, 
 with the figures 50 in a small dark oval placed both 
 above and below the shield. In a curved white 
 band, outside the central design, there are four in- 
 scriptions ; at the top are the words e.u.de Colombia, 
 to the left CORREOS, to the right nales, and at the 
 bottom 50 CENTS. The latter is in a curve, and in smaller type. 
 The outer corners of the stamp are filled up with white scroll-work, 
 and there is also a small scroll outside cohreos, and a similar one 
 
 outside KALES. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 ir»'^ i r y .w T-^"^ There need be no mistake about this counterfeit, 
 as the forgers have copied the 10 centavos here 
 annexed, merely changing the value to " 50 cs." 
 The shiekl is, as will be seen, in a circle, with nine 
 dark stars above the circle, and crossed branches 
 below it ; ee.uu.de Colombia at the top, and 
 CORREOS NALES at the bottom, and 50 cs. in a plain 
 oblong below this. There is no scroU-w^ork outside 
 the frame, and the white band is cut into a sort of 
 imitation of perforation. I think it is not necessary to give any more 
 minute description of these two stamps, as my readers have the types 
 before them. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps are either obliterated with the oval containing 
 name on large letters, or else have a word written upon them. The 
 forgery bears an imitation of the oval, struck in blue, but with the 
 letters too small. 
 
 Issue of 1870. 5 Pesos, black on green. 
 
 The 5 and 10 pesos of this set were used 
 for the same purpose as the similar high 
 values of the 1867 issue. I have only seen 
 a counterfeit of the 5 ^^esos. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in black, on soft, rather thin, 
 white wove paper, coloured on the surface 
 only of a yellowish-green, and highly glazed. 
 The principal test for the genuine is in the 
 condor, which has hardly any beak at all. The two green bands 
 
200 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 hanging from tlie beak to the top of the shield are very distinct, and 
 can be seen at a glance. The scroll upon which the condor stands 
 contains the motto, " libertad, orden," and the latter word can be 
 read with tolerable ease, though the other is very ditficult to 
 decipher. The ships above and below the isthmus are almost 
 exactly alike, and the upper one does not touch the cap of Liberty in 
 the compartment above it. The bottom of the shield ends in a blunt 
 or rounded point. There are nine five-pointed stars above the 
 condor, generally more or less blotched (especially more), and the 
 two lower ones on the left side of the stamp almost touch the wing 
 of the condor. Part of the shading on each of the lower flags is 
 dotted ; this is more conspicuous on the left-hand flag than on the 
 right-hand one. The upper spear-head on the right-hand side does 
 not project across the tip of the condor's wing ; and the lower spear- 
 head on the same side does not touch the scroll-work to the right of 
 it. The tassel hanging down from the lower left-hand sj)ear-head 
 ends in a very distinct black knob or ball, just before the first E of 
 the inscription ee.ud.de Colombia ; the letters ee are at some dis- 
 tance from the outline of the flags ; the second o of Colombia is 
 exactly like the first o ; and the long tassel hanging down from one 
 of the right-hand spear-heads joins the upper stop of the colon after 
 COLOMBIA. The two stops of the said colon have green centres. The 
 bottom stroke of the l of nacionales is very short, but not 
 ridiculously so. The c of CINCO is as large as the other letters 
 of that word, and a little curl of the scroll-work above it breaks 
 into the outline of the said c about the shoulder. There are small 
 black dots almost all the way round the outline of the frame, along 
 the centre of each of the curved bands or scrolls, just above correos 
 and nacionales, and just below cinco and pesob. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Apparently typographed ; the paper is a good deal thicker and 
 harder than that of the genuine, and the green is darker and bluer ; 
 otherwise the whole is very like the original. The condor has a 
 particularly long beak, and its eye is far more prominent than in the 
 genuine. Thei e is some confused marking from the beak to the top 
 of the shield, but it cannot be resolved into the two distinct green 
 bands of the genuine. The scroll upon which the condor stands 
 contains some marks, but totally illegible. The ship above the 
 isthmus is very much darker than the one below it, and of a 
 difi'erent shape ; the upper ship joins the cap of Liberty in the com- 
 partment above it. The bottom of the shield ends in a very sharp 
 point. There are nine asterisks above the condor ; they seem to 
 have about eight points each, but are rather blotchy. The two 
 lower ones on the left-hand side are at a considerable distance from 
 the outline of the condor's wing. The flags are altogether shaded by 
 lines only, and there are some lines of shading on each side of the 
 centre compartment of the shield which are not visible in the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 201 
 
 ennine. The upper spear-head on the right-hand side projects 
 istinctly beyond and across the tip of the condor's wing ; and the 
 lower spear-head on the same side touches the scroll-work to the 
 right of it. The tassel hanging down from the lower left-hand 
 spear-head has a knob or ball which is no larger than that of the 
 upper spear-head, and is not in any way prominent. The letters EE 
 almost touch the outline of the left-hand flags, the second o of 
 COLOMBIA is rather like a D, and the upper stop of the colon after 
 COLOMBIA is not touched by eitlier of tlie tassels hanging down from 
 the right-hand spear-heads. The two stops of the said colon are 
 solid black dots. The bottom stroke of the L of nacionales is so 
 ridiculously short as to be almost invisible, making that letter look 
 like an i. The c of cinco is much smaller than the other letters of 
 that word, and it is not even touched by the scroll-work which 
 ought to break in upon the outline of it. The green lines above 
 CORRFOS and nacionales and below cinco and pesos have no dots 
 in them. 
 
 Postmarlcs. 
 
 The only cancelled copies of the genuine which I have seen were 
 obliterated by being written on. The forgeries are not cancelled. I 
 think the counterfeit just described is quite good enough to deceive 
 an average collector ; indeed, it is printed more carefully than the 
 originals. 
 
 Issue of 1870. 2| Centavos, violet. 
 
 This triangular stamp, though of 
 somewhat peculiar appearance and 
 shape, hts better into the corner of an 
 envelope than the lilac one of 1865, as 
 it has a right angle. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Nicely lithographed in black on rather thin, coloured wove paper. 
 The large 2 of 2^ has a solid top with a dot in the centre. The 
 solid band or label bearing the inscriptions is divided into three 
 parts by faint lines. One of these lines is under co of correos, 
 another is under s of nales, and the third is under the s of cents. 
 Both limbs of each u of uu are of equal thickness. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in an exceedingly careless and blotchy way on wove 
 paper, rather thicker than the genuine. The colour oi the paper is 
 a dark violet, many shades darker than that of the genuine, which 
 approaches more to a lilac hue. The whole impression is so much 
 blotched that the details of the stamp are almost illegible. There is 
 no line under the co of correos, and the other two lines are almost 
 invisible. The large 2 of 2^ has a curled head. The right-hand 
 limb of each u of uu is a hair-stroke. This forgery is ungummed. 
 
202 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps usually bear the ornamental oval described 
 with former issues. This forgery has a sort of very large o, b}^ way 
 of imitation of the ornamental oval, containing the word Bogota in. 
 large thick capitals. I think this forgery need not deceive anybody, 
 it is so badly executed. 
 
 Same issue. " Rejistro," 5c., black on white. 
 
 This stamp is a good deal smaller than its predecessor of 1865, 
 and, perhaps, more convenient ; but I think 
 the design is not so original. It is something 
 like the annexed illustration, with R in the 
 centre instead of A. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Typographed (?) in black, on greyish -white 
 wove paper, rather thin and soft. There are 
 four vertical lines of shading to be seen, both in 
 the top and bottom hollows of the central r, and the top point of 
 the star above the said r does not touch the black circuhir outline 
 above it. The o of rejistro is nicely shaped, and the top of it is 
 not flat or broken in any way. The toi3 star of the three before 
 rejistro is a good deal smaller than the two below it, and the top 
 star of the three after the said word is also smaller than the two 
 below it. The middle star of the three before rejistro does not 
 touch the outline of the black circle, and the lowest star of the said 
 three has its left lower point absurdly too long. The lowest star of 
 the three after rejistro has a similar long point, but not quite so 
 much exaggerated as the other. The stop after the EE does not 
 touch either the e or the u, and the stop after the uu almost touches 
 the u, but not the D after it. The second o of Colombia, is a good 
 deal too large, and comes much lower than the level of the l and M 
 on each side of it. This will be found an easy test. The narrow 
 white ring outside the inscription rejistro 5 centavos is equally 
 broad all the way round. The little oval containing the 5 just above 
 the t of CENTAVOS has a white knob projecting from each side of it, 
 and the right-hand knob is rather longer and more oval than the 
 left-hand one, which is almost perfectly round. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Tolerably well lithographed on paper very similar to that of the 
 genuine, but much whiter. The top hole or hollow of the central 
 R has four lines of shading inside it, but the bottom one has only 
 three. The top point of the star just above the said R touches the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 203 
 
 black outline under tlie i of rejistro. The o of rejistro is very 
 badly drawn, and it is quite fiat at the top. The stars before and 
 after rejistro are all about the same size, except the lowest one 
 after the said word, which is larger than the others. The middle 
 star of the three before rejistro touches the white ring to the left 
 of it. The lowest of these three stars does not show the long point 
 which is so conspicuous in the genuine, neither does the similar 
 low^est star on the right-hand side after rejistro. The stop after 
 the EE distinctly touches both the e before it and the u after it, and 
 the stop after the uu touches theu before it and the d after it. The 
 second o of Colombia is not at all too large, as the lower part of it 
 is exactly level with the l before it and the m after it. The narrow 
 white ring round the inscription rejistro 5 centavos is very much 
 narrower above the letters tro of rejistro than anywhere else. 
 The white knob which projects from the right side of the little oval, 
 above the t of centavos, is almost exactly the same size and shape 
 as the similar knob which projects from the left side of it, both 
 being very nearly circular. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear the oval before mentioned, and the 
 forgeries also bear a very good imitation of it. 
 
 I think this forgery is above the average, and likely to deceive. 
 
 Same issue. "Sobre Porte," 25c., black on blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in black, on rather thick, hard 
 wove paper, of a pale, dull blue tint. The condor's 
 beak is very short, so that the whole head is hardly 
 much wider than the s of unidos just above it. 
 The cap of Liberty is tall, and reaches quite to the 
 top of the central compartment of the shield 
 which contains it. The isthmus is not touched by 
 the ship below it. There are no lines of shading 
 on the said central compartment of the shield. The middle of the 
 right-hand Hag has hardly any shading at all upon it. The motto 
 "libertad, orden" on the scroll below the condor is easily 
 decipherable. There are nine five-pointed stars below the shield and 
 flags, and all the stars are at considerable distances from each other. 
 There is a large white stop after correos nales, and the black band 
 upon which these letters are inscribed is perfectly solid. The 
 inscription above the shield reads estados unidos de Colombia, and 
 the stop after it is small and round, and near the a. The 2 and 5 
 of the 25 in the lowest band are close together, nicely shaped, and 
 the tail of the 2 is not too long. The letters of the word centavos 
 in this lower band are very fat. 
 
204 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed on very thin wove paper, of a much more 
 intense and darker blue than the genuine. The condor's beak is long, 
 and the head is as wide as the s and half the D above it. The cap 
 of Liberty in the central compartment of the shield is short, and 
 does not nearly reach to the top of the central compartment. The 
 ship below the isthmus touches the said isthmus very distinctly. 
 There are some short lines of shading at the sides of the central 
 compartment of the shield, which do not appear in the genuine. The 
 middle of the right-hand flag is very darkly shaded. The motto 
 on the scroll is utterly illegible. There seem to be eleven stars below 
 the shield, but they are so strangely blotched, and so confusedly 
 placed, that it is difficult to count them. This will serve as a very 
 ready test, for the said stars in the genuine are very far apart. There 
 is no stop after correos nales, and the ground behind the latter 
 word is blotchy, instead of being solid. The inscription above the 
 shield reads estadosunidosdecolombia, as there is not the slightest 
 division between the words. The stop after this wonderful word is 
 large and clumsy, and too far from the a. The 2 and 5 of the 25 in 
 the lowest label are far apart ; the 2 is much shorter than the 5, and 
 has an absurdly long. tail. The letters of the word centavos in this 
 lower band are thin and ragged, and the c is a good deal smaller than 
 the rest. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine almost invariably bear part of a written word. All 
 the forgeries which I have seen were cancelled with a shapeless 
 blotch. There is a broad, thick, and ragged line round the whole 
 of the stamp in the forgeries which does not appear in the genuine. 
 
 I do not think this forgery likely to deceive. 
 
 Issue of 1871. 1 Centavo, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 There is a great variety in the stamps of this 
 issue, both as regards colour and mode of j)rinting. 
 The earliest copies are well executed in a dark 
 olive-green ; the later impressions are in a sort of 
 dull apple-green, and not so distinct. The earlier 
 impressions also show some short lines of shading 
 at the sides of the central compartment of the 
 shield, which are not visible in the later ones. 
 Lithographed, colours as above described, on thin, very soft wove 
 paper. The top compartment of the shield is divided from the 
 second by a very thick and prominent dark line, and the second 
 compartment is divided from the bottom one by two very thin lines, 
 placed close together, but not blotched, or touching each other at 
 all. The cap of Liberty in the middle compartment is placed upon 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 205 
 
 a short pole, which can be seen even through the cap itself. The 
 vessel above the isthmus is very distinct ; it is a three-master, 
 sailing 1 o the left. The vessel below the isthmus is not so clear ; it 
 looks like a rowing-boat, in front of a lighthouse which is standing 
 upon a rock ; but I am not sure what it is really intended for. The 
 letters uu in the inscription touch each other at the top, and the 
 stop after them does not touch either the u before it or the D after 
 it. There is a thin curved line just under the d of de. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very poorly lithographed on similar paper to that of the genuine, 
 apparently always in dull chalky olive, varying from light to dark. 
 The line dividing the top compartment of the shield from the second 
 is not at all prominent, and very little thicker than the lines of 
 shading in the upper compartment. The two lines separating the 
 second compartment from the third are always blotched and joined 
 together for the greater part of their length. The cap of Liberty in 
 the central compartment is not upon any pole at all, and, in most 
 copies, the top of the cap touches the outline above it, which is never 
 the case with the genuine. The vessel above the isthmus is very 
 different from the original ; it looks like an omnibus, with horse, 
 passengers, etc., more than anything else, and is not in the least 
 like a three-masted vessel. The thing below the isthmus is simply 
 a roundish blotch, with a short line projecting from it at the top, 
 and another from the right-hand side. The letters uu in the 
 inscription are some distance from each other. The second u is 
 smaller than the first, and the stop after them touches both the u 
 before it and the d after it. There is a thick, wedge-shaped blotch 
 just under the d of de. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have never come across a cancelled copy of the genuine. The 
 forgeries are obliterated with eight or ten parallel straight lines 
 forming an oval. 
 
 Issue of 1872. 2 Centavos, brown. 
 
 I am thankful to say that this is the last of 
 the very long list of Granada forgeries in my 
 possession ; and I fancy that my readers must 
 be thankful too ; for toujours perdrix becomes 
 rather wearisome after a while. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on paper very similar to that of 
 the 1 centavo just described. There are two small scrolls in the top 
 corners of the stamp, containing the motto ; the left-hand scroll 
 
206 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 bears the word libertad, tlie riglit-liand one has orden. These 
 words are very distinct, and will l)e found a very easy test for the 
 genuine. In eacli of the bottom corners there is a figure 2, with a 
 dot before it, another after it, and a third beneath it (• 2 The 
 spears bearing the flags are very distinct. Quite a third of the left- 
 hand flag — the third nearest to the spear or flag-staft' — is covered all 
 over with little dark dots. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thickish, white wove paper, rather harder than 
 the genuine. The word libertad in the left-hand top corner is 
 totally illegible, and the w^ord orden in the right-hand top corner 
 seems to be " orgia." There is no dot after the 2 in the left-hand 
 bottom corner, and none either before or after the 2 in the right-hand 
 bottom corner. The inscription reads ef . uu ., instead of ee . uu . 
 Each flagstaff is formed by one single line, instead of two. The 
 part of the left-hand flag nearest to the staft' is quite white, instead 
 of being dotted. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have never seen a cancelled copy of the genuine. The forgeries 
 are postmarked with a rectangle of rough blotches ; these blotches, 
 if more distinct, would probably resolve themselves into large 
 diamond-shaped dots. 
 
 GEEAT BEITAIK 
 
 Of course I need hardly say that there are not many forgeries 
 of our own stamps to be met with in England, as it would be 
 rather a risky matter to offer them for sale ; and the only ones I 
 have seen are counterfeits of the one penny, black, the " Y.R.," 
 and of the one penny Mulready envelope. 
 
 Issue of 1840. One Penny, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, yellowish- 
 white wove paper, watermarked, with a small 
 c:own. The queen's nose is almost straight. The 
 ornaments on the top of the coronet are crosses 
 pattee, and roses on stems, alternately. At the 
 l3ottom of the circlet at the base of the coronet 
 there is a row of oblong jewels not very distinctly 
 defined, about ten in number ; and between this 
 row and the top ornaments, there is a row of 
 eighteen faint white pearls. Thorc is a large white stop after the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 207 
 
 ■word PENNY, wliicli is very close to the y. In each of the top 
 corners is an ornament which the engravers evidently intended 
 for a heraldic rose, bnt which is really a cross inittee, containing 
 a sort of asterisk of twelve points, each asterisk having a white 
 centre containing a ronnd black dot. The queen's face is shaded 
 all over. There are some small oblong white dots to be seen in 
 the centres of the ornamental loops of engine-turning down the 
 right-hand border of the stamp, luit hardly any dots visible in the 
 loops down the left-hand side. There is a very faint zig-zag pattern 
 formed by the engine-turning in tlie background, in two lines, one 
 just in front of the face, and the other just behind the head, running 
 from top to bottom of the central rectangle. There is no row of 
 white dots under the word postage, nor any row of oblique white 
 lines or dashes above the words one penny. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin wove or laid white paper. There is no 
 watermark. The queen's nose is very decidedly aquiline. The 
 ornaments on the top of the coronet are of crosses jmttee, and of 
 plain knobs on stems, alternately. There is a row of thirteen round 
 pearls round the bottom of the circlet at the base of the coronet ; 
 and there is no row of pearls between this and the top ornaments, 
 though there are a few black dots for about a fifth of the way round 
 from the back. There is no stop after the word penny. In each of 
 the to J) corners there is a white square, containing a black star with 
 four long points and about five very short ones. Each star has a 
 white centre, but only the right-hand one has the black dot in the 
 middle of the white centre. The front of the face, especially round 
 the mouth, is devoid of shading. There are very prominent round 
 white dots in the large loops formed by the engine-turning on both 
 sides of the stamp. There is a very prominent zig-zag pattern 
 running from top to bottom of the central rectangle, just before the 
 face and just behind the head. There is a row of small white dots 
 just under the word postage, and a row of distinct oblique white 
 lines or dashes over the words one penny. 
 
 Same issue. Official ; 1 penny *' V.R.," black. 
 
 This stamp was never issued to the public, and some have 
 asserted that it was only an essay. I do not know anything of 
 its history. 
 
 Genui7ie. 
 
 Exactly like the genuine Id, just described, except that there is a 
 star in the lower corners, and the letters V,R. in the upper corners. 
 It was, of course, engraved with these differences from the beginning, 
 so that there are no marks of any erasures in the corners. The 
 watermark is the same as on the ordinary black Id. 
 
208 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin white paper, no watermark. This is merely 
 the forgery just described, with the lower letters still remaining, but 
 the stars in the upper corners erased, and the letters V.R. inserted 
 in their place. The remains of the stars can be distinctly seen 
 behind the letters. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is better than the other, being the genuine Id. black, with 
 the letters Y.li. printed in the top corners, and the crosses patt^e 
 removed. The lower letters still remain, and there are tokens of the 
 erasure of the upper crosses, so that it can be easily detected. Of 
 course in this forgery the paper and watermark are exactly the same 
 as the genu.ine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps almost invariably bear a sort of hollow 
 Maltese cross, struck in black or red. The black was first used, but 
 the authorities found that the colour did not show well on a black 
 stamp, and so changed it to red. I have never seen the " V.R." post- 
 marked. The forgeries bear a colourable imitation of the Maltese 
 cross, but always in black. 
 
 Issue of April, 1840. Envelope, one penny, black. 
 
 This is the well-known Mulready " envelope. It was issued 
 both as a cover or letter-sheet, and also as an envelope ; but the 
 design, in both cases, is exactly the same. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce on thick, very yellowish-M^hite wove 
 paper, very soft, and having several silk threads in the substance of 
 the paper, at both top and bottom edges of the cover or letter-sheet. 
 These threads are not always the same in number and colour, but 
 the normal set consists of three red threads at the top and two blue 
 ones at the bottom of the letter-sheet, or the same obliquely for the 
 envelopes. There is a stop after each of the words or letters, w. 
 MULREADY, R.A., and also a stop after john Thompson. Below the 
 words POSTAGE ONE PENNY there is a very large transverse oblong, 
 containing the word postage in large dotted letters on a network 
 ground, and printed upside down, so that, when the sheet or cover is 
 folded, this word appears, right side up, at the bottom of the back 
 of the envelope. The sides of the letter-sheet contain various 
 postal instructions and announcements, but the cover has not got 
 them. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 209 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Typograplied on very white wove paper, thin and very hard. The 
 design is an exact copy of the original, almost line for line ; but 
 there is no stop after john Thompson, and only a stop after the a of 
 w MULREADY R A. The large oblong, with the word postage on it, 
 below POSTAGE ONE PENNY, is absent. There are no silk threads 
 through the paper, and the design is made up into an ordinary 
 modern envelope, gummed as usual ; whereas I never saw the 
 originals fastened with anything but sealing-wax or a wafer. I do 
 not know that this envelope was made for the purpose of fraud, or 
 whether it was merely a sort of proof of an illustration for some 
 stami3 periodical, but a foreigner would easily be taken in by it, so I 
 describe it here. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 The genuine stamp was cancelled invariably with the sort of 
 ornamental Maltese cross described above, usually struck in red. 
 The forgery before me has, I suppose by the help of an ordinary 
 penny stamp, passed the post, and is obliterated with the modern 
 circular postmark, and is dated " London, 9 my 77." I have seen no 
 imitation of the twopenny envelope, nor, indeed, of any other 
 English stamps except the ones mentioned above. 
 
 GKENAUA. 
 
 The Grenada stamps are very pretty, and the engine-turning 
 upon them is very delicately executed. There are two different 
 forgeries known to me, but they are alike in almost every part 
 except the lower inscription, so that I shall not trouble to 
 separate them. The prettiness of the genuine, and the 
 delicate engine-turning, are very poorly represented on the 
 counterfeits. 
 
 One Penny, green ; Sixpence, rose. 
 
 1860 ; thick paper, no watermark, perforated 15. 
 
 1864; rather thinner paper, watermark a small 
 star, perforated 15, and also 14. 
 
 1875 ; thinner paper, large star w^atermark, per- 
 forated 15. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce on wove paper, vary- 
 ing as above ; perforated 15, or 14, either without 
 
 P 
 
210 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 watermark, with small star, or with large star, according to the date 
 of issue. Round the circlet, at the base of the Queen's coronet, 
 there are two rows of pearls, with a row of blotchy, indistinct- 
 looking jewels between the two rows of pearls. The whole of 
 the groundwork behind the portrait in the central oval is formed 
 by crossed vertical and horizontal lines. There is no spot over the 
 Queen's left eyebrow. Each corner of the stamp is ornamented 
 with a white cross pattee ; and each cross pattee contains a small 
 plain cross, with a dark dot in the centre of it. The head of 
 the P of PENCE, or of penny, as the case may be, is a good deal 
 larger than the tail, so that the tail, or bottom of the upright stroke, 
 appears to be far too short. There are either 18 or 19 pearls in the 
 necklace ; it is difficult to say which. The last letter of pence or 
 PENNY, at the bottom of the stamp, almost touches the right-hand 
 end of the label containing it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on yellowish wove paper of medium thickness, no 
 watermark, perforated 12^. Round the circlet, at the base of 
 the Queen's coronet, there are three distinct rows of pearls, 
 without any row of blotchy jewels. The background, inside the 
 oval, is solid above the coronet, and almost solid in the right- 
 hand half of the oval. There is a very distinct dark spot over 
 the Queen's left eyebrow, almost above the inner corner of 
 it. This is very easily seen. There is a very poor attempt at a 
 cross pattee in the left-hand lower corner ; but all the other corners 
 have a white square, containing a sort of coloured asterisk, or eight- 
 pointed star. This is a very easy test. The p of penny or pence 
 is an ordinary block capital p, with the tail of equal length with the 
 head. There are 16 pearls in the necklace, and they are easier to 
 count than in the genuine. The last letter of penny or pence, at the 
 bottom of the stamjD, is a long way from the right-hand end of the 
 label containing it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear either a smallish oval formed by thin, 
 parallel straight lines, with letter in the centre ; or two concentric 
 circles, with name and date in between the circles, and large letter 
 in the centre ; or a single circle, like our own common date-stamp, 
 with name in straight line in the circle, and date below it. 
 
 The forgeries are either uncancelled, or have an oval of parallel 
 bars. 
 
 The orange stamps, surcharged with crown and value in green, 
 are fiscals. As I said above, I have not separated the two forgeries. 
 The first has the words of value just like the genuine, i.e. in broad 
 block lettering ; whilst the second type has the said words in thin 
 lettering, very uneven. The two forgeries are, of course, identical 
 in the various tests given above. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 211 
 
 GUATEMALA. 
 Issue of 1871 ; 1, 5, 10, 20 Centavos. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Nicely engraved in taille-douce, on rather thick, 
 yellowish-white wove paj3er ; no watermark ; per- 
 forated 14. The general design is like that of 
 the 1 centavo here appended ; but all the values 
 differ slightly from each other. The sun above 
 the shield is represented with eyes, nose, and 
 mouth ; and there are thirty-six white lines or 
 rays round it. The upper half of the shield bears 
 six vertical white bars, and part of a seventh bar, 
 the latter being the last bar on the left-hand side of the shield. The 
 sun is perfectly circular, the outline of it being composed of a very 
 fine line, which is not smudged or blotched anywhere. The point 
 at the bottom of the shield is exactly above the place where the 
 two branches cross each other. The leaves of the oak-branch, to the 
 left of the shield, do not touch the outline of the inner oval. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 
 Lithographed on very common white w^ove paper, perforated 13. 
 There are only thirty-four white rays round the sun. The upper 
 half of the shield bears five perfect white bars, with parts of an 
 imperfect sixth and seventh showing, respectively, to right and left 
 of the others. The sun is not circular ; and its outline is thick and 
 blotchy. The point at the bottom of the shield is a good deal to the 
 right of the place where the two branches cross each other. One, at 
 least, of the leaves of the oak-branch on the left of the shield 
 touches the outline of the inner oval. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 
 These counterfeits are a good deal better than the ones just 
 described ; but can hardly be called dangerous. Lithographed on 
 hard, very white wove paper, perforated 13. The sun has only eyes 
 and mouth ; and there are forty-one white rays round it, the extra 
 rays being, no doubt, to compensate for the lack of nose ; the upper 
 half of the shield bears seven perfect vertical white bars. The sun 
 is tolerably circular, but the outline of it is thick and uneven. The 
 point of the shield is exactly above the place where the two branches 
 cross each other, just as in the genuine. One of the leaves of the 
 oak-branch to the left of the shield touches the outline of the inner 
 oval. All the stamps of this set are copied from the type of the 
 genuine 1 centavo. 
 
212 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps seem to be almost invariably cancelled with 
 thick parallel bars, with a numeral in the centre of them. The 
 counterfeits are postmarked with a large square or rectangle of round 
 or oval dots ; or else with an oval, formed by three parallel straight 
 lines at top and bottom, and two curved ones at each side, the centre 
 of the said oval being blank. 
 
 Issue of 1875. Head of Liberty; 1 real, blue. 
 
 There is a set of four values of this issue ; but I have only 
 seen the 1 real forged. The design differs considerably in all 
 four values of the genuine ; but I will confine myself to the 
 description of the 1 real. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Finely engraved in taille-douce, being, I suppose, the work of the 
 American Bank-note Company. It is printed on decidedly thick 
 wove paper, of a yellowish-white, without watermark, and perforated 
 12. The background behind the head of Liberty is composed of 
 crossed horizontal and vertical lines, placed 
 very close together. The top lip of the goddess 
 is very short ; and the bottom lip seems, as it 
 were, to push it up a little. Exactly at the 
 top of the head there is a sort of nick, which 
 can be easily seen. Perhaps the easiest test 
 for the genuine is the tij) of the nose, which is 
 exactly level with the e of correos. The 
 wreath on the head of Liberty is arranged in 
 five separate sets of leaves ; the first, second, 
 and third sets bearing three leaves each, and 
 the fourth and fifth sets having two leaves only. 
 Most of the background just outside the central oval is shaded 
 simply with perpendicular lines ; but there are some horizontal lines 
 as well, close up to the lettered labels. The left-hand edge of the 
 stamp, outside the design, is entirely shaded with perpendicular lines. 
 Each of the little shields containing the figure of value has a thin 
 line running round the whole shield, inside the border, at a little 
 distance from the edge. The little ball -ornament, between the oval 
 and the top of the right-hand bottom shield, is a perfect oval. The 
 corresponding ball-ornament, between the oval and the top of the 
 left-hand bottom shield, is shaded almost all over. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Rather nicely lithographed on poor, thin, very white wove paper, 
 pin-perforated 13. The background behind the head of Liberty is 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 213 
 
 solid ; i.e. it has no lines of shading in it at all, but is all dark. The 
 
 top lip of the goddess is abnormally long, and dominates over the 
 lower one. There is no sign of the nick at the top of the head. The 
 tip of the nose is exactly level with the centre of the second o of 
 CORREOS. The first, second, third, and fourth sets of leaves in the 
 wreath have three leaves each ; the fifth set has two leaves. All the 
 2:)ortions of background immediately outside the central oval are 
 shaded with crossed lines, as is also the left-hand edge of the stamp 
 outside the design. The lines which ought to be seen inside the 
 corner shields, running round each of them inside the border, are 
 absent. The little ball-ornament between the oval and the top of 
 the right-hand bottom shield is very badly shaped, being jammed 
 into a space too small for it. The corresponding ball-ornament 
 between the oval and the top of the left-hand bottom shield has 
 hardly any trace of shading upon it at all, and it is very far from 
 being of the nice oval shape of the one in the genuine. Not a 
 single A in any of the inscriptions has a cross-bar to it ; so that 
 each is like an inverted v. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear either a very large star struck in black 
 ink, or an oblong postmark, which contains name and numerals. The 
 counterfeits bear either seventeen oblique parallel lines, forming an 
 oval, or else a large square of square dots. 
 
 I think this forgery is good enough to deceive a good many of 
 our younger brethren ; but those who have once seen the fine 
 execution of the original stamp are not likely to be taken in by a 
 lithographed imitation. 
 
 Issue of 1877-8 ; 2 reales, carmine. 
 
 There is a full set of values of this 
 issue ; but I have only seen counterfeits 
 of the 2 reales. Mr. Pemberton, in his 
 Handbook, seems to doubt the authenticity 
 of this issue altogether, apparently because 
 the style of printing is so inferior to that 
 of the issue last described ; but I have, as 
 yet, seen nothing more against them. And 
 it must not be forgotten that, even in 
 England, we have reverted to the lower 
 and cheaper style of epargne, after printing the penny and two- 
 pence values in the higher style of taille-douce for nearly forty 
 years ; so that a retrograde movement does not necessarily imply 
 falsity. 
 
214 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne on rather thick wove paper, tinted Math a 
 pinkish shade ; machine-perforated 13, ver}^ cleanly cut. The tail of 
 the 2 in the right-hand bottom corner almost touches the riglit-hand 
 boundary-line of the scroll in which it is placed. The words Doa 
 REALES in the bottom scroll are not placed centrally in the scroll, 
 but are too near the top of the scroll. Each of the two birds, in the 
 top corners of the stamp, has six white patches or bars across its 
 wing, four out of the six being very distinct. The outer long tail- 
 f jatlier of the left-hand bird is very blunt at the point ; and the 
 corresponding feather of the tail of the right-hand bird is also blunt, 
 but not quite so much so as the other. The young lady has a head^ 
 dress composed of five feathers ; the ones on each side of the middle 
 one project quite across the white oval line and touch the dark lower 
 outline of the name-label above them. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very nicely lithographed on pink-faced white paper, about the same 
 thickness as the genuine ; pin-pricked 13, very badly. The tail of 
 the 2 in the right-hand bottom corner is very short, and it is a long 
 way from the boundary of the scroll which contains it. The words 
 DOS REALES are too near to the bottom instead of the top of the 
 label containing them. Each of the birds in the top corners of the 
 stamp has only four white bars or patches on its wing, the whole of 
 them being equally distinct. The outer long tail-feather of each bird 
 is very sharp at the point, the right-hand one being especially so. 
 The left-hand one is very close to the left side of the scroll containing 
 the 2 ; and, in some of the copies on the sheet before me, the point 
 of the feather actually touches the scroll. The feathers each side of 
 the middle one, in the young lady's headdress, scarcely project into 
 the white oval line, instead of going right across it ; and they are, of 
 course, a long way from the dark lower outline of the name-label. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The only cancellation of the genuine which I have seen at present 
 is the large star, described in the last issue. The postmark on the 
 forgeries is Guatemala 27 mayo, 78, in a single-lined circle, rather 
 small. 
 
 Of all the Guatemala forgeries I think that the one just dissected 
 is by far the best, and it may fairly be called dangerous. I have not 
 seen many copies yet ; but I am afraid that it is likely to have a 
 good sale. 
 
 Bogus Stamps. 
 
 There are some bogus stamps for Guatemala, which I ought not to 
 omit describing. They are very beautifully engraved in taille-douce, 
 on very thick, hard wove paper ; machine-perforated 12. The 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 215 
 
 design contains a ship, trees, harbour, rocks, mountains, boats, &c,, 
 in a circle, with Guatemala in a curved label above, and value in 
 full below, a sun surrounded by rays in each of the corners. I do 
 not know how many values there are ; I have only seen the cinco 
 centavos, struck in a variety of colours, yellow, green, blue, brown, 
 &c. This stamp appears to be the work of the American Bank-Note 
 Company ; but I know nothing of its history, or of its raison d'etre. 
 Possibly it was an essay. 
 
 Forgery of the Bogus Stamps. 
 
 The above bogus stamps have been very largely forged. They are 
 poorly lithographed on bad, thin paper, irregularly pin-pricked, and 
 post-marked with four concentric circles. As the originals are 
 worthless, it will be needless to go into the details of their imita- 
 tions. 
 
 HAMBUEG. 
 
 Most of the forgeries of this country are particularly well 
 done ; but this, perhaps, is not so very much to be wondered 
 at, considering that the town has, for years, been the manufac- 
 tory of forgeries for all the world. One thing which makes 
 one set of the perforated forgeries so deceptive is, that the said 
 perforation is most carefully executed ; very unlike the careless, 
 badly-done pin-perforation usually to be met with in forged 
 stamps. 
 
 To avoid unnecessary repetition, I had better state here that 
 most of the Hamburg stamps are watermarked ; including the 
 ^, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9 schilling, and the first type of the 2^ 
 schilling. The watermark is formed by a sort of very mag- 
 nitied representation of the serpentine perforation of the 
 Finland stamps ; that is to say, there is an exceedingly wavy 
 line drawn Irom one end to the other of each horizontal row of 
 stamps in the sheet. When the stamps are separated, this 
 leaves each one with a sort of magnified horseshoe, or large u 
 upon it, almost as large as the stamp itself, and which may be 
 either with the bend of the u upwards, or inverted. Occa- 
 sionally, but very rarely, genuine stamps may be found, of the 
 ones mentioned above, without watermark ; but I think this is 
 only because they have been accidentally impressed upon a part 
 of the paper not containing any portion of the watermark. 
 With regard to the unused stamps now offered for sale, I fancy 
 that a good many of them are reprints. 
 
216 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Perforation. 
 
 Most of the stamps are found both un perforated, and machine- 
 perforated 13. The unperforated ones are on thick, yellowish-white 
 wove paper, backed with very yellowish gum. The perforated ones 
 are on much thinner, wove paper, whiter, and backed with white 
 gum. My readers will please remember that the above description 
 holds good for all the genuine, unless specially described to be 
 otherwise in the following pages. 
 
 Engraving. 
 
 All the stamps, unless otherwise specified, are engraved in ^pargne; 
 and, in unused specimens, the large, central figure usually seems to 
 be slightly embossed, owing to the pressure of the die or cliche 
 having forced the paper up into the hollow of the figure. 
 
 Owing to the fact of each value of the genuine being separately 
 engraved, and of there being two or more forgeries of each value, 
 this expose of the forgeries of this country has cost me an enormous 
 amount of labour ; but I fancy that it will enable any collector to 
 decide for himself, concerning the genuineness, or otherwise, of any 
 of his own specimens. 
 
 I Schilling, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, unperforated, and perforated 13, thick or 
 tliin w^ove paper, both watermarked, as mentioned above. There are 
 three long lines of shading, not reckoning the outline, at the end of 
 the scroll to the left of the H of Hamburg ; and three similar lines 
 at the other end of the scroll, to the right of the G. In the bend or 
 loop of the same scroll above the h, there are eight very short lines ; 
 and there are eight lines also in the corresponding bend or loop 
 above the g. The cross-bar of the h is placed centrall)^ between the 
 top and bottom of that letter. The thick part of the tail of the G 
 of this word, just below its cross-stroke, points straight downwards. 
 The middle of the top outline of this upper scroll, just above the 
 B of HAMBURG, couies very close to the tliin, inner outline of the 
 top frame ; so that there would be only room to draw one very thin 
 line between the frame and the nearest part of the scroll. There is 
 one straight line of shading in the lower scroll, to the left of the P 
 of POSTMARKE ; and there is a faint indication of a similar line at 
 the other end of the bottom scroll, after the E of postmarke. None 
 of the letters of postmarke touch each other anywhere. In the 
 left-hand bend or loop of the lower scroll, below the p of post- 
 marke, there are eight short lines of shading ; and seven similar lines 
 ill the bend of the scroll, at the other end, below the e of postmarke. 
 This lower scroll conies very near to the thin, inner outline of the 
 bottom frame, under the m of postmarke ; but it does not actually 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 217 
 
 touch it. The E of etn, in the inscription on the left-hand side of the 
 stamp, does not touch the little trident-shaped ornament below it. 
 In the word halber, the a has a very distinct tail, or final upstroke 
 which is quite half as tall as the letter itself. The L of this word 
 has ridiculously long cross-strokes both at the top and the bottom ; 
 and the b has a similarly large cross-stroke at the top. The final r 
 is at some distance from the little trident-shaped ornament below it. 
 In the inscription down the right-liand side of the stamp, the s 
 of SCHILLING does not touch the trident-shaped ornament above it. 
 The cross at the top of the central tower does not touch the lower 
 outline of the name-scroll above it. The ends of the lower scroll 
 containing the word postmarke, are both at equal distances from 
 their respective sides of the frame. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on very white, medium wove paper ; no watermark, 
 nicely perforated 13. There are two long lines of shading and one 
 short one, at the end of the upper scroll, to the left of the h of 
 HAMBURG, and one long line and two short ones at the other end of 
 the scroll, to the right of the G. In the bend or loop of this scroll, 
 above the h of Hamburg, there are seven short lines of sh^iding; and 
 there are seven similar lines in the corresponding bend or loop at the 
 other end of the scroll, above the g. The cross-bar of the h is 
 placed too high up. The thick part of the tail of the G, below the 
 cross-stroke, curls forwards to the right. The middle of the top out- 
 line of this upper scroll is at a good distance from the thin, inner 
 outline of the upper frame, above the b, so that two thin lines could 
 be drawn between the frame and the nearest part of the scroll. 
 There is one curved line of shading in the lower scroll, to the left of 
 the P of POSTMARKE ; but not the slightest indication of any similar 
 line at the other end of the scroll, to the right of the e of post- 
 marke. In this latter word, the t and m touch at the top, and the 
 letters marke all touch each other at the bottom. In the left-hand 
 bend or loop of the lower scroll, below the p of postmarke, there 
 are seven short lines of shading, the outer and inner ones being mere 
 dots ; and in the similar loop or bend at the right-hand end of this 
 scroll, below the e of postmarke, there are six short lines of shading. 
 The middle of this lower scroll almost touches the line below it. The 
 E of EiN, in the inscription down the left-hand side of the stamp, 
 distinctly touches the little trident-shaped ornament below it. The 
 a of HALBER has uo tail-stroke ; being merely like the ordinary small 
 printed " a." The l of this word has a cross-stroke at the top a 
 little longer than usual, but not notably so, and a very short cross- 
 stroke at the bottom. The top of the b in this same word has hardly 
 any cross-stroke. The bottom of the r of this word almost touches 
 the trident-shaped ornament below it. In the inscription down the 
 right-hand side of the stamp, the s of schilling just touches the 
 
218 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 trident-shaped ornament above it. The cross at the top of the 
 central tower distinctly touches the outline of the scroll above it, 
 just under the beginning of the b of Hamburg. The ends of the 
 lower scroll, containing the word postmarke, are not equidistant 
 from their respective ends of the frame, the left-hand end being very- 
 much nearer to the side than the right-hand end is. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This, I think, is an older counterfeit than the one just described, 
 but I have only seen it lately. Lithographed, on thin, soft, laid 
 paper, of a very decidedly yellow tint, unperforated, and badly 
 perforated 12. There are only seven short lines of shading in the 
 bend or loop of the scroll above the h of Hamburg ; and there are 
 six similar short lines of shading in the bend or loop at the other 
 end of the scroll, above the g of Hamburg. The single line at each 
 end of the postmarke scroll is blotched so as to touch the end of 
 the scroll. The letters mar of postmarke all touch each other at 
 the bottom. In the left-hand bend or loop of the lower scroll, 
 below the P of postmarke, there are four long lines of shading and 
 one short one ; and in the bend or loop at the opposite end of the 
 scroll, below the e of postmarke, there are six lines of shading, but 
 so very much blotched that it is possible there may be seven lines. 
 The A of HALBER is an ordinary small " a " without any tail 
 curling up, and the top-strokes of the h, l, and b are quite small, 
 instead of being abnormally large. The top of the s of schilling 
 just touches the little trident-shaped ornament above it. The cross 
 on the top of the central tower plainly touches the lower outline of 
 the name-scroll, under the b of Hamburg. The lower scroll is 
 l^laced too much to the left, so that the end near the P of postmarke 
 touches the side of the stamp, but the other end of the scroll is at 
 some distance from it. 
 
 1 Schilling, brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper and watermark the same as in the ^ schilling. There are 
 three long lines of shading, not reckoning the outline, at the end of 
 the upper scroll, to the left of the h of Hamburg, and three long 
 lines and one short one at the other end of the scroll, to the right of 
 the G of HAMBURG. In the left-hand bend or loop of the same scroll, 
 above the h of Hamburg, there are five lines, and the commence- 
 ment of a sixth ; there are also five lines and part of a sixth in the 
 corresponding bend or loop at the other end of the scroll, above the 
 G of HAMBURG. The tail of this G points slightly forward, but it is 
 a long distance from the bottom outline of the scroll. There is a 
 small horizontal line or stroke in most copies, just above the space 
 between the letters ur of Hamburg. There is one straight line, and a 
 dot as well, at the left-hand end of the lower scroll, before the p of post- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 219 
 
 MARKE ; and the said line touches the top outline of the scroll. The 
 top of the p does not touch this line. There are six lines and a dot 
 in the bend or loop below the p of postmarke, and six lines and a 
 dot in the corresponding bend or loop below the e of posTxMARKE at 
 the other end of the scroll. None of the letters of this word touch 
 each other anywhere. The o leans over very much to the right ; 
 this is so marked as to be noticed instantly. The lower tail of the K 
 lies very close to the perpendicular stroke ; hardly slanting out from 
 it at all. This lower tail joins the perpendicular stroke at or near the 
 centre of that stroke. The curly ornaments each side of the word 
 BIN on the left-hand side of the stamp do not touch the left border 
 of the frame. The cross on the top of the central tower does not 
 touch the lower outline of the scroll above it. The right-hand star 
 does not touch the top of the tower below it. The upper scroll, 
 coutaining the word Hamburg, is nearer to the right side of the 
 frame than to the left ; and the lower scroll, containing postmarke, 
 is equidistant between both sides of the frame. The lower outline 
 of this bottom scroll almost touches the bottom of the frame, just 
 under the m of postmarke. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed ; no watermark ; 23aper same as in forged ^ schilling, 
 nicely perforated 13. There are two long lines and one short one, 
 not reckoning the outline, at the end of the upper scroll, to the left 
 of the H of HAMBURG ; and three long lines and a faint short one at 
 the other end of the scroll, to the right of the G of Hamburg, these 
 latter being almost the same as the genuine. In the left-hand bend 
 or loop of this scroll, above the h, there are only four lines of 
 shading ; and, in the corresponding bend or loop, above the G at the 
 other end of the scroll, there are four lines and two dots. The tail 
 of the G curls forward and downward so far that it very nearly 
 touches the lower outline of the scroll to the right of the G. The 
 letters UR touch each other at the top, and there is no indication of 
 any line or stroke above them. The letters amb all touch each other 
 at the bottom, though they are all separate in the genuine. There is 
 one straight line at the end of the lower scroll to the left of the p 
 of POSTMARKE, and this line does not touch the top outline of the 
 scroll. The top of the p goes across the top of this line, and touches 
 the left-hand end of the scroll. There are three lines and two dots 
 in the bend or looj3 below the p of postmarke ; and four lines and 
 three dots in the corresponding bend or loop at the other end of the 
 scroll, below the e of postmarke. In this word the t and m touch 
 each other at the top, and the letters marke all touch each other 
 at the bottom. The o does not lean over to the right at all ; the 
 lower tail of the k spreads out a good way from the perpendicular 
 stroke, and joins it a good deal above the centre. The curly orna- 
 ments each side of the word ein, on the left-hand side of the stamp, 
 touch the thin, inner line of the left border very distinctly. The 
 
220 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 cross on tlie top of the central tower touches the lower outline of the 
 top scroll just below the middle of the b of Hamburg. The right- 
 hand star just touches the top of the tower below it. The upper 
 scroll, containing the word Hamburg, touches the frame on the left- 
 hand side, and is a long way from it on the right-hand side. The 
 lower scroll also touches the left-hand side of the frame, and is a 
 long way from the right-hand side of it. The middle of this lower 
 scroll is rather more distant from the bottom of the frame than the 
 middle of the upper scroll is from the top of the frame ; so that the 
 said lower scroll is a good deal further from the bottom than in the 
 genuine. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is a very good lithograph. It is printed on very yellowish- 
 white laid, and also on wove paper ; no watermark ; unperforated, 
 and badly perforated, 12. All the lines of shading are very fine and 
 thin ; indeed, they are finer than in the genuine. The three long 
 lines of shading at the left-hand end of the upper scroll, to the left 
 of the H of HAMBURG, are not all parallel with each other, and two 
 out of the three run together at their bases. There are three long 
 lines and one short one at the other end of this scroll, to the right of 
 the G, as in the genuine, but they are broken, and rather wavy and 
 indistinct. In the loop above the H of Hamburg there are five 
 short lines ; and there are five lines and a dot in the corresponding 
 loo]) over the g of Hamburg, but the latter are very faint. The base 
 of the said g is very ugly, and sticks out to the right, far beyond the 
 rest of the letter. There is no line above the space between the 
 letters UR of Hamburg. There is one straight line, but no dot, at 
 the left-hand end of the lower scroll, to the left of the P of post- 
 marke ; but this line does not even come level with the top of the 
 P, and therefore is a long way from the top outline of the scroll. 
 There are six rather coarse lines (coarse compared with the others 
 before described) in the loop below the p of postmarke, and six also 
 in tl^e loop below the e of postmarke. The t of this word has its 
 right-hand cross-bar hanging down lower than the left-hand one ; 
 and the letters ar touch each other at the bottom. The o leans over 
 a little to the right, but not markedly so. The lower tail of the K 
 of this word lies close to the perpendicular stroke, as in the genuine, 
 but it joins too high up. The cross on the top of the central tower 
 touches the lower outline of the upper scroll, below the b of 
 HAMBURG. This Upper scroll is equidistant from both sides of the 
 frame, but the lower scroll is very much too near to the left side : in 
 the genuine, it is the upper one which is too much to the left, and 
 the loiuer one which is at equal distances from both sides of the 
 frame. The upper scroll touches the top frame of the stamp above 
 the B of HAMBURG ; and the corresponding part of the lower scroll, 
 l)elow the m of postmarke, is at some little distance from the 
 bottom frame of the stamp. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 221 
 
 2 Schilling, vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving, paper, watermark, &c., exactly the same as in the 
 genuine ^ schilling. The three long lines of shading in tlie left-hand 
 end of the upper scroll, to the left of the H of Hamburg, reach (|uite 
 to the upper and lower outlines of the said scroll ; and the three 
 similar lines at the other end of the scroll, to the left of the g, are 
 almost as long as the first-named three. In the left-hand bend or 
 loop at the end of the scroll, above the h of Hamburg, there are 
 seven lines of shading and a dot ; and, in the corresponding bend or 
 loop of the scroll at the other end, above the q of Hamburg, there 
 are six lines of shading only. The cross-stroke of the said g reaches 
 almost far enough to touch the perpendicular line of shading 
 immediately after it. In the left-hand end of the lower scroll, to the 
 left of the p of postmarke, there is one line of shading, quite 
 distinct from the outline of the end of the scroll. At the right- 
 hand end of this lower scroll, after the E of postmarke, there is a 
 similar line, quite distinct from the outline of the end of the scroll. 
 The left-hancl loop or bend of the lower scroll, below the p of post- 
 marke, contains nine lines and a dot ; and the right-hand loop or 
 bend, at the other end of the scroll, below the e of postmarke, 
 contains seven lines only. The letters rke of postmarke are very 
 close together at the bottom, but do not actually touch each other. 
 The letters we of the word zwei, on the left-hand side of the stamp, 
 do not touch each other ; and the curly ornament after zwei does not 
 touch the upper scroll containing the word Hamburg. The left-hand 
 side of the curly ornament above the a of Hamburg touches the 
 thin, inner line of the top frame ; and so do both sides of the curly 
 ornament above the R of Hamburg. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed; paper same as that of the forged^ schilling; no 
 watermark ; nicely perforated, 13. The three lines of shading in the 
 left-hand end of the upper scroll, to the left of the h of Hamburg, 
 are all too short ; none of them touch the top outline of the scroll, 
 and only the outside one of the three touches the bottom outline. 
 The three lines at the other end of the scroll, to the right of the G 
 of HAMBURG, are very much too short, so that their tops are not near 
 the top outline of the scroll. In the left-hand bend or loop at the 
 end of the scroll, above the h of Hamburg, there are six lines of 
 shading ; and, in the corresponding loop at the other end of the 
 scroll, above the G of Hamburg, there are ten lines of shading. The 
 cross-stroke of the said g is a long way from the nearest perpendicular 
 line of shading. In the left-hand end of the lower scroll, to the left 
 of the p of postmarke, there appears to be a line of shading, but it 
 is blotched into the outline of the end of the scroll almost its whole 
 length. The line at the other end of the scroll, after the e of post- 
 
222 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 MARKE, is a little more distinct ; but it also is blotched into the 
 outline of the end of the scroll for a good part of its length. The 
 left-hand loop or bend of the lower scroll, below the p of postmarke, 
 contains nine lines ; and the corresponding loop or bend at the other 
 end of the scroll, below the e of postmarke, contains eight lines. 
 The letters ke of postmarke distinctly join each other at the 
 bottom, but the r is not particularly close to the k. The letters we 
 of the word zwei, on the left-hand side of the stamp, are joined 
 together at the top ; and the curly ornament after zwei runs into the 
 lower outline of the upper scroll containing the word Hamburg. The 
 left-hand side of the curly ornament, above the a of Hamburg, does 
 not touch the thin, inner line of the top frame ; and the curly orna- 
 ment above the r of Hamburg does not touch it either. There is a 
 distinct horizontal line above the t of postmarke, which does not 
 appear in the genuine. This forgeiy is hardly so good as the ^ 
 schilling and 1 schilling previously described ; the design being 
 more blotchy. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 ' Lithographed, in better style than the first forgery, on soft laid 
 paper ; no watermark ; unperforated, or badly perforated 13. It 
 very probably exists on M^ove also ; but I have not seen the latter. 
 There is, of course, no watermark. The inner line of the three in 
 the scroll, to the left of the h of Hamburg, is a good deal shorter 
 than the other two, and does not touch either top or bottom outline 
 of the scroll. At the other end of this upper scroll, to the right of 
 the G of HAMBURG, there are three long lines and one short one, the 
 latter being extra. In the bend or loop above the h, there are seven 
 short lines, but no dot, and the same in the loop above the G. Part 
 of the single line of shading at the left-hand end of the lower scroll, 
 before the p of postmarke, is blotched into the outline of the scroll. 
 The similar line, after the e of postmarke, has a curve or wave in 
 it, near the bottom. There are twelve thick short lines, and a dot in 
 the loop below the P of this latter word, and nine rather thinner 
 lines in the loop at the other end of the scroll below the E. The 
 letters rke of postmarke all touch each other very distinctly at the 
 bottom. The z of zwei has a little stroke projecting from the right 
 side of the top of the up-stroke, and a similar piece projecting from 
 the left side of the bottom of it. There is no trace of these pro- 
 jections in the genuine, which is merely an ordinary Z, like the one 
 here given. The right-hand side of the little curly ornament over 
 the R of HAMBURG touches the thin line of the frame above it ; and 
 both sides of the similar ornament above the a of Hamburg are at 
 some little distance from the thin line of the top frame. In the 
 genuine, both scrolls are equidistant from both sides of the frame of 
 the stamp ; but in this second forgery, the lower scroll is too much 
 to the left ; i.e. the left-hand end of it almost touches the side of the 
 frame, and the right-hand end is a good distance from the other side 
 of the frame. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 223 
 
 Same type ; 2^ Schilling, green. 
 
 This stamp is found (date unknown) on ^^M/v..rxnn 
 thick wove paper ; no watermark, as well as ^ 
 with paper and watermark uniform with the ^ 
 rest of the set. The latter stamp was issued ^ 
 in 1864. It is not nearly so common as the c 
 others, the unwatermarked one on the thick S 
 paper being much the more common of the ^ 
 two. ^ 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, either on thin, watermarked, wove paper, or 
 on thick, unwatermarked, wove paper, as just described. The two 
 scrolls are both set equidistant from the sides of the frame ; the top 
 scroll does not touch the top of the frame, and the bottom scroll does 
 not touch the bottom of the frame. There are three lines and a dot 
 in the end of the top scroll to the left of the h of Hamburg, and 
 three lines at the other end of the scroll, to the right of the G of 
 HAMBURG. There are eight short lines of shading in the bend or 
 loop above the h, and six lines and three dots in the corresponding 
 bend or loop above the g. The single line before the p of postmarke 
 goes right to the top and bottom of the outline of the scroll ; and 
 the corresponding line at the other end of the scroll does not touch 
 either the e of postmarke, or the top or bottom of the scroll. 
 There are nine or ten short lines in the loop or bend below the P 
 and eight in the loop below the e ; but they are rather blotched in 
 my copies, so that I am not absolutely certain. None of the letters 
 of POSTMARKE touch each other anywhere, and the o is oval, and 
 leans over to the right. The little ornamental curls, above the a 
 and r of Hamburg, almost touch the thin line of the frame above 
 them ; the ones below os of postmarke almost touch the line below 
 them ; the one below k does touch, and the one below r of post- 
 marke touches the bottom of the scroll below the r. The cross on 
 the top of the central tower does not touch the scroll above it. The 
 tail of the G of Hamburg is short, and does not go near the 
 boundary of the scroll below it. The trident-shaped ornament 
 below the h of Hamburg does not touch the outline of the scroll 
 under the h. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on wove paper like that of the first forgery of the | 
 schilling, no watermark ; nicely perforated 13. The bottom scroll is 
 equidistant from both sides of the frame, as in the genuine ; but the 
 top scroll is too much to the right, and the end of it actually touches 
 the right-hand side of the frame. The top of the top scroll is a 
 long way from the thin outline of the frame above it, and the 
 bottom of the bottom scroll touches the thin outline of the frame 
 
224 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 below it. There appear to be four long lines and a short one in the 
 top scroll, to the left of the h of Hamburg ; and there are three 
 lines at the other end of the scroll, to the right of the g of Hamburg ; 
 but, in both cases, the lines are much blotched, and are inclined to 
 run together. There are only live short lines in the bend or loop 
 above the h ; and six lines and a dot in the corresponding loop above 
 the G ; but in this latter case the dot is at the outer end instead of 
 at the inner one. The single line in the bottom scroll, to the 
 left of the p of postmarke, does not go right to the top of the 
 scroll, but bends over, so as to join the head of the P. The cor- 
 responding line at the other end of the scroll runs, in like manner, 
 into the top of the e of postmarke. There are nine very distinct 
 short lines in the bend or loop below the p of postmarke ; and 
 eight blotchy and irregular ones in the loop below the E of post- 
 marks. The letters ke of this word are joined at the bottom ; and 
 the is too round, and very nearly upright. The little ornamental 
 curls above the ha and rg of Hamburg are a long way from the 
 thin outline of the fiame above them ; the ones below the os of 
 postmarke are also at a good distance from the thin line of the 
 frame below them, and so is the one below the r of this word ; but 
 the one below the K touches the thin line below it very distinctly. 
 The cross on the top of the central tower touches the outline of the 
 scroll above it. The tail of the g of Hamburg is long, points 
 obliquely down to the right, and runs into the outline of the scroll 
 below it. The trident-shaped ornament below the H of Hamburg 
 touches the outline of the scroll below the h. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin laid paper, of a very yellowish tint ; no 
 watermark, badly perforated 13. The background is drawn better 
 than that of the preceding forgery, but the large 2 is too long, and 
 touches the outline of the bottom scroll between os of postmarke. 
 It is the dark portion of the figure which touches. The top scroll 
 is set too much to the right, but the end of it does not actually 
 touch the right-hand side of the frame. The bottom scroll is set 
 jjroperly. The top of the top scroll touches the thin outline of the 
 frame above it, and the bottom of the bottom scroll almost touches 
 the thin outline of the frame below it. There are ten fine short 
 lines in the loop or bend above the h of Hamburg ; and nine in the 
 corresponding loop above the G of Hamburg. There are three long 
 lines at each end of this upper scroll. The single line in the bottom 
 scroll, to the left of the p of postmarke, does not go either to the 
 top or bottom of the scroll, and is very much curved ; and the 
 similar line, at the other end of the scroll, to the right of the e of 
 postmarke, goes right to the top and bottom of the scroll. There 
 are nine short lines in the loop below the p, and ten in the loop 
 below the e of postmarke ; they are very distinct, and can be 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 225 
 
 easily counted. The letters marke are all connected together at the 
 bottom ; the o is more like the genuine than the o of the last forgery. 
 The little ornamental curls above the ha and rg of Hamburg are a 
 long way from the thin outline of the frame above them ; the ones 
 below the os of postmarke are a long way also from the thin out- 
 line of the frame below them ; the one below the r of postmarke 
 almost touches the bottom of the scroll below the r, and the one 
 below the Kjust touches the thin outline of the frame below it. The 
 cross on the top of the central tower touches the outline of the 
 scroll above it. The trident-shaped ornament below the H of ham- 
 burg almost touches the outline of the scroll below the h. The 
 thick outline of the frame is extremely broad in this forgery, quite 
 double the width of either the genuine or the first forgery. 
 
 3 Schilling, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper and watermark as in the other values. There are four lines 
 and a distinct dot before the h of Hamburg, and four equal long 
 lines and one very short one after the G of that word. There are 
 five little lines and a blotch in the loop or bend above the h, and 
 four lines in the loop or bend above the g. There are two lines to 
 the left of the p of postmarke ; five or six little dots above the p, 
 and two short lines and three dots under the p. There are three 
 short lines under the end of the e of postmarks. In the loop or 
 bend below the p, there are nine short lines, and there are eleven 
 similar lines in the loop or bend under the e, which lines, by the 
 way, are very rarely blotched. The h of Hamburg has its cross-bar 
 exactly in the middle, the u is slanted a little to the right ; the 
 tongue or central projection of the large 3 is cut off quite square ; 
 the E of DREi is level with the r and i ; the s of schilling does not 
 touch the trident-shaped ornament near it ; the o of postmarke is 
 tall- and oval, and the t is very little slanted, so that it is almost 
 parallel with the first stroke of the m which follows it. The blue 
 colour of this stamp has generally a more or less greenish tinge about 
 it. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This is a most remarkably nice-looking stamp ; but it is printed 
 on transverse laid paper instead of wove ; badly perforated 13, and 
 has no watermark. There are only three lines and no dot before the 
 H of HAMBURG, and four varying long ones and a short one after the 
 G. There are six little lines in the loop or bend above the h, and 
 seven in the loop or bend above the G ; and all the said lines are very 
 faint and thin. There are three lines to the left of the P of post- 
 marke, six little upright dashes above the p, and three below it. 
 There are two indistinct lines under the end of the e of postmarke, 
 and two very faint scratchy lines after the e, instead of the one thick 
 blotchy line of the genuine. In the loop or bend under the p there 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 are twelve sliort lines, and eleven in the similar loop or bend under 
 the E of POSTMARKE. The cross-bar of the h of Hamburg is rather 
 too high np ; the o of postmarke is too round, and the bottom of it 
 is considerably above the level of the bottoms of the p and s on each 
 side of it. All the rest of the stamp is an extremely close and success- 
 ful copy of the genuine. I have only see this forgery printed in 
 shades of ultramarine blue. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is not nearly so good as the other ; it is on stout, very white, 
 unwaterniarked wove paper ; nicely perforated 13. There are five 
 lines before the h of Hamburg, and four long lines of different 
 lengths, and one very short one after the g. There are four very 
 faint lines in the loop or bend above the h, and six thick lines in the 
 bend or loop above the G. There are three lines before the P of 
 POSTMARKE, the inner one l)eing very short, and three indistinct 
 blotches immediately above the p, and none at all below it. There 
 are no dots under the E of postmarke, as the end of that letter runs 
 into the outline of the scroll beneath it. In the loop or bend below 
 the P, there are ten lines, and there are about ten in the similar loop 
 below the e, though these latter are generally so much blotched as 
 to be almost undecipherable. The tongue or central projection of 
 tlie large 3 ends in a point ; the e of drei is taller than the letters 
 each side of it. The cross-bar of the h of Hamburg is very much 
 too high up ; the u is slanted over to the right in a most absurdly 
 exaggerated manner ; there is a dot above the r, which is not found 
 in the genuine. The s of schilling touches the trident-shaped 
 ornament near it ; the o of postmarke is too round, and the t is 
 ridiculously slanted to the right, so that it is not anything like parallel 
 with the first stroke of the M. I have only seen this forgery in very 
 pale and chalky ultramarine. 
 
 4 Schilling, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving, paper, and watermark as before. There are three 
 almost perpendicular lines before the h of Hamburg, the outer two 
 reaching from the top to the bottom of the scroll ; there are four 
 lines after the G of Hamburg, the outer three being almost equal 
 in length. There are five lines and a blotch in the loop or bend 
 above the h, and six lines in the loop or bend above the G. There 
 are two nearly straight lines before the p of postmarke, and 
 these lines reach almost to the top and bottom of the scroll. There 
 is one long line, with portions of a second, after the e of this latter 
 word, and the long line reaches to the very top and bottom of the 
 scroll. There are either ten or eleven short lines in the loop or bend 
 under the p, and ten in the loop under the e of postmarke. The 
 H of HAMBURG is crossed in the centre ; the b is nicely drawn, and 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 227 
 
 slopes a good deal over to the left ; the u slopes as much the other 
 way ; the tail of the G points directly downwards, and the whole 
 scroll is j)laced equidistant from both sides of the frame. The cross 
 on the top of the central tower is of a somewhat jjcittee shape, i.e., 
 the head and arms are slightly wedge-shaped, with the thinnest parts 
 at the centre ; the two stars have very sharp points, and the lowest 
 point of the right-hand star almost touches the tower below it. The 
 shading below the large 4 does not run into the outline of the scroll 
 beneath it ; and the shadow of tlie cross-bar projecting from the 
 back of the figure does not reach to the perpendicular outline of the 
 right-hand tower. The t of postmarke leans over very much 
 towards the M ; the top of the a is rather jiointed ; the head of the 
 K is larger than the lower portion of it. The scroll itself is equi- 
 distant from both sides of the frame, and the central portion of the 
 scroll, below the m of postmarke, touches the frame below it. The 
 four trident-shaped ornaments all touch the scrolls, below the h and 
 G of HAMBURG, and above the o and k of postmarke respectively. 
 The I of viER has a very large, round dot, and this dot is not level 
 with the top of the v, but considerably below it. The s of 
 SCHILLING is a long way from the trident-shaped ornament above it, 
 and the dot to each i of this word is lower than the tops of the 
 letters ll. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This is tolerably well done ; lithographed on very white, thin 
 wove paper, nicely perforated 13. There are two very sloping lines 
 before the H of Hamburg, neither of them touching the upper out- 
 line of the scroll ; there are five lines after the g of this word, all of 
 different lengths, the outer one being longest, and the others getting 
 gradually shorter. There are six lines in the bend or loop above the 
 H, and the same number in the bend or loop above the g. There 
 are two very curved lines before the P of postmarke, the outer one 
 being much thicker than the other, and neither of them going near 
 to either the top or bottom of the scroll. There is a short thick line 
 after the e of postmarke, not reaching to either top or bottom 
 of the scroll. There are ten distinct lines in the loop or bend under 
 the P, and nine in the loop under the e of postmarke. The h of 
 HAMBURG is crossed a little too high up, but not so conspicuously so 
 as in some of the forgeries described before ; the b is very clumsy 
 and badly drawn, and it is almost upright ; the u does not slope 
 much to the right ; and the tail of the g curls forwards, whilst the 
 left-hand side of the scroll almost touches the frame to left of it. 
 The cross on the central tower has perfectly plain and parallel lines 
 to form the head and arms ; most of the points of the stars are 
 particularly blunt, and neither star touches the tower. The shading 
 below the large 4 joins the outline of the scroll above the mar oi' 
 postmarke, and the shadow of the cross-bar projecting from the 
 back of the said 4 joins the perpendicular outline of the right-hand 
 tower. The t of postmarke is almost upright compared with the 
 
228 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 genuine ; the top of the A of this word is very broad, and is cut off 
 quite square ; the head of the K is much smaller than the lower 
 portion of it ; the middle of the scroll, below the M of postmarke, 
 does not touch the outline of the frame beneath it. One of the 
 four trident-shaped ornaments touches the outline of the scroll 
 below the g of Hamburg ; the other three ornaments do not touch 
 either of the scrolls. The i of vier has an oval dot, quite small, 
 and level with the very top of the v. The s of schilling runs into 
 the trident-shaped ornament above it ; the dots to the I's of this 
 word are level with the tops of the letters ll. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on very yellowish, perpendicularly laid paper, 
 rather hard and thin ; no watermark, unperforated, or perforated 
 12^. An instant test for this stamp is that the cross on the top of 
 the central tower touches the outline of the scroll below the B of 
 HAMBURG, which is not the case with either the genuine or the 
 forgery just described. The said cross is of the proper shape. There 
 are three very sloping lines before the h- of Hamburg, none of the 
 three touching either top or bottom of the scroll. There are only 
 three lines after the G of this word. There are four indistinct lines 
 in the loop above the h, and five only in the similar loop above the 
 G. The lines before the p of postmarke are like the genuine ; there 
 is only one line after the E of this word. There are only eight lines 
 in the loop or bend under the P, and nine in the loop under the E. 
 There is a flaw or scratch right through the b of Hamburg, which is 
 not seen in the genuine ; the b is rather clumsy and almost upright ; 
 the u slopes a good deal to the right, the g is like the genuine. The 
 points of the stars are almost as sharp as in the genuine, and the low- 
 est point of the right-hand star actually does touch the outline of the 
 tower below it. The shading below the large 4 runs into the out- 
 line of the lower scroll, above the letters mar of postmarke ; the 
 shadow of the cross-bar of the 4 is like the genuine. The t of post- 
 marke is very nearly upright ; the top of the a is square and broad, 
 as in the first forgery ; the scroll is a very little too near to the right- 
 hand side of the frame. The central portion of this lower scroll 
 just touches the frame under the m of postmarke. The trident- 
 shaped ornaments touch the scrolls as in the genuine. The dot to 
 the I of VIER is very nearly level with the top of the v. The s of 
 SCHILLING almost touches the trident-shaped ornament above it, and 
 the dots to the two I's of this word are level with the tops of the 
 letters ll. 
 
 7 Schilling, orange. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving, paper, and watermark, as before. The upper scroll is 
 too near to the right-hand side of the frame, and the lower scroll is 
 too near to the left-hand side. The left-hand corner of the upper 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 229 
 
 scroll almost touches the thin, inner line of the top of the frame ; 
 but the right-hand corner is farther off. There are two distinct, long 
 lines, and the top and bottom portions of a third line before the h 
 of HAMBURG, and four lines of varying length and thickness after 
 the G. The tail of the said g points downwards. The cross on the 
 central tower is badly drawn, with a squeezed-up look, and the top 
 arm is wedge-shaped, and a long way from the outline of the scroll 
 above it. Neither of the stars touches the battlements. There is a 
 distinct space between the dark bottom of the 7 and the outline of 
 the scroll below it. In the portion of the castle-door at the side of 
 and below the 7, there are six thick lines of vertical shading, all of 
 difl'erent lengths. There is one straight line of shading before the P 
 of POSTMARKE, whicli touclies the bottom outline of the scroll, but 
 does not reach quite to the top of it. There is also one line after 
 the E of POSTMARKE, wliicli touclies the bottom outline of the scroll 
 and almost touches the top of it. None of the letters touch each 
 other in either of the scrolls. In the loop or bend above the H 
 of HAMBURG there are several lines of shading, and in the loop above 
 the G there are seven also. In the loop below the p of postmarks 
 there are nine lines, and in the loop below the B there are nine also. 
 There is a sort of tendril of three curls issuing from the outline of 
 the lower left-hand corner of the top scroll, below, and to the left 
 of the H ; and there is a tendril of two curls issuing from the out- 
 line of the top left-hand corner of the lower scroll, just above the p. 
 This latter tendril is similar in shape and direction to the one 
 above the r of Hamburg, except that it is smaller, and that both 
 curls are alike. The s and N of sieben and the s of schilling do 
 not touch the trident-shaped ornaments near them ; the curled head 
 of the G of schilling does not touch the outline of the upper scroll ; * 
 and the stop after the g is large, and placed equidistant between the 
 G and the scroll above it. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in very yellowish-orange on stout wove paper ; no 
 watermark, nicely perforated 13. The upper scroll is equidistant 
 from both sides of the frame ; the lower one is placed like the 
 genuine. The corners of the upper scroll are a long way from the 
 thin inner line of the frame above them. There is one long line 
 and one short one before the H of Hamburg, and there are four lines 
 of almost equal length after the g. The tail of the g points forwards 
 to the right. The cross on the central tower is large, its toj) and 
 side arms are perfectly straight, and the top (which is too tall) just 
 touches the scroll under the b of Hamburg. The lowest point of the 
 left-hand star touches the battlements of the tower below it. The 
 dark bottom of the 7 is blended with the outline of the lower 
 scroll above the ma of postmarks. There are only three vertical 
 lines of shading to be seen in the portion of the castle-door visible 
 below and to the left of the 7. There is a thick and very curved 
 
230 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 line before the p of postmarke, which does not come up level with 
 the top of the p. There is a very short line after the e, which is 
 bent, so that its ends touch the end of the scroll, but not the top or 
 bottom. The letters hamb of Hamburg are all joined at the bottom, 
 and so are tlie letters marke of postmarke. There are five blotchy- 
 lines in the loop above the H, and six lines and a dot in the loop 
 above the G. In the loop below the p of postmarke there are five 
 lines, and either ten or eleven in the loop below the e. A very easy 
 test for this forgery is the fact of there being no tendrils issuing from 
 the scrolls, either below the h of Hamburg or above the p of post- 
 marke, the forger having apparently failed to notice them. The s 
 and N of sieben touch the trident-shaped ornaments near them ; 
 the curl proceeding from the head of the g of schilling issues from 
 the top of the head instead of the right-hand side of it ; the said 
 curl almost touches the trident-shaped ornament near it ; and the 
 stop after the 6 touches the tail of the letter, and almost touches the 
 outline of the upper scroll. The lower scroll touches the frame 
 below the M of postmarke, but it is at some distance from it in the 
 genuine 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thinnish wove paper of the same texture as our 
 first |d. newsbands ; no watermark, unperforated. The colour is a 
 good imitation of the genuine. The upper scroll is equidistant from 
 both sides of the frame, and the lower scroll touches the left-hand 
 side of the frame. The upper corners of the top scroll are a long 
 way from the inner line of the top of the frame. There are two 
 lines and the upper portions of two others before the h of Hamburg. 
 The tail of the g of this w^ord points forwards to the right. The 
 dark bottom of the 7 just joins the upper outline of the bottom 
 scroll, but not so very much so as in the first forgery. The castle- 
 door shows about five vertical lines of shading, but they are very 
 indistinct. There is one curved line before the p of postmarke, 
 reaching from the top to the bottom of the scroll. There are eight 
 lines of shading in the loop or bend above the g of Hamburg. In 
 the loop below the p of postmarke there are either six or seven 
 lines of shading ; and there are about eleven in the loop below the 
 E. I have only one specimen of this forgery, and the postmark falls 
 upon the two loops just mentioned, so that I have not been able to 
 count the lines with absolute certainty. The tendril-ornament 
 below the left-hand end of the upper scroll is like that of the 
 genuine ; but the one above the p of postmarks has its stem 
 inclining from right to left, instead of from left to right. The top 
 of the s of SCHILLING touches the trident-shaped ornament near it. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Nicely lithographed in the correct shade of orange, on thinnisli 
 laid paper ; no watermark ; unperforated, or perforated 12|. Thd 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 231 
 
 corners of the upper scroll are a long way from the top frame. 
 There are three lines of varying lengths before the h of Hamburg, 
 and two thick lines after the G. The top of the cross almost 
 touches the scroll under the b. The right-hand star touches the 
 battlements below it. The dark bottom of the 7 blends with the 
 outline of the lower scroll between the letters ma of postmarke. 
 There is a curved line of shading before the p, and a short and very 
 faint line after the e ; the latter does not reach to either the top or 
 bottom of the scroll. The letters arke of postmarke are all joined 
 together at the bottom. There are eight lines in the loop above the 
 H of HAMBURG, and six in the loop above the G. The two ends of 
 the tentlril-ornament above the p of postmarke are not the least 
 like those of the ornament above the G of Hamburg ; for they turn 
 upwards instead of downwards. The stop after schilling is 
 extremely faint 'and small. 
 
 7 Schilling', mauve. 
 
 Ge7iuine. 
 
 This is exactly like the 7 schilling, orange, in all things but colour. 
 Forged. 
 
 This is exactly like the first forgery of the 7 schilling, orange, in 
 all things but colour. 
 
 9 Schilling, orange-yellow. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving, paper, watermark, etc., as before. The ndddle of the 
 upper scroll almost touches the top of the frame, and usually does 
 touch it in heavily-printed copies. The two ends of the said scroll 
 are equidistant from both sides of the frame. The bottom of the 
 lower scroll touches the bottom of the frame ; its left-hand end is 
 not parallel with the side of the frame, but slopes considerably, so 
 that the bottom corner of the said left-hand end touches the side- 
 frame, and the upper corner of it is some distance from the side-frame. 
 There are five lines before the h of Hamburg, the outer four reaching 
 from top to bottom of the scroll, and the lower end of the inner one 
 touching the bottom of the h. There are also five lines after the G ; 
 but the centre one is broken in the middle, so that only the top and 
 bottom of it can be seen. There are six, and sometimes seven lines 
 in the loop above the h, and seven in the loop above the g. There 
 are two lines and parts of two others before the p of postmaeke, 
 and one line and parts of another after the e. There are about ten 
 lines in the loop below the p, but some of the inner ones are very 
 indistinct ; and there are about fourteen in the loop below the b. 
 The letters of the word postmarke do not touch each other at the 
 bottom. The courses of brickwork can be very distinctly traced in 
 
232 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 the hollow of the head of the 9 ; and there are two very thick 
 vertical lines between the head and tail of the said 9, where the 
 door of the castle is supposed to be. The shading below the tail of 
 the 9 does not run into the outline of the scroll below it. The cross 
 on the central tower does not touch the scroll above it, and the stem 
 of the cross is absurdly thin, far thinner than the rest of it. The 
 stars are a long way from the towers below them. The first N of 
 NEUN is a good distance from the curly ornament before it, and the 
 final letters un almost touch at the bottom, but not at the top. The 
 lines on the dome of the central tower are set at equal distances 
 from each other, so that all the white spaces are of equal size. The 
 rounded part of the shading at the back of the 9 comes almost to 
 the perpendicular outline of the right-hand tower, and the tail of 
 the said 9 has an inward curl. The central portion of the m of 
 POSTMARKE is cut oft' square at the bottom. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in yellow on rather stout, very white wove paper, 
 no watermark, very well perforated 13| ; also on very hard wove 
 paper, imperforated. The middle of the upper scroll is a long way 
 from the inner line of tlie frame above it ; and the scroll is set too 
 much to the left, so that the left-hand end touches the left side of the 
 frame, and the right-hand end is a long way from the right side of 
 the frame. The left-hand end of the lower scroll is almost perfectly 
 parallel with the line of the frame, and does not touch it anywhere. 
 There is a dim, curved blotch before the h of Hamburg, the bottom 
 of which touches the bottom of the h ; there are live lines after the 
 G, the inner one being the shortest, and the central one not broken. 
 The loop above the h contains five very faint lines ; and there are 
 seven or eight in the loop above the G. There are two lines before 
 the p of POSTMARKE, oue long, and the other very short ; and a 
 single line, generally broken, after the E. There are seven lines in 
 the loop below the p, and seven to nine in the loop below the E. I 
 do not attach very much importance to the number of lines in the 
 loops just described, in the case of this 9 schilling value, because I 
 liave one or two forgeries in which the lines seem to vary, though all 
 other parts of the design are absolutely alike in the said forgeries ; 
 so I expect that heavy or light printing will cause a variation in the 
 number of these little lines. The letters arke of the word post- 
 MARKE all touch each other at the bottom. The courses of 
 brickwork in the hollow of the head of the 9 are not at all distinct ; 
 the vertical lines are tolerably clear, but the horizontal ones are 
 almost invisible. There are four very thick vertical lines between 
 the head and tail of the 9, where the castle-door is supposed to be. 
 The shading below the tail of the 9 joins the top outline of the 
 bottom scroll above the letters ma of postmarke. The stem of the 
 cross is as wide as the other parts of it. The left-hand star touches 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 233 
 
 the tower below it. In most copies the first N of neon touches the 
 bottom of the curly ornament before it, and the final letters UN 
 usually touch at the top. The lines on the dome of the central 
 tower aftbrd a very good test for this forgery, for the two central ones 
 are too far apart, which makes a very distinct, triangular white place 
 show in the centre of the dome. The rounded part of the shading 
 at the back of tlie 9 is a good distance from the outline of the right- 
 hand tower. The tail of the 9 does not curl inwards, but seems to 
 point upwards, towards the H of Hamburg. The central portion of 
 the bottom of the m of postmarke ends in a sharp point. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in orange-yellow, on moderately soft and thin white 
 laid paper, with the laid lines running transversely ; no watermark, 
 imperforated. The middle of the upper scroll is at some distance 
 from the top of the frame. The bottom of the lower scroll does not 
 touch the frame below it, and its ends are parallel with the sides of 
 the frame, and do not touch it anywhere. There are three coarse 
 lines before the h of Hamburg, none of them touching the h. There 
 are also five coarse lines after the g, none of them broken. There 
 are four lines, with a heavy blotch outside them, in the loop above 
 the H ; and five lines in the loop above the G. There are six lines, 
 with two blotches outside them, in the loop below the p of post- 
 marke ; and eight in the loop below the e. There are two long and 
 thin vertical lines in the hollow of the head of the 9 to represent the 
 courses of brickwork, and there is only a dark blotch between the 
 head and tail of the 9 where the two thick vertical lines of the 
 genuine ought to be. The shading below the tail of the 9 joins the 
 top outline of the lower scroll above letters tma of postmarke. The 
 cross on the top of the central tower touches the outline of the 
 scroll above it. The central portion of the m of postmarke is 
 rounded at the bottom. All the rest of the stamp is a pretty close 
 copy of the genuine. I think that the easiest test for both these 
 forgeries is in the left-hand end of the lower scroll, which is almost 
 exactly parallel with the side of the frame instead of sloping. 
 
 1| Schilling, lilac, violet. 
 
 This stamp is found on thick wove paper, with 
 the usual watermark, unperforated ; also on very 
 thick wove j)aper, no watermark, unperforated ; 
 also on thick wove paper, watermarked, and per- 
 forated 13 ; also on thin paper, without watermark, 
 and perforated 13. I think the last of these is 
 probably a reprint, l)ut I am not sure. All these 
 varieties are rather puzzling to the young amateur, 
 whom, by the way, I should recommend to avoid mangy-looking 
 specimens, on very thin paper, perforated, without watermark. 
 
234 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed, in various shades of lilac and violet ; paper, &c., as 
 above described. As the stamps are only lithographs, they are, of 
 course, very inferior to the engraved ones ; but some of the earlier 
 specimens on the watermarked paper are tolerably clear. The per- 
 forated ones usually look as though the stone from which they were 
 printed was quite worn out. There is a stop after postmarke, and 
 the A of this word has a stroke across its top, as well as the usual 
 cross-bar in the centre. The outline of the label, between postmarke 
 and the base of the castle, is formed of one single line. The two 
 stars are very nearly the same size, though the left-hand one has a 
 point more than the right-hand one. The battlements at the top of 
 the right-hand tower have eight points ; those of the central tower 
 have eight points also ; whilst those of the left-hand tower, when 
 they can be seen above the large figure 1 — which is only in very clear 
 specimens — have only seven. The right-hand half of the door of the 
 castle is shaded with ten oblique lines, not very nicely drawn. The 
 line between the two halves of the door is white, but the similar 
 line on the right-hand side, which represents the archway, is shaded 
 with transverse strokes at intervals, by way of imitating the brick- 
 work. The white space under the words ein u. ein viertel is 
 about half as wide as the breadth of the fraction-line of the |. The 
 groundwork behind the castle is composed of perpendicular lines, 
 crossed by oblique lines running down from left to right. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in dull mauve, on very thin, soft, transversely-laid 
 paper ; no watermark, unperforated. There is no stop after post- 
 marke, and the a of that word has no stroke across its top, and 
 hardly any central cross-bar. The line separating the postmarke 
 label from the base of the castle is double, for the part on which the 
 castle stands, and single for the rest of its length on each side. The 
 right-hand star is very much smaller than the left-hand one, being 
 hardly half as large. The battlements on the top of the right-hand 
 tower have only six points ; the other towers, in my single specimen 
 of this forgery, are obliterated by the postmark, so that I cannot say 
 how many points their battlements show. The battlements of the 
 said right-hand tower are very nicely drawn, much better than in the 
 genuine stamp. There are only eight oblique lines of shading on the 
 right-hand half of the door of the castle. The outline of the arch- 
 way, to the right of the door, is white, without any transverse 
 strokes. The white space under the words ein u. ein viertel is 
 very narrow, only about one-fourth as wide as the breadth of the 
 white fraction-line of the The groundwork behind the castle is 
 composed of vertical lines of shading, crossed by horizontal, instead 
 of oblic[ue lines, and the said horizontal lines only show here and 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 235 
 
 there. The paper alone is quite enough to condemn this stamp 
 instantly, for, of course, no genuine Hamburg stamp was ever 
 printed on laid paper. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in dull, neutral -tinted violet, on yellowish- white 
 laid paper, thicker than in the first forgery, unperforated, no water- 
 mark. There is no stop after postmarke ; and the a of that word, 
 though it has some indication of a stroke across its top, has no cross- 
 bar in its centre. The outline of the label, between postmarke and 
 the base of the castle, is double, in the part on which the castle 
 stands, and single on each side of it. The right-hand star is hardly 
 half the size of the left-hand one. The battlements at the top of 
 the right-hand tower have only six points ; those at the top of the 
 central tower have nine ; and the large figure 1 hides most of those 
 at the top of the Iqft-hand tower. The right-hand half of the door 
 of the castle is shaded with eight oblique lines. The outline of the 
 archway, to the right of the door, is white, without any cross-strokes 
 upon it. The white space under the words ein u. ein viertel is 
 very narrow, but a trifle wider than in the first forgery. The ground- 
 work behind the castle is shaded with vertical lines only. 
 
 These two forgeries, as will be seen by the above description, are 
 very much alike ; but this one has the lettering larger and more 
 distinct, in the words ein u. ein viertel. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in very bright red-mauve, on stout white wove 
 paper ; no watermark, nicely perforated 1 3|. I consider this stamp 
 decidedly deceptive ; it is much the best of the trio. There is no 
 stop after postmarke ; the a of that word has no stroke across its 
 top, and that part of the line on which the castle stands is double, 
 as in the other forgeries. The right-hand star is nearly as large as 
 the left-hand one. There are eight points on the battlements at the 
 top of the right-hand tower, eight at the top of the central tower, 
 and seven at the top of the left-hand one. Tlie right-hand half of 
 the door of the castle is shaded with eight thick, oblique lines, very 
 distinct. The archway to the right of the door is quite white ; the 
 wide space below the words ein u ein vieertel is very white and 
 prominent ; it is very nearly as broad as the white fraction -line of 
 the J, and strikes the eye at once. The groundwork behind the 
 castle is shaded with vertical lines, crossed by oblique ones, just like 
 the genuine. 
 
 I think our young friends will have to be careful lest they be 
 taken in by this counterfeit. I do not know how the perforation is 
 managed ; but it is quite as regular as the genuine, though not the 
 proper gauge. 
 
236 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 2i Schilling, straight top label, green. 
 
 This stamp is found on very thick wove paper; no water- 
 mark, unperforated ; also on thin paper, with the usual water- 
 mark, unperforated ; also on medium paper, with watermark, 
 perforated 13; also on medium paper, no watermark, perforated 
 13. This latter is very probably a reprint. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in various shades of green ; paper, &c., as above 
 described. The three complete courses of brickwork at the base of 
 the castle are all of exactly the same height or thickness. The thin 
 lines below postmarke, to the left of zwei u. ein halb, to the right 
 of SCHILLING, and above Hamburg, are all very close to the thick 
 lines of the frame outside them, so that in almost all the genuine 
 they are blotched together for more or less of their length. The 
 groundwork behind the castle is composed of vertical lines, crossed 
 by oblicpie ones running down from left to right, as in the genuine 
 Ij schilling ; but in the great majority of specimens these lines are 
 set so very close together that the background appears to be solid. 
 The battlements at the top of the right-hand tower have six points, 
 and those at the top of the central tower have eight. The right- 
 hand half of the door of the castle is shaded with twelve oblique 
 lines running down from right to left, and some very clear copies 
 show also six very thin lines running down the other way, crossing 
 from left to right. The stop after schilling is equally distant from 
 the g and from the end of the containing-label. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on very thin, soft, yellowish- white wove paper ; no 
 watermark, unperforated. The uppermost of the three complete 
 courses of brickwork at the base of the castle is slightly lower or 
 thinner than the other two below it. The thin line below post- 
 marke is very close to the thick line of the frame below it, and they 
 touch in several places, as in most of the genuine stamps ; but the 
 other similar lines to the left of ZWEI u. ein halb., to the right of 
 schilling, and above Hamburg, are a good deal further from the 
 thick lines of the frame outside them. The groundwork behind the 
 castle is comj^osed of vertical lines of shading ; but the greater part 
 of it is run together into a solid blotch of colour. The battlements 
 in my single specimen are hidden jby the postmark, so that I have 
 not been able to count them. The right-hand half of the door of 
 the castle is shaded with ten oblique lines running down from right 
 to left, and crossed by seven thick lines running down from left to 
 right. The stop after schilling is a good deal nearer to the end of 
 the label than to the G. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 237 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is not nearly so close a copy of the genuine as the forgery 
 just described, and yet at the first glance it looks much hetter than 
 the other. It is lithographed on very white, medium wove paper ; 
 no watermark, very nicely perforated 13^. The lowest of the three 
 complete courses of brickwork at the base of the castle is quite 
 twice as high or thick as the other two above it. This is very clear, 
 and will serve as an easy test for this forgery. The thin line below 
 POSTMARKE, tO the left of ZWEI U. EIN HALB., to the right of 
 
 SCHILLING, and above Hamburg, are at a considerable distance from 
 the thick lines of the frame outside them, so that they do not touch 
 in any part ; indeed, there would be plenty of room to draw another 
 thin line between each of them and the frame. The groundwork 
 behind the castle is composed of vertical lines, shaded with oblique 
 lines running down from left to right ; these lines are all rather 
 coarse, and some little distance apart. The battlements at the top 
 of the right-hand tower have seven points ; those at the top of the 
 central tower have eight. The right-hand half of the door of the 
 castle is shaded with eight oblique lines running down from right to 
 left, crossed by eight similar lines running down from left to right ; 
 these are so far apart as to give the appearance of lattice-work rather 
 than shading. The stop after schilling almost touches the end of 
 the label, and is a long way from the G. 
 
 Issue of 1866. Ij Schilling, embossed, lilac, rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne on thin, unwatermarked wove paper, roii- 
 letted. The central figures of value are embossed, and unused 
 specimens show very distinctly a sort of shading of white embossed 
 lines running obliquely down the centre of each numeral, from right 
 to left. In used specimens the lines only show on 
 the large figure 1. There are sixteen courses of 
 masonry from the base of the left-hand tower, 
 above the o of postmarke, to the central battle- 
 ments of the said tower ; and fifteen from the base 
 of the right- hand tower, above the e of postmarke, 
 to the central battlements of this right-hand tower. 
 The courses of masonry on this latter tower are 
 not nearly so distinct or so easily counted as in the 
 left-hand one. The lettering of the inscriptions is all evidently 
 sunken, as though impressed by types. The h of Hamburg has its 
 cross-bar exactly in the centre, and the two halves of the b are the 
 same size. The a of postmarke has its cross-bar very nearly in the 
 centre. The stars over the towers have long points, especially the 
 left-hand one. There are some star-like ornaments dividing the 
 various inscriptions from each other ; each of them is composed of 
 
238 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 six wedge-sliaped pieces, arranged point to point, with a coloured 
 centre. There are four complete rows of masonry to be seen between 
 the base of the castle and the bottom of the large figure 1, which 
 does not encroach upon the stones of the upper row. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, in pale red-lilac, on very yellowish-white trans- 
 versely-laid paper, thicker than the genuine ; unperforated. The 
 whole stamp is, of course, quite flat, showing no sign of any 
 embossing, or of the sunken lettering. There are fifteen courses of 
 masonry, from the base of the left-hand tower to its central battle- 
 ments ; and thirteen similar courses from the base of the right-hand 
 tower to its central battlements. Both are very easy to count ; the 
 right-hand ones quite as much so as the left-hand ones. The cross- 
 bar of the H of HAMBURG is too high up, being distinctly above the 
 centre of the letter ; and the b is clumsy, having its upper half 
 larger than the lower one. The cross-bar of the a of postmarke is 
 very much too low down, almost at the bottom of the letter. The 
 stars above the towers have most of their jDoints rather blunt, 
 especially the lower ones. The star-like ornaments between the 
 various inscriptions are composed of little balls on thin stems, the 
 stems joining a little ring of colour which has a white centre. The 
 upper one of the four rows of masonry, to be seen below the base of 
 the large figure 1, is partly hidden by the base of the said figure, so 
 as to make those stones narrower than the others. 
 
 This is not at all a bad-looking forgery, and might deceive a good 
 many. I possess a copy of the genuine which has been doctored in 
 some mysterious way, so as to change the colour of the stamp to 
 brown, and that of the paper to a very brilliant sulphur-yellow. 
 
 Same Issue. 1^ Schilling, bright rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Nicely engraved in epargne, on thinnish, white wove paper, un- 
 watermarked, rouletted. The central figures are embossed, and 
 shaded with oblique white embossed lines, as in the genuine 1|- 
 schilling, and the lettering is slightly sunken. There are, as before, 
 sixteen courses of masonry from the base of the left-hand tower up 
 to the central battlements of it. The battlements at the top of the 
 right-hand tower show seven points ; those at the top of the central 
 tower show nine ; and those at the top of the left-hand tower have 
 seven. The bottom of the left-hand half of the door of the castle 
 can just be seen below the base of the large figure 1 ; it is shaded 
 with oblique lines, running the opposite way from those which shade 
 the right-hand half. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 239 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, in dull pink, on pale bufF-coloured, transversely- 
 laid paper, unperforated. The whole stamj^ is quite flat, showing no 
 signs either of the embossed figures or of the sunken letterings. 
 There are only thirteen courses of masonry to be seen from the base 
 of the left-hand tower up to its central battlements. The battle- 
 ments at the top of the right-hand tower have six indistinct points ; 
 those at the top of the central tower have eight distinct ones ; and 
 those at the top of the left-hand tower have five. The bottom 
 of the left-hand half of the door of the castle which shows below 
 the base of the large figure 1 merely looks like one of the bricks, 
 as it is not shaded at all. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The earlier stamps were generally cancelled with four thick, 
 parallel bars, an eighth of an inch apart, struck in black. The 
 later ones bear two concentric circles, with name between the circles, 
 and date in the centre ; this latter cancellation is generally in blue, 
 but sometimes in black. 
 
 The forgeries bear either the four parallel bars, or a single circle 
 containing " Hamburg 98," or three concentric circles with a 
 numeral in the centre, all in black. 
 
 HANOVER. 
 
 The forgers have tried their hands on most of the issues for 
 this country, and with pretty fair success ; the ^ groschen, black 
 on white, being perhaps the best, and the imitations of the first 
 set being the worst of the lot. With regard to the first-issued 
 adhesive, viz., the 1 ggr. of 1850, black on blue, many 
 amateurs seem to be rather doubtful, apparently thinking that 
 it is only a changed or discoloured variety of the 1 ggr., black 
 on green, which is very much more common ; but an inspection 
 of the backs of these two stamps will at once prove that they 
 are two genuine varieties ; for the 1 ggr. blue has a watermark 
 of a line, or rather of four lines, forming a rectangle a little 
 smaller than the stamp ; whilst the 1 ggr. green has the same 
 watermark as the following set, viz., two crossed branches, 
 covered with leaves, reminding one of the watermark on the 
 early Prussians. The leaves seem to be oak leaves, but I am 
 not quite certain. 
 
240 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Issue of 1850-51 . 1 ggr., -3^0, rs, to thaler. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ejoargne in black, 
 on thick, coloured wove paper, 
 the 1 ggr., blue, being water- 
 marked with a sort of " Oxford 
 frame" of four plain lines, the 
 others watermarked with two 
 branches covered with leaves, 
 curved to form a wreath, and 
 with the lower ends crossing 
 each other. The stamps are backed with gum of a deep rose colour. 
 There is a stop after the word ein of the inscription ein ggr., in the 
 lowest value. This is of course a mistake on the part of the en- 
 graver ; and it has been corrected in the forgeries, which do not 
 show the stop. The head of the unicorn is tolerably well shaped, as 
 far as my knowledge of that apocryphal beast goes, though I think 
 the mouth need not have been opened quite so much ; and there is 
 a little dot to represent the nostril. The crown on the head of the 
 lion is something like a very short flower-pot, with a stumpy plant 
 growing out of it ; his tongue is curled upwards at the point, and 
 his mane comes well up over his cheeks, nearly to his eyes. The 
 harp in the royal arms has four strings. There is a point in the 
 centre of the top of the shield, which is partially covered or hidden 
 by the motto-scroll. The thin inner line of the frame does not 
 touch the thick outer one anywhere. In good specimens the figures 
 of value on the shield are slightly embossed, owing to the pressure 
 of the die, but this cannot always be seen. The tint of the paper 
 does not vary much, except in the thaler, which is found in a 
 good many shades, from pink to crimson. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin wove paper ; no watermark ; backed with 
 white gum. There is no stop after the word ein in the inscription 
 on the 1 ggr. The head of the unicorn will afford a very ready test 
 for the detection of the forgeries, as it is just like the open beak of 
 an eagle, with a curved upper mandible. The crown on the lion's 
 head is of a very peculiar shape ; it is rather like a crescent laid flat 
 on the head, with one horn longer than the other, and curling 
 slightly upwards. There is no dot to represent the nostril of the 
 unicorn. The lion's tongue ends in a knob curling slightly down- 
 wards, and there is no mane on his cheeks. The harp has only two 
 strings, when any are visible at all ; but in most copies the whole 
 instrument is merely a blotch. The point at the centre of the top 
 of the value-shield just touches the motto-scroll above it, but the 
 scroll does not cover the point. The thin inner line of the frame is 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STxVMPS. 
 
 241 
 
 blotchy, so that it touches the thick outer line in one or more places. 
 There is of course no trace of embossing in the figures on the shield. 
 The colours are tolerably like those of the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear either a small circle, with name inside, 
 following the curve of the circle, and a straight line in the centre, 
 with date, &c., above and below the straight line ; or else two con- 
 centric circles, the outer one very much larger than in the cancella- 
 tion just mentioned, with name between the circles, and date, &c.,in 
 the centre, with a straight line in the centre as before. Some of my 
 copies have, besides the above, a black bar running the whole length 
 of the stamp, either vertically or horizontally. I cannot find out 
 the meaning of this black bar ; it is not like the cancellation on the 
 Spanish remainders, for I have only seen it on used copies, which 
 have passed the post, and have been duly obliterated with one or 
 other of the circular obliterations mentioned above. I have omitted 
 to say that the said circular obliteration is struck in blue ink. 
 
 The forgeries are either unobliterated, or bear a very fair imita- 
 tion of the two concentric circles, struck in blue, like the genuine. 
 
 Issue of 1856. 1 ggr., -3^0, iV, rb thaler. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved as before ; watermark of branches, 
 rose-coloured gum, &c. These stamps are exactly 
 similar to the last in every respect, except that 
 the paper is only faintly tinted instead of being 
 coloured, and that there is a coloured network 
 over the whole face of each stamp. The 1 ggr., 
 blue, with " Oxford frame " watermark is not 
 found in this issue. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 I have not yet seen any imitations of the stamps of this issue ; 
 but, as the network could very easily be applied, it is very probable 
 that forgeries do exist, though I have not seen them. As the design 
 of the genuine is exactly the same as that of the first issue, my 
 readers will have no difficulty in detecting any imitations by means 
 of the tests given for the genuine and forged stamps of that first 
 issue. 
 
 Issues of 1853-63. 3 Pfennige, rose, green. 
 
 These stamps are rather bothering to the amateur, so I had 
 better give the different varieties here. 
 
 R 
 
242 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 1853. Upper inscription ein drittel silber- 
 GROSCHEN ; no network over the face of the 
 stamp ; watermarked with the crossed branches 
 as before, rose-coloured gum, 3 pfennige, rose. 
 
 1856. Same inscription, same watermark, same 
 gum ; but witli black, or grey, or olive, or brown 
 network over the face of the stamp ; 3 pfennige, 
 rose. 
 
 1859. Same inscription, 
 same gum, no watermark, no network over the 
 face of the stamp ; 3 pfennige, rose. 
 
 1863. Inscription drei zehntel silber- 
 GROSCHEN ; same gum, no watermark, no net- 
 work ; 3 ])fennige, green. 
 
 1865. Same inscription as on the issue of 
 1863 ; same gum, no watermark, no network ; 
 'perc^ en arc, 3 pfennige, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, though some copies of the green seem to be 
 lithographed ; this, however, may simply arise from the wear and 
 tear of the die. With the exception of the presence or absence of 
 the network, and the two different inscriptions, all the stamps above- 
 mentioned are of exactly the same design. There are thirty-two 
 vertical lines of shading in the central oval. The upper inscription, 
 except in the latest copies of the 3 pf., green, is very clear and dis- 
 tinct. The name hannover is about equally distant from the crown 
 above it and the 3 below it. The lower half of the 3 is con- 
 siderably larger and thicker than the upper half. The bottom of 
 the p of pfennige comes between the second and third of tlie ver- 
 tical lines of shading, counting from the left-hand side. The lower 
 half of the 3 is included between the twelfth and the twenty-first 
 lines from the left-hand, both of which it touches ; and the upper 
 half of the 3 is included between the thirteenth and twentieth lines, 
 counting from the same side ; this will show how much the bottom 
 of the figure is larger than the top. In both the ein drittel 
 SILBERGROSCHEN, and the drei zehntel silbergroschen, the first 
 two words are in letters of the same size as the last word. I think 
 these tests will be found amply sufficient ; but there are several 
 more points in which the genuine and forged differ, notably in the 
 position of the letters of the word pfennige, with reference to the 
 lines of shading in the oval. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper ; no watermark, white 
 gum. All three of the leading varieties have been imitated ; i.e. 
 3 pfennige, rose, without network, 3 pfennige, rose, with black net- 
 work, and 3 pfennige, green. There are only thirty vertical lines of 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 243 
 
 shading in the central oval. The upper inscription is usually very 
 blotchy, like that of the latest copies of the genuine 3 pfennige, 
 green. The name hannover is a good deal nearer to the 3 than to 
 the crown, in fact, the top of the 3 almost touches the letters no 
 above it. Both top and bottom of the 3 are of the same size. The 
 bottom of the p of pfennige touches the first line of shading on the 
 left-hand side of the oval. The lower half of the 3 is included 
 between the eleventh and the twentieth lines of shading, counting 
 from the left-hand side ; and the upper half of the 3 is included 
 between the twelfth and the twentieth lines, counting from the same 
 side. In the 3 pfennige, rose, the words ein drittel are in very 
 much smaller letters than the word silbergroschen. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear the two concentric circles as before, 
 struck in black or blue. 
 
 The postmark of the forgeries is the same, except that the straight 
 line across the inner circle is absent. 
 
 I must say that, at the first glance, these forgeries are extremely 
 deceptive ; hnt the above description will show that they do not 
 bear a close inspection. 
 
 Issue of 1859-61 ; 1, 2, 3, 3, 10 Groschen. 
 
 Genuirie. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne on thick, white wove paper, 
 either unperforated and backed with rose-coloured 
 gum, or ^erce en arc and backed with white gum. 
 There are about eighty-one fine vertical lines of 
 shading in the background, counting level with the 
 words of value. I say "about," because they are so 
 close together that they are extremely difficult to 
 count, even with my microscope. There are eighty- 
 eight pearls in the circle round the head ; all of them being large, 
 round, distinct, and not touching each other. The nose is shaded 
 down the front almost to the very point. The dark line forming the 
 curl at the side of the nostril not only bends upwards, but also for- 
 wards almost to the point of the nose. There is a wide space 
 between the ear and the whisker. The neck, both at the front and 
 at the back, is shaded down to the very bottom. There are four 
 short but distinct lines of shading on the lower lip, towards the 
 side of it. The moustache is a short German one, with a blunt end. 
 Between the sides of the frame and the sides of the circle there is 
 one line of the fine shading clearly to be seen on the right-hand side, 
 and two lines on the left. The semicircular line at the base of the 
 lower eyelid runs to both the outer and inner corner of the eye. 
 The outline of the nose is decidedly hooked, and the point is rather 
 sharp. 
 
244 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on hard, white wove paper, rather thinner than that 
 of the genuine ; unperforated ; and with white gum. There are 
 about sixty-seven fine lines of shading in the background, counted 
 on a level with the value. The circle contains eighty-eight pearls 
 like the genuine, but they are smaller, less regular, and many of 
 them touch and run into each other. The nose has a very little 
 shading on the front of it, level with the eye, but it only extends a 
 very little way, not even half-way to the point. The dark line 
 forming the curl at the side of the nostril bends upwards and then 
 merely becomes slightly hooked, instead of coming round again 
 nearly to the point of the nose. The whisker almost touches the 
 ear. The shading on the front of the neck does not reach quite to 
 the bottom. There is one short line of shading on the lower lip. 
 The moustache, in this forgery, is very like the genuine, but rather 
 sharper at the point. There is really no clear line of shading to be 
 seen between the frame and the circle on either side ; for the one 
 line which ought to be seen on the right-hand side touches the 
 circle, and of the two lines which ought to be seen on the left-hand 
 side, one touches the outer frame, and the other touches the circle. 
 The semicircular line of shading on the lower eyelid touches the 
 inner corner of the eye, but does not come far enough to touch the 
 outer corner. The G of groschen is taller than the r ; and the 
 lettering has rather a ragged look ; though, on the whole, this 
 forgery is very good. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have only the 1 groschen value. Coarsely lithographed, 
 in rather a magenta tint, on thin, hard, white wove paper, unper- 
 forated, and backed with white gum. There are only fifty vertical 
 lines of shading outside the central circle, counting level with the 
 value. There are eighty-four pearls round the circle, and they are 
 very irregular, both in size and shape, some of them being absurdly 
 small. There is no shading whatever along the front of the nose. 
 The dark line forming the curl at the side of the nostril simply bends 
 upwards, without running towards the point ; and it seems to be com- 
 posed of several short, straight transverse lines, instead of one thick 
 bent one. The ear distinctly touches the whisker. There is no shading 
 at all on the front of the neck, and the shading at the back is very 
 smudgy. There is no shading on the lower lip. The moustache has 
 a long, drooping end, which curls upwards at the point, and is very 
 sharp. There is one clear line of shading on each side, between the 
 circle and the sides of the outer frame. There is a dim blotch of 
 shading at the base of the inner corner of the eye, but the semicircular 
 line is absent. The outline of the nose is quite straight, with a blunt 
 point. All the lettering is uneven, and indistinct. I do not think 
 this latter forgery is at all dangerous ; I have only seen it quite 
 lately, but I fancy it is an old counterfeit, from the look of it. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 245 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear either the two concentric circles 
 mentioned above, usually struck in blue, or else a transverse oblong, 
 after the fashion of the Bremen stamps, with name, &c., in full, also 
 struck in blue. 
 
 The fort^'eries have either a large single circle in black, or the 
 double circle in blue, but without the straight line across the inner 
 circle, 
 
 ^ Groschen, black on white. 
 
 Issue of 1860 ; white gum, unperforated. 
 
 Issue of 1864 ; white gum, 2jerce en arc. 
 
 As far as I know, the above are the only 
 varieties of this stamp ; all my copies are 
 backed with white gum. The forgery is, I 
 think, above the average ; and likely to 
 deceive. 
 
 Ge7iuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne in greyish black, on yellowish-white wove 
 paper, rather thick, but moderately soft. There are ten small round 
 dots, and one large oval one outside the top of the crown on the 
 right-hand side of it ; and nine small ones and one large one outside 
 it on the left-hand side. Each of the side arches contains live very 
 small dots, and a large oval pearl. The ornament supporting the 
 base of the centre arch is a cross pattee, but the supporters of all the 
 other arches are trefoils, ,The three larger jewels in the circlet at 
 the base of the crown are oval. There are seventeen lines of shading 
 in the wide mouth of the post-horn. The ring round the post-horn, 
 a little below the wide mouth, on the left-hand side of the stamp, is 
 composed of two thin, dark lines, with a white space between them. 
 The crown and the post-horn are very much more grey in appearance 
 than the lettering. This latter test is distinct enough to be a very 
 easy means of detecting the forgeries. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed rather neatly, in very black ink, on rather thin 
 greyish, or bluish- white wove paper, unperforated. There are eleven 
 small dots, and one a little larger, on the right-hand side of the top 
 of the crown ; and the same number on the left-hand side. In the 
 originals the large dots have white centres, but they are black in 
 these forgeries. Each of the side arches contains three small black 
 dots, and one larger one. The ornament supporting the centre arch 
 is a trefoil, like all the rest. The three large jewels in the circlet at 
 the base of the crown are perfectly round. There are only thirteen 
 lines of shading in the wide mouth of the post-horn. The ring 
 round' the body of the post-horn, a little below the wide mouth, on 
 the left-hand side of the stamp, is so blotched as to appear to be 
 
246 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 composed of one single very thick black line, without any white 
 space. The crown and post-horn are much too black, being very 
 nearly as dark as the solid letters of the inscriptions themselves. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 At present I have only seen the one now to be described printed 
 in bright rose, which is, of course, a colour never used for the genuine 
 ^ groschen ; l^ut, as the forgers, no doubt, can print it in black just as 
 easily as in rose, I have thought it advisable to call attention to it. 
 
 Lithographed in bright rose, on very thick, hard, yellowish white 
 wove paper, unperforated. The dots on the top curves of the crown 
 do not stand out from it, as in the originals, and in the forgeries just 
 described, but lie close, and are all jumbled together. As far as I 
 can make out, there appear to be nine on the right-hand side of the 
 top of the crown, and eight on the left. There are four dots, of 
 different sizes, in the right-hand arch, and one and part of a second 
 in the left-hand arch, the other dots in this left-hand arch not being 
 visible in the only copy of this stamp which I have seen. The 
 ornament supporting the central arch is something between a cross 
 pattee and a trefoil, the designer having, apparently, not been able to 
 make up his mind as to which he should put. The three large 
 jewels in the circlet at the base of the crown are all of different 
 shapes, the right-hand one being almost triangular, the middle one 
 solid and oblong, and the left-hand one open and oval. There are 
 sixteen lines of shading in the large mouth of the post-horn. The 
 ring round the body of the post-horn, near the wide mouth, is partly 
 single, and partly composed of two lines. I think this forgery must 
 be uncommon, as I never saw any but the one copy from which I am 
 now describing. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Both originals and forgeries are obliterated with the two concentric 
 circles described with the former issues ; but, as before, the straight 
 line across the centre of the inner circle is absent in the counterfeits. 
 
 Repriiits. 
 
 In 1864 the stamps of the 1856 type were all reprinted ; i.e. 3 
 pfennige, 1 ggr., ^q, ; but they may be easily known from the 
 
 originals, as being without watermark, with white gum, and unused. 
 All the envelopes, also, have been reprinted. 
 
 I have not seen any forgeries 
 of any of the envelopes, but 
 I believe that counterfeits of 
 
 the " BESTELLGELD-FREI," both 
 
 types, green on yellow, have been 
 made. I regret that I have not 
 been able to obtain specimens of 
 either for description. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 247 
 
 HELIGOLAND. 
 
 The early stamps of this country have been tolerably well 
 imitated ; and there are no very striking differences between 
 the genuine and forged. I believe that the undermentioned 
 counterfeits have been very largely sold amongst our youthful 
 friends. 
 
 Issue of 1867. Rouletted ; ^, 1, 2, 6, Schilling. 
 
 h Schilling. Genuine. 
 
 Printed on soft, white wove paper ; head em- 
 bossed ; rouletted. A straight-edge, laid along 
 the green line below the word schilling at the 
 top of the stamp, will just pass through the tail- 
 stroke of the small 2 of the fraction ^ on each 
 side ; though the right-hand 2 is very slightly 
 lower than the left-hand one. None of the four 
 fraction-lines are straight ; the upper end of each 
 of them bends upwards, and the lower end bends 
 downwards. This is easily seen. The coronet is composed of three 
 crosses pattee, and three pearls on stalks, placed alternately. There is a 
 distinct curl hanging down from the back of the chignon ; and the 
 very base of tlie neck, right across, is embossed a little higher than 
 the rest of the bust, to mark the place where it is supposed to be cut 
 away. The lettering is very clear and distinct ; often appearing to 
 be slightly sunken, owing to the pressure of the die. The central 
 tongue of each e in each word Heligoland is as long as the top 
 stroke. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, with embossed head, on very white wove paper, 
 rather thicker than that of the genuine ; badly pin-perforated 13. 
 A straight-edge, laid along the thin green line below the top schil- 
 ling, would cut each little 2 in half ; they are both exactly the same 
 height. The only one of the four fraction-lines which is really like 
 the genuine is the one in the left-hand bottom corner ; all the others 
 are nearly straight. The coronet is very different from the genuine ; 
 it is composed of three large balls on stems, alternating with two 
 smaller ones. There is a white, oblong projection from the base of 
 the chignon, but it is not at all like a curl. There is a shapeless 
 patch of higher embossing on the neck, a good way above the base, 
 looking like a sort of necklace. The lettering is all ragged and 
 blotchy, and, of course, quite flat. The central projection of the e 
 in each word Heligoland is very short, not half the length of the 
 top and bottom strokes of the said letters. 
 
248 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 1 Scliilling. Genuine. 
 
 Perforation, &c., as in the genuine ^ schilling. A straight-edge, 
 laid along the thin red line below the upper schilling will just 
 touch the base of the figure 1 on each side without hiding either. 
 The coronet is the same as in the genuine | schilling, and the whole 
 of the embossed bust seems to be exactly the same. The lettering is 
 clear and distinct, and each e has its central stroke as long as the 
 top one. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper and perforation the same as in the forged | 
 schilling. A straight-edge, laid along the thin red line below the 
 top SCHILLING, completely hides the bases of the two ti<^ures of value 
 in the upper corners. The base of the left-hand 1 is distinctly lower 
 than the right-hand 1. The coronet is the same as in the forged i 
 schilling, as is also the oblong white patch projecting from the base 
 of the chignon. The higher embossing on the base of the neck is 
 more like the genuine, but only goes part of the way across the neck. 
 The lettering is rather ragged and uneven, but not so much so as in 
 the last forgery. The central stroke of the E of each Heligoland 
 is only half the length of the top stroke. 
 
 2 Schilling. Genuine. 
 
 Paper, &c., as in the genuine -J- schilling. All four of the corner- 
 figures are exactly in the centres of the little white squares provided 
 for them. The s and G of the lower schilling are at equal distances 
 from their respective ends of the label. The bust, coronet, and 
 curl are exactly the same as in the other genuine ones before 
 described. The middle stroke of the e of the left-hand Heligoland 
 is as long as the top-stroke of the said letter. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper and perforation the same as in the forged ^ 
 schilling, as is also the coronet ; but the curl at the base of the 
 chignon is very like the genuine, and the higher embossing at the 
 base of the neck is better done, though it does not go all the way 
 across the neck. The 2 in the right-hand top corner is correctly 
 placed in the centre of the containing square, but the 2 in the 
 left-hand top corner is a shade too much to the right, both the 
 bottom ones are too high up, and the left-hand one a good deal too 
 much to the left. The s of the lower schilling is far nearer to the 
 left side of the containing-label than the G of that word is to the 
 right-hand side. The middle stroke of the e of the left-hand 
 HELIGOLAND is very much shorter than the top-stroke ; but the e of 
 the same word on the right-hand side of the stamp is like the 
 genuine. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 249 
 
 6 Schilling. Genuine. 
 
 Paper, rouletting, bust, &c., the same as in the other genuine 
 stamps. The s and g of both words schilling are exactly the same 
 distance from their respective sides of the labels. The G of the top 
 SCHILLING is properly shaped. All the letters of all the inscriptions 
 are exactly the same height, and very regular. The central stroke of 
 the E of each Heligoland is the same length as the top-stroke. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper and coronet the same as in the other 
 forgeries ; but the curl is more pointed than in the others, and the 
 higher embossing at the base of the neck goes very nearly across it. 
 In both the words schilling the s is nearer to the left-hand side of 
 the label than the g is to the right-hand end. The g of the upper 
 schilling has its top cut off, giving it a very peculiar look ; and the 
 s of the bottom schilling is lower than the rest of the letters of 
 that word. In each Heligoland the central stroke of the e is only 
 half the length of the top stroke. All the inscriptions are somewhat 
 ragged. This forgery is usually badly pin-pricked 13 ; but I have a 
 few specimens very nicely hole-perforated 12^. 
 
 In all the forgeries the little ornaments in the spandrels are very 
 much coarser and more clumsy than in the genuine ; and the locks 
 or tresses of the queen's hair are thicker and coarser ; but these 
 differences cannot well be noted without comparing the genuine and 
 forged side by side. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 All my used copies are cancelled with pen-strokes ; but I fancy I 
 have seen them obliterated with the word Heligoland in largish 
 capitals. 
 
 The forgeries all bear this latter cancellation. 
 
 HONDUEAS. 
 
 Issue of 1866. 2 Reales, green, rose. 
 
 There are several forgeries of these stamps ; 
 good, medium, and bad. The good forgeries are 
 particularly common, and a specimen will be 
 found in most school-boy collections ; but I have 
 only seen one single specimen of the bad forgery, 
 which is a wretched affair, hardly likely to 
 deceive anybody. 
 
250 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in greyish -black, on thin, bluish-green, and on 
 orange-pink, wove paper. The outline of the oval extends to the 
 top and bottom lines of the frame. The end of the tail of the 2 in 
 each corner points straight upwards. The apex of the large pyramid 
 points to the beginning of the e of de ; and it comes just midway 
 between the N and the Y of the inner inscription. The arch, or what- 
 ever it is, coming out of the two towers, is formed by three lines ; 
 i.e., there are two outlines, and a central line. Below the arch there 
 is a cap of Liberty, very distinct, and its top bending over to the 
 right. The sides of the mountain- peak below the cap of Liberty are 
 uneven ; the left side is very darkly and thickly shaded ; and the 
 base of it touches both the towers. The windows of the towers are 
 about half the size of the doors. The outline of the arch goes near 
 to the left-hand outline of the pyramid but does not touch it. There 
 is no stop after reales, and the words DOS reales are separated 
 from the rest of the inscription by two stars, each having five points 
 of equal length. There is no stop after libertad. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in black, on yellowish-green, or bluish-pink wove 
 paper, about the same thickness as the genuine. The outline of the 
 large oval does not reach either the top or bottom of the stamp. 
 The end of the tail of the 2 in the top right-hand corner is like the 
 genuine ; but all the others point obliquely upwards to the right. 
 The a]Dex of the large pyramid is very much nearer to the n than to 
 the Y. The arch joining the two towers is formed by two lines only, 
 without the central line. The lower half of the left-hand side of 
 the mountain-peak is heavily shaded, but the upper half is too light, 
 and the base does not touch the right-hand tower. The windows 
 are too small, and the doors are too large ; so that the said windows 
 are not more than one-fourth the size of the doors. The outline of 
 the arch is about the same distance from both sides of the large 
 pyramid. The left-hand star is very badly shaped. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed ; colours and paper the same as in the first forgery. 
 The tails of the corner figures point slightly to the right, but they 
 are better than in the counterfeit just described. The apex of the 
 large pyramid points exactly at the centre of the e of de, and it is a 
 little nearer to the Y than to the N. Below the arch there is a 
 triangle, instead of a cap of Liberty ; this is very distinct, and is an 
 easy test. The outline of the arch appears to touch the thick outline 
 of the pyramid, on the left-hand side. The mountain-peak is just 
 like an extinguisher ; the right-hand outline is perfectly straight, 
 and the left-hand one very nearly so ; it ends in a sharp point, 
 instead of being rounded off as in the genuine. The left-hand side 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 251 
 
 of this peak is slightly shaded from top to bottom, no part more so 
 than the rest. The base of it does not touch either of the towers. 
 The windows of the towers appear to be circular dots, instead of 
 oblongs ; and they are about one-third the size of the doors, which 
 are tall and thin. There is a stop after reales. The lowest ray of 
 the right-hand star is too long, and the lowest ray of the left-hand 
 star is very much sharper than the others. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in sky-blue, on very thick, hard wove paper ; I have 
 not seen this type in red. The outline of the oval does not go any- 
 where near tlie top and bottom of the stamp, being drawn much too 
 small. The tails of the corner-figures point very unmistakably to 
 the right, obli(]^uely upwards. The apex of the large pyramid points 
 to the beginning of the d of de, and it is a little nearer to the N 
 than to the y. The arch is somewhat nearer to the right-hand out- 
 line of the pyramid than to the left. The cap of Liberty is very 
 blotchy, and is mixed up with the glory round it. The mountain- 
 j)eak is shaped like a pyramid, with straight outlines, and the whole 
 of the upper part shaded, but not the bottom. The base of it almost 
 touches the left-haud tower, but it is a very long way from the right- 
 hand one. The towers are very slim, and have neither doors nor 
 windows. There is a stop after reales, and another after libertad. 
 There are no stars dividing dos reales from the upper inscription. 
 This is the forgery which I mentioned as being very bad ; the colour, 
 and the absence of the two stars will instantly condemn it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have never seen the genuine stamps cancelled otherwise than 
 with a pen-stroke, or with thick, parallel lines ; but I believe they 
 sometimes also bear a word, or part of a word, in capital letters. 
 
 The first two forgeries invariably bear a black cross, in imitation 
 of the pen-stroke ; but it appears to be lithographed upon the 
 stamps. The third forgery has part of an oval, with some unreadable 
 letters and figures in it. 
 
 HONG KONG. 
 
 Issue of 1862. No watermark ; perforated 14 ; 2, 8, 12, 18, 
 
 24, 48, 96 Cents. 
 Issue of 1853-65. Watermarked crown and C C; " per- 
 forated 14 ; 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, 24, 48, 96 Cents. 
 
 The forgeries of the Hong Kong stamps are tolerably decep- 
 tive; so much so, that I have often seen them side by side 
 with the genuine in fair collections ; but a little inspection 
 
252 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 shows that the design, though a tolerably close copy of the 
 genuine, is ragged and indistinct ; very different from the clear 
 epargne engraving of the originals. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne; perforated 14; with or 
 without watermark, according to the date of issue. 
 The paper is tolerably stout, yellowish- white wove, 
 and slightly surfaced. The tine horizontal lines of 
 shading which form the background, behind the 
 portrait, are not carried right across to touch the 
 side-lines of the inner frame ; but leave a narrow, 
 white space all the way down each side. The jieur- 
 de-lys on the coronet does not touch either the 
 cross pattee or the shamrock ; and the shamrock itself has vein-marks 
 in its leaves. The queen's nose is Roman ; the ear does not show 
 much ; and the place where the hair begins on the back of the neck 
 is easy to be seen. The thick, shaded place where the neck is sup- 
 posed to be cut off is very nearly as thick in the front as at the 
 back. The forehead is white, but the rest of the face is shaded all 
 over ; and the only part of the neck which is white is the front of 
 the base. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, extremely white wove paper, unsurfaced ; no 
 watermark ; very nicely hole-perforated 121^, or badly pin-perforated 
 13. The horizontal lines of shading behind the portrait are drawn 
 quite up to the side-lines of the inner frame, touching both in all 
 cases. The Jleur-de-lys on the coronet touches the base of the 
 cross pattee, and the leaves of the shamrock are white, with no vein- 
 marks in them. The queen's nose is quite straight ; the ear is very 
 white, and thus shows too much ; and the shading of the neck is 
 continued from the chin and cheek right up to the back of the 
 coronet, so that it is impossible to distinguish where the hair begins. 
 The thick, shaded base of the neck goes off to nothing in front, and 
 is thickest in the middle. The front part of the face, except the eye 
 and base of the chin, is quite white ; there is a broad, white line, 
 down the front of the neck ; and the white part at the base of the 
 neck is very much too large. 
 
 There is a full set of these forgeries ; including even the red and 
 the mauve 30 cents. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Both genuine and forged bear the same postmark ; which is an 
 oval, formed by three thick lines at the top and bottom, and tv^ o 
 thinner, curved lines at the sides ; the central space bearing the 
 colony-letter and number, " B 62." 
 
 I have not seen any of the forgeries uncancelled. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 253 
 
 HUNGAEY. 
 
 Newspaper stamp ; issue of 1871. Horn to right. 
 
 The forgery of this stamp is very tolerably 
 done. I have not seen a counterfeit of the 1872 
 issue, with horn to left. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, white wove paper, hacked 
 with very yellowish gum ; unperforated. The 
 circle round the horn contains 77 pearls. There 
 are six things like strings hanging from the lower edges of the 
 crown, three on each side ; and none of these strings, or whatever 
 they are, touch the post-horn below them. There are two tassels 
 hanging from the said post-horn ; and the shorter of the two is cut 
 off square. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Tolerably well lithographed, on much thinner white wove paper, 
 unperforated ; no gum. The circle round the post-horn contains 76 
 pearls. Two of the strings hanging from the crown distinctly touch 
 the large end of the post-horn. Both the tassels hanging from the 
 post-horn are cut off very obliquely. In almost every other respect, 
 except the points just noted, the forgery is a pretty close copy of 
 the genuine ; so our young friends will do well to be careful. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 All my cancelled copies bear a large, single circle, with the name 
 of the post-town in large capitals inside the circle, and date-figures 
 in the centre. I have not seen the forgeries obliterated. 
 
 ICELAND. 
 
 Issue of 1873. Ordinary postals, 2, 3, 4, 8, 16 Skilling ; 
 officials, 4, 8 Skilling. 
 
 Some of these stamps are so badly printed 
 that they might be mistaken for lithographs. 
 The forgeries are tolerably good, and not very 
 common at present. I have not yet seen any 
 forgeries of the new values, with altered coin- 
 age ; but as they are exactly the same as the 
 first issue, with the exception of the necessary 
 change in the figures and words of value, the forgers will not 
 have much to do in order to produce counterfeits of the new 
 
254 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 set. When the said forgeries do appear, I think the general 
 tests given below will suffice for their detection. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on thin, yellowish -white wove paper ; water- 
 marked with a crown ; backed with gum of a very brownish-yellow ; 
 perforated variously, 12^, 13^, and 14. I notice that Moens only 
 gives the latter perforation ; but I possess specimens of each in my 
 own collection. The dot over the i of island is more or less wedge- 
 shaped, and placed a little too much to the right ; the top of tlie a 
 is cut off quite square. The o of post or of rJON., as the case may 
 be, has a very distinct dot over the top of it, more or less wedge- 
 shaped. The white strawberry-leaves on the crown are very distinct ; 
 and the ornaments in the circlet at the base of the crown appear 
 like " 4oNO," with four dots after them. The triangle in the left- 
 hand upper corner is composed of 24 lines of varying lengths ; that 
 in the right-hand upper corner has 26 ; that in the left-hand lower 
 corner has 28 ; and that in the right-hand lower corner has 24. The 
 white portions between the arches of the crown have some very short 
 vertical lines in them, which look as though intended to be con- 
 tinuations of the lines of the background. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, very white wove paper ; no watermark ; no 
 gum ; perforated 12^. The dot over the I of island is nearly round, 
 too large, and exactly over the centre of the letter. The top of the 
 A is rounded, pointed, or cut oft' obliquely, according to the state of 
 printing ; but never cut oft' square like the genuine. The o of post or 
 of PJON., has no white dot over it. The white strawberry-leaves on 
 the crown are extremely indistinct, being usually mere blotches. The 
 ornaments in the circlet at the base of the crown are three white 
 dots, then a long blotch, then three more dots. The triangle in the 
 left-hand upper corner has 26 lines ; that in the right-hand upper 
 corner has 28 ; that in the left-hand lower corner has 27 ; and that in 
 the right-hand lower corner has 26. The white portions of the crown 
 between the arches are blank. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps are cancelled with a largish single circle, con- 
 taining name in large capitals following the curve of the circle, and 
 a fraction-like date in the centre. The postmark on the forgeries in 
 my possession is so very faint that it is difficult to make it out ; but 
 it appears like a double circle, with name between the circles, and a 
 blank centre. I must confess, however, that I am not at all sure 
 whether I have deciphered it correctly. 
 
 There is one more test which I had better add to those already 
 given. In the genuine the central numeral is surrounded by two 
 sprays of barley ; in the forgeries they appear to be wheat-ears. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 255 
 
 INDIA. 
 Issue of 1854. i Anna, red. 
 
 I have called this an " issue," but have never heard of a used 
 specimen. Pemberton says that it was prepared for use, but 
 never issued to the public. It is an exceedingly rare stamp, 
 and fetches £7 or more. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Apparently lithographed, on very stout, hard wove paj^er, of a 
 decidedly yellowish tint. There seem to be some traces of water- 
 mark, so I suppose the arms appear in the whole sheet, as is the case 
 with the other values. In the upper corners 
 there are two ornaments, something like four- 
 leaved flowers, with a coloured line down the 
 centre of each leaf ; these lines meet a coloured 
 ring, with a white centre, in the middle of the 
 flowei'. Each petal of each of the two flowers 
 points exactly towards its respective corner of 
 its containing -square. The inner white line 
 down the left side of the frame, if prolonged 
 downwards, would coincide with the last stroke 
 
 of the H of HALF. 
 
 The above tests will serve equally well for the genuine h anna, 
 blue ; for the two stamps appear to be the same so far, except 
 that the red one has the inscription in somewhat thinner letters. 
 But there is one point in which this red ^ anna differs from all 
 other values and colours, both genuine and forged ; and that is in 
 the number of little dark arches, or half-ovals, down each side of 
 the stamp. The genuine red ^ anna has nine and a half of these 
 dark arches down each side ; i.e., eight perfect ones, with a half one 
 at the bottom ; whilst the blue ^ anna, the red 1 anna, and all their 
 forgeries, have only eight of the said arches down each side. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, on very thin, greyish-white wove paper ; no water- 
 mark. The ornaments in the top corners are copied from the 1 anna, 
 being clumsy crosses pattee. The inner white line down the left side 
 of the frame, if prolonged downwards, would pass almost clear to the 
 right of the last stroke of the h of half. There are only eight dark 
 arches, or half-ovals, down each side of the stamp, as I have already 
 mentioned. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Uncancelled. 
 
 Forged. Six concentric hexagons, with numerals in the centre. 
 
256 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Same Issue. 1 anna, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithograplied (?) on very stout, yellowish -white wove paper, 
 usually showing part of the watermark of arms as before ; backed 
 with yellowish-brown gum. There are only two rows of dots on the 
 base of the Queen's neck. If the inner white line of the frame on 
 the left-hand side were prolonged downwards, it woukl cut into the 
 right-hand side of the o of one. The last a of anna is either 
 rounded or slightly pointed at the toj-). The chignon at the back of 
 the Queen's head is a good deal shaded, and not at all prominent. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Nicely lithographed on very thin, greyish-white wove paper ; no 
 watermark ; no gum. There are three rows of dots for most of the 
 way across the base of the Queen's neck, the upper row generally 
 being blotched into the outline above. If the inner line of the frame 
 on the left-hand side of the stamp were prolonged, it would pass 
 clear to the right of the o of one. The last a of anna is quite 
 square, and very broad at the top. The chignon is almost entirely 
 white, causing it to be almost the first thing which strikes the eye 
 in looking at this forgery. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear either a plain diamond of dots, or the 
 same with a letter in the centre ; or a diamond of straight lines, 
 with numerals in the centre ; or a set of six concentric hexagons, 
 containing letters and numerals. The forgeries bear either the dia- 
 mond of straight lines or the concentric hexagons. 
 
 I am aware that the descriptions above given are not very copious, 
 on account of the close resemblance between the genuine and forged 
 in most respects ; but the thin paper of the forgeries is quite sufficient 
 to condemn them. 
 
 IONIAN" ISLANDS. 
 Issue of 1859. Yellow, blue, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, white wove 
 paper. The yellow stamp has no watermark ; but 
 the blue stamp is watermarked with a 1, and the 
 red stamp bears a 2. The letters of the inscription 
 do not touch each other anywhere ; and the i of 
 lONiKON is exactly level with the centre of the 
 Queen's upper lip. The chignon touches the border 
 of the inner oval between the A and t of the second 
 word. The central oval is not solid, but is composed of fine, engine- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 257 
 
 turned lines, set very closely together, but showing a few lozenge- 
 shaped white spots, one of which will be seen just opposite the 
 point of the queen's nose, another close to the eyebrow, and another 
 near the buckle of the garter. The ornaments on the coronet are 
 two jieurs-de-lys and two crosses pattee, placed alternately ; and the 
 front cross jyattee does not touch the outline of the oval. The face 
 and neck are shaded all over, so that no patches of white are to be 
 seen anywhere. The whole design is very finely executed, altogether 
 beyond the power of a lithograph to imitate. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Poorly lithographed on thin, rather hard, white wove paper ; no 
 watermark. The letters kp of the second word touch each other at 
 the bottom. The i of ionikon is level with the queen's mouth. 
 The chignon touches the oval under the a of the second word. The 
 central oval is solid, with no white spots visible in it. The orna- 
 ments on the coronet appear to be all crosses ; but the alternate 
 ones are so badly done that they may have been intended iov jieurs- 
 de-lys after all. The front cross almost touches the oval. The neck 
 and front of the face are not shaded all over, leaving some white 
 patches, which are not visible in the genuine. The whole design is 
 very coarse, and the imitation engine-turning round the borders of 
 the stamps is very poor. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Very poorly lithographed on thin, rather hard, white wove paper ; 
 no watermark. There is a very distinct line joining all the letters 
 NIKON and KPATO together at the top, and another line joining kon 
 at the bottom. The i of ionikon is like the genuine. The chignon 
 does not touch the oval at all. The groundwork of the central oval 
 is formed by crossed wavy lines, very coarse, and showing hundreds 
 of white spots all over. The ornaments on the coronet are all 
 distinct crosses. The front of the face and the front of the neck are 
 both quite white, and unshaded. This is a miserable production, 
 and not very likely to deceive anyone. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I believe that regularly postmarked copies of the genuine do 
 exist ; but I have never seen one cancelled in any way, except with 
 a pen-stroke. 
 
 The forgeries bear either a square of large square dots, or a square 
 of very small round dots, or a circle bearing some large letters in 
 English characters. I have never seen an uncancelled copy of the 
 forgeries. I suppose the forgers were so ashamed of their poor 
 attempts that the postmarks were added to conceal deficiencies. 
 
 s 
 
258 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 ITALY. 
 
 Issue of 1851. 5 Centesimi. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithograplied in black, on yellowish-white wove 
 paper. All the c's of the inscriptions have very 
 square shoulders, so that each one looks something 
 like an e without the central tongue. The king 
 appears to have got the mange, or some similar 
 disease ; for his hair is all coming off in patches, 
 and is cropped very close. The eye is very indis- 
 tinct. The beard points very much forward, and 
 it comes down to a level with the middle of the final o of bollo. 
 There is a distinct hyphen between poste and 05, and the said is 
 not larger than the 5. There is a very distinct bordering of pearls 
 round the outside of the stamp. The line of shading on the bust 
 which marks the spring of the shoulder scarcely curves up at all, 
 and follows almost exactly the outline of the base of the neck. 
 There is a small fleur-de-lys in a sort of square in each corner. The 
 spandrels in the corners are difficult to describe ; but a comparison 
 will show them to be quite different from those of the forgeries. 
 The stamp is printed in a dull, greasy -looking black. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in intense black, on very white paper. All the c's 
 of the inscriptions are different ; but they are all more or less 
 properly shaped. The king's hair is long and wavy, though there is 
 a white patch at the back of his head. The eye and eyebrow are 
 distinct, and strongly marked. The beard is short, and points 
 downwards ; it does not come lower than the last l of bollo. There 
 is no hyphen between poste and 05, and the looks sensibly larger 
 than the 5. There is an indistinct bordering of dots round the 
 stamp instead of pearls. The line of shading near the bottom of 
 the neck is very much arched, and toward the back of the neck it is 
 at some distance from the outline of the base. The fleurs-de-lys in 
 the corners are not very distinct, and the ones in the lower corners 
 are something like crosses pattee. The "Adam's apple" in the 
 king's throat is not visible in the forgery, but it is well developed in 
 both the genuine 5c. and 40c. 
 
 Same Issue. 20 Centesimi. 
 
 This stamp is common, or at any rate not scarce, so I suppose the 
 forgers have not thought it worth while to imitate it. I have never 
 seen a counterfeit. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 259 
 
 Same Issue. 40c., red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in rose-red, on yellowish-white wove paper. This 
 stamp is very similar to the 5 cent., and I shall therefore only 
 describe the points where it differs, referring the reader to the 5 cent, 
 for the rest. The hair is of a medium length, and curly. There is 
 some very light shading on the right shoulder. The moustache is 
 very heavy, and the upward curl of the nostril is well marked. The 
 tail of the q in quaranta is a straight downstroke. The 4 of 40 is 
 at some distance from the 0. In both the 5 c. and the 40 c. the top 
 Jleurs-de-lys almost touch the corners of the inner frame. All the 
 c's are as 'in the genuine 5 c. There is a hyphen between poste and 
 40. The pearls, and spandrels, and beard are exactly as in the 
 genuine 5 c. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in a dull, chalky pink, on very Avhite wove paper. 
 The c of FRANCO is rather square ; but all the others are shaped like 
 ordinary c's. The hair is short, and very much too light. The back 
 of the neck is darkly shaded ; but there is no shading on the 
 shoulder. The beard and moustache are exactly like those of the 
 forged 5 c. There is no upper curl to the nostril. The tail of the 
 Q of QUARANTA slopes to the right. The 4 of 40 almost touches the 
 0. There is no hyphen between poste and 40. The eye is very 
 large and staring. The upper fleiirs-de-lys are not anywhere near the 
 corners of the inner frame. The pearls, spandrels, and beard are 
 exactly the same as in the forged 5 c. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear a single circle, with name following the 
 curve, and day of month, month, and year in the centre, or a double 
 circle with similar contents, or simply the letters p.d. in very large 
 capitals. These latter, I believe, signify that there is something to 
 be paid on delivery. I have one copy which bears both the ordinary 
 cancellation, and these letters as well. 
 
 The forgeries bear a large outline oval, containing a gridiron of 
 six parallel bars. 
 
 Issue of 1863. Unpaid Letter Stamp, 10 c, orange-lemon. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on coarsely-wove white paper. 
 The lines behind the shield are all wavy. The 
 corner scroll, to the left of segna, is lower than 
 the one to the right. The base of the 1 of 10 is 
 on a level with the and the c, as will be per- 
 ceived by the use of a straight-edge. The outer 
 oval contains fifty V-shaped ornaments. 
 
260 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Rather poorly lithographed on finely-wove, very white paper. The 
 lines behind the top and l)ottom of the scroll are wavy ; but those 
 at the side are straight. The corner scroll to the left of segna is 
 much higher than the similar one to the right. The bottom of the 
 1 of 10 does not come nearly so low as the and the c. There are 
 only 49 of the V-shaped ornaments in the outer oval, and one of 
 them, almost below the t of tassa, is either upside down, or is very 
 badly drawn. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have not seen a cancelled copy of the genuine. The forgeries 
 are postmarked with an oval of eight parallel bars. 
 
 JAMAICA. 
 
 Issue of 1860-63. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 Pence, One Shilling ; water- 
 marked with a pine-apple. 
 
 Issue of 1871-75. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 Pence ; One Shilling, water- 
 marked with crown and C C." 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on thin, 
 very slightly surfaced, yellowish- 
 white wove paper, watermarked 
 as above, according to date of 
 issue ; perforated 14. The frame 
 is different for each value, but the 
 head is pretty nearly the same 
 in all ; and I think that a des- 
 cription of this head is quite 
 sufficient, for the forgeries are very poor. The whole of the bust is 
 shaded all over, with the exception of a portion of the front of the 
 forehead, the base of the neck, and the edge of the nose (and, in 
 the 3d. value, the point of the chin). The hair springing up from 
 the back of the neck, and passing under the ribbon of tlie wreath 
 at the back, lies almost flat. The base of the neck is sharply 
 pointed in front, and the dark portion at the bottom of the neck, 
 where it is supposed to be cut off, is shaded with thick horizontal 
 lines. I ought to say that these lines require to be looked for, be- 
 cause, at a distance, the dark shading appears to be solid. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 At present I have only seen the Id., 2d., and one shilling. Very 
 poorly lithographed, on stout, dead-white wove paper ; no water- 
 mark ; badly pin-pricked 12| or 13, or unperf orated. The design 
 is very poor, and rough in execution. The whole face is perfectly 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 261 
 
 wliite, and the shading does not begin until tar back on the side of 
 the cheek. There is also a broad unshaded line all down the front 
 of the neck. The portion of hair at the back of the neck, which 
 lies below the ribbon, bulges out considerably, instead of lying flat. 
 The base of the neck is very blunt and rounded in front, and the 
 dark part at the bottom of it, where it is supposed to be cut off, is 
 either quite solid, or only shows two of the four or five horizontal 
 lines of shading of the genuine. 
 
 I do not think anyone ought to be deceived by these counterfeits ; 
 they are the poorest imitations which I have ever seen, and any 
 further description of them is needless. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear an oval, formed by three straight lines 
 at top and bottom, and two curved lines at each side, with letter 
 and numerals in the centre. I notice that the numerals vary ; I 
 have them marked "A 01," "A 39," "A 71," "A 86," &c. ; but the 
 colony-letter, " A," seems always to appear. 
 
 The forgeries have a similar oval, containing " A 01," or else 
 several numerals, without the letter, or else a circle, containing 
 letters and date. I have only seen one specimen with this latter 
 cancellation, and it is imperfect. I never saw the genuine stamj)s 
 cancelled with any other obliteration than the ones above described. 
 
 JAPAN. 
 
 Issue of 1871 ; 48 (mons?) brown. 
 
 Genume. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on very soft, yellowish- 
 grey, vertically-laid pelure paper, of native manu- 
 facture, unperf orated. The outer frame of the 
 stamp consists of an Etruscan, or "key-pattern," 
 and there are ten perfect "keys" on each of the 
 four sides, not counting the little corner ones in 
 any case. Inside this, at the top and bottom, there 
 is a sort of chain, with lozenge-shaped links, running across from 
 one side to the other, above and below the dragons. Each chain 
 contains six perfect lozenges, with a half-lozenge at each end ; and 
 each lozenge, or half-lozenge, has a coloured dot in its centre. Down 
 each side of the stamp there is a vertical row of half-lozenges, 
 thirteen in each row, counting the top and bottom ones in again ; 
 and each one of these half-lozenges has also a coloured dot in its 
 centre. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, yellowish-white wove paper, unperforated. 
 There are only eight " keys " in the top and bottom borders, eight 
 
262 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 and a half down the right-hand side, and nine down the left-hand 
 side. There are six perfect lozenge-shaped links in the chain across 
 the top, with a half-lozenge at each end of it ; the perfect lozenges 
 have dots in their centres, but there is no dot in either of the half- 
 lozenges. The similar chain below the dragons, at the bottom of 
 the stamp, contains seven perfect lozenges, with a half-lozenge at the 
 left-hand end, but with no dot in the centre of any of them. There 
 are thirteen half-lozenges down the left-hand side of the stamp, 
 counting the top and bottom ones in, but there is no dot in the 
 centre of any of them. There are only twelve half-lozenges down 
 the right-hand side, counting in the top one ; the space where the 
 bottom one ought to come being occupied by the perfect lozenge of 
 the bottom chain. There is no dot in the centre of any of these 
 half-lozenges ; indeed, the only ones which have dots are the six in 
 the top row. 
 
 Same Issue ; 100 (mons ?) dark blue. 
 
 mm 
 
 Engraving, paper, &c., the same as in the genuine 
 48 mons. There are ten perfect " keys " on each of 
 the four sides of the border, not counting the little 
 corner ones, the same as in the 48 mons. There 
 are six perfect lozenges, with a haK-lozenge on each 
 side of the six, both across the top and bottom ; 
 each of the perfect lozenges contains four dots, and 
 each of the half-lozenges has at least one dot. The rows of vertical 
 half-lozenges at the sides contain eight of the said halves on each 
 side, counting the top and bottom ones in both cases ; and these top 
 and bottom ones are very much smaller than the rest, and contain 
 only one, or, at the most, two dots, whilst the larger ones contain 
 three. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, almost ijehire paper, not a bad imitation of 
 the paper of the genuine, but wove, too white, and of a finer 
 texture. There are nine perfect " keys " across the top of the 
 stamp, nine down the right-hand side, ten across the bottom, and 
 ten down the left-hand side, not counting the corner ones in any 
 instance. The lozenge-shaped links across the top and bottom are 
 the same in number as the genuine ; but several of them contain 
 only three dots, instead of four. There are eight half-lozenges down 
 each side of the stamp ; the top one on each side being venj small, 
 but the bottom ones the same size as the rest. Several of these 
 half-lozenges contain three elongated dots, or rather, lines, very 
 different from the small round dots of the genuine. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 263 
 
 Same Issue ; 200 (mons ?) vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper, &c., the same as 
 in the geniiine 48 mons. There are ten perfect 
 " keys " in each of the four sides of the border, not 
 counting the corner ones. There are seven perfect 
 lozenges across the top and bottom of the stamp, 
 each containing a transverse line, with a dot in the 
 centre of it. Down each side of the stamp there 
 are nine half-lozenges, the top and bottom ones on both sides being 
 very small. Some of these half-lozenges contain one dot, others two, 
 and others three. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on white, wove pehire paper, unperforated. This 
 forgery is exceedingly like the genuine, except that there are seven 
 and a half lozenges across the top of the stamp instead of seven. I 
 am not able to give any other tests, because I have not got a whole 
 sheet of the genuine, and do not like to put in any of the interior 
 lines lest the types should vary. 
 
 Same Issue ; 600 (mons?) green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper, &c., the same as 
 in the genuine 48 mons. There are ten " keys " in 
 each of the four sides of the stamp as before, not 
 counting the corner ones. There are seven perfect 
 lozenges across both the top and bottom of the 
 stamp, each containing one coloured dot. Down 
 each side there are thirteen half-lozenges, each con- 
 taining one dot. This value is generally clearer than the others ; 
 my copies of the blue one and of the vermilion one are all more or 
 less blotched. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove, pelure paper, unperforated. There 
 are ten " keys " down the left-hand side of the stamp, and eleven in 
 each of the other three sides, not counting the corner ones. Across 
 the top there are six perfect lozenges, with a half-lozenge at each end 
 of the chain, and six across the bottom, with a half-lozenge at the 
 left-hand side. Each of the said perfect lozenges contains a coloured 
 ring, with a white centre, instead of the coloured dots of the 
 genuine. There are thirteen half-lozenges down the left-hand side, 
 and only eleven down the right-hand side. I ought to add that, in 
 the genuine, the black surcharge of value in the centre is evidently 
 
264 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 typographed, and generally very black ; but, in tlie forgeries, it looks 
 flat and greyish, being evidently lithographed, like the rest of the 
 stamp. 
 
 It will be noticed that I have put a note of interrogation after the 
 values of the genuine. The fact is, that I am not certain whether 
 they are " mons " or not ; for the catalogues generally give them as 
 ^, 1, 2, and 5 " tempoes." The numerals, however, are as I have 
 given them, 48, 100, 200, and 500 respectively. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 All my own used copies are cancelled with a square, struck in 
 black, containing Japanese characters ; but the stamps of this issue 
 are not very common postmarked. 
 
 The forgeries bear a circle, with name of town in English, or else 
 a square of square dots. 
 
 Issue of 1872. 
 
 ^ Sen, brown, olive-brown, greenish-brown, 
 grey. 
 
 The stamps of this issue have different 
 characters for the values, except the 5 sen, 
 which still retains the numeral 5. Whether 
 the others are expressed in words instead of 
 numerals or not, I do not know, but fancy it 
 is probable. The design very closely resembles 
 that of the first issue, except the altered value 
 in each case. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on greyish - white wove, or laid pelure 
 paper ; perforated 11. There are ten " keys" round each of the four 
 sides of the stamp, not counting the little corner ones, and thirteen 
 half-lozenges down each side. 
 
 Lithographed, in pale brown and in grey, on very white, wove 
 pelure paper ; very badly pin-pricked 12;| and 13. There are ten 
 " keys " down the left-hand side of the stamp, as in the genuine ; 
 but all the other sides contain eleven of the said " keys." There are 
 thirteen half-lozenges at the left-hand side, as in the genuine ; but 
 only eleven at the right-hand side. I have several copies of this 
 forgery, and they all bear the same peculiarly flat, washed-out look, 
 as though the colour had "run." Indeed I may say that all the 
 stamps of this set of forgeries are alike in this respect. The rest of 
 the stamp is a fair copy of the genuine, as far as a lithograph can 
 copy a taille-douce engraving. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 265 
 
 1 Sen, shades of pale, dull blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper, engraving, perforation, etc., the same as in the genuine ^ 
 sen. There are ten "keys" round each of the four sides of the stamp, 
 as before ; the whole design is fairly clear, and there are two lines 
 running round the stamp— a very thick outer one, and a very thin 
 inner one, (|uite distinct from each other. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very white, wove pelure paper, having a shiny 
 appearance ; badly perforated 13. The colour is too much of an 
 indigo shade. There are ten " keys " down the left-hand side of the 
 stamp, ten at the bottom ; but only nine at the top, and down the 
 right-hand side, not counting the little corner ones. Round the out- 
 side of the stamp there is only one thick line. The design is not at 
 all well done, and very blotchy. The dragons are very different from 
 those of the genuine, seeming to be mere skeletons, but they are 
 difficult to describe. 
 
 Same Issue. 5 Sen, shades of bluish-green. 
 
 I have not seen a forgery of this value, but have no doubt 
 that it exists ; I therefore give some points of the genuine, to 
 assist the detection of the forgery. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper, engraving, perforation, etc., the same as in the genuine 
 ^ sen. There are ten " keys " roimd each of the four sides of the 
 stamp ; seven perfect lozenges across both the top and bottom, each 
 containing a small coloured dot ; and thirteen haK-lozenges down 
 each side, the lowest one on each side being very much smaller than 
 the others. There is a double line, as before, round the outside of 
 the stamp, the outer one being very thick, and the inner one very 
 thin. 
 
 Same Issue. 2 Sen, vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper, engraving, perforation, etc., the same 
 as in the genuine ^ sen. There are ten " keys " 
 round each of the four sides of the stamp, not 
 counting the corner ones. There are nine half- 
 lozenges down both right and left sides, and 
 seven perfect lozenges across both the top and 
 the bottom. 
 
I 
 
 266 ALBUM weeds; or, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very white, wove jpelure paper ; badly pin-pricked 
 13. There are ten "keys" down the right-hand side of the stamp, 
 as in the genuine ; but the left-hand side contains eleven, the top 
 eleven, the bottom eleven ; and all the said " keys " are very badly 
 drawn. There are ten half-lozenges down the left-hand side of the 
 stamp, thirteen down the right-hand side, six perfect ones at the top, 
 with a half-lozenge at each end, and the same at the bottom. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 All my genuine copies are obliterated in the same manner as in 
 the first issue. 
 
 The postmarks on the forgeries are various. Some of them bear 
 a large circle, with Nagasaki or Jokohama in large English charac- 
 ters ; some have a large, solid, five-pointed star ; some have a black 
 circular blotch, divided into four (quarters, the quarters so far removed 
 from each other as to leave a white cross in the centre. 
 
 As regards the genuine, I think that postmarked copies are more 
 common than those of the first issue. 
 
 I have not said much about the paper of these two issues, but it 
 appears to be all of Japanese make, almost like tissue paper, with 
 very long fibres when torn. The forgeries are on paper quite as thin 
 — except the 48 mons of the first issue — but the grain is finer and 
 the fibres shorter. 
 
 Later Issues of 1872. 
 
 These stamps are printed on soft, thick, yellowish- white paper, 
 of Japanese make, both laid and wove, and also on whiter and 
 harder, thick wove paper, apparently of European manufacture. 
 The perforation is various. There are forty types of each value, 
 which makes it rather a difficult matter to give many accurate 
 tests. The stamps of these issues of August and October, 1872, 
 had no " syllabic character " to show the different plates. 
 
 I shall have more to say about the said " syllabic characters " 
 when I come to the issue of 1874, in which they appear. 
 
 2 Sen, vermilion, orange, yellow. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, the ink standing up well from the surface 
 of the paper ; paper and perforation as above described. The spokes 
 of the wheel-ornament at the top of the central rectangle are slim, 
 long, and at very regular distances apart ; and the wheel itself does 
 not touch the outline of the inner frame above it. In each corner of 
 the same rectangle there is a quarter of a similar wheel, looking 
 something like a fan. Each of these quarter-wheels or fans contains 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 267 
 
 seven spokes or sticks. Both ends of the upper label, bearing the 
 value, 2 sen, go very close to the incurved ends of the scroll sur- 
 rounding the label. In all the types which I posses of this value, the 
 lower ends of the crossed branches are alike, and each of them is 
 sharply pointed. There are many other variations between the 
 genuine and forged in my possession, but I have thought it better 
 not to describe any but the principal lines, lest my description of the 
 less importMit lines of one type should confuse the possessor of 
 another genuine type. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed on thin, common, white wove European 
 paper ; very badly pin-pricked, so that I am not able to give the 
 gauge. The ink, of course, does not stand up at all above the surface 
 of the paper. The spokes of the wheel-ornament are evidently too 
 thick and short in proportion to the thickness of the rim of the 
 wheel, and the wheel itself distinctly touches the line above it. 
 The spokes are not set regularly, some of them being much nearer 
 than others. The spokes of the quarter- wheels in the corners of the 
 central rectangle are very different from the genuine, and form an 
 easy test for this forgery. In the top one on the left-hand side there 
 are ten spokes ; in the bottom left-hand corner there are six ; in the 
 top right-hand corner there are seven ; and in the bottom right-hand 
 corner there are seven also. Both ends of the upper label, bearing 
 the value, 2 sen, are at some considerable distance from the incurved 
 ends of the scroll surrounding the said label. This is especially 
 marked at the right-hand end. The lower ends of the branches are 
 not alike ; the right-hand one is sharply pointed, and the left-hand 
 one is blunt and rounded, and is also solid, instead of merely out- 
 lined. 
 
 4 Sen, rose, orange -vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper and perforation as before. The ink 
 stands out from the surface of the paper. The wheel - ornament 
 almost touches the Line above it, and all the spokes are drawn accu- 
 rately towards the centre of it ; the bottom ends of the crossed 
 branches are only outlined, and are both as nearly as possible of the 
 same length. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, common, very white wove paper ; 
 badly pin-pricked. The ink does not stand out from the face of the 
 stamp. The wheel ornament does not anything like touch the line 
 above it ; it does not appear to be truly round, and many of the 
 spokes are drawn at a tangent to the tiny central circle of the wheel, 
 instead of all being drawn accurately towards the centre. The 
 bottom ends of the branches are solid, very dark, and not alike, the 
 right-hand end being longer and more pointed than the other. 
 
268 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 20 Sen, violet, mauve. 
 
 Geimine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper and perfora- 
 tion as before. The outline of the large central 
 circle is almost exactly at an equal distance 
 from the inner outlines of the side-frames, and 
 does not touch on either side. The top of the 
 rim of the wheel -ornament is at some little 
 distance from the lower outline of the upper 
 label containing 20 sen, and the spokes of the 
 said wheel are drawn regularly, and at equal 
 distances apart. In all my copies each of the 
 three leaves at the base of the central circle 
 has three sets of side-veins. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on common, yellowish-white wove paper ; badly pin- 
 pricked. The outline of the central circle touches the inner outline 
 of the right-hand frame, and is at some distance from the inner out- 
 line of the left-hand frame. The top of the rim of the wheel- 
 ornament is very close to the lower outline of the upper frame, which 
 contains the value, 20 sen. The spokes of the wheel are not equally 
 well drawn all the way round, those on the left-hand side being more 
 or less irregular. At first sight there appear to be only two sets of 
 side-veins in the right-hand leaf at the bottom of the circle, the one 
 nearest to the stalk end of the leaf being very indistinct. 
 
 Issue of February, 1874. 
 
 These stamps can be distinguished from the earlier, similar 
 ones by the " syllabic characters " upon them. These are the 
 characters, I believe, of the Japanese language in their simplest 
 form, answering in some degree to what we should call an 
 alphabet. There are forty-seven of them ; but I do not know 
 how many of them appear upon the stamps. I have the whole 
 forty-seven before me as I write, and should like to reproduce 
 them for the benefit of our readers ; but I expect it would not 
 be easy to get them correctly illustrated. 
 
 All these stamps appear to be upon moderately stout, rather 
 soft, yellowish-white wove paper; machine-perforated 11, 12^, 
 etc. ; also apparently pin-perforated 12 J. 
 
 I Sen, red-bistre. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 The stamp imitated bears the second of the " syllabic characters," 
 which the Japanese call " Eo." It will be found in a square frame 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 269 
 
 just at the crossing of tlie two branches, and is a sort of transverse 
 oblong, with the line down the left-hand side projecting a little, both 
 at the top and the bottom. Engraved in taille-douce ; paper and 
 perforation as mentioned above. The wheel - ornament has sixteen 
 spokes ; the veins of the broad leaves of the left-hand branch run 
 very nearly to the edges of the said leaves. The upper Japanese 
 words in the side-frames are exactly alike on both sides of the stamp. 
 
 Forged. *^ 
 
 Poorly lithographed on very yellowish-white wbafeaper, rather 
 thin and hard ; pin-pricked, 14. This forgery can |(^K t)e detected 
 by having seventeen spokes to the wheel- ornament, iH|Pad of sixteen. 
 The veins of the broad leaves of the left-hand branch •i^o not go near 
 the sides of the leaves, being much too short. The lower cross-stroke 
 of the top Japanese word in the left-hand fram^ is very much longer 
 than the corresponding stroke of the similar w^ord in the right-hand 
 frame. I do not think this forgery is very likely to deceive. 
 
 1 Sen, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper and perforation as before. I have 
 not been able to find a genuine stamp with a 
 character at all approaching that on the forgeries, 
 which is a mere shapeless blotch, so I cannot say 
 which plate has been imitated. Only one of the 
 leaves in the right-hand branch touches the 
 right-hand frame — the one rather below the 
 middle of the central, lattice-work square — and 
 one leaf of the left-hand branch touches the 
 curly ornament in the lower corner of the central 
 rectangle. The stalks or ends of the branches 
 project equally from behind the little square 
 which contains the " syllabic character." The upper Japanese word 
 in the central column, just under the wheel-ornament, consists of 
 two characters placed close together. The colour of the stamp appears 
 to be almost invariably a dark blue, of a more or less indigo tint. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on yellowish-white wove paper, rather thin and 
 hard ; perforated 14. The hieroglyphic in the little square is a mere 
 blotch, not like any of the forty-seven radicals. The right-hand 
 branch touches the right-hand frame in two places — one as in the 
 genuine, the other a little below the centre of the white square con- 
 taining the transverse stroke, which is the Japanese numeral " I." 
 The left-hand branch touches the curly ornament in the left-hand 
 bottom corner, and also touches the left-hand frame level with the 
 
270 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 centre of the central lattice- work square. The stalk projecting from 
 the left-hand side of the little square is something like the genuine ; 
 but the one projecting from the right-hand side seems to be broken 
 off short, just the stump being left, so that it is very much shorter 
 than the other. The Japanese word, just under the wheel-ornament, 
 consists of two characters, a good distance apart. The colour of 
 all the forgeries in my possession is a decidedly greenish-blue, not in 
 the least like the tint of the genuine. 
 
 2 Sen, yellow. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper and perforation as before. The 
 fan-shaped ornament in the left-hand top corner of the central square 
 contains seven radiating lines ; that in the right-hand top corner 
 contains eight ; that in the left-hand bottom corner contains seven ; 
 and that in the right-hand bottom corner contains seven. The 
 Japanese characters in the left-hand label are exactly the same as 
 those in the right-hand one. The two lower ends of the crossed 
 branches are pointed alike. Two plates have been imitated by the 
 forgers ; the stamps of one of these plates in the genuine bear the 
 character "yo," which is exactly like a capital e turned upside 
 down ; i.e. with the projecting strokes pointing to the left instead of 
 to the right. The other genuine plate has the character " re," which 
 is very like a capital v with one side — the right side — rather splayed 
 out. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in very pale yellow, on hard white wove paper ; 
 perforated 14. This is the one which bears the plate letter " yo," like 
 an E upside down. The fan-shaped ornament in the left-hand top 
 corner of the central square contains seven radiating lines like the 
 genuine ; the one in the right-hand top corner contains eight, like 
 the genuine, but two of them almost run together ; the one in the 
 left-hand bottom corner contains six ; and the one in the right-hand 
 bottom corner contains seven, like the genuine. The Japanese 
 characters in the left-hand label are different from those in the right- 
 hand one, as may be easily seen on comparing the two. The stem of 
 the right-hand branch, crossing over to the left, comes a good deal 
 lower than the stem of the left-hand branch, which crosses over to 
 the right ; and both stems appear to be cut off ahnost square, instead 
 of being pointed. In the genuine 2 sen stamps the ink stands out 
 very much from the surface of the paper ; in this forgery it is quite 
 flat. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed, in a full yellow, on thin, hard, white wove paper. 
 The only specimen which I possess of this forgery is cut so close 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 271 
 
 that I am not able to give the perforation-gauge. I can only see 
 that it is perforated. I do not call this such a good forgery as the 
 last ; the whole design is very blotchy. The plate-letter of this 
 counterfeit is intended to represent the character " re," which re- 
 sembles a capital v, but the forgers have made it more like a capital 
 Y, placed rather slantingly from right to left. The fan-ornament in 
 the left-hand top corner contains eight radiating lines, as far as I can 
 make out, but they are very indistinct ; the one in the right-hand top 
 corner is a mere blotch, which it is impossible to decipher ; the one 
 in the left-hand bottom corner contains only six lines, but they are 
 very distinct ; and the one in the right-hand bottom corner contains 
 seven, as in the genuine. The wheel-ornament is very badly drawn, 
 and blotchy, though it is beautifully clear in the genuine. The ink 
 does not stand out at all from the surface of the paper. The Japanese 
 characters are not exactly alike in the two side labels. The end of 
 the branch at the right-hand side is a little lower than that on the 
 left-hand side, and is sharply pointed, whilst the end on the left- 
 hand side is cut off quite sc^uare. In all the genuine stamps which 
 I have seen the s of the lower sen has its upper part distinctly larger 
 than the lower part ; but this forgery shows the said s with its upper 
 part smaller than the lower part. 
 
 There is a good deal of difference in the tint of this value. It 
 varies from a dark Prussian-green to a very blue-green. Engraved 
 in taille-douce, paper and perforation as before. The character imi- 
 tated by the forgeries is " i," the first of the radicals. It is like a 
 capital T, with the head drawn very obliquely, pointing upwards to 
 
 ever it is, of the right-hand branch shows a number of leaves or 
 petals, varying according to the type ; but there are never fewer 
 than seven, and more often eight. The upper half of the s of sen 
 is always somewhat larger than the lower half. The lowest leaf of 
 the left-hand branch is a long way from the little square which 
 contains the syllabic character. The cross-stroke of the lower 4 is 
 always a good deal larger than Europeans are accustomed to make 
 it ; i.e. it projects too much to the right. There is a little dot at 
 each corner of the stamp, outside the whole design ; and these dots 
 are properly placed, so that if a rectangular line were drawn round 
 the outside of the design, the dots would come at the four corners. 
 The ink stands out well from the surface of the paper, and the whole 
 impression is remarkably clear, especially in those copies on the 
 thicker paper. The wheel-flower is generally pretty close to the 
 outline above it ; but this is not a very reliable test, as the distance 
 varies in the different types. 
 
 4 Sen., green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 The topmost flower, or what- 
 
272 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Tolerably well lithographed on thin, rather hard, yellowish-white 
 wove paper ; perf. 12 or 12|. The tint is always the same, a medium 
 shade of slightly yellowish-green. The stem of the syllabic character 
 is very stumpy, and always touches the outline of the square below 
 it, though most of the genuine stamps show the character not touch- 
 ing the lower outline. The topmost flower of the right-hand branch 
 bears only six petals or leaves. I think this will be found the most 
 reliable test for the forgeries. The s of sen is an ordinary capital 
 s, the upper poition not being larger than the lower. The lowest 
 leaf of the left-hand branch has one of its points almost touching 
 the little square which contains the plate-letter. The cross-stroke of 
 the lower 4 is short, just as we are accustomed to see it drawn. 
 Three of the dots outside the design are correctly placed ; but the 
 one at the right-hand upper corner is placed a good deal too much to 
 the left of its proper position, so that it would not come at the corner 
 of a rectangular line drawn round the whole design. The impression 
 is flat, not showing the ink standing up at all ; and it is not so 
 clear as the genuine stamps, though tolerably well lithographed. The 
 wheel-flower is a long way from the outline above it. 
 
 It will be understood that there are many more difi"erences, besides 
 the ones just indicated, between the genuine and the forged ; but the 
 types of the genuine vary so much that it is useless to name the said 
 differences. In this, as in all the other stamps of this issue, I have 
 simply given those points common to all the genuine types. 
 
 30 Sen., grey. 
 
 I do not thiiilt there is more than one 
 plate of this stamp. I have seen a great 
 many specimens ; but they have invari- 
 ably borne the character "i," which is 
 something like a capital " t," with a very 
 sloping top. 
 
 Geyiuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, paper and per- 
 foration as before. The wheel-flower is quite 
 circular, and, in all the copies in my posses- 
 sion, it is a good distance from the outline 
 above it. The top flower of the right-hand branch touches the 
 wheel-flower, and one of the flowers of the left-hand branch very 
 nearly touches it. Some of the flowers of the right-hand branch 
 invariably touch the ornament in the right-hand bottom corner of 
 the central rectangle. In some types they touch in three places, in 
 others two, and in others only one ; but they always touch some- 
 where. The lower stems of the crossed branches are drawn so long 
 as to touch both the ornaments in the lower corners of the central 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 273 
 
 rectangle. The lowest leaf of the left-hand branch shows six distinct 
 side-veins. 
 
 Lithographed, The tint of the stamp, design, paper, &c., are very- 
 well imitated, except that the paper is too yellow, and thinner and 
 harder than in the genuine ; pin-perf. 12 and 13. The wheel-flower 
 is not very well drawn ; it is decidedly not circular, and the central 
 white spot is much too large. The top of the wheel almost touches 
 the outline above it. The top flower of the right-hand branch does 
 not touch the wheel, and the lower leaves of the said branch do not 
 anywhere touch the ornament in the right-hand lower corner of the 
 central rectangle. The stems of the branches are not of equal 
 length. The left-hand stem touches the ornament in the left-hand 
 lower corner ; but the right-hand stem is a long way from the 
 ornament in the right-hand lower corner. The lowest leaf of the 
 left-hand branch only shows four side-veins ; indeed I ought not to 
 call them " side-veins " in this case, for they are like a bird's toes ; 
 whereas in the genuine there is a straight central vein, with six side- 
 veins projecting from it. I cannot give more tests than the above, 
 on account of the variation in the types of the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The postmarks of the two sets just described are very various. 
 The following are the chief cancellations in use : Two concentric 
 circles, with Japanese characters in the centre, and between the 
 circles ; a single very thick circle, containing Japanese characters ; 
 an oblong, ditto ; a very small thick circle, ditto ; eight wedge-shaped 
 blotches, arranged in a circle, point to point, with white spaces 
 between the wedges ; four v-shaped blotches, point to point, with 
 white spaces between ; a thing very like the Japanese numeral for 
 6, which, as I am informed, means " post ; " a cross in red ; a thing 
 liie a very large 3 ; a set of seven small wedges, in blue, point to 
 point, with spaces between, and the eighth wedge missing, thus 
 leaving a blank ; a shapeless, mauve-coloured blotch ; a circular black 
 blotch ; Japanese characters in a circle, mthout any boundary line ; 
 ditto, in a hexagonal frame, etc. It would almost seem from this 
 that each ofiice is at liberty to adopt what cancel-stamp it fancies. 
 
 The forgeries do not show the same variety. I have seen them 
 with a set of four or five thin, parallel black bars ; a circle containing 
 " JoKOHAMA," " Nagasaki," etc., in English characters ; a diamond of 
 square dots ; a diamond of thick parallel bars of graduated lengths ; 
 and the almost inevitable copy of one of our own cancel-stamps ; 
 i.e., an oval, formed by four straight lines at the top and bottom, and 
 four curved lines at each side, but without any central letters or 
 numerals. It will be seen, therefore, that the forgers have not 
 imitated a single one of all the varieties of cancellation found on 
 the genuine, though I am sure they had choice enough. 
 
 T 
 
274 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 Issue of January, 1875. Bird ; 12 Sen, rose-pink. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on ratlier thick, white 
 wove paper, thickly gummed, pin-perforated 1 1|, 
 12^, etc. The perforation is very irregular, 
 and difficult to count. The only j^late-letter 
 which I have seen is the character " i," like a 
 capital T with a very sloping head ; this head, 
 or cross-stroke, in the genuine, is not joined to 
 the upright stroke. The bird has two legs, one 
 held up, after the manner of a common fowl ; 
 its neck is shaded with rings or rows of dots, 
 giving it a wormy appearance. The wheel-flower at the top of the 
 stamp has, as usual, sixteen spokes, and the wheel itself is circular 
 and distinct. There is a diamond-shaped dark dot at each corner of 
 the stamp, just inside the outer frame. The bird's tail is cut oif quite 
 square. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, in rose -red, instead of pink, on very yellowish- 
 white wove paper, ungummed, thin and soft, pin-pricked 13. The 
 plate-letter is much too small, and the top or head is distinctly joined 
 to the perpendicular stroke. The bird has only one leg ; the shading 
 on the neck is indistinct, and not in rings. The wheel-flower at the 
 top of the stamp has only thirteen spokes, and the wheel is indistinct 
 blotchy, and not truly circular, 
 corners, but not in the left-hand ones, 
 like that of a partridge. 
 
 There are dots in the right-hand 
 The bird's tail is rounded. 
 
 15 sen, lilac. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, paper, perforation, 
 \W^^M^^^^< etc., as before. The shade is almost invariably 
 a bluish-lilac. The wheel-flower at the top of 
 the stamp has sixteen spokes. The plate-letter 
 is the character "i," before described, and the 
 head-stroke is not joined to the vertical one. 
 The four flowers which separate the English and 
 Japanese values in the ring are like the corner- 
 flowers of the stamps of the previous issue ; 
 showing five petals, with the tips of five other 
 petals appearing behind the others. They are nicely and distinctly 
 drawn. In each of the four corners of the stamp, just inside the 
 boundary- line, there is a sort of trident-shaped ornament, and the 
 central stem of each trident points exactly to the corner of the 
 stamp. The inner end of the stem of each trident is finished off 
 with a little ball or knob. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 275 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, in decidedly reddish-lilac, on very yellowish- white 
 wove paper, ungummed, pin-perforated 13. The wheel-flower at the 
 top of the stamp has eighteen spokes, not very regularly drawn. The 
 plate-letter has its head a long way from the vertical stroke, much 
 farther than in the genuine. The four flowers in the ring round the 
 central circle are very badly done ; they look like small representations 
 of the wheel-flower, instead of ornamental flowers of ten petals. The 
 four trident-shaped ornaments in the corners do not point exactly 
 towards their respective corners of the stamp. The right-hand bottom 
 one ends with a cross, the left-hand bottom one with a stroke beyond 
 the ball, and the right-hand top one runs into the outline of the 
 value-label below it. 
 
 45 Sen, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, paper as before, though 
 rather more yellowish-white, gum brownish, nicely 
 machine-perforated 13. The wheel-flower at the 
 top of the stamp has, as before, sixteen spokes. 
 The flowers in the four corners are all of etj[ual 
 size. The plate-letter is the " i," before described, 
 and the top stroke is not joined to the vertical 
 one. The bird has nine feathers in its tail, and a 
 distinct white patch on the throat below the beak. 
 The eye is white, with a very small, dark pupil. 
 The colour of this stamp is a carmine-red, pale or dark. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on thin, very yellowish-white wove paper, 
 ungummed, pin-pricked about 13, but very badly done. The wheel- 
 flower at the top of the stamp has seventeen spokes. The flowers 
 in the four corners are all of difi'erent sizes, the one in the left-hand 
 top corner being very much smaller than any of the others, and the 
 one in the left-hand bottom corner being the largest of all. The 
 top-stroke of the plate-letter joins the vertical stroke. The bird has 
 only five feathers in its tail. The white patch under the beak on 
 the throat is absent ; and the eye is not to be seen. The colour of 
 the forgeries is always a sort of red-vermilion, quite different from 
 that of the genuine. I think this forgery is the poorest of the set. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps are cancelled with Japanese characters in a 
 circle, without any boundary line, struck in black or green ; or four 
 V-shaped black blotches, arranged point to point ; or a diamond of 
 very large diamond-shaped black dots ; or rows of thick oblong 
 blotches, with wide spaces between ; or a circle with a black cross in 
 the centre, etc. 
 
276 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 The forgeries bear either a circle, as before, with Nagasaki, or 
 some other name, in English letters ; or the oval, formed by three 
 straight lines at top and bottom and four curved lines at each side,, 
 without central numeral or lettering ; or a diamond of small, square 
 dots. 
 
 Issue of February, 1875. 10 Sen, blue, small. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on hard, white wove ^^A.rLAjvy.>a7w^, 
 paper, rather thin ; machine-perforated 13. The 
 plate-letter imitated by the forgers is the charac- 
 ter " Ni," the fourth of the radicals, which con- 
 sists of two transverse strokes, the upper one 
 shorter than the other. In the genuine the lower 
 stroke goes right across the little rectangle which 
 contains it, and touches each side of it. The 
 wheel-flower contains sixteen spokes, as before. 
 The upper half of the s of each sen is larger 
 than the lower half. The outer eye of each dragon does not touch 
 the head. The fringe of hair on the heads of the dragons seems to 
 vary, but there are never fewer than ten hairs in. each fringe, or 
 mane, or whatever it is intended for. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on yellowish- white wove paper ; very badly pin- 
 pricked, so that I have not been able to count the perforations. The 
 lower stroke of the syllabic character touches the right-hand side of 
 the outline of the rectangle containing it, but does not touch the 
 left-hand side ; the upper stroke is a good deal too short. The wheel- 
 flower contains only fourteen spokes. The s of each word sen is like 
 an ordinary capital s. The outer eye of each dragon touches the 
 outline of the head. The mane of the right-hand dragon shows 
 nine hairs, and that of the left-hand dragon shows nine also. The 
 spokes of the wheel-flower are the easiest test for this forgery. 
 
 Same Issue. 20 Sen, rose, small. 
 
 Genuiiie. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce on white, or pinkish- 
 white wove paper, rather thin and hard ; 
 macliine - perforated 13. The pinkish tint of 
 the paper of some of these stamps is simply 
 caused by the plate not having been wiped 
 (|uite clean ; it has nothing to do with the real 
 colour of the pajDer itself. The circular band 
 round the central characters does not touch 
 either side of the frame outside it. The spokes 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 277 
 
 of the wheel-flower are regularly drawn, and do not touch each other 
 before they get to the central white spot. The flower itself has sixteen 
 spokes. The s of each sen has its top half larger than the lower. 
 . The plate-letter is the tenth radical, " nu," which is like a capital F 
 of our written alphabet. This character reaches almost to the very 
 top, bottom, and sides of the rectangle which contains it, and the top 
 stroke is not joined to the vertical one. Each of the leaves behind 
 the plate-letter rectangle has three or more flower-buds standing up 
 from the top of it, like those in the large 20 sen purj)le. The side- 
 frames of tlie stamp, in the parts not hidden by the perpendicular 
 labels, are shaded with very thick and very thin lines alternately. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in vermilion -red, instead of rose, on very yellowish 
 wove paper, very hard, and rather thin ; perforated 13. The circular 
 band round the central characters touches the outline of the frame 
 to the right of it, and almost touches the left-hand frame also. The 
 spokes of the wheel-flower are not nicely drawn, several of them 
 touching before they reach the central white spot. The only speci- 
 men which I possess of this forgery is blotched just over part of the 
 wheel-flower, so that I am not sure whether it contains sixteen 
 spokes or not. The s of each sen is like an ordinary capital s. The 
 plate-letter is too small for the containing rectangle ; the tail of the 
 vertical stroke is very much too short ; the top stroke is joined to 
 the said vertical stroke, and the whole character does not reach 
 nearly to either the bottom or either of the sides of the rectangle, 
 though it is pretty close to the top of it. The middle leaf behind 
 the plate-letter has three buds standing up from it, but none are 
 visible from the two side-leaves. This last is an easy test. The side- 
 frames are shaded by vertical lines, which are all of very nearly the 
 fiame thickness, instead of being alternately very thick and very thin. 
 
 Same Issue. 30 Sen, mauve, small. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on very thin, yel- 
 lowish-white wove paper ; very irregularly 
 pin-perforated or machine-perforated 12;^. The 
 plate-letter imitated by the forgers is the second 
 radical, " ro," which is a sort of transverse 
 oblong. The upper half of the s of the top 
 SEN is larger than the lower half of the said 
 letter. The stem of the left-hand branch, pro- 
 jecting on the right-hand side, is shaded with 
 short strokes running across the stem ; the cor- 
 responding stem on the left-hand side of the stamp is shaded with 
 one or two long strokes along the stem. The top flower of the left- 
 hand branch is a bell, with three little points ; the top flower of the 
 
278 
 
 AliBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 riglit-hand branch has six petals, the outer one touching the orna- 
 ment in the right-hand top corner of the central rectangle. 
 
 Forged. ■ 
 
 This is very inferior to the nicely-engraved original. It is litho- 
 graphed in very brown lilac, instead of bright mauve, on very thin, 
 soft, yellowish-white wove paper ; badly pin-perforated 13. The 
 plate-letter is tolerably well imitated, but the rectangle containing 
 it is a good deal too small. The s of the top sen is like an ordinary 
 capital s. The stem on the right-hand side of the stamp, and that 
 on the left-hand side, are both solid, with no lines of shading visible. 
 Both the stems are of the same thickness, but in the genuine the 
 right-hand one is a good deal thicker than the left-hand one. The 
 top flower of the left-hand branch is a sort of oval bud, mthout any 
 projecting points. The top flower of the right-hand branch has only 
 five petals, and two of them touch the ornament in the right-hand 
 top corner of the central rectangle. The whole execution of this 
 forgery is very poor, and the colour is altogether different from that 
 of the genuine. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear either a single very thick circle, with 
 Japanese in the centre ; or a double circle, with Japanese between 
 the circles and in the centre ; or the character signifying " post ; " or 
 a very large 3 ; or a sort of half-moon ; or undecipherable blotches. 
 The forgeries bear a diamond of square dots ; or a single thin 
 circle, with a few faint blotches in it ; or the oval before described, 
 formed by straight and curved lines. 
 
 Issues of 1876, etc. Oval garter ; 5 Sen, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on soft, thickish, white wove paper ; very 
 badly pin-pricked about 11 ; white gum. I have 
 not been able to find any specimens bearing a 
 plate-letter ; but if there should be one, which 
 is probable, it will be found in the dark, shaded 
 part of the garter, a little to the left of the 
 buckle. The flowers in the four corners of the 
 stamp are very nicely done, and they are the 
 same pattern as those described in the 15 sen, 
 bird issue, having five petals distinctly divided 
 from each other l)y dark lines, and the tips of 
 five other petals peeping out from behind. The dark outline of the 
 buckle is unljroken all the way round, and the centre of the buckle, 
 in all the specimens in my possession, is shaded with very fine 
 crossed lines. The space between the garter and the end of the strap 
 which bears the value, where the background of the central oval 
 would be supposed to be visible — i.e. under, and to the right of the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 279 
 
 EN of SEN, between those letters and the buckle — is similarly shaded 
 with fine crossed lines. All the little leaves in the ornamental scroll- 
 work outside the garter are outlined, with white centres. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed on white wove paper, thicker than that of 
 the genuine ; ungummed ; badly pin-perforated 13. The plate-letter 
 on this forgery is the seventeenth radical, " re," which is like a 
 capital v, with the right side very much splayed out. It will be 
 found immediately to the left of the buckle, on the shaded part. 
 The flowers in the four corners are very poor ; the five petals are not 
 divided from each other, and the one in the left-hand upper corner is 
 very much out of shape. The dark outline of the buckle is broken 
 away where it touches the strap which bears the value ; the centre 
 of the said buckle is shaded with ten coarse, uncrossed lines. The 
 space between the garter and the strap is white. All the little leaves 
 in the ornamental scroll-work outside the garter are solid, except 
 about three, which show white centres, somewhat in the fashion of 
 the genuine. I do not call this a very successful forgery. 
 
 Same design ; 6 Sen, brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, yellowish-white wove paper ; 
 brown gum; machine-perforated 11^. The plate- 
 letter is the character " re " above described. 
 The inner outline of the garter is thickest on 
 the left-hand side of the stamp, and the outer 
 outline is thickest on the right-hand side. There 
 are three perfect holes, and a portion of a fourth, 
 at the bottom of the garter, the fourth showing 
 just by the right-hand outline. The head of the 
 s of the upper sen is larger than the lower half 
 of that letter. Except in very heavily-printed 
 copies, the little leaves of the ornamental scroll-work outside tlie 
 garter are all outlined, with white centres. Machine-perforated 11, 
 12|, or badly and irregularly pin-pricked. 
 
 Forged, 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on thin, common, yellowish -white wove 
 paper ; ungummed ; badly pin-pricked 13, The plate-letter is 
 hardly decipherable. The outer outline of the garter is thickest on 
 the right-hand side, as in the genuine ; but the inner outline is the 
 same thickness both sides. There are only three holes at the bottom 
 of the garter, and there is plenty of room to place a fourth hole be- 
 tween them and the outline. The s of the upper sen is like an 
 ordinary capital s. The little leaves of the ornamental scroll-work 
 outside the garter are all solid, except about three. 
 
280 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Same design ; 6 Sen, orange. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper, perforation, 
 etc., as in the 6 sen, brown. The plate-letter 
 imitated is the eleventh radical " RU," which is 
 extremely like the Roman numerals iv. ; the i 
 of the IV. is as dark as the other character. The 
 narrow ends of the buckle are very nearly 
 square. The rest of the stamp is just like the 
 6 sen, brown, just described. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on yellowish- white wove paper, thin and common ; 
 no gum ; very badly pin-pricked. The i of the plate-letter " iv " is 
 hardly discernible. The narrow ends of the buckle are rounded off, 
 so as to make it a sort of oval. All the rest of the design is exactly 
 like the forged 6 sen, brown, just described. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear usually either the double circle, with 
 Japanese between the circles, and in the centre, or the thick single 
 circle, with Japanese inside it. I have seen no cancellations except 
 these. 
 
 The forgeries are postmarked with the diamond of small square 
 dots, or the single thick circle, containing the name of a town — 
 Nagasaki, for instance — in English letters. 
 
 I have not seen any forgeries of the later issues ; but I have no 
 doubt that they will soon be imitated. 
 
 Concerning the plate-letters, I had, at first, an idea that the radicals 
 would be used in their regular order ; l)ut as some of the stamps 
 mentioned above have the seventeenth radical for their plate-letter, 
 
 1 think it is unlikely that there have been so inany plates of any one 
 value, so that they must have been used in arbitrary order. I have 
 taken the trouble to go through some thousands of specimens, kindly 
 placed at my disposal by Messrs. Pemberton, Wilson, and Co., and by 
 Messrs. Stanley, Gibbons, and Co., and I find the following : ^ sen, 
 three plates ; 1 sen, blue, nine plates ; 1 sen, bistre, seven plates ; 
 
 2 sen, yellow, two plates ; 4 sen, green, four plates ; 4 sen, rose ; 10 
 sen, green ; 10 sen, blue ; 20 sen, purple ; 30 sen, grey, one plate 
 each ; 30 sen, mauve, four plates ; 12 sen, bird, one plate ; 15 sen, 
 two plates ; 45 sen, one plate ; 6 sen, garter, eight plates, etc. 
 
 I do not know whether I have made it clear that all the stamps 
 on a sheet bear the same plate-letter. Those who wish to learn the 
 names and figures of the radicals will find a list of them illustrated 
 in Le Timbre-Poste ; but I cannot lay my hand on the number which 
 contains them. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS, 
 
 281 
 
 LA CUAIRA 
 
 LA GUAIEA. 
 
 Issue of 1854. Centavo Series (for St. Thomas ?), |, 1, 2, 
 3, 4 centavos. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Printed in black, on rather hard, coloured wove 
 paper ; imperf. There is a stop after the word 
 PACKET, and another after cabello. The word 
 CENTAVO is in a label or scroll. It is in the singular 
 for all the values, and the stop after it is put in the 
 outline of the scroll. The transverse lines of the 
 background cut into the ends of the scroll, and cover 
 the top and middle spandrels. The letters of the 
 word PACKET are close together, and the P of that word, and the stop 
 at the end of it, are equidistant from their respective sides of the frame. 
 If the line to the right of ST. thomas were prolonged upwards, it 
 would pass clear between the l and a of la ; and the same line, if 
 prolonged downwards, would pass clear to the right of the little 
 square in the left-hand lower corner. The scroll is rounded at each 
 ^nd. The steamer is fairly done, and her rigging is distinct enough 
 for the ropes to be counted. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in dull black, paper similar to that of the genuine ; 
 imperf. There is no stop either after packet or cabello. The 
 word of value is centavo on the ^ and 1 c, ; but the others have 
 centavos. There is a stop after this word, inside tlie scroll, on the 
 ^ and 1 c, and no stop at all after it on the other values. The 
 transverse lines of the background do not cut into the ends of the 
 scroll, neither do they cover the spandrels. The letters of the word 
 packet are all some distance apart, and on account of there being no 
 stop after this word, the p appears to be much too near to its end of 
 the frame. If the line to the right of st. thomas were prolonged 
 upwards, it would pass through the centre of the bottom-stroke of 
 the L of LA ; and if prolonged downwards, it would cut into the 
 little square in the left-hand lower corner. The left-hand end of the 
 scroll is broken or incomplete. The letters of all the inscriptions in 
 the frames are very thin, compared with.those of the genuine. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is not nearly so well done as the counterfeit just described. 
 It is coarsely lithographed on very common paper ; imperf. There 
 is no stop after either packet or cabello. The word centavo is 
 not in a scroll at all. The transverse lines of the background do not 
 •cover the top and middle spandrels. If the line to the right of ST. 
 THOMAS were prolonged upwards, it would pass through the centre 
 
282 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 of the bottom-stroke of the L of la ; and if prolonged downwards, 
 it would cut into the little square in the left-hand lower corner. 
 The steamer is very badly done, and her ropes are too indistinct to 
 be counted. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I do not remember ever having seen any of the genuine stamps 
 cancelled. The forgeries bear either a thick circle, with lettering in 
 it, or a sort of oval, with semicircular ends. 
 
 Same Issue. Reales Series (for La Guaira?). Medio Real, 
 rose, blue ; Dos Reales, green, yellow. 
 
 There are two types of the stamps of this set. 
 The first type has the date-figures in the corners 
 very small, a very cloudy sky, and a calm sea. 
 The stamps of this type are all machine-perf. 1 3. 
 The second type has the date -figures in the 
 corners much larger, a rough, frothy sea, and 
 few clouds in the sky. The stamps of this type 
 are found with a curious oblique perforation, 
 and also with a pointed or saw-perforation. The forgers have 
 imitated the first type. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne on several varieties of paper ; machine-perf. 
 13. The hull of the steamer is quite level. She has only two masts, 
 her bowsprit is placed obliquely to the line of the deck, and she 
 carries a flag. The tail of the r of guiara does not touch the a, 
 and the tail of the q of paquete does not touch the line below it. 
 The upper halves of the c and b of cabello are distinctly larger 
 than the lower halves. The clouds are nicely drawn. In the lower 
 value, the d of medio is almost like an o, and, in the higher value, 
 the D of DOS slopes very much. The 6 touches the dot in the left- 
 hand corner. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, very white wove paper ; pin-pricked 12. 
 The hull of the steamer is not level, the front part being much too 
 high out of the water. She has three masts, her bowsprit is level 
 with the outline of the deck, and there is no flag visible. The tail 
 of the R of GUAIRA touches the a after it, and the tail of the q of 
 paquete touches the line below it. The upper halves of the c and 
 B of CABELLO are smaller than the lower halves. The clouds are 
 very coarse and blotchy. The d of medio is an ordinary capital d, 
 and the d of dos is almost upright. The 6 does not touch the dot 
 in the left-hand corner. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 283 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Some of my genuine specimens are cancelled with a diamond of 
 oblong dots. The forgeries bear either a very large capital o, or the 
 oft-described oval, formed by four straight lines at the top and 
 bottom, and four curved lines at the sides, without central figures or 
 numerals. 
 
 The forgeries of the reales set just described are exceedingly com- 
 mon, and will be found in the collections of all our youthful friends. 
 
 Issue of 1869. 
 
 Second Reales Series (for Curacao). ^ Real, 
 green ; 2 Reales, rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 -j-u-LrLnjj 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on thin, yellowish- white 
 wove paper; pin-pricked 10, or machine -perf. 
 13. The outside of the frame is composed of 
 a scalloped line all the way round, with fifteen 
 scallops at the top and bottom, and seventeen 
 each side. There is a stop after each of the 
 letters J. A. J. of the initials of the firm, and 
 the horizontal top and bottom lines of the Z are 
 carried a little beyond the small knobs which 
 usually finish ofi" that letter. There are two ornamental tongues or 
 curves projecting from the centre of the left-hand side of each J. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, very white wove paper; pin-pricked 13. In 
 the 1^ real there are sixteen scallops at the top and the bottom, and 
 twenty at each side. In the 2 reales there are sixteen at the top, 
 J&fteen at the bottom, nineteen on the right-hand side, and twenty- 
 one on the left. There is no stop after the last J. The stop after 
 the A is not very distinct, and the Z is like an ordinary capital Z. 
 Each J has only one ornamental tongue or curve projecting from the 
 centre of the left-hand side of it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps usually bear two concentric circles, with 
 name, separated by stars, between the circles ; or else two con- 
 centric ovals similarly inscribed. The forgeries bear four concentric 
 circles, or the oval composed of straight lines at the top and bottom, 
 and curved lines at the sides. 
 
 I have not said anything about the history of these stamps. 
 Those who wish to know more about them will find my monograph 
 on the stamps of La Guaira in the first volume of the Philatelical 
 Journal, and a reprint of it in the Stamp Collector's Magazine, vol. 
 xi., pp. 70-74. 
 
ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 LIBERIA. 
 Issue of 1864. 6 Cents, red. 
 
 ' Genuine. 
 
 Engraved on stout, yellowish-wliite wove paper, 
 perforated 11 and 12. TMs is the type with two 
 lines round the stamp. The groundwork of the 
 corners is composed of wavy perpendicular lines. 
 There is no flag to l^e seen on the ship. The 
 semicircular piece of shading on the stone, above 
 LIBERIA, is a long way from that word. If a 
 straight line be carried along the spear from the 
 point, it will be found that the butt, or lower end 
 of the spear, which appears from behind the knee 
 lof the figure, does not correspond with the upper part ; that is to 
 say, it is parallel with it, but not in the same straight line, being too 
 much to the right. There are two thin lines running round the 
 stamp, both of exactly the same thickness. The point of the spear 
 is sharp. 
 
 First Forgery, 
 
 Lithographed on medium, very white wove paper, perforated 13. 
 The lines in the corners are like the genuine. There is a large flag 
 sticking out from the right-hand side of the ship. The butt and 
 shaft of the spear are in one straight line. The outer line round the 
 stamp is much thicker than the inner one. The printing of this 
 stamp is very poor. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Much better printed than the last, but the design is not nearly so 
 well copied. Lithographed on medium, very white wove paper ; 
 nicely perforated 12, also badly pin-pricked. The groundwork of 
 the corners is composed of oblique and almost straight lines, all 
 pointing towards the centre of the stamp. There is a long flag stick- 
 ing out from the right side of the ship. The shading on the stone 
 above LIBERIA touches the b of that word. The whole of the spear 
 is in one straight line. The outer line round the stamp is decidedly 
 thicker than the inner one. The head of the spear is diamond-shaped, 
 instead of the long, lance-shaped, sharp-pointed head of the genuine. 
 The expression of the face is excessively disdainful, and the shoulder 
 sticks out in a very absurd manner. 
 
 Same Issue ; 12 Cents, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving, paper, and perforation as before. The groundwork of 
 the corners is composed of undulating diagonal lines, so finely exe- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 285 
 
 cuted as to make the corners appear solid. The shield has a single 
 thick boundary-line The head of the spear is well shaped, and the 
 point does not touch the border of the circle. The upper value-scroll 
 touches the edge of the frame on the right, and the lower scroll 
 touches it both right and left. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper. The perforations are 
 cut off my only specimen. The lines in the corners are too coarse. 
 The boundary-line of the shield is double. The head of the spear 
 touches the outline of the circle. The upper value-scroll touches the 
 edge of the frame on the right, a dark prolongation of the point of 
 the scroll touches the frame on the left, and the lower scroll does not 
 appear to touch the frame either side, though the left-hand end 
 almost touches it. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, very white wove paper, nicely perforated 
 
 12. The groundwork of the corners is composed of straight oblique 
 lines. The boundary-line of the shield is double. The head of the 
 spear is diamond-shaped, and touches the border of the circle. The 
 ends of the value-scrolls do not touch the edge of the stamp any- 
 where. The expression of the face is disdainful, and the shoulder 
 out of drawing, as before. 
 
 Same Issue ; 24 Cents, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving, paper, and perforation as in the genuine 6 cents. The 
 groundwork of the corners is composed of very wavy perpendicular 
 lines, set close together. The shadilig above Liberia is so far from 
 that word that there is plenty of room to put another word of the 
 same height between the name and the shading. A straight-edge, 
 carried along the shaft of the spear, passes clear to the left of the 
 butt, as in the genuine 6 cents. The two lines round the stamp are 
 exactly the same thickness. The point of the spear is long and 
 sharp. The cross-stroke at the bottom of the 4 is thick and distinct. 
 The right-hand end of the top scroll almost touches the edge of the 
 stamp ; but the left-hand end of it, and both ends of the bottom 
 scroll, are a long way from the edge. The right-hand end of the 
 rock has two cracks in it, and it goes perpendicularly down, a very 
 little to the right of the last stroke of the n of cents. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, very white wove paper, perforated 
 
 13. The lines of the groundwork are too far apart. The shading 
 above Liberia is so close to that word that there is not room for 
 another word of even half the height between them. The whole of 
 
286 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 the spear is in one straight line. The outer line of the frame is 
 thicker than the inner one. The ends of the top scroll are at a good 
 distance from the edge of the stamp ; but in the lower scroll the 
 right-hand end touches the frame, and the left-hand end almost 
 touches it. The right-hand end of the rock has three cracks in it, 
 and it goes down to the edge of the circle, above the beginning ot 
 
 the T of CENTS. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on moderately thick white wove paper, very badly 
 pin-pricked 13^. The groundwork of the corners consists of straight 
 diagonal lines, all pointing to the centre of the stamp. The shading 
 above Liberia comes down so as to touch the b of that word. The 
 outer line of the frame is a good deal thicker than the inner one. 
 The point of the spear is diamond-shaped. The cross-stroke at the 
 bottom of the 4 is almost invisil)le. The ends of the scrolls do not, 
 in any case, touch the edge of the frame ; but the right-hand end of 
 the bottom scroll almost touches it. The right-hand end of the rock 
 does not go perpendicularly down, but bends to the left at the bottom. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. All my genuine copies are cancelled with pen-strokes. 
 Forged. A circle, containing monrowa Liberia. 
 
 12 Cents, pink. 
 
 I have a specimen of the above, which is probably merely a tirage 
 de fantaisie. It is unperforated. 
 
 LUBECK. 
 Issue of 1859-62. i Schilling, lilac. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed ; the 1859 issue on rather stout wove paper, without 
 watermark ; and the 1862 issue on much thinner paper, watermarked 
 with a number of very small five-leaved flowerets. AH the stamps 
 of these first issues may be found ungummed. I am told that they 
 were so issued to the Post-ofiice, and only gummed a day or two 
 before they were actually required for use. There is no stop after 
 SCHILLING. The ornamental strokes under ltibeck extend from 
 under the end of the L to under the beginning of the k. The eagle's 
 beaks do not touch his wings ; none of the wing-feathers touch his 
 knees ; and the feet do not touch the scroll. There are eight dots in 
 the top row of the dotted ground, above the eagle's heads. Both 
 beaks curl slightly upwards. The forked ends of the scroll are far 
 below the level of the line below lubeck. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 287 
 
 Forged, 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper ; un watermarked ; rather thin- 
 ner than that of the genuine unwatermarked issue. There is a stop 
 after schilling. The ornamental strokes under lubeck extend 
 nearly from the middle of the u to the end of the c. The eagle's 
 beak on the right-hand side of the stamp touches the top feather of 
 the wing, the bottom large feather of the wing on the same side 
 touches his knee, and the similar feather of the wing on the left- 
 hand side of the stamp almost touches the other knee. The end claw 
 of each foot touches the scroll. There are only five dots in the top 
 row of the dotted ground, above the eagle's heads. Both beaks curve 
 slightly downwards. The forked ends of the scroll are very nearly 
 level with the ornamental line under lubeck. 
 
 Same Issue. 1 Schilling, yellow. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper the same as in the genuine ^ schilling. The 
 ornamental strokes under lubeck extend from under the middle of 
 the L to the beginning of the K of that word. The eagle's beak on 
 the right-hand side of the stamp does not touch the wing ; none of 
 the wing-feathers touch the knees ; and the claws do not touch the 
 scroll. There are eight dots in the top row of the dotted ground, 
 above the eagle's heads. The forked right-hand end of the scroll 
 almost touches the line to the right of it. The cross-stroke at the 
 bottom of the figure 1 in the top left-hand corner is well marked. 
 The letters of ein are no larger than those of postmarke, and the 
 shading on the scroll comes almost close to the e and n of ein. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper thicker than that of either of the genuine 
 sets, and unwatermarked. The ornamental strokes under lubeck 
 extend from under the middle of the u to the end of the c. The eagle's 
 beak on the right-hand side of the stamp touches the wing ; the 
 bottom large feather of the wing on the same side touches the knee ; 
 and the similar feather of the wing on the left-hand side of the stamp 
 almost touches the knee. The claw touches the scroll above the e of 
 POSTMARKE. There are only five dots in the top row of the dotted 
 ground. The forked right-hand end of the scroll plainly touches the 
 line to the right of it. The figure 1 in the top left-hand corner has 
 hardly any sign of a cross-stroke to the bottom of it. The letters of 
 ein are very much larger than those of postmarke, and there is 
 hardly an atom of shading on the part of the scroll containing it, so 
 that it appears much too white. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper unwatermarked ; about the same thickness as 
 that of the unwatermarked genuine set. The tests for this forgery 
 
288 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 are exactly the same as for the forgery just described, except that the 
 1 in the left-hand toj) corner has a well-defined bottom stroke, and 
 the part of the scroll containing bin is coarsely and darkly shaded^ 
 quite up to the beginning and end of that word. Both these forgeries 
 are printed in quite a decided orange, instead of the canary-yellow 
 tint of the genuine. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed, without watermark, on paper as thin as that of the 
 watermarked genuine stamp. This is the best forgery which I have 
 seen. The stop after postmarke is wanting. The right-hand fork 
 of the scroll is a long way from the line to the right of it. The 
 eagle's claws and the lower parts of his legs are thin and elegant, 
 compared with the clumsy shape of those in the genuine ; and the 
 claw on the right side of the stamp plainly touches the scroll above 
 the E of POSTMARKE. The top feather of the wing on the left-hand 
 side, which ought to point to the L of lijbeck, points very widely to 
 the left of it. The eagle's beaks resemble the beak of a toucan ; they 
 are slender and horizontal in the genuine. The letters of ein are 
 much too large and coarse. The other points of this forgery are like 
 the genuine. 
 
 Same Issue. 2 Schilling, brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper as in the genuine ^ schilling ; ornamental 
 line under LiJBECK ditto. There are eight dots in the top row of the 
 dotted ground. The eagle's heads are generally 
 dreadfully blotched and misshapen, but neither of 
 them touches the w^ing. There is a stop after 
 POSTMARKE, and another after schilling. The 
 right-hand forked end of the scroll is very near 
 the outline to the right of it, but they do not 
 touch. There are only seven large feathers stick- 
 ing out from the wing on the right side of the 
 stamp, and the same number in the other wing. 
 The third feather from the top of the wing on the left side of the 
 stamp touches the scroll, the outline of which is very thick just there; 
 the knees are level with the bottom point of the shield. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper very stout ; unwatermarked. The ornamen- 
 tal line extends from the middle of the tj to the end of the c of 
 LtJBECK. There are only five dots in the top row of the dotted 
 ground. The eagle's heads are fairly shaped, and the one on the 
 right side of the stamp touches the v^dng. The right-hand forked 
 end of the scroll touches the line to the right of it. There are eight 
 large feathers sticking out of the wing on the right side of the stamp, 
 and the bottom one touches the knee. There are seven similar 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 289 
 
 • * 
 
 feathers sticking out of the other wing, and the bottom one almost 
 touches the knee ; the second, third, and fourth feathers of the wing 
 on the left-hand side touch the scroll to the left of them. The knees 
 are considerably higher than the level of the bottom point of the 
 shield. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper unwaterniarked, and the same thickness as 
 that of the watermarked genuine set. The ornamental line under 
 LUBECK extends from the beginning of the u to the beginning of the 
 K. The eagle's heads are not blotched, and tolerably well shaped ; 
 the one on the right has its beak open, and the one on the left has 
 the beak shut. There is no stop after postmarke, and hardly the 
 slightest indication of one after schilling. The right-hand forked 
 end of the scroll is not anywhere near the outline to the right of it. 
 There are eight large feathers sticking out from the wing on the right 
 side of the stamp, and the same number on the left. None of the 
 feathers of the wing on the left side of the stamp are anywhere near 
 the scroll to the left. The outline of the scroll near this wing is 
 quite thin. The tail of the it of postmarke is as long and large as 
 the tail of the K ; but in the genuine the tail of the R is very much 
 shorter than that of the K. 
 
 Same Issue. 2^ Schilling, brown, error. 
 
 I have seen no forgery of this stamp. 
 
 Same Issue. 2J Schilling, pink. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper the same as in the genuine ^ schilling. 
 There is no stop after any of the words. The eagle's beak does not 
 touch the wing, and none of the wing-feathers touch the knees. 
 The tail of the little 2 of 2^ in the left top corner of the stamp is a 
 long way from the white line to the right of it. The end of the 
 eagle's tail has got a twist to the left, and points to the first stroke 
 of the M of POSTMARKE. There are eight dots in the top row of the 
 dotted ground. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper unwatermarked, the same thickness as the 
 nil watermarked paper of the genuine set. There is a stop after 
 POSTMARKE, and another after schilling. The beak on the right 
 side of the stamp touches the wing, the lowest feather on the same 
 side touches the knee, and the corresponding feather on the other 
 side almost touches the other knee. The tail of the little 2 of the 
 fraction in the left top corner of the stamp almost touches the white 
 line to the right of it. The end of the eagle's tail has got a twist to 
 the right, and points to the space between ma of postmarke. There 
 are only five dots in the top row of the dotted ground. 
 
 u 
 
290 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Same Issue. 4 Schilling, green. 
 
 Gemiine. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper the same as in the genuine \ schilling. 
 There is a stop after postmarks, and another after schilling. 
 There is also a very distinct stop a little before the l of lubeck. 
 The eagle's wing on the right side of the stamp shows nine large 
 feathers, the lowest one of which touches the middle of the thigh ; 
 and the other wing shows eight large feathers. The stroke under 
 LUBECK extends from the beginning of the it to the end of the c. 
 The eagle's tail points to the middle of the m of postmarke, and the 
 top of the P almost touches the dark line of the fold of the scroll to 
 the left of it. The left-hand end of the scroll almost touches the 
 dark line to the left of it, bvTt the right-hand end of the scroll is at 
 some little distance from the dark line to the right of it. The 
 eagle's beaks are both open, with the tongue curling upwards, and 
 neither of the beaks touches the wing. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed, no watermark ; paper the same as that of the 
 un watermarked set. There is no stop before the L of lubeck. The 
 eagle's wing on the right side of the stamp shows eight large 
 feathers, of which the eighth touches the knee ; and the other wing 
 has seven large feathers. The stroke under lubeck extends from 
 the middle of the ii to the beginning of the K. The eagle's tail 
 points to the last stroke of the M of postmarke, and the top of the 
 p is so far from the dark line of the fold of the scroll to the left of 
 it that there is room to put another letter between them. The left- 
 hand forked end of the scroll is at some distance from the dark line 
 to the left of it, and the right-hand forked end of it touches the 
 dark line to the right of it. The eagle's beak touches the wing on 
 the right side of the stamp. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed, no watermark ; paper about as thin as that of the 
 watermarked set. There is a stop after schilling, but none after 
 POSTMARKE ; and there is no stop before the L of lubeck. The 
 eagle's wing on the right side of the stamp has eight large feathers, 
 none of them touching the leg ; and the other wing has eight 
 feathers. The stroke under lubeck extends from the end of the l 
 to the beginning of the k. The eagle's tail points almost to the first 
 stroke of the m of postmarke, and the p is so far from the end of 
 the scroll that there is room for another letter between them. Both 
 forked ends of the scroll are at some distance from the dark lines to 
 right and left of them respectively. The beak on the right side of 
 tlie stamp is shut, and like that of a toucan ; it is further from the 
 wing than the genuine. The bottom of the little shield, which 
 ought to be level with the knees, is very far above them. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 291 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine and forged alike bear a set of parallel bars, wide apart ; 
 but the genuine are usually found uncancelled, and the forgeries 
 postmarked. 
 
 Issue of ISSi. 1^ Schilling, brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, white wove paper. The easiest test is 
 that the fracdon-Iine of the |- on the left side of the stamp is exactly 
 level with tlie similar line of the fraction on 
 the right side of the stamp ; and a line passing 
 through both of them would just about pass 
 along the line on the little shield which divides 
 it into dark and light portions. The point of 
 the eagle's tail almost touches the outline of 
 the oval below it. The beak on the right side 
 of the stamp does not touch the wing. The 
 foot on the same side is not particularly larger 
 than the other, or very differently shaped. This 
 said leg on the right side of the stamp points downwards obliquely, 
 almost towards the g of schilling. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on extremely thin, white wove paper. The fraction- 
 line of the J on the left-hand side of the stamp is much lower than 
 the corresponding line on the other side ; and a line drawn along 
 the middle of the little shield, where the dark and light parts join, 
 would pass distinctly above the left-hand fraction-line, and below 
 the right-hand one. The lowest point of the eagle's tail is at some 
 little distance from the outline of the oval beneath it. The beak on 
 the right side of the stamp — or rather, the tongue sticking out of it 
 — touches the wing. The foot on this right side is very much larger 
 than the other, and of quite a different shape, being something like 
 a trident, with a fourth prong sticking out l^ackwards towards the 
 handle. The leg on this right side of the stamp projects almost 
 horizontally, so as to point a little below the bottom of the small 
 right-hand oval. I must say that this forgery is not by any means a 
 bad one. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The only postmark which I have seen on the genuine is 
 a very large double circle, with name between the circles, and 
 numerals in the centre. 
 
 Forged. The set of parallel black bars, as in the forgeries of the 
 first issue. 
 
292 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 LUXEMBOUEG. 
 Issue of 1852. 10 c, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Finely engraved in taille-douce, on very thick wove paper, some- 
 times of a yellowish, but more generally of a greyish, cast ; unper- 
 forated ; watermarked with a large W. The o of 
 POSTES is considerably taller than the P and s on 
 each side of it. The full-stop after centimes is 
 more than half encircled by a little ornamental 
 curl, proceeding from the leaf-ornament in the lower 
 right hand corner. The head of the s of centimes 
 does not go near to the leaf- ornament at the right 
 of it. The 1 of the right-hand 10 has its oblique 
 side-stroke a little larger than that of the left-hand 1. The ground 
 of the central oval is formed by fine crossed vertical and horizontal 
 lines set very closely together, so that the oval, at a little distance, 
 appears to be of solid black. The outer line of the stamp is double, 
 i.e., formed by two thin lines placed very close together ; but, in some 
 copies, the two lines run together for part of the way round, accord- 
 ing to the depth of printing. The whole impression is very tine. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed on much thinner wove paper, of a very 
 yellowish cast ; unperforated ; no watermark. The top of the of 
 POSTES is exactly level with the tops of the p and o on each side of 
 it. There is no ornament round the full-stop after centimes ; and 
 the head of the s of this word touches the leaf-ornament to right of it. 
 The 1 of the right-hand 10 does not appear to have any oblique 
 stroke at all. The ground of the central oval consists of crossed 
 vertical and horizontal lines, as in the genuine, but the lines are very 
 coarse, wide apart, and show a good deal of white between them. 
 The outer frame of the stamp is invariably one thick line, which is 
 somewhat broken and irregular to the left of the word dix. The 
 whole impression is very coarse, and I think the forgery is not likely 
 to prove dangerous. 
 
 Postunarhs. 
 
 Amongst my own specimens I find three varieties of cancellation : 
 a set of six thick parallel bars ; two concentric circles, with name 
 between the circles, and date, &c., in the centre ; and a set of three 
 concentric circles, with something undecipherable in the centre. 
 The forgeries are postmarked with the set of parallel bars. 
 
 Same Issue; 1 Silb. grosch., red, rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Tngraved in taille-douce ; paper and watermark same as in the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 293 
 
 genuine 10 c. The o of postes is, as before, very much taller than 
 the P and s on each side of it, and the head of the s of this word 
 almost touches the ornamental ring round the 1 to the right of it. 
 After the last s of silbergros there is a sort of hook or curl, which 
 proceeds from the leaf-ornament in the lower riglit corner, and this 
 curl ends in a white knob, which, I suj^pose, is intended to answer 
 for a full-stop after that word. The u of UN has its left-hand limb 
 very much thicker than the right-hand one, and it is thick to the 
 very bottom of the letter. Between the corner of the moustache 
 and the ear, above the long hairs of the beard, there is a good deal 
 of shading in the shape of coloured dots. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, in a sort of red-vermilion, on much thinner, yellow- 
 ish wove paper ; unperforated ; no watermark. The o of postes is 
 level, top and bottom, with the p and s each side of it ; and the head 
 of the s is a very long way from the ornamental ring surrounding 
 the right-hand 1. There is no hook or curl after the last s of silber- 
 gros., and no stop. The top part of the left-hand limb of the u of UN 
 is thicker than the right-hand limb, but it gets rapidly thinner, so 
 that towards the bottom both limbs are of equal thinness. Between 
 the ear and the corner of the moustache, above the long hairs of the 
 beard, there are hardly any dots to be seen, so that the side of the 
 face seems to be quite white. The head in this forgery looks flat, 
 and does not seem to stand out from the background. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear the same cancellation as the genuine 10 c. 
 The forgeries are usually postmarked with an oval ring, containing 
 six parallel bars, something like one of the old Spanish obliterations. 
 
 Issue of 1863. 1 Centime, buff. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Very nicely engraved in ^pargne, on rather thick, hard, white wove 
 paper ; unperforated ; no watermark. The M of Luxembourg is the 
 same height as the e to the left of it ; and the 
 tail of the g is some distance from the thin inner 
 line of the scroll below it. The figure 1 in the 
 lower scroll is a good deal sloped to the right, so 
 that it appears to point almost to the centre of 
 the crown above the arms. The ground of the 
 shield behind the lion is very distinct, and con- 
 sists of five horizontal white stripes, alternating 
 with five sets of four horizontal lines ; or, as 
 the heralds w^ould probably call it, " barry of ten, argent and 
 azure." 
 
294 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very poorly lithographed, on hliiish-white wove paper, about the 
 same thickness as that of the genuine. All the design has a woolly 
 and indistinct look, very different from the genuine. The M of 
 LUXEMBOURG is taller than the E, and the tail of the G distinctly 
 touches the inner outline of the scroll below it. The figure 1 in the 
 lower scroll is nearly upright, so that it appears to point altogether 
 to the left of the crown and shield. The ground of the shield 
 behind the lion is very indistinct, so that the alternate stripes of 
 white and dark can hardly be seen, or the sets of four lines counted. 
 There are many other little differences between the genuine and the 
 forgery, of which it is almost impossible to give a verbal descrij)tion ; 
 but I think the above points will be found sufficient. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear either an oval of eight parallel bars, or 
 two concentric circles, with name between them, and date in the 
 centre, or a single circle similarly inscril^ed. The forgeries bear a 
 s(j[uare, with rounded corners, containing the letters P. D,, in large 
 capitals. 
 
 Same Issue ; 10 Centimes, blue. 
 
 I only possess one counterfeit of this issue, 
 and it is a poor specimen, heavily cancelled, 
 so that I cannot give such an accurate descrip- 
 tion of it as I should like to do. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne,on white and yellowish-white 
 wove paper, rather thick and hard ; unperforated ; 
 no watermark. The two letters mb of Luxembourg just touch each 
 other at the bottom, but all the other letters of the word are well 
 apart, and do not touch each other either top or bottom. There is a 
 very distinct full -stop after each of the letters g. d. The white 
 stripes on the shield are very little narrower than the dark ones. 
 The lowest stroke of the tail of the g of Luxembourg points straight 
 to the left, towards the lion in the shield. Tlie crossed lines of the 
 background can be seen through all four arches of the crown. The 
 outside edge of the stamp has a number of ornamental points directed 
 outwards. In the centre of the top edge there is a single point, and 
 there are four separate sets of two points, at regular distances along 
 the edge, each side of the single point, making eight double points 
 and one single one. The bottom edge is the same as the top one, 
 except, of course, that the points are turned in the opposite direction. 
 The colour is generally some shade of Prussian blue. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 295 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, soft, yellowish-white wove paper. In the 
 word LUXEMBOURG the letters touch each other in several places; for 
 instance, the letters uxe all touch at the bottom, m and b also touch 
 at the bottom, and u and r touch at the top. In the forgery before 
 me the cancellation hides the spaces after the initials g. d,, so that I can- 
 not tell whether the full-stoj3s are there or not. The white stripes on the 
 shield are only about half the breadth of some of the dark ones. The 
 lowest stroke of the tail of the G of Luxembourg curls outwards, so 
 as to point doMai towards the right-hand 10. The crossed lines of the 
 background are only visible through the two central arches of the 
 crown, the two outward arches being blotched. The points at the 
 top and bottom edges of the frame of the stamp are quite irregular, 
 and very indistinct. There seem to be three sets of two at the top, 
 and the rest single ones ; whilst those at tlie bottom are not decipher- 
 able. The colour of my single specimen is a very pale ultramarine, 
 and the whole impression is very indistinct. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 The genuine stamps bear either two concentric circles, with name 
 and date, or a set of eight long parallel bars. The forgeries are 
 cancelled with a set of eight short, thin bars, placed very close 
 together. 
 
 Same Issue; 12^ c, rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 With the exception of the numerals being changed from 10 to 12-|, 
 this stamp is exactly the same as the genuine 10 c, so that the tests 
 already given will serve for this also. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Exactly the same as the forged 10 c, except that the numerals are 
 changed. 
 
 Postraarhs. 
 
 The genuine stam^D has the postmarks before described. My for- 
 gery has a square, with rounded corners, containing the letters P. D. 
 in large capitals. 
 
 Same Issue; 25 c, brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Exactly like the genuine 10 c, with altered numerals. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Exactly like the forged 10 c, but rather better printed. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine, as in the 10 c. Forged, eight long, thin parallel bars. 
 
296 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Same Issue ; 30 c, red-lilac. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Same as the genuine 10 c. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Same as forged 10 c, except that the letters ur of Luxembourg 
 hardly touch at the bottom. 
 
 PostmarJcs. 
 
 Genuine, as in the 10 c. Forged, a double circle, with name and 
 date. This is a good imitation of one of the genuine postmarks. 
 
 Same Issue ; 37| c, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Same as the genuine 10 c. This value is usually printed very nicely. 
 Forged. 
 
 Same as the forged 10 c, except that the letters ux of Luxembourg 
 touch at the top as well as the bottom. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine, same as on genuine 10 c. Forged, four concentric circles. 
 
 Same Issue ; 40 c, orange -vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. Same as genuine 10 c. 
 Forged. Same as forged 10 c. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine, as on the genuine 10 c. Forged, an oval, composed of 
 eight thin parallel bars, of varying lengths. 
 
 I have not seen any forgeries beyond the ones just described. 
 Though they look very jioor, side by side with the genuine, I fancy 
 that a single copy, without a genuine to compare with it, would be 
 likely to deceive a young collector. 
 
 MADEIEA. 
 
 I do not think that any of these stamps have been imitated, 
 as a whole, by the forgers ; but very excellent forgeries have 
 been sold lately, which are made by taking the genuine used 
 Portuguese stamps of the various issues, and surcharging the 
 word MADEIRA on them. The letters of the surcharge are ex- 
 ceedingly like the real thing ; but a close inspection will show the 
 surcharge to be printed after (or on the top of) the postmark, 
 instead of be/ore (or under) it. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 297 
 
 MAUEITIUS. 
 Issues of 1856-9. Red-brown, red, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce. The red-brown is on thick, rather hard 
 paper, very strongly blued by the gum ; the red and the blue are on 
 rather thinner paper, but still hard, and of a 
 yellowish- white. The collar round the shoulders 
 of the figure consists of three rows of shells, or 
 whatever they may be, very distinct ; and the 
 brooch which fastens the collar is the head of 
 some animal, like a tiger or leopard, which is 
 very easily seen. The round knob at the top of 
 the helmet, which apjDears to be also the head of 
 some animal, is shaded all over. There is a white 
 five -pointed star on the helmet, over the right eye. The four 
 doubled-up fingers on the hand holding the spear are very distinct ; 
 they are almost horizontal, and point towards the left shoulder 
 of the figure. The fingers on the left hand are also distinct and 
 white, all four being equally visible. There are five toes on the foot, 
 and the bottom of the spear does not touch them. The head of the 
 spear is rather a long diamond, and the half of the head nearest to 
 the figure is shaded. The Union Jack can just be distinguished on 
 the shield, but it is not very clear. In the word Mauritius the m 
 and the s are at equal distances from their respective ends of the 
 label. The toj) and sides of the stamp are bordered by interlacing 
 white outlined crescents, which are nicely drawn, and very distinct ; 
 and the groundwork behind the figure consists of engine-turning, 
 very like that on the Barbados stamps. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Pretty well lithographed, on rather thick, white wove paper, which 
 shows very plainly the meshes of the wire-gauze on which it was 
 made. The collar is a dark blotch, so that the three rows of shells 
 cannot be seen. There is a white patch in front, to represent the 
 brooch, but it is not the least like an animal's head. At the top of 
 the helmet there is a large white dot, without any shading, and, lower 
 down, there is a very small and shapeless white patch, not at all like 
 a star. There seem to be only three fingers on the hand which holds 
 the spear, and they point upwards towards the face and helmet. 
 The first and fourth fingers of the left hand are white, but the inner 
 ones are dark, and almost invisible. The foot has only four toes. 
 They are very badly shaped, and the big toe touches the bottom of 
 the spear. The spear-head is a "squat" diamond, with one line of 
 shading down the middle of it, the rest being unshaded. There is 
 no trace of the Union Jack on the shield. The m of the inscription 
 
298 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 is closer to the left-hand end of the label than the s is to the right- 
 liand end. The white outlined interlacing crescents at the top and 
 sides are very badly done, and indistinct. The groundwork behind 
 the figure is far too uniform, something like the meshes of a piece of 
 cloth. Notwithstanding all these discrepancies, this is not a bad- 
 looking forgery. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Three concentric circles, with a numeral in the centre 
 (rare), or an oval formed by four parallel lines at top and bottom, 
 and three curved lines at each side, or a small thick circle contain- 
 ing PAID in block capitals. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Three concentric circles, or four concentric circles, or an oval 
 formed by four parallel lines at top and bottom, and Jive curved lines 
 at each side. 
 
 Issues of 1862-3. Sixpence, brown-violet, dark slate. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille- douce on moderately stout, 
 hard wove paper, of a yellowish-white, either un- 
 perforated, or perforated 15. All the tests for the 
 genuine are exactly the same as in the stamps 
 just described, except that Mauritius now appears 
 at the top of the stamp, and sixpence below. 
 
 !7SS\X PENCE( 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, in a sort of reddish violet-brown, on rather 
 thin, hard, coarsely-wove white paper, either unperforated, or pin- 
 pricked 15. The collar of shells is rather more distinct than in the 
 last forgeries, but much too dark, and there is no brooch at all. The 
 round knob at the top of the helmet has one shapeless blotch in the 
 centre, by way of shading. There is a very small and indistinct 
 blotch to represent the five-pointed star on the helmet. The fingers 
 holding the spear point, as l)eiOre, upwards towards the face and 
 helmet. The head of the spear has only two lines of shading — one in 
 the middle, and another to the right of it. There is no trace of the 
 Union Jack on the shield. The expression in the face is extremely 
 unpleasant, something like that of a low-type Irishwoman ; whereas 
 the face of the genuine has rather a smirk upon it. It will be seen 
 that this forgery agrees with the originals in many more respects 
 tlian the counterfeits just described, and yet it is not nearly so likely 
 to deceive, as the whole impression is very coarse. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 299 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Three concentric circles, with nnmeral in the centre, or 
 one circle containing PAID in block capitals. 
 
 Forged. Four concentric circles, without numeral ; or an oval, 
 formed by four straight parallel lines at top and bottom, and five 
 curved lines at each side. 
 
 Issue of 1862. Envelope, ninepence, purple-brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on thin, whitish-blue wove paper. In the 
 usual place for the maker's name is embossed de la rue and CO., 
 LONDON. There is a little curved white line 
 inside each end of the label which contains 
 MAURITIUS; and the line at the right-hand 
 end reaches three -fourths of the way across 
 the width of the label. At each end of the 
 label which contains postage there are two 
 curved white lines — a long one and a very 
 short one. The tiny dot above the small 
 figure 9, in the lower point of the stamp, 
 comes exactly under the centre of the T of 
 postage. The Queen's nose is j)^i^^ectly 
 straight, and the lips are projierly shaped. The little peai^l, sticking 
 out from the very front of the coronet, i3oints exactly at the centre 
 of the first u of Mauritius ; and the second projecting pearl is just 
 at the angle formed by the hair and the coronet. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Embossed woodcut, on blue wove paper, just like thnt of our 
 common commercial envelopes, printed about an inch apart on strips 
 or sheets, instead of singly on envelopes. The colour is a warm 
 chocolate-brown, very different from that of the genuine, though 
 nicer. There is a very small white line at each end of the label 
 which bears Mauritius, but these lines are very short, and they do 
 not reach more than one-fourth of the way across the wi«:lth of the 
 Icibel. There is a thin white line at the right-hand end of the label 
 which contains postage ; but there is no line at all at the left-hand 
 end of it. The dot above the small figure 9 in the lowe-r point of 
 the stamp is too much to the right, and does not come uimder the 
 centre of the t of postage. The Queen's nose is slightly arched, 
 and the lips appear to be swollen. There is a coloured blo-tch just 
 where the chin joins the neck, which is not fo-aisd in tLe genuine. 
 The little pearl in front of the coronet points between the letters UR 
 of MAURITIUS ; and the second pearl is too far to the front, so that it 
 does not come in the angle foimed wliere the coronet tmches the 
 
300 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 hair. The c of pence is very barlly shaped, and larger than the 
 other letters of the word. 
 
 PostmarJcs. 
 
 I have not seen a postmarked copy of the genuine ; and the 
 forgeries are uncancelled. 
 
 N.B. — I ought to say that this is a very dangerous forgery, one of 
 the best that I have seen for some time. 
 
 MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN. 
 Issue of 1856. 3 Schillinge, yellow, orange. 
 
 Genume. 
 
 Engraved in 4pargne on thin wove paper, hard and white. The 
 M and B of MECKLENB. are equidistant from their respective ends of 
 the label, and there is plent}' of room for the stop 
 aftei- the B. The s of schwerin is a little nearer 
 to its end of the label than the N is to the other 
 end, but not at all close to it. The bull wears a 
 coronet, ornamented with small trefoils, and one 
 of the trefoils stands up above the forehead, 
 between the horns. All the letters and numerals 
 of the various inscriptions are very clearly cut, 
 and, as is customary in epargne engraving, they are all slightly sunk 
 into the paper, especially in unusad copies. The four numerals are 
 large, and they extend almost to the top and bottom of the little 
 squares containing them. The outer line of the right-hand top 
 corner of the shield is blunt, but the corresponding inner line is cut 
 square. The colour is almost always more inclined to orange than 
 a real yellow. The arches of the crown, counting from the left, 
 have respectively 8, 10, 5, 10, and 8 pearls, which are tolerably easy 
 to count. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thick, hard, white wove paper. The m of meck- 
 LENB. is at a considerable distance from the one end of the containing 
 label, and the B is verij close to the other end, so that there is scarcely 
 enough room for the stop, which almost touches the end of the label. 
 The s of SCHWERIN almost touches one end of its containing label, 
 but the N is a very long way from the other end, almost far enough 
 to allow another letter to be placed after it. The ornament between 
 the bull's horns appears to be a large Jieur-cle-lis, almost filling up 
 the space between the horns, but it is very indistinct. All the letters 
 and numerals are more or less ragged, uneven in height and size, and 
 not sunk at all into the paper. The numerals are all too small and 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 301 
 
 too short, the one in the left-hand upper corner is at a considerable 
 distance from the bottom of its containing-S(|uare. The outer line of 
 the right-hand upper corner of the shield is sharp and square ; whilst 
 the inner line is somewhat rounded at that point. The colour is a 
 pale lemon. The arches of the crown, counting from the left, have 
 respectively 8, 6, 3, 8, and 5 pearls, all very indistinct. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Two large concentric circles, with name between the 
 circles, and date in centre. Also name in large capitals in a straight 
 line, without any frame, and with date, &c., in smaller letters in 
 another straight line below it. 
 
 Forged. Four thin parallel black bars. 
 
 Issue of 1864-66. 5 Sch., bistre. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, exactly like the genuine 3 sch., except for 
 the change in the numerals. The corner numerals are all alike, and 
 the bottom curl of each is larger than the head. They all extend 
 almost from top to bottom of their containing-squares. All the rest 
 of the stamp is exactly like the genuine 3 sch. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed on very thick, hard, white wove paper. The 
 top half of each 5 seems to be larger than the bottom half, and they 
 are all a good deal too small for their containing-squares. All the 
 rest of the stamp is exactly like the forged 3 schilling, except that 
 this counterfeit is rather the worse of the two. 
 
 The genuine, I believe, is found both unperforated and rouletted. 
 The forgery is unperforated. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The same as on the genuine 3 sch. 
 Forged. The same as on the forged 3 sch. 
 
 MEXICO. 
 
 Issue of 1857. i Real, 1, 2, 4, 8 Reales. 
 
 (With and without black surcharge. J* 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on medium, white wove paper. The 
 upper inscription is CORREOS mejico ; the lower inscription has 
 
 * It will be understood that none of the forged Mexicans bear the 
 black surcharge which is usually found on the genuine. 
 
302 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 REAL in the medio (^), and in the im (1), and reales in all 
 the others. The groundwork, behind the bust of Padre Hidalgo, 
 consists of horizontal lines, set very close together, 
 so as to appear almost solid ; and there are two 
 small, dark studs or buttons in his shirt-front. 
 The shading between the central oval and the 
 scroll-work outside it is formed by oblique lines, 
 lunning down from right to left. The upper 
 label, containing correos mejico, has forked ends 
 b th right and left ; and the outline of it is 
 double. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have onl}'' the dos reales. Design very poor ; litho- 
 graphed on coarse, white wove paper, thinner than the genuine. 
 The inscription in the upper label is correos mejico, like the 
 genuine. The groundwork behind the bust is nearly all solid, but 
 here and there it shows horizontal lines crossed by oblique ones run- 
 ning down from right to left. There are no studs in the shirt-front. 
 The shading between the central oval and the outer scroll-work runs 
 obliquely down from right to left, as in the genuine ; but it is very 
 coarse and irregular, and some of the lines are drawn over (i.e. across) 
 the scroll-work. The upper label has no forked ends and no outline 
 to it at all. There is a coloured line round the whole stamp, which, 
 does not exist in the genuine. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have only the ^ real, which has the inscription medio 
 REAL, as in the genuine. Lithographed on thick, hard, very white 
 wove paper. The inscription in the upper label is correos mejios, 
 which is an easy test for this counterfeit. The groundwork behind 
 the bust in the oval, is formed by crossed horizontal and vertical 
 lines. There is one very small stud or button in the shirt-front. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have a full set. Lithographed on thick, hard, very 
 white wove ^^aper. The upper inscription, in all the values, is 
 CORREOS medico ; the lower inscription in the ^ real is medio 
 REALES, in the 1 real is UN reales, and that in the 2 reales reads 
 DOS . R eales, with a stop after dos, and the r of reales a long way 
 from the other letters of the word. The groundwork, behind the 
 bust in the oval, is solid {i.e. it is of uniform colour, without lines) ; 
 and there are no studs in the shirt-front. The shading between the 
 central oval and the outer scroll-work consists of oblique lines 
 running down from left to right. The lettering of the upper 
 inscription is much too small. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 303 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 Of this I liave only the 2 reales. Very nicely lithographed on 
 thick, rather hard, yellowish-white wove pajDer. The inscriptions 
 are as in the genuine. The groundwork behind the bust, which is 
 the principal test for this counterfeit, is formed of horizontal lines, 
 crossed by very line oblique lines, running down from right to left. 
 The shirt-front has two distinct dark lines down it, by way of a 
 pleat, which the genuine only just shows, and in this pleat there are 
 the two studs, and, below them, a long dark mark like a button-hole. 
 There is a curved white line to mark the seam on the shoulder, where 
 the sleeve is sewn into the coat, above the L of reales ; this line in 
 the genuine is shown merely by rather lighter shading than the rest 
 of the coat. In all my genuine copies of the 2 reales the labels 
 containing correos mejico and dos reales appear to be solid ; but 
 in this counterfeit the background to the letters in the upper in- 
 scription is formed by very distinct horizontal lines of shading ; and 
 the background to the letters in the lower inscription is formed by 
 crossed oblique lines. The said lower inscription is in letters hardly 
 any larger than those of the upper one, though they are twice as 
 large in the genuine. This is not at all a bad forgery, and is very 
 likely to deceive. The chief points of difference are in the scroll- 
 work, but it is impossible to describe them without diagrams. The 
 face in the genuine is shaded all over ; in the forgery a great part of 
 it is quite white. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A very large double circle, with name and franco 
 between the circles, and date in the centre ; also a large double oval, 
 similarly inscribed. 
 
 Forged. A small, shapeless blotch ; also the oval above described. 
 
 First Issue of 1861. J Real, 1, 2, 4, 8 Reales, black on 
 colour. 
 
 (With and tvithout black surcharge.) 
 Genuine. 
 
 Same type as the last issue, but in black on coloured paper, 
 instead of colour on white. Engraved in taille-douce on coloured 
 wove paper, rather thinner than the last. All tests as before, except 
 that there are decided lines of shading in the backgrounds of the 
 inscriptions, which I have not been able to make out in the earlier 
 ones. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on thin, coloured wove paper, very much 
 thinner than in the last-described counterfeits. This forgery, except 
 for being in black on coloured paper, is exactly the same as the third 
 forgery of the first issue, inscribed correos medico ; and all the 
 tests for that counterfeit hold good for this also. 
 
304 ALBUM weeds; or, 
 
 Second Issue of 1861. 4, 8 Reales, colour on colour. 
 
 (With and without black surcharge. ) 
 Genuine. 
 
 Same as first issue, but in colour on coloured paper. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Same as third forgery of first issue, but in colour on coloured 
 paper. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Same as first issue. 
 
 Forged. Uncancelled, or with shapeless blotch. 
 
 Issue of 1864. 3 Centavos, \ Real, 1, 2, 4, 8 Reales. 
 
 (With or withoid black surcharge.) 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne on medium, white wove paper, the face of 
 which is invariably more or less smeared and tinted with the colour 
 of the stamp, owing, I suppose, to badly-wiped 
 plates. The c of Mexico has a head at each end, 
 making it look like a G ; this is also the case with 
 the c of CORREOS, but not to so great an extent. 
 The X of MEXICO has the limb, which points almost 
 directly downwards, much thicker than the limb 
 which crosses it ; this is very easily seen. The 
 lower circlet of the crown on the eagle's head has 
 three distinct jewels upon it. The easiest test is 
 perhaps the serpent, which has a distinct head and 
 eye. The outer frame of the stamp is composed of white zigzag 
 lines upon dark lines, but the white lines are not at all conspicuous. 
 The stamps are very nicely engraved, but very badly printed, and 
 usually much blotched. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very coarsely designed and lithographed, on rather stout, white 
 wove paper, the surface not at all smeared with the tint of the 
 stamp. The c of Mexico is an ordinary capital c, but is top-heavy ; 
 the c of CORREOS is also an ordinary capital c. The x of Mexico 
 has both its limbs the same thickness. The lower circlet of the 
 crown on the eagle's head bears no jewels. The serpent is the same 
 size and thickness at both ends, having no indication of eye or head. 
 The white zigzag lines of the frame are very much too prominent, 
 except down the left side. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 ao5 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Tlie double circle already described, also the double oval 
 alread}^ descril^ed, also a black disk, containing name and correos 
 in wJiite letters, and surrounded by two black circles. 
 
 Forged. A circle or diamond of diamond-shaped dots ; also four 
 concentric rings. 
 
 I don't think this forgery is likely to be dangerous, but it is exceed- 
 ingly common. 
 
 Issues of 1866. 7, 13, 25, 50 Centavos. 
 
 ( With and ivithout black surcharge. ) 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce (iirst issue), also lithographed (second issue) 
 on moderately stout, white wove paper. The hair appears to com- 
 mence rather high up, about under the m of mexi- 
 CANO ; it is brushed very neatly back, and comes 
 forward into a stiff and very distinct curl behind 
 the ear. The nose is nicely shaped, with no ab- 
 normal distance between its point and the upward 
 curl of the nostril. The profile of the moustache 
 projects considerably beyond the profile of the beard, 
 and the end of it stands out from the surface of the 
 beard. There is no white curl from the corner of the eye to the ear. 
 The beard ends in two points or forks, and there is a wide and distinct 
 space between it and the neck, almost large enough to Contain the o 
 of IMPERIO. The shading at the base of the neck tapers off to nothing 
 at the left side, so that the front of the neck ends in a sharp point. 
 All the letters in the oval band are broad, with square-cut ends, 
 standing out well from a background of fine lines. All the stops 
 are very large and rectangular, any one of them would almost fill 
 up the centre of the o of imperio, if placed within it. The c of mexi- 
 CANO is a distinct c. The background of the central oval behind the 
 bust is formed of very fine horizontal lines. The face is pleasing, and 
 reminds one very much of the portrait on the current stamps of 
 Belgium. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 
 These are most wretched and miserable-looking things, lithographed 
 on thin, white wove paper. At first sight the Emperor appears to be 
 perfectly bald, except just towards the back of the neck. The hair, 
 however, commences somewhere between the e and x of mexicano, 
 and also at the side of the temple. The stiff and formal forward curl 
 behind the ear is not visible. The nose is poor, there being far too 
 great a distance between the point and the upward curl of the nostril. 
 The profile of the moustache is like the genuine, but hardly droops 
 enough. The beard has a slight indication of a fork, but scarcely to 
 be noticed ; there is only a small and narrow space between it and 
 
 X 
 
306 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 the neck. All the lettering is indistinct and rather ragged, each 
 letter having rounded ends, when the said ends can be made out at 
 all. They are all too thin, and are on a solid ground. The stops are 
 small, irregular in shape and size, but more or less round, instead of 
 being rectangular. The background of the central oval is solid. The 
 expression of the face is highly idiotic, and not in the least like the 
 present king of the Belgians. In the 7 c. the right-hand figure has 
 its head turned the wrong way. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 
 This is, perhaps, worse than the last. Very poorly lithographed 
 on thin, soft, very yellowish wove paper. The lettering is very thin 
 and scratchy, on a solid background, without any stops. The hair is 
 formed by short scratches ; it is brushed right back like a German's, 
 without any curl behind the ear. The nose is strongly hooked, 
 instead of being straight. The end of the moustache is short and 
 stumpy, instead of drooping. The end of the beard is single, and 
 there is hardly any distance between it and the neck. The central 
 oval is solid. 
 
 Forged. Third Set. 
 
 This is the best of all, and I call it a very dangerous counterfeit. 
 I have only the 50 c. Very well lithographed, on very thick, white 
 wove paper. The hair and nose are like the genuine. The profile 
 of the moustache is level with that of the beard ; i.e. it does not 
 project beyond it, and the end of it is lost in the beard. There is a 
 very distinct white curl from the corner of the eyebrow to the front 
 of the ear. The end of the beard is single, and there is hardly any 
 space visible between it and the neck. The shading at the base of 
 the neck is broad quite to the front ; i.e. it (the shading) does not 
 end in a sharp point. All the stops are very small, two of them are 
 round, and two square. The c of mexicano is an o, so that the 
 word reads mexioano. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The large double circle, before described. 
 
 Forged. First Set. An oval of parallel lines, also an oval of thick 
 dotted lines, also an oval, formed by four straight lines top and 
 bottom, and four curved lines each side. Second set, an oblong of 
 eight parallel bars. Third set, uncancelled. 
 
 Issues of 1868-69. 6, 12, 25, 50, 100 Centavos. 
 
 (With or without black surcharge. J 
 Genuine. 
 
 Typographed (?) in black (except the 25 c, which is in blue), on 
 moderately thin coloured wove paper, or unperf orated (1869), perces 
 en arc (1868). The top of the x of Mexico is distinctly larger than 
 the bottom half ; the i is much thicker than any of the other letters ; 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 307 
 
 and the o is very much thinner than the I. The c of cent is 
 slightly, but plainly, taller than the e. There are three transverse 
 lines of shading showing between the top of the 
 head and the outline of the circle, but the 
 uppermost of the three lines is always blotched 
 into the outline of the said circle, so as to form 
 merely a sort of thickening of it at that point. 
 The face is that of a benevolent old man, with 
 large dark eyes, a very high left cheek bone 
 {i.e. on the right of the stamp), and no symptom 
 of a squint. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in black (except the 25 c), on venj thin, coloured 
 wove paper ; unperf orated . The top of the x of Mexico is the same 
 size as the bottom ; the i and the o are the same thickness as the 
 other letters of that word. The c of cent is rather smaller than the 
 E, instead of being taller. There are only two horizontal lines of 
 shading between the top of the head and the outline of the circle, 
 without any sign of a third line. The expression of the face is sour 
 and disagreeable ; the left cheek bone is not particularly projecting; 
 and the eyes have a decided squint. I think this forgery is decidedly 
 deceptive ; for most of the details of the design are very accurately 
 copied. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large double circle, each circle composed of a thin and 
 a thick line close together, with name between the circles, and date 
 in the centre. Also a similar double circle, but with each composed 
 of a single line only. Also a large transverse rectangular frame, 
 with name and date in two lines. 
 
 Forged. The double circle with single lines, above described. Also 
 a number of diamond-shaped dots. 
 
 Issues of 1872-74. 6, 12, 25, 60, 100 Centavos. 
 
 ( With or ivithout black surcJiarge. The latter is rare. ) 
 Genuine. 
 
 Poorly lithographed (1) on medium, white wove paper, ornamented 
 at the back wdth a blue moire pattern, the sheet watermarked papel 
 SELLADO ; unperforated (beginning of 1872), perces 
 en pointes (April, 1872), perces en arc, and perfor- 
 ated 13 (both 1874). The outer line of the stamp 
 is very thin in the spaces between the four labels 
 and the four corner-squares ; but when it reaches 
 any one of the said labels or corner-squares, it is 
 blotched into one thick line with the outline of 
 the square or label. This is, perhaps, the easiest 
 test. Each o of the different inscriptions is nicely 
 
308 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 slmj)ed and oval. The top of the left-hand value-label is rounded. 
 Above this label there are 3^ large curls in the 6 (seis) centavos, 3$ 
 in the 12 (doce) centavos, 3| in the 25 (veinticinco) centavos, 3j in 
 the 50 (cincuenta) centavos, and 3 in the 100 (cien) centavos. The 
 moire pattern at the back is formed by tine blue lines ; there are, on 
 an average, 50 parallel lines in the pattern. In the 6 c. the value 
 SEIS reads downwards. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on stout wove paper, with a coarse moire pattern at the 
 back ; unperforated ; no black surcharge ; the sheet unwaterniarked. 
 The outer line or frame of the stamp is of one uniform thickness all 
 the way round, showing no thin line between the various labels and 
 oorner-squares. Each o of the different inscriptions is more or less 
 square, or rather rectangular ; this is especially noticeable in the 
 word CORREOS. The top of the left-hand label is cut off almost 
 square, instead of being rounded. Above the said label there are 
 two large curls and two small ones in all the values, the lowest 
 being the largest, and the uppermost being the smallest of the four. 
 The moire pattern at the back is too coarse, having on an average 
 only 40 parallel wavy lines in it. In the 6 c. the value seis reads 
 upwards. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large double circle, with name between the circles, and 
 date in the centre. Also a small double circle, similarly inscribed. 
 Also a small double oval, similarly inscribed. 
 
 Forged. The large double circle of the genuine. Also a diamond 
 of small round dots. Also a set of thin parallel bars. Also an oval 
 formed by four straight parallel lines at top and bottom, and five 
 curved lines each side. 
 
 MODENA. 
 
 Issue of 1852. 5, 9, 10, 15, 25, 40 c; 1 Lira. 
 
 Genuine. 
 Engraved in epargne, on rough, 
 unsurfaced, coloured wove paper, 
 moderately stout. The 1 lira is 
 watermarked with a large letter ; 
 the others are unwaterniarked. The 
 value 9 cent., without the letters 
 E.G., was never issued to the public. 
 All the values have a stop after cent., or cen. The easiest test for the 
 genuine is the line at the bottom of the stamp, which does not go 
 right across ; i.e. it does not touch the frame on either side of the 
 stamp. The line under poste estensi also does not touch the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 309 
 
 frame on the right-hand side. The crown is tolerably well drawn, 
 and shows three white pearls on each arch ; the eagle has three 
 spreading claws on each foot. The outer frame of the stamp is 
 single, but there is a line separating each stamp from its neighbours 
 which can be seen on the whole sheet, or on a stamp having a very- 
 broad margin. The outline of the frame is neither very thick nor 
 very thin. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, hard, smooth, coloured wove paper. The 
 1 lira is unwatermarked. There is no stop after cent., but there is 
 a small stop after cen. in the " b.g. .9 cen." value. The line at the 
 bottom of the stamp, below the value, goes right across, and joins 
 both sides of the frame. The line under poste estensi also goes 
 right across, joining both sides of the stamp. The crown has a very 
 skeleton-like appearance, with four or five indistinct dark pearls on 
 each of the outer branches. The outer line of the frame all round 
 the stamp is very thin, much thinner than in the genuine. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, coloured wove paper. I do not know 
 whether there is a full set of this type of counterfeit ; I have only 
 the 10 and 25 cent. There is a stop after cent., but it is smaller than 
 in the genuine. The bottom line of the frame, and the line under 
 PoSTE ESTENSI, go right across the stamp, joining both sides of the 
 frame. The crown is skeleton-like, and is formed by lines only, 
 without any pearls on the arches at all. The eagle has four droop- 
 ing claws on the foot at the right-hand side of the stamp, and three 
 drooping claws on the other foot. All the lines of both inner and 
 outer frame are very thick, much thicker than in the genuine. The 
 ornaments in the side frames are not nearly so curly as in the 
 genuine, being almost straight. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, coloured wove paper, but too smooth. The 
 impression is always very dark and heavy in this forgery, but it 
 looks very well, and is, in many respects, the best which I have seen. 
 There is no stop after cent. I have not seen the 1 lira of this type, 
 but it would be unwatermarked. The line below the value, at the 
 bottom of the stamp, goes right across, joining both sides of the 
 inner frame, as also does the line below poste estensi. The crown 
 is too thick, and some of the arches show only two pearls, though 
 the third pearl may be only blotched by the heavy printing. The 
 eagle's claws point too much downwards ; i.e., they do not spread out 
 enough. The outer frame of the stamp is double, there being a thick 
 outline round the whole stamp, a little distance from the outer frame, 
 evidently intended to be a part of the stamp itself, instead of being 
 merely a division between the stamps. This outline, together with 
 all the other lines of the stamp, is much too thick. 
 
310 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A number of long diamonds struck in blue, or a set of 
 parallel bars in black. 
 
 Forged. The set of parallel black bars just mentioned. 
 
 Provisional Issue of 1859. 5, 15, 20, 40, 80 Cent. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on very tliin, yellowish-white wove paper. 
 There is a stop after cent., and another after the numeral of value, 
 each stop being large, at a good distance from the word or numeral, 
 and sunk into the paper. The shield leans over a little to the right, 
 and the cross leans still more to the right, so that the right arm of 
 the cross points between on of modonesi. There are five vertical 
 lines of shading in each of the top quarters of the shield, between 
 the outline of the shield and the outline of the cross ; and there are 
 six similar lines in the right-hand bottom quarter, and five lines and 
 part of a sixth in the left-hand bottom quarter. The arches of the 
 crown rest w^on strawberry leaves. There are three entire ones, and 
 parts of two others. These are quite distinct, and not at all like 
 trefoils. The line below the value at the bottom of the stamp does 
 not go anywhere near the sides, being drawn much too short and a 
 great deal thinner than the other lines of the stamp. The little 
 ornamental fioral spandrels in the upper corners, inside the frame, 
 are a very long way from the corners. The crosses in the corners of 
 the stamp are very small, not anything like filling up the squares 
 prepared for them. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thinnish, very white wove paper, very much 
 blotched in printing, so that all the finer details of the design are 
 filled up with colour. The stop after cent, is very small, and close 
 to the T, and there is often no stop at all after the numeral of value. 
 They are, of course, not sunk into the paper. The shiekl and cross 
 are ])oth quite upright, so that the right arm of the cross points 
 directly towards the second o of modonesi. The dark part of the 
 shield is one uniform mass of colour, showing no lines in the heavily- 
 printed specimens ; but in some copies I have been able to make out 
 six lines of shading in the upper left-hand quarter, five in the lower 
 left-hand quarter, and five in the lower right-hand quarter of the 
 shield. The arches of the crown appear to rest upon trefoils, but 
 they are so blotched that it is difficult ^o say what they are. The 
 line below the value, at the bottom of the stamp, is very thick, and 
 goes right across, from one side to the other of the stani]). The little 
 ornamental spandrels in the upper corners, inside the frame, touch 
 the outline of the frame. The crosses in the corners of the stamp 
 are so large that they quite fill up the squares prepared for them, and 
 touch the outlines of the squares. The i of modenesi is an ordinary 
 I, instead of being a badly-formed t, as in the genuine. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 311 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Nicely lithographed on thick, white wove paper. There is a stop 
 after cent., and another after the numeral of value, as in the 
 genuine, but too close to the word and figure. The shield and cross 
 are quite upright. There are six vertical lines of shading in the 
 left-hand upper quarter of the shield, between the outline of the 
 shield and that of the cross. There are six similar lines in the 
 lower left-hand quarter, four and part of a fifth in the upper right- 
 hand quarter, and four in the lower right-hand quarter. The arches 
 of the crown rest upon trefoils, which cannot be mistaken for straw- 
 berry leaves. The line below the value, at the bottom of the stamp, 
 joins the frame at the right-hand side, but does not join it on the 
 left-hand side. It is thinner than the other lines, like the genuine. 
 The little ornamental spandrels in the upper corners, inside the frame, 
 are too close to the corners, but do not absolutely touch them. The 
 crosses in the corners of the stamp are too large, almost filling up the 
 squares prepared for them. The i of modonesi is badly formed, but 
 it is not like the immature t of the genuine. This forgery is very 
 likely to deceive, being, in some respects, better than the original. 
 The 20 cent, in this set is found in bright blue, and also in pink, the 
 colours of the genuine 20 cent, being lilac and bluish- violet. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. None of my genuine copies are postmarked. 
 Forged. Either uncancelled, or with the letters P.D. in enormous 
 capitals. 
 
 MONTENEGEO. 
 Issue of 1873-4. 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 25 Soldi. 
 
 Genuiiie. 
 
 Printed on thick, white wove paper ; perforated 10^. A very easy 
 instant test, but one rather difficult to describe, is the first letter at 
 the top of the right-hand label. It is the Russ ts, which is like two 
 ii's, joined both at the top and bottom, with a little wedge-shaped 
 white tail to the right of the bottom cross-stroke. In these stamps 
 the said tail looks more like a flaw in the plate than anything else. 
 The stops after the first word in the right-hand label, and the word 
 in the bottom label, are large and distinct. The ear is large and 
 very prominent. There is a strongly-marked vertical cleft or dimple 
 in the chin. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper ; perforated 12h. The 
 first letter at the top of the right-hand label is like two ii's", joined 
 
312 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 at the bottom, but not at the top, and without any white tail. The 
 stops are very small. The ear is almost hidden by the hair and 
 whisker. The cleft or dimple in the chin is not at all strongly 
 marked, and it is oblique, instead of being vertical. The perforation 
 of these forgeries is very different from the bold and clear-cut holes 
 of the genuine, being very ragged and uneven. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I have not seen any cancelled copies. 
 Forged. Four concentric circles. 
 
 MONTEVIDEO. 
 Issue of 1856, " Diligencia." 60 c, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on rather thin, white wove paper. There are 
 ten and a half outward turns of the key-pattern down the left 
 side of the stamp (the half turn being at the bottom), and nine and 
 a half outward turns of the similar pattern down the right side of 
 the stamp (the half turn being at the top). The chin of the face 
 representing the sun is very pointed, the eyes large, and looking 
 straight forward. There is a line connecting the nose and the left 
 eyebrow. The line forming the mouth is bent into a rather irregular 
 curve. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed, in very greenish blue, on stout, white wove paper. 
 This forgery can be easily detected, as there are only nine outward 
 turns of the key-pattern alike down both sides of the stamp. The 
 chin is not much pointed. The eyes are large, as in the genuine, 
 but there is no line connecting the nose and the eyebrow. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is very much more like the genuine. Lithographed on thin, 
 white wove paper. There are ten outward turns of the key-pattern 
 down the left side of the stamp, and nine and a half down the right 
 side, the half turn being at the top, as in the genuine. The chin is 
 roimded ; the eyes appear small, nearly closed, and looking towards 
 the left side of the stamp. There is no line to connect the nose and 
 eyebrow. The curve of the mouth is quite regular, being a sort of 
 semi-lunar shape, with the concave part uppermost. This forgery is 
 very deceptive, as may be seen by the few points of difference 
 between it and the genuine ; indeed one well-known dealer actually 
 sent one of them out for sale, at a heavy price, thinking it to be 
 genuine. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 313 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have not seen the originals postmarked. The first forgery is un- 
 cancelled, and the second forgery bears sometimes a cross, and some- 
 times a large " 8," both in pen-and-ink. 
 
 Same Issue. 1 Heal, vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper. There are ten and a half 
 ontward turns of the left-hand key-pattern, with the half turn at the 
 bottom, and nine and a half outward turns of the right-hand key- 
 pattern, with the half turn at the top. The face is the same as in 
 the 60 c, the base of the nose being well defined. The right-hand 
 limb of the a of diligencia is much thicker than the left-hand 
 limb. There is just space for another r between the figure and 
 word of the value — 1 real. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very stout, white wove paper. There are nine 
 ontward turns of the key-pattern down the left side of the stamp, 
 and nine also down the right side. The chin is broadly rounded ; 
 the base of the nose, where the nostrils ought to be, is entirely 
 absent, and there is a line from each eyebrow to the nose. The 
 mouth is small, and of a regular curve. Both limbs of the a of dili- 
 gencia are of equal thickness. Between 1 and real there is space 
 for two letters at the least. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have seen no postmarked forgeries of either genuine or forged. 
 
 Issues of 1859, thick and thin figures. 60, 80, 100, 120, 
 180, 240 Centesimos. 
 
 ^ 60 CENTESIMOS88 
 
 I shall take both these 
 issues together, as they vary 
 only in the paper and the 
 size of the numerals. 
 
 =MONTEVIDEO=-» 
 
 » 60 C£yrEsiMQS k 
 
 moderately stout (thick 
 The word centesimos 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper, 
 figures), or thin and soft (thin figures), 
 always has an accent on the second e, and the head and tail of the 
 c are both alike. One of the easiest tests is in the left-hand correo, 
 which is always smaller than the corresponding word on the right- 
 hand side. If the width of the left-hand correo be accurately 
 
314 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 measured with a piece of paper, or a pair of compasses, it will be 
 found to be, as nearly as possible, the same width as the corre of the 
 right-hand correo ; i.e. the right-hand word, without its final 
 letter, is as wide as the whole of the left-hand word. The left-hand 
 correo also is very rarely perfect, being more often cobreo or 
 CORHEO. A line drawn down the right-hand vertical boundary of 
 the central square would jDass considerably to the right of the last s 
 of centesimos ; that is to say, the last s of that word is not put 
 flush with the right-hand corner of the square, but too much to the 
 left. The rays of the sun are composed of alternately straight and 
 wavy lines. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 
 Nicely lithographed on stout, hard, white wove paper. There is 
 no accent to the second e of centesimos, and the head and the tail 
 of the c are not both alike ; i.e. it is like an English capital c instead 
 of a li'rench one. The left-hand correo is always properly spelt, 
 and it is almost the same width as the right-hand one, and in the 
 same large letters. The last s of centesimos is flush with the right- 
 hand vertical outline of the central square. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 
 Lithographed, not so nicely as before, on very thin, greyish-white 
 wove paper. There is no accent on the second e of centesimos, and 
 the tail of the c is not like the head. The left-hand correo is 
 exactly the same width as the right-hand one, and is always spelt 
 correctly. Both these words are in letters smaller instead of larger 
 than those of Montevideo. The outside of the last s of centesimos 
 is, as in the other forgeries, level with the vertical right-hand outline 
 of the central square. A peculiarity of this forgery is that the sun's 
 face is not placed in the centre of the central circle, and the rays are 
 all alike, something between straight and wavy. 
 
 Forged. Third Set. 
 
 Nicely lithographed on very thin, hard, wove paper. The word 
 centesimos bears the accent, as in the genuine. The left-hand 
 correo is always correctly sj^elt, and both right and left are exactly 
 the same width, measured, as before, from the outside of the c to the 
 outside of the o. The letters of these two words are no larger than 
 those of MONTEVIDEO, thougli placed, of course, farther apart. The 
 outside of the last s of centesimos is flush with the vertical right- 
 hand outline of the central square. The rays of the sun are all 
 straight lines. 
 
 I think the first of these three forgeries will be found the most 
 dangerous. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Karely a pen-stroke ; most usually a large, transverse 
 oval, with lettering in three lines, the outer ones following the out- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 315 
 
 lines of the oval. I have seen one stamp cancelled with a circular 
 postmark, but I fancy this is very uncommon. 
 
 Forged. Those of the first set bear a very good imitation of the 
 transverse oval ; those of the second set have a large outlined 
 diamond, containing parallel bars, and those of the third set are not 
 cancelled. 
 
 Issue of 1860, block lettering. 120, 180, 240 Centesimos. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 "Very blotchily lithographed on thin, very white wove paper. An 
 easy test is the m of Montevideo, the outside of its first stroke being 
 almost exactly flush with the thin vertical line 
 to the right of the left-hand correo. All the 
 numerous stops are shaded with horizontal lines, 
 though occasionally one or more may appear to 
 be of solid colour, owing to the blotchy way in 
 which the stamps are printed. However, some of 
 tlie stops (there are sixteen of them) always show 
 the shaded lines. The face is of a nice oval shape, 
 with a rounded chin, and there is very little white 
 on the sides of the hair level with the cheeks. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 
 This, I should say, is one of the very commonest of existing 
 counterfeits ; and I never receive a batch of stamps for opinion 
 without finding some specimens of this forgery in it. 
 
 Lithographed, far clearer than the genuine, on medium, hard, 
 white wove jDaper. The M of Montevideo is placed considerably 
 too much to the left, so tliat the tliin vertical line to the right of the 
 left-hand correo, if prolonged upwards, would cut almost into the 
 middle of the said m. All the stops are of solid colour, without shading. 
 The face is a wide oval, with a very pointed chin. The hair, level 
 with the cheeks, is puffed out in a very old-fashioned style, with 
 strong patches of light upon each side. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 
 Lithographed, better than the genuine, on thin, very white wove 
 paper. The m of Montevideo is in this set placed too much to the 
 right, so that the thin vertical line to the right of the left-hand 
 correo would, if prolonged upwards, pass clear to the left of the 
 letter. One or two of the stops show an imperfect attempt at 
 shading, but all the others are solid. The shape of the face is not 
 regular, one cheek being larger than the other, and the chin is too 
 pointed. The hair, level with the cheeks, has no light upon it at 
 all, and looks somewhat like whiskers. The block letters of this 
 forgery are much too thin. 
 
316 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I have never seen a cancelled copy. 
 
 Forged. Those of the first set are either iinobliterated, or bear the 
 transverse lettered oval of the last issue. Those of the second set 
 bear an oval, composed of live or six parallel straight lines at the 
 top and bottom, and hve curved lines at each side. 
 
 The second forgery is not common. 
 
 Issue of 1864. 6, 8, 10, 12 Centesimos 
 Issue of 1866. Same, surcharged 5, 10, 15, 20 Centesimos. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, soft wove paper. 
 There is a distinct accent over the second e of 
 CENTESIMOS ; and the left-hand lower corner of the 
 label containing that word projects beyond the out- 
 line of the stamp, though not far enough to touch 
 the thin line which surrounds the whole. This is 
 the easiest test. There is a stop before republica, 
 and another after oriental. Generally these stops 
 are very large and white, but some of the later impressions do not 
 show them so distinctly. There is a white line dividing republica 
 oriental from the central design, but it can only be traced round 
 from the R of republica to the n of oriental. The sun's rays 
 extend from below the centre of the l of republica to below the 
 centre of the r of oriental. The corners of the stamp are com- 
 posed of vertical lines, generally more or less blotched together. The 
 bundles of leaves in the wreath round the shield do not get smaller 
 towards the top of the wreath. The ends of the bow of ribbon 
 fastening the wreath hang down something like a frog's legs, the 
 riglit-hand end pointing towards the second e of centesimos, and 
 being a good deal longer than the other. All the values differ 
 slightly from each other ; but it will be understood that the tests 
 given apply to all. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 Lithographed on very thin, smooth paper, wove and very white. 
 There is no accent to centesimos, and the left corner of the label 
 containing that word does not come to the edge of the stamp, 
 much less project beyond it. The stops before and after the name 
 are very shapeless, and too white. There is no white line between 
 republica oriental and the central design. The upper corners of 
 the stamp are perfectly solid, but the lower ones show traces of the 
 vertical lines. There are only four bunches of leaves each side of 
 the wreath, instead of five. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 Lithographed very like the last. No accent to centesimos. The 
 left corner of the label containing that word just touclies the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 317 
 
 boundary of the stamp, but does not project beyond it. No stop after 
 oiiiENTAL, and no white lin^ dividing republica oriental from 
 the central design. Upper corners of the stamp quite solid. Four 
 bunches of leaves in the wreath, instead of five. The sun's rays 
 extend from below the c of republica to below the o of oriental. 
 The right-hand end of the bow of ribbon points to the s of 
 
 CENTESIMOS. ^ , m ■ 1 a . 
 
 Forged. Third Set. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thick, hard wove paper. No accent to 
 CENTESIMOS. The lett corner of the label containing that word is a 
 long way inside the frame of the stamp, not coming near the edge. 
 No stop visible either before or after the name. The white line 
 dividing the name republica oriental from the central design is 
 very strong, and it extends right round the central design, except 
 where hidden by the bow of ribbon. The sun s rays look like a fan, 
 or rather, like an opened hand of cards, extending from under the i 
 of REPUBLICA to Under the centre of the r of oriental. The 
 vertical lines in the corners of the stamp are much too prominent, 
 and not blotched together. There seem to be six bunches of leaves 
 each side of the wreath, instead of five, and they taper very much, 
 so that the top of the wreath is considerably smaller than the bottom. 
 The ribbon composing the bow of the wreath is very much broader 
 than the genuine, and the ends do not hang down. 
 
 Note. I have not seen any of the above forgeries bearing the pro- 
 visional surcharge, but it would not be difficult to add it. The rest 
 of the stamp would be unaltered. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The lettered oval before described. 
 
 Forged. The outlined diamond before described, containing 
 parallel bars ; also a quatrefoil, with a short line projecting out from 
 the centre of each of the four convex parts of the quatrefoil ; also 
 the oval, with straight lines at top and bottom, and curved lines at 
 the sides as before described ; also the same, with numerals in the 
 centre ; also a lettered oval, like the genuine ; also a lettered circle. 
 
 I have not a full set of each of the forgeries described, but it is 
 possible that the full set of each may exist. 
 
 Issues of 1866-72. 1 Centesimo, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, greyish- white wove paper ; 
 unperforated (1866), or badly perforated 13 (1«72). 
 A very easy test for the genuine is in the upper 
 right-hand quarter of the arms. This represents 
 what appears to be a hill, with a stumpy tower on 
 the top of it. The horizontal lines of shading in 
 the said quarter only reach down about level with 
 the top of the d of del, leaving a large white patch 
 
318 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 above the hill. There is an accent to the second e of centesimo, 
 and the said e is exactly in the centre of the large numeral 1. The 
 c and o of centesimo are both at a considerable distance from their 
 respective ends of the containing label. The two scale-pans of the 
 balance in the left-hand npper quarter of the arms are both level, 
 and three lines of shading can be counted below them. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed. I have not seen this counterfeit, but, according to 
 Mr. Atlee's description of it, the shading above the hill comes down 
 level with the bottom of the d of del, and the bull in the right-hand 
 lower quarter of the arms is like a mule, or a Noah's-ark lamb. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on greyish-white and yellowish- white wove paper, 
 stouter and harder than the genuine. All the copies at present in 
 my possession are unperforated, but 1 fancy I have seen the counter- 
 feits perforated. The horizontal lines of shading in the right-hand 
 upper corner of the arms come down level with the very bottom of 
 the E of DEL, passing through the tower on the top of the hill, so 
 that there is no white visible, except at each side of the hill. The c 
 and o of the word centesimo almost touch their respective ends of 
 the containing label ; the second e has no accent, and is too far to 
 the left of the centre of the large figure 1. The left-hand scale-pan 
 is lower than the right ; the former showing two lines under it, the 
 latter three. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Both genuine and forged (second forgery) bear the transverse 
 lettered oval before described. I do not know the postmark of the 
 first forgery. 
 
 Same Issue. 5 Centesimos, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper similar to that of the 1 centesimo, but rather 
 thicker ; unperforated, or perforated 13, according to the date of 
 issue. The left-hand outline of the stamp, inside the thick boundary 
 line, if prolonged upwards, would cut the r of republica almost in 
 half; and if prolonged downwards, it would nearly coincide with 
 the left-hand stroke of the m of Montevideo. The right-hand out- 
 line of the stamp, if similarly prolonged, would pass through the 
 outer arm of the y of Uruguay, and just touch the outer edge of the 
 last o of MONTEVIDEO. There is a good space between the words 
 REPUBLICA DEL URUGUAY, and the last o of MONTEVIDEO is not too 
 far from the e. On the left side of the stamp there are sixteen lines 
 of inscription, counting from the bottom to the first one which is 
 turned upside down. The outline of the horse's face is nearly 
 horizontal, and the tail of the large 5 just touches his nose. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 319 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithograph ed on rather stout, yellowish-white wove j^aper ; un- 
 perforated. A prolongation of the left-hand outline of the frame 
 would pass between re of republica, but the m of Montevideo is 
 far too much to the right, so that the small dowuM^ard prolongation 
 of the said outline (which really exists in the forgery) passes con- 
 siderably to the left of the m. A similar prolongation of the right- 
 hand outline would cut through the centre of the Y of Uruguay, and 
 almost through the centre of the o of Montevideo, which letter is 
 much too far from the e. On the left side of the stamp there ar 
 only thirteen lines of inscription, from the bottom to the first one 
 which is upside-down. The outline of the face of the horse points 
 very much downwards, and the nose is quite hidden by the tail of 
 the large 5. 
 
 Same Issue. 10 Centesimos, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on yellowish-white wove paper, like the 5 c. ; un- 
 perforated, or perforated 13. There is only one thin line under 
 REPUBLICA DEL URUGUAY. If the left Outline of the stamp were 
 prolonged, it would pass upwards through the centre of the r, and 
 downwards flush with the beginning of the M. A similar prolonga- 
 tion of the right outline would pass upwards through the centre of 
 the Y, and downwards flush with the outer edge of the o. There are 
 twenty-five lines of inscription down the left-hand side of the stamp, 
 with indications of a twenty-sixth line in some types. One line of 
 the inscription, and sometimes part of a second, can be fully seen 
 below the bottom of the large figure 1. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper, a good deal thicker than the 
 genuine ; unperforated. There are two thin lines under the words 
 REPUBLICA DEL URUGUAY. The R is in its proper position, but a 
 downward prolongation of the left-hand outline would pass far to 
 the left of the m, which is level with the edge of the 1. The o is in 
 its right place as regards the outline of the stamp, but too small, and 
 the E is too far from it. An upward prolongation of the right-hand 
 frame would very nearly pass between the ay of Uruguay. There 
 are only twenty lines of inscription on the left-hand side of the 
 stamp, and the letters of the lowest line are more than half-hidden 
 by the bottom of the 1. 
 
 Same Issue. 15 Centesimos, yellow-orange. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper as before ; unperforated, or perforated 13, 
 according to the date of issue. The thin outlines of the sides of the 
 
320 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OE, 
 
 stamp, if prolonged upwards, would cut through the centre of the 
 R of REPUBLICA, and the centre of the y of Uruguay respectively. 
 The sun's face comes in front of the large 5, though the mouth and chin 
 are hidden by the upper point of the shield. The 
 inscription on the large 1 is centectmos, and that 
 on the 5 is centecim, the rest of the word being 
 hidden by the shield. The 1 and 5 do not touch 
 each other at the bottom. There are twenty-five 
 transverse lines of inscription, counting down the 
 left side of the stamp. The line along the top of 
 the head of the 5 is perfectly straight. The colour 
 of the stamp is more or less orange. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, coarsely -wove white paper ; unperforated. 
 The thin outline of the left side of the stamp, if prolonged upwards, 
 would cut through the middle of the e of republica, and a similar 
 upward prolongation of the thin line on the right side of the stamp 
 would cut into the a of Uruguay. The large 5 hides part of the 
 sun's face, but the point of the shield does not hide any part of it. 
 The large 1 bears the inscription centesimos, and the large 5 bears 
 CENTESIMO ; the place where the final s ought to be is not hidden by 
 the shield. The 1 and 5 distinctly touch each other at the bottom. 
 There are only seventeen transverse lines of inscription on the 
 stamp, counting down the left side. The line along the head of 
 the 5 turns up at the right-hand end. The colour varies from pale 
 lemon to a sort of salmon, but is very rarely the correct shade of 
 orange-yellow. 
 
 Same Issue. 20 Centesimos, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper as before ; unperforated, or perforated 13, 
 according to the date of issue. Upward prolongations of the side- 
 lines would, as before, cut centrally through the r 
 of REPUBLICA and the Y of Uruguay, and down- 
 ward prolongations of the same lines would resj)ec- 
 tively coincide with the first stroke of the m and 
 cut partly through the o of Montevideo. Above 
 the V of this latter word there are five repetitions 
 of the letters im, up to the base of the shield. On 
 the 2 there are the letters cent, and the final s of 
 the complete word shows distinctly above the top 
 of the shield. The bears centesimos, in very distinct letters. 
 There are twenty-five horizontal lines of inscription, counting down 
 the left side of the stamp. The colour is more or less pink. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 321 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, coarsely-wove paper ; imperforated. An 
 upward prolongation of the left-hand outline would barely cut into 
 the tail of the r of republica, which is too much to the left ; but 
 the Y of URUGUAY is in its proper position. A downward prolonga- 
 tion of the left-hand outline would cut through the centre of the m 
 of MONTEVIDEO ; but the final o of this word is too much to the left, 
 so that the downward prolongation of the right-hand outline would 
 pass some little distance to the right of it. Above the v of this word 
 there are five repetitions of the letters NT, up to the base of the 
 shield. The 2 bears cen only, and the final s above the shield is 
 absent. The bears centecimos, but the first three letters are often 
 almost unreadable. There are twenty-four lines of inscription, 
 counting down the left side of the stamp. The colour varies from 
 salmon to carmine. 
 
 N.B.— Collectors are sometimes puzzled by a watermark of a 
 letter or letters on the genuine stamps of this issue, the said water- 
 mark not being mentioned by the catalogues. It is an inscription 
 across the sheet, and, of course, a letter or letters will occasionally 
 appear on one of the stamps. The forgeries never show any water- 
 mark. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The lettered, outlined double oval, as before ; also a large 
 transverse oval, not outlined, composed of very thick vertical lines of 
 varying length, with a large capital letter in the centre. 
 
 Forged. The lettered, outlined double oval ; also an oval of 
 diamond-shaped dots ; also a single circle containing letters. 
 
 All the values of the genuine stamps of this issue, except the 1 c, 
 are in sheets of one hundred varieties, but I think the tests given 
 will be found in them all. 
 
 MONTSEREAT. 
 Issue of 1876. One Penny, red; Sixpence, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 These are merely the 1873 issue of Antigua ; 
 perf. 13 ; watermarked CC and crown ; sur- 
 charged montserrat, in black printed capitals. 
 For the tests of the genuine the reader will please 
 refer to the description of the Antigua stamps on 
 pp. 2, 3 of this book. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 These are the Antigua forgeries already described (pp. 2, 3), with 
 surcharge montserrat in lithographed black capitals. They are 
 very poorly done, and not likely to deceive. 
 
 Y 
 
322 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 NATAL. 
 
 Threepence, blue. 
 
 ( Tyjye of accompanying illustration.) 
 
 Issue of 1860. XJnperforated, watermarked with a star. 
 Issue of 1863-64. Perforated 14, 14|, 15, 15^ ; no watermark. 
 
 I don't think this value exists with the CC and crown 
 watermark, except with the surcharge of postage. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, and on quite thin, white wove 
 paper ; perforation and watermark as above, according to the date of 
 issue. The Queen's coronet has twenty-seven 
 pearls in the lowest row, which rests on tlie head ; 
 above this is a row of about twenty-one shapeless 
 jewels; then there is a row of twenty-four pearls. 
 The highest part of the hair, wdiere the parting 
 is supposed to be, does not touch the lowest row 
 of pearls on the coronet. The eyes are large, and 
 very dark, and they appear to be looking deci- 
 dedly towards the left side of .the stamp. The 
 necklace seems to have seventeen pearls, but they 
 are rather difficult to count. They are all more or less round or 
 oval in shape, and the three large ones in front have shading on 
 them. The background, behind the head, is composed of very fine 
 lines, placed very close together. The strips of engine-turning down 
 the stamp, outside the central oval, are very finely executed, and 
 appear to he composed of white lines, scratched out of a dark back- 
 ground. Two strips of the engine-turning run down the right side 
 of the stamp, quite clear of the white outline of the oval, and the 
 said white oval hardly touches the inner one of the two similar strips 
 down the left side of the stamp. The two earrings are alike in shape, 
 though the one on the right side of the stamp is a little larger than 
 the other. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, yellowish-white wove paper, unperforated ; 
 no watermark. The coronet bears three rows of pearls, and no row 
 of shapeless jewels. The lowest row contains twenty pearls, the 
 next row contains seventeen pearls, and the top row contains nine- 
 teen. The parting of the hair touches the lowest row of pearls. The 
 eyes are large, but very light, only the puj)il being dark ; and they 
 are looking rather upwards, giving the face a languishing expression. 
 The necklace contains fourteen pearls ; they are easy to count, and 
 some of them are dreadfully out of shape. Only two of the front 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 323 
 
 ones have any dark marks upon them. The crossed lines of the 
 background, in the central oval, are much too coarse. The strips of 
 imitation engine-turning down the stamp are very badly done, look- 
 ing like coloured dots and lines ujDon a white ground. The white 
 oval cuts considerably into the inner one of the two strips down 
 the right side of the stamp, and it cuts slightly into the similar inner 
 strip of engine-turning down the left side of the stamp. The ear- 
 rings are quite different in shape, the one on the right side of the 
 stamp being like the genuine, and the other one being merely a sort 
 of oblong white patch. I do not think this forgery is likely to be 
 dangerous. I have met with only two specimens. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Very frequently only a pen-stroke on the earlier issue ; 
 also an oval, composed of fine straight lines at the top and bottom, 
 and thicker curved lines at the sides, containing numerals. 
 
 Forged. I have only seen the forgery pen-stroked. 
 
 It is possible that this forgery may exist with the surcharge 
 POSTAGE. The genuine stamps thus surcharged are perforated 12^, 
 and watermarked CC and crown. 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 fl [P ? M K ^ 
 
 Reprints and forgeries of the early embossed issue here illustrated 
 exist, but I have not been able to obtain any of them. Pemberton's 
 Handbook says that the 3d., 6d., 9d., and Is., of the embossed set 
 were re-issued perforated, some time ago, as fiscal stamps, on thinner 
 paper. The embossed stamps were, of course, never perforated. 
 
 NEW BEUNSWICK. 
 Issue of 1857. 3d., red ; 6d., yellow ; Is., violet. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, very blue-tinted, white wove 
 paper. If the stamp be placed diamond-wise (its proper position), 
 with the crown upright, then all the four corner numerals will be 
 
324 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 upright also. Crown very nicely drawn, with its middle arch stand- 
 ing on a pattee. There is a fimr-de-hjs on each side of the said 
 
 cross. The octagonal outline round 
 the central space is single. The lowest 
 point of the top numeral compartment 
 touches the point of the arch -shaped 
 white line below it. The four flower 
 stems, if prolonged, would pass, cen- 
 trally, through the inward-pointing rays 
 of the eight -pointed white stars in 
 which they are drawn. The general 
 background of the stamp is formed by 
 engine-turning, finely executed, being 
 apparently white lines cut out of a 
 dark background. The background of 
 the frame is of dark lines on a white 
 ground. All the dark lines of the design stand up well from the 
 surface of the paper, so that the thickness of the ink can be felt as 
 well as seen. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper, without any blue tint. 
 If the stamp be placed diamond-wise, with the central crown 
 upright, the upper tigure is upright also ; but the right-hand one is 
 lying on its back, the left-hand one on its face, and the bottom one 
 is upside-down. The crown is ragged, unfinished-looking, and badly 
 drawn ; its middle arch stands on a white trefoil, and there is a 
 similar trefoil, instead of a Jleur-de-lys, each side of it. The octagonal 
 outline round the central space is double. The lowest point of the 
 top numeral -compartment does not meet the point of the white 
 outlined arch below it, the arch being too much to the right. The 
 stems of the top and right-hand flowers are as in the genuine ; but 
 the stems of the bottom and left-hand flowers would, if prolonged, 
 go through the sides instead of the points of the inmost rays of the 
 white stars. The whole of the background of the stamp is formed 
 by coloured lines upon white, and none of the dark lines are at all 
 in relief. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Pen -stroke; also an outlined oval, filled with thin, 
 parallel lines, struck in blue. 
 
 Forged. A large diamond, containing six parallel lines ; also a 
 quatrefoil, with a short line projecting from the middle of the out- 
 line of each of the four semicircles. 
 
 Issues of 1860-63. 1 Cent, brown, brown-violet. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, white wove paper, of a yellowish- 
 grey tint ; perforated 12. The funnel of the locomotive is decidedly 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 325 
 
 wedge-shaped, getting smallest wliere it joins the body ; and tlie 
 smoke comes out in sufficient volume to cover three-quarters of the 
 top of it, the front of the smoke being level with the end of the 
 tail of the k of Brunswick. The foreground 
 of the landscape, below the engine, bears very 
 light lines of shading ; and there is a small 
 white rock above the N of one, and another 
 above the e of cent. There is no shading at 
 all (except a few faint lines) in the space be- 
 tween the end of the smoke and the top of 
 the last car ; and the other side of the oval, 
 level with ostag of postage, is almost entirely destitute of shading. 
 Outside the oval, the groundwork of the stamp consists of very fine 
 horizontal lines, crossed by similar lines running down obliquely 
 from right to left. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed on rather thin, soft, very white wove paper ; 
 perforated 13. The funnel of the locomotive is like the genuine at 
 the top, but it gets thicker again where it joins the body, and the 
 smoke conies out in a thin stream from the left-hand edge of the 
 funnel, so that the front of it is nearly level with the middle of the 
 K of BRUNSWICK, showiug threc-fourths of the top of the funnel 
 uncovered. The foreground of the landscape, below the engine, is 
 darkly shaded on the left side, from below the end of the last car to 
 above the N of one. Above that letter there is a shapeless white 
 patch, and there is a dark blotch running along from above the e of 
 ONE to above the n of cent. In the space between the end of the 
 smoke and the top of the last car there is a good deal of dark 
 shading, almost joining the smoke and the top of the car together. 
 There is a great deal of dark shading in front of the engine, to 
 the right of the oval, quite up to the level of the a of postage, 
 and with a few lighter lines above this to level with the s of that 
 word. Outside the oval, the groundwork consists of coarse horizontal 
 lines, crossed by other coarse lines running down obliquely from left 
 to right. These said lines are very easily seen, though they require a 
 microscope in the genuine. 
 
 2 Cents, golden-orange. 
 
 Genimie. 
 
 Finely engraved in taille-douce, on thick hard 
 yellow -white wove paper ; perforated 12. Large 
 white stop before the T of two, like the one after 
 s of cents. Hyphen between the words new 
 BRUNSWICK. The background, behind the corner 
 figures, is formed of horizontal lines. Face and 
 neck, &c., shaded all over, except the bridge of the 
 nose, and above the left eyebrow. The necklace is 
 
326 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 composed of trefoils, not pearls. The central ornament at the top of 
 the coronet is a cross patUe. The ink stands out well from the 
 surface of the paper. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Badly lithographed, in light vermilion, on soft wove paper, rather 
 thin, and very white ; perforated 13. The stop before the T of two 
 is very small, almost invisible. No hyphen between the words new 
 BRUNSWICK. Background solid behind the corner numerals. Upper 
 part of face and front of neck quite white, except above the right 
 eyebrow. Distinct pearl necklace. Partly shaded white square, 
 instead of a cross pattee, at the top of the coronet. The ink does not 
 stand out in relief from the surface of the paper. 
 
 5 Cents, olive-green, grass-green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce. Paper as in the 2 cents, but rather 
 whiter ; perforated 12. Bust, necklace, coronet, and central oval 
 exactly the same as in the genuine 2 cents. Hyphen between the 
 
 words NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, in dirty green, on thin wove paper, very 
 white ; perforated 13. Bust, necklace, coronet, &c,, same as in the 
 forged 2 cents. No hyphen Ijetween the words new Brunswick. 
 
 10 Cents, vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce. Paper the same as in the genuine 2 
 cents ; perforated 12. Bust, necklace, coronet, central oval, &c., the 
 same as in the genuine 2 cents. Hyphen between the words new 
 BRUNSWICK, c of CENTS at the same distance from the left-hand 
 end of bottom label as the s is from the right-hand end. Outline of 
 oval surrounding each x consists of a dark line between two white 
 ones. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, in rose- red, on rather thick, white wove paper ; 
 perforated 13. Bust, necklace, coronet, central oval, &c., same as in 
 genuine 2 cents. No liyphen between the words new Brunswick. 
 In the bottom label the c of cents is too near the left-hand end of 
 the label, as conqjared with the s. Outline of oval surrounding each 
 X consists of a dark line round a white one. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 327 
 
 12| Cents, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, hard, greyish-white wove paper ; 
 perforated 12. Hull of steamer all dark. Smoke 
 from funnel passes in front of masts and behind T 
 flag. Only two ropes visible below flag, to | 
 left of last mast. No "dolphin-striker'^ on | 
 bowsprit. Letters wi of Brunswick joined \ 
 together at top. Fraction-lines dividing ^ of j 
 each bottom 12^ are as broad as the white | 
 rings round them. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin wove paper, very white ; perforated 
 13. White streak drawn alon^ the whole length of the hull. Smoke 
 from funnel passes behind both masts and flag. Three ropes visible 
 below flag. Distinct " dolphin-striker " on bowsprit. Letters wi of 
 BRUNSWICK not joined at the top. Fraction-lines of each bottom 12| 
 much thinner than the white rings round them. 
 
 17 Cents, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, yellowish- 
 white wove paper ; perforated 12. All the nu- 
 merals are in ovals of double lines. The plaid 
 is fastened with a brooch at the shoulder. Two 
 rather oblique lines of the plaid come down to 
 the second e of seventeen, and two similar 
 lines come down to the first n of that word. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, very white wove paper ; perforated 
 13. The numerals (except those in the right-hand bottom corner) 
 are in ovals of single white lines. There is no brooch to fasten the 
 plaid on the shoulder. Two almost perpendicular lines of the plaid 
 come down to the space between en of seventeen, and two similar 
 lines come down to the T of that word. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Frequently only pen-stroked ; also an outlined oval, 
 containing parallel bars ; also same, with numerals in the centre, 
 struck in blue ; also set of bars without oval outline ; also outlined 
 oval, containing unreadable letters. 
 
 Forged. A number of dots ; also an oval, not outlined, formed of 
 four parallel lines top and bottom, and five curved lines each side ; 
 
328 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 also outlined oval, containing parallel bars ; also four concentric 
 circles, containing live or six short parallel lines in the centre. This 
 last cancellation I have only seen on the forged 12| cents; the others 
 are used indifferently for all the other counterfeitsr 
 
 5 Cents, chocolate (Connell), 1861. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, yellowish- 
 white wove paper ; perforated 12. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Photographed on thin wove paper. Unperforated, 
 but with the perforation of the original photographed 
 instead of being perforated. I have seen no litho- 
 graphed forgery. Cancelled copies of the genuine are exceedingly 
 rare ; the photograph is not postmarked. 
 
 NEWFOUNDLAND. 
 
 Issue of 1857. 
 
 One Penny, Fivepehce, 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 brown-violet. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, hard, yellowish- white wove 
 paper. In each corner of the stamp tliere is a little square contain- 
 ing the figure of value, and the inner corner of each square touches, 
 and corresponds with, the point of a sort of 
 arch which surrounds a white star. The stop 
 under the t of St. is large and round ; the 
 apostrophe of John's has a large round head. 
 The crown is surmomited by a very distinct 
 orb ; the ornaments below the arches are a 
 cross pattee, between two Jleur-de-lijs, all very 
 distinct ; and the ermine ring at the bottom of 
 the crown has five dark oblong patches upon 
 it. The base of the crown does not touch the outline of the 
 octagon containing it. All the details of the design are formed by 
 very fine, white engine-turned lines, apparently scratched out of a 
 dark background. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, more or less badly, on very white and bluish-white 
 wove paper, generally a good deal thinner and softer tlian that of the 
 genuine. The inner points of the bottom squares correspond, as in 
 the genuine, with the points of the arches near them ; but the inner 
 corners of the upper squares do 7iot correspond with the points of 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 329 
 
 the upper arches. This is an easy test. The stop under the t of 
 St. is very small, and of an irregular shape ; the apostrophe of 
 John's has much too small a head for a true comma. The orb is 
 rather indistinct in the Id., and totally undecipherable in the 5d. 
 The ornaments below the arches are three fleurs-cle-lys. The ermine 
 ring at the bottom of the crown has four dark oblong patches, with a 
 shapeless lump of shading at the right-hand end, where the fifth 
 oblong patch ought to show. The right-hand end of the base of the 
 crown touches the sides of the containing octagon. All the details of 
 the design are formed by coloured lines on a white background. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A set of eight or ten parallel bars, apparently forming 
 a rectangle. 
 
 Forged. A set of six parallel bars, forming an oval. 
 
 W^7 POSTAGE .THREEPENCES 
 
 Same Issue. 3d., green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, hard wove paper, as before. The 
 groundwork of the central triangle, behind the large trefoil, is engine- 
 turned all over, but there are three places where the engine-turning 
 consists of simple network, instead of a more complicated pattern, 
 making the groundwork appear 
 to he divided into four horizontal 
 strips. It must, however, be re- 
 membered that the four strips are 
 not really separated from each 
 other, but joined by a plain net- 
 work. The name newfound- 
 land is in one word. The thistle 
 is perfectly upright, and the bot-' 
 tom of the stem almost touches the bottom of the trefoil. The rose 
 does not touch the outline of the trefoil. The apostrophe in John's 
 is a properly-shaped comma, with a large head and a very curved 
 tail. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on poor, thin, very white paper. The groundwork 
 of the central triangle is formed of four distinctly separate, horizontal 
 strips of imitation engine-turning, the dark portions of background 
 between the said strips showing no traces of network. The name is 
 written newfound land. The thistle leans slightly to the left, and 
 has no stem showing at the bottom below the leaves. One of its 
 leaves almost touches the trefoil, and one of the leaves on the left 
 side^of the rose does touch the outline of the trefoil. The apostrophe 
 in J ohn's is badly shaped, being almost oval, with a very small tail. 
 
330 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I do not possess a postmarked copy of the genuine. 
 Forged. A circle ; also an oval, formed by straight lines at the top 
 and bottom, and curved lines at the sides. 
 
 Issues of 1857-62. 2d., 4d., 6d. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on rather stout, hard, white, greyish- 
 white, or yellowish-white wove paper. These stamps are found in 
 three colours — orange-red, rose-red, and lake-red. 
 I do not know that these names correctly express 
 the true shades, but they are the nearest that I 
 can find. The lettering is clearly cut, and the 
 chief part of the design consists of very finely- 
 executed engine - turning. Each stamp has the 
 national flowers (rose, shamrock, and thistle) ar- 
 ranged as a bouquet in the centre, and none of 
 the flowers or leaves touch the outline of the 
 containing oval or circle anywhere. This is an 
 easy test, and renders it needless for me to describe each value sepa- 
 rately, as I should otherwise be obliged to do. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on soft, rather thick, white, or very yellowish- white 
 wove paper. The stamps are found in vermilion, and also in dirty 
 lake. The lettering is always more or less ragged. The flowers and 
 leaves of the central bouquet invariably touch the outline of the 
 containing circle or oval somewhere, which is a sufficient test for these 
 counterfeits. The imitation engine-turning of the design is very 
 poor and blotchy. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 Genuine. A rectangle of parallel lines. 
 
 Forged. The same ; also four concentric circles, with something 
 in the centre ; also a single circle, containing something undecipher- 
 able ; also a pen stroke. 
 
 Issue of 1866. 2 Cents, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Nicely engraved in taille-douce, on stout, rather hard, very yellow- 
 ish white wove paper ; perforated 12 ; also rouletted ; also to be 
 found unperforated. The labels bearing the inscriptions newfound- 
 land and TWO CENTS are solid ; all the others have a background 
 of fine lines. The figures and words in the side-labels are shaded 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 331 
 
 at the edges with dark colour, which makes them stand out from 
 the background as though they were solid. 
 The " white " of the fish's eye is oval, and ' ''^ 
 the white spot in the pupil is to the left. ) 
 There is a little ornamental curl projecting ) 
 into the central oval from the outline of )' 
 the frame round the figure 2 in the left- ^, 
 hand lower corner. (None of the other j 
 frames show this curl.) There are about ) 
 six very fine, horizontal lines of shading 
 in the loop between the back and the end of the tail. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on poor, thinnish, very white wove paper, badly 
 perforated 12^. All the labels are solid, and the letters and figures 
 look perfectly flat. The whole stamp is very coarsely executed ; the 
 white of the fish's eye is very staring, with the white spot in the 
 pupil to the right. The spines in the fins are very irregular. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, hard, white wove paper, unperforated. 
 There is a straight line running almost all round the stamp, which 
 is not found in the genuine. The right-hand label, containing the 
 word TWO, is solid (with traces of lines just at one end), and all the 
 others have a background of lines, as in the genuine. The white of 
 the fish's eye is round and staring, and the white spot in the pupil is 
 to the right. There is no ornamental curl projecting into the central 
 oval from the frame of the lower left-hand 2. There are only three 
 lines of shading in the loop between the back and the end of the tail 
 of the fish. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An oval, formed by either nine or ten parallel lines. 
 Forged. A circle, containing lettering and figures, but unreadable. 
 
 Issues of 1866, 1868, 1876. 5 Cents, brown, black, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille douce; paper same as in the 2 cents ; printed in 
 .v7x^^.^vAvyv^^.,rvAcr^j brown, perf. 12 (1866), or in black, perf. 12 
 (1868), or in blue, rouletted (1876). All tlie 
 hairs of the seal's whiskers are perfectly 
 lixJm^^i^.<«i^^ZM, (distinct, and very light in colour, compared 
 with the general hue of the body. The head 
 looks rather like that of a pug dog, and the 
 mouth and eye can be easily seen. There is 
 a glimpse of open sea to the right, where 
 there are no icebergs, and only a faint cloud. 
 All the letters and figures are very finely drawn. 
 
332 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in brown, black, or blue, on tliin poor very white 
 paper, very badly perforated The seal's whiskers are very 
 
 coarse and dark, and do not seem*to belong naturally to his mouth. 
 The head is like that of a water-rat, and the mouth and eye are not 
 visible. The whole of the horizon seems to be filled up with ice- 
 bergs. The lettering and figures at the top are more or less imperfect. 
 
 Issue of 1866. 10 Cents, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille- douce, on greyish - white 
 wove paper, rather thinner than the last ; perf. 
 12 ; also found unperforated. There are two 
 rows of jewels or braid, on which the small 
 crown rests, at the bottom of the left side of the 
 Prince's collar. The white lines on the right 
 shoulder are very fine, and are properly curved, 
 so as to make the chest ajDpear in relief. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Nicely lithographed, in very pale, instead of dark black, on very 
 yellowish, poor wove paper ; perf. 13. On the left side of the collar, 
 at the bottom, there is a single row of pearls, very distinct. The 
 white lines on the right shoulder are very coarse, and are simply 
 drawn obliquely, without any curve. The rest of the stamp has been 
 copied, almost line for line, from the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 Genuine. I have no postmarked copy. 
 
 Forged. An oval, formed by four parallel straight lines at top 
 and bottom, and five curved lines each side. 
 
 Same Issue. 12 Cents, flesh. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on rather thin, hard wove paper, of a 
 pinkish or yellowish-pink tint ; perf. 12 ; also 
 found unperforated. There are five j)earls 
 visible on the coronet, the last pearl just peep- 
 ing out from where the coronet buries itself in 
 the hair, above the left ear. The stop after 
 NEWFOUNDLAND touches the final d. The 
 tongue of the buckle is lightly and partially 
 shaded. The shading behind the top of the 
 head is composed of finer lines than the rest of 
 the background, but there is no cross-shading. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 333 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on medium, very white, or very yellow wove paper, 
 very badly perforated 13. There are only three pearls visible on the 
 coronet ; the two at the front being absent, and the last pearl not at 
 all hidden by the hair. The stop after Newfoundland is at some 
 little distance from the final d. The ground, behind the back and 
 top of the head, is cross-shaded. The tongue of the buckle is dark, 
 and shaded all over. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A thick circle, containing a circular black blotch, out 
 of which a white cross has been cut. 
 
 Forged. Same postmark as the forged 10 cents. 
 
 Same Issue. 13 Cents, orange-yellow. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on rather thin, yellowish-white wove 
 paper ; perf. 12. The background of the name-label is shaded all 
 over with vertical lines. Nearly all the 
 letters of the name touch each other, and 
 the letters hir of thirteen are so joined 
 together as to appear like one letter. There 
 are some rocks to be seen in the left-hand 
 corner of the landscape. The clouds are 
 formed by horizontal lines, with oblique 
 cross-shading. The St. Ge.orge's flag on the 
 mast is tolerably distinct, and it is formed 
 without any curved lines. The hull of the vessel is very dark, 
 compared with the waves. Over the letters UN of the name there 
 is an egg-shaped dot, lightly shaded, with a dark dot on each side 
 of it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thinnish, very white paper ; perforated 13. The 
 background of the name-label is solid. The w and f of the name 
 are the only ones which really touch each other. The letters hir of 
 THIRTEEN are set at some distance from each other. In the left-hand 
 bottom corner there are some indistint white blotches instead of rocks. 
 The clouds are very heavy, and composed of horizontal lines only. 
 The St. George's flag is curved, as though its back were broken, and 
 it is very indistinct. The hull of the vessel is no darker than the 
 waves. There are no dots over the letters UN of the name. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Same as in the genuine 12 cents. 
 Forged. Same as in the forged 10 cents. 
 
334 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Issue of 1869. 1 Cent, violet. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, hard, yellowish-white wove 
 paper ; perforated 12. The oval frame which contains the name 
 ends in a point at the top, like a pear with 
 the point uppermost. The letters n and f at 
 the top almost touch the outer frame of the 
 oval, and the stops are large and round. The 
 name is in one word, and all the letters of it 
 touch each other, except the o. There are four- 
 teen white lines in the plaid, counting them 
 all, both vertical and oblique. The rays in the 
 oval frame are composed of alternate sets of deep 
 /vJ and faint lines, but without any cross-shading. 
 The eyes are clear and intelligent, and apparently light. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thinnish, white wove paper, badly perforated 12^. 
 The oval frame is rounded over the words one cent, instead of coming 
 to a point. The letters n and f are small, and do not come near either 
 the outer or inner lines of the frame. The stops are small, and 
 badly shaped. The name is in two perfectly distinct words, and 
 there is a good space between all the letters. There are only ten 
 white lines in the plaid. The rays in the frame are far too distinct, 
 and the light ones are cross-shaded. The eyes in the portrait are 
 very black and staring. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. None of my copies are cancelled. 
 Forged. Same as in the forged 10 cents. 
 
 Same Issue. 24 Cents, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on rather thin, bluish-white wove paper ; 
 perforated 1 2. The groundwork of the frame at the bottom, behind 
 the figures and words of value, is composed of horizontal lines, partially 
 cross-shaded with vertical lines. The hair is much 
 darker than any other portion of the stamp. The 
 groundwork of the name-scroll is formed of ver- 
 tical lines, cross-shaded roimd the letters with 
 horizontal lines. The background, behind the 
 portrait, is cross-shaded from the top to level 
 with the eyes. At the bottom of the stamp, 
 where the value-label joins the figure-circles 
 on each side, there is a dot, which does not 
 touch either the figure-circle or value-label. 
 The whole stamp is very finely done. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 335 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, common, very yellowish- white wove 
 paper ; unperforated, or badly perforated 12^. The groundwork of 
 the frame at the bottom, behind the figures and words of value, is 
 cross-shaded with oblique lines. The Queen's hair is much lighter 
 than the background. The groundwork of the name-scroll is cross- 
 shaded, behind the letters, with oblique lines. The background of the 
 portrait is cross-shaded nearly to the bottom, and there is a space left 
 almost unshaded just above each shoulder. The dots on each side, 
 at the bottom, touch the figure-circles. The whole stamp is very 
 poor, compared with the fine original. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 Genuine. Same as genuine 12 cents ; also a small plain circle, with 
 something undecipherable in the centre. 
 Forged. Same as forged 10 cents. 
 
 Issues of 1870-73. 3 c, vermilion; 3 c, blue; 6 c, rose. 
 
 These are the stamps bearing a bust of the Queen in widow's 
 weeds. They are all exactly alike in type, except as regards the 
 value. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce on stout, hard, yellowish-Avhite wove paper ; 
 perforated 12. The Queen's eyebrows turn down at the outer ends. 
 The two stars in the bottom corners are on a ground of vertical and 
 horizontal cross-shading. The cap is scarcely shaded at all on the 
 top of the head. The separation between the cap-strings and the 
 back of the neck is very distinctly marked by a strong line of colour. 
 The background of the upper value-label is shaded with curved 
 lines, which are parallel with the curved lines of the frame. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thinnish, white wove paper ; perforated 13. The 
 eyebrows turn up at the ends. The stars in the bottom corners are 
 on a solid ground. There is a strong wavy line of shading on the 
 cap at the top. The cap-strings are very indistinct at the back of 
 the neck, so that it is not easy to decide which is cap-string and 
 which is neck. The background of the upper value-label is solid, 
 except behind the figures on each side. These forgeries are flat, and 
 very poorly printed, whereas the originals are beautifully executed, 
 and the ink stands out from the surface of the paper so that it can 
 almost be felt with the finger. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 Genuine. I have no postmarked copies. 
 Forged. Same as the forged 10 cents. 
 
336 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 Issue of 1849. One Penny, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Plate I. Eow of several houses, all joined together ; no clouds ; 
 hill not shaded. Soft, yellowish-white wove, or hard, grey-blue 
 
 wove paper. 
 
 Plate II. Three separate houses ; clouds ; hill 
 shaded ; with two trees. Hard, grey-blue wove 
 paper. 
 
 Varieties of Plate II : 1, no clouds ; 2, no trees ; 
 3, hill not shaded. 
 
 The stamp imitated is variety No. 2 of Plate II. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper as above. The 
 female has a pick and shovel lying at her feet, 
 and there is a distinct beehive behind her. The 
 
 third word under the figures reads etruria, all in one word. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed on thin, white wove paper. There is neither 
 pick nor shovel to be seen at the feet of the female, and the hive is 
 merely an indistinct blotch. The word etruria reads et riiria, in 
 two words. 
 
 Issue of 1850. Twopence, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Plate I. Spandrels of wavy vertical lines ; shading to right and 
 left of the fan-ornament under crevit. On soft yellowish- white 
 wove paper. 
 
 Plate II. Spandrels of wavy horizontal lines. Fan-ornament with 
 an arch of shading in the centre, but none to 
 right and left of it. Same paper. 
 
 Varieties of Plate II : 1, without the word 
 crevit ; 2, with the same fan-ornament as Plate 
 I., shaded to right and left ; 3, with etrura, 
 instead of etruria. 
 
 Plate III. Spandrels of wavy horizontal Lines ; 
 fan-ornament without any shading either in- 
 side or outside. On hard, grey and blue wove 
 papers. 
 
 Plate IV. Spandrels of wavy horizontal lines ; fan without any 
 shading, but with a single pearl at the base. On hard, yellowish- 
 white laid, and also on grey-blue wove papers. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 337 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Plate II., variety 3. Engraved in taille-douce. Paper as above. 
 The man standing in the landscape holds a three-cornered hat in his 
 right hand. The numerals 17 can be seen on the bale, etrura 
 is one word. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Plate II., variety 3. Lithographed on thin, greyish- white, yellowish- 
 white, and very white wove paper. The man has no hat in his hand, 
 but wears a polo cap on his head, though he is bare-headed in the 
 genuine. The bale has a few blotches on it, but no numerals. The 
 inscription reads et rura, in two words, and the A is blotched 
 against the side of the circle. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Plate III. Engraved in taille-douce, as before. The stars in the 
 corners are badly shaped. The numerals 17 can be seen on the bale. 
 The third word of the inscription is etruria. The pick and shovel 
 at the feet of the female are distinct. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Plate III. Lithographed on very thin, very dirty-looking paper, 
 which has been soaked in coffee, or some other mixture, to give it the 
 appearance of age. The stars in the corners are all nicely and regu- 
 larly drawn. The bale has no marks whatever on it, except the 
 cords which bind it. The third word of the inscription is etroria. 
 The pick and shovel at the feet of the female look like an arrow 
 and a rifle crossed. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 This is not like any type of the genuine. Lithographed in sky- 
 blue, on thickish, yellowish-white wove paper. There is a landscape 
 without any figures at all, and the inscription sic fortis etruria 
 CREVIT is altogether absent. The lines of the spandrels are straight. 
 The fan-ornament is represented by a semicircle, turned downwards, 
 with a blotch in the centre. The word sigillum reads siecillum. 
 
 Same Issue. Threepence, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce on soft yellowish- white, 
 and on hard, grey-blue wove paper. The design 
 is the same as in the genuine twopence. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thick, yellowish- white 
 wove paper. This is like the third forgery of the 
 twopence, with the value altered. The landscape does not show any 
 
 z 
 
338 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 figures at all, and the inscription sic fortis etruria crevit is 
 absent. The lines on the spandrels are straight and horizontal, and 
 the fan-ornament is represented by a semicircle, turned downwards, 
 with a blotch in the centre. The word sigillum reads siecillum. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An oval, formed by four straight lines at the top and 
 bottom, and four very thick curved lines each side ; also the same, 
 but with seven very thin curved lines each side ; also the first- 
 mentioned postmark, with large numerals in the centre ; also a 
 shapeless blotch. 
 
 Forged. A large circle, containing some unreadable letters ; also the 
 first-mentioned postmark of the genuine ; also four concentric circles. 
 
 Issues of 1851-54. Laureated head. Twopence, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 (Similar to the accomiMyiying Illustration.) 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce. There are three different plates, each 
 containing fifty separate varieties, so the amateur will have enough 
 to do if he intend to collect them all. It is needless to describe the 
 different plates, as the forgery differs from them 
 all. Plates I. and II. are printed on blue wove 
 paper ; no watermark. Plate III. is on blue, and 
 also on grey wove paper ; no watermark. The issue 
 of 1854, printed from plate III., is on yellowish- 
 white wove paper, watermarked with a large 2. 
 The right-hand boundary-line of the label contain- 
 ing NEW is scalloped, and the left-hand boundary- 
 line of the similar label containing wales is also 
 scalloped. The laurel-wreath on the Queen's head consists of from 
 fourteen to seventeen leaves, according to the type. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, pale blue wove paper ; no watermark. The 
 right-hand boundary-line of the label containing new is one straight 
 line, and the left-hand boundary-line of the label containing wales 
 is also one straight line. The wreath on the Queen's head bears only 
 twelve leaves, much larger and coarser than in the genuine. Except 
 for the two points just mentioned, and the flat look given to the 
 stamp by the lithographic printing, it is not a bad forgery. The ink 
 in the genuine stands up well from the surface of the paper. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. All the postmarks of the Sydney issue are found on this 
 issue also. 
 
 Forged. An oval, without outline, formed by ten or twelve thin 
 parallel bars of varying lengths. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 339 
 
 Issues of 1854-61. Sixpence, grey, green, cinnamon, 
 lilac, &c. Large square. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 (Similar to the accompanying Illustration. J 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on rough, rather 
 thick wove paper, watermarked with a large 
 6; unperforated, 1854; perforated 12, 1860; 
 perforated 13, 1861. The central circle, be- 
 hind the head, is not solid, but is composed 
 of closely-set engine-turned lines. The white 
 hexagonal frame, near the outside of the stamp, 
 has no dark line running along the middle of 
 it. There are four distinct fleurs-cle-lys and 
 the beginning of a fifth each side of the hexagon. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in violet, red, or blue, on very thick wove paper ; no 
 watermark; unperforated, or rather nicely perfurated 11^ and 13|. 
 The central circle, behind the head, is quite solid, showing no trace 
 of lines. The white hexagonal frame has a dark, coloured line run- 
 ning all along its centre. The Jieurs-de-lys outside the central circle, 
 each side of the hexagon, are very imperfect ; part of one, with 
 traces of otliers, can be detected on the right-hand side, and three 
 complete ones^ with parts of two others, are visible on the left side. 
 
 Same Issues. One Shilling, red. 
 
 Gemiine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, watermarked with a large 12 ; paper, 
 perforation, &c,, the same as the 6d., according to the date of issue. 
 The groundwork behind the head is composed of engine-turned 
 lines. The inscription, new south wales, is in letters shaded with 
 horizontal lines. The ornaments on the coronet are two crosses 
 pattee and two fleurs-de-lys, one of each placed alternately. The 
 garter round the head has eleven holes for the tongue of the buckle. 
 The groundwork behind the jieurs-de-lys, at the sides of the stamp, 
 is shaded Avith curved lines. Parts of three fieurs-de-lys show dis- 
 tinctly behind the postage scroll. The whole of the engine-turning 
 is finely done. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on thick, yellowish-white wove paper ; no 
 watermark ; unperforated. The ground behind the head is quite 
 solid. The inscription, new south wales, is in solid letters, instead 
 
340 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 of shaded ones. The ornaments on the coronet are not distinct, but 
 they look like four very badly-made flsurs-de-lys, one of them being 
 very much larger than the rest. The garter shows only eight holes. 
 The ground behind the Jleurs-de-lys, at the sides of the stamp, is 
 shaded with irregular dots. The whole stamp is very poorly 
 executed, and not likely to deceive. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A row of thick oblong blotches, with small dots above 
 and below them ; also dots in a radiated form, with numerals in the 
 centre ; also a large oval, formed by four lines at the top and bottom, 
 and eight curved lines each side ; also a number of thick bars, 
 radiating from a centre ; also N. s. w. in the centre of three concentric 
 ovals. 
 
 Forged. An oval, formed by three straight lines at the top and 
 bottom, two curved lines each side, and numerals in the centre ; also 
 N. s. w. in three concentric ovals. 
 
 Issues of 1860-61. Five Shillings, violet. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; unperforated, or perforated 12 or 13 ; 
 watermarked with a large 5/-. There is a five-pointed star level 
 with the forehead, each side of the head, inside the inscription. The 
 face is shaded very nearly all over. The last s of shillings is a 
 readable Gothic letter. The stamp looks like a coin, with the edge 
 showing apparently in relief. Near the chin there is a distinct 
 rose, with stem and several leaves. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very badly lithographed, on rather thin, smooth white wove paper ; 
 unperforated ; no watermark. The five-pointed star in front of the 
 forehead is nothing but a shapeless blotch, which it is imj)ossible to 
 make out. The face is not shaded at all, except at the sides of the 
 cheeks. The last s of shillings is an utterly shapeless blotch. The 
 rim of the stamp does not appear to stand up in relief at all. The 
 rose near the chin might be a cabbage, or a bouquet of flowers with- 
 out any stem ; it is not the least like a rose, stem. I don't think this 
 forgery is likely to deceive many. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large oval, formed by four lines at the top and 
 bottom, and several curved lines at the sides. 
 
 Forged. A small circle, with letters and figures in the centre. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 341 
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 
 1858-64. One Penny, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 (Similar to the accompanying Illustration.) 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, blue wove paper, no water- 
 mark, imperforated (1858) ; or on very thick white paper, no 
 watermark (1859) ; or on very thin white paper, no watermark 
 (I860?) ; or on moderately thick, white wove paper, watermarked 
 with a star (1862) ; or ditto, rouletted (1863?) ; 
 or ditto, perforated 13 (1864); or wdth "n z" 
 instead of star, imperforated ; or ditto, rouletted ; 
 or ditto, perforated 13. There is a curved white 
 line, very distinct, extending from each ear to 
 the upper part of each shoulder of the bust, 
 evidently forming parts of a central circle behind 
 the portrait. The head is thrown rather back, 
 and the face is inclined, very decidedly, towards 
 the left side of the stamp. The face, neck, and 
 bust are shaded very nearly all over. The eyes 
 are clearly drawn, so that even the rims of the eyelids are plainly 
 visible. The cross pattee in the centre of the top of the coronet 
 is perfectly distinct. There are seven dark dots in the ermine 
 on the left shoulder, above the Y of penny. The broad dark sash, 
 going obliquely across the breast, is shaded with w^avy oblique 
 lines, running down from left to right, and not crossed by any other 
 lines. The letters of postage do not touch the upper outline of the 
 label containing them. The p of penny is close to the e, and the 
 arms of the y are wide apart, so that there is a good dark space 
 between them. The ornaments in the bottom corners are four white 
 diamonds, joined to a central white dot ; and each diamond has a 
 fine dark line drawn obliquely through it towards the central dot. 
 The chief part of the groundwork, outside the central circle, is com- 
 posed of white ovals, each containing a long dark line, with two 
 faint lines each side of it, making it look almost like a cross with 
 faint arms. The whole stamp is a very good example of well- 
 executed taille-douce engraving. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed on stout, soft, very yellowish-white wove 
 paper ; no watermark ; unperforated, or badly perforated 12^. The 
 curved white lines, forming parts of a circle, which ought to extend 
 from each ear to the upper part of each shoulder, are not visible, but 
 there is a very slight trace of part of one of them on the right-hand 
 side of the stamp. The head is perfectly upright, the face almost 
 
342 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 fronts tlie spectator, thougli the eyes are looking towards the left 
 side of the stamp. The face, neck, and bust show hardly any 
 shading, except at the edges. The eyes are dark blotches, and the 
 rims of the eyelids cannot be seen. The cross patt^e at the top of 
 the coronet might almost stand for any thing, it is so indistinctly 
 drawn. There are only four dark dots in the ermine on the left 
 shoulder, above the y of penny. The dark sash is shaded with 
 crossed oblique lines, running down from left to right, and from right 
 to left. The P and t of postage are blotched into the dark outline 
 of the label above them. The p of penny is at some distance from 
 the e, and the arms of the Y are squeezed together, so that there is 
 only a small dark space between them. The ornaments in the 
 bottom corners are dark upright crosses, with dark triangular blotches 
 between the arms. The white dot in the centre of each cross is 
 almost square, instead of round. The white ovals of the ground- 
 work, outside the central circle, are filled with distinct crosses and 
 shapeless blotches alternately. The whole stamp is a poor lithograph, 
 but yet most of the details of the genuine have been pretty correctly 
 copied. 
 
 Twopence, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce. Paper, watermark, perforation, &c., vary- 
 ing according to date of issue, the same as in the genuine one penny 
 just described. There are ten dark spots in the ermine on the 
 right shoulder, over the T of two. The left-hand end of the postage 
 lalDel begins just above the centre of the w of two, and the right- 
 hand end reaches almost to the middle of the c of pence. The letters 
 of the words two pence are nicely drawn, and very close together, 
 but showing a good space between the words. The dark outlines of 
 the squares in the bottom corners are distinctly higher tlian the dark 
 background behind two pence. All the other tests are exactly the 
 same as in the genuine one penny. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, blue wove paper ; no watermark ; unper- 
 forated ; and also on rather thin, bluish- white wove paper ; no water- 
 mark ; perforated apparentlj^ about 18, but so badly that it is very 
 difficult to say positively. There are only nine dark spots in the 
 ermine on the right shoulder, over the t of two. The postage 
 label begins above the commencement of the w of two, and ends 
 above the end of the n of pence. The letters of two pence are very 
 badly drawn, far apart, and thus showing very little extra space 
 between the two words. The dark outlines of the squares in the 
 lower corners are almost exactly the same height as the dark back- 
 ground behind two pence. The corner-ornaments are not anything 
 like in the centres of their containing squares. All the other details 
 are exactly like those of the forged one penny. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 343 
 
 One Shilling, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Encrraved in taille-douce. The paper, watermark, perforation, &c., ' 
 vary according to the date of issue, as in the genuine one penny. 
 The POSTAGE label begins over the beginning of the last stroke ot 
 the N of ONE, and ends above the space between in of shilling. 
 The dark outlines of the corner-squares stand up very much higher 
 than the dark background behind one shilling. All the other tests, 
 not mentioned here, are exactly the same as in the genuine one 
 penny and twopence. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very badly lithographed on stout, white wove paper ; no water- 
 mark ; unperforated. The postage label begins over the middle of 
 the N of one, and ends over the middle of the second i of shilling. 
 The dark outlines of the corner-squares are very little higher than 
 the dark background to the words one shilling, and are much too 
 light. There is a very distinct flaw above ling of shilling, and 
 above the right-hand corner-square, as though this part of the stamp 
 had been printed twice over, or else had moved in the press. All the 
 other details, not mentioned here, are exactly the same as in the 
 forged one penny and twopence. 
 
 I have not seen forgeries of any of the other values ; but, as all 
 the stamps seem to be of exactly the same type, except as regards 
 the words of value, there will be no difficulty in detecting, from the 
 above description, any other forgeries which may exist. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An oval, formed of thin lines, with numeral in the centre ; 
 also an oval, formed of very thick lines, with a large letter in the 
 centre ; also (rarely) a large thin circle, containing name and date m 
 straight lines in the centre. 
 
 Forged. A diamond of thinnish lines, with a blank centre. 
 
 NICAEAGUA. 
 1873. 1 Centavo, bistre. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Finely engraved in taille-douce, on thick, yellowish - white wove 
 paper ; perforated 12, or rouletted. There are two little trees in the 
 left lower corner of the landscape, above the u of UN. The cap of 
 Liberty is very faint, so that it would hardly be noticed at a first 
 glance. The tree in the right upper corner does not touch the out- 
 line of the frame above it. The rays of the sun are faint, and 
 delicately drawn ; there are seven of them, but two of the seven are 
 split. There is a dark object in the very foreground, which reaches 
 
344 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 from above the beginning of the n of centavo to a little beyond the 
 commencement of the t of that word. The left-hand peak, behind 
 which the sun is rising, is lightly shaded, and only a very little 
 darker than the two peaks to the right of it. The point of the v of 
 CENTAVO comes slightly lower than the bottom of the A which 
 precedes it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper ; pin-perforated 12^ 
 (generally very badly). There are no trees in the left lower corner 
 of the landscape. The cap of Liberty is quite distinct, and a good 
 deal darker than the background. The tree in the right upper 
 corner touches the frame above it, just under the middle of the u of 
 NICARAGUA. The rays of the sun are very coarse ; there seem to be 
 about ten of them. The dark object in the foreground of the land- 
 scape is much too wide, and extends from above the middle of the 
 E to the middle of the t of centavo ; and it is triangular in shape, 
 instead of being rounded. The left-hand peak is a good deal darker 
 than the two peaks to the right of it. The point of the v of centavo 
 is level with the bottom of the a which precedes it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have only seen the genuine pen-stroked. The forgery is can- 
 celled with an oval, formed by four parallel straight lines at top and 
 bottom, and two curved lines at each side. 
 
 2 Centavos, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; perforated 12. Dark blue, on thick, very 
 yellowish wove paper (1862) ; blue, on slightly yellowish - white 
 wove paper (1870) ; in bright blue, on very 
 white paper (1873), and rouletted. The 
 horizontal lines of shading in the sky are 
 straight, close together, parallel to each other, 
 and nicely drawn. There are seven rays to 
 the sun, and not one of them runs into the 
 upper left corner of the landscape. The left- 
 hand peak is only very slightly darker than 
 the two peaks to the right of it. The white 
 patch in the foreground — lake, or river, or whatever it is — extends 
 from above the middle of the s of DOS to beyond the middle of the 
 T of CENTAVOS. All the lettering is extremely clear. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed, on very white wove paper ; pin-perforated 
 12^. The horizontal lines of shading in the sky are coarse, not 
 straight, not parallel with each other, and badly drawn. I have only 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 345 
 
 a bad specimen to describe from, but there appear to be only six 
 rays to the sun ; they are far too white, and one of them runs into 
 the upper left-hand corner of the landscape. The left-hand peak is 
 very much darker than the two peaks to the right of it, being, in 
 fact, the darkest object in the landscape. The white patch in the 
 foreground extends from a little to the left of the c of centavos 
 quite to the end of the t of that word. The lettering is poorly done, 
 the name, especially, being in particularly ragged letters. 
 
 Postmarlcs. 
 
 I have not seen the genuine cancelled. The forgery bears the 
 same obliteration as the forged 1 centavo. 
 
 6 Centavos, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on very yellowish wove paper (1862) ; 
 perforated 12 ; on yellowish-white (1870), and rouletted. I have a 
 copy in my collection which is not perforated ; it is cancelled with 
 a pen-stroke, but it may be an essay. There are, as before, seven 
 rays to the sun, one of which is split, and none 
 of the rays go into the left-hand upper corner 
 of the landscape. The pole on which the cap of 
 Liberty is placed is short, but clearly visible. 
 The lake in the foreground extends from above 
 the beginning of the o of ciNCO to the beginning 
 of the upright stroke of the t of centavos. 
 The left-hand peak is very little darker than the 
 two peaks to the right of it. The two trees in the left-hand lower 
 corner have their stems very distinct. But tlie easiest instant test 
 for the genuine is that the w^ord in the left-hand frame is correos, 
 and not porte, the latter being found only in the 2 centavos. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed on thin, very white wove paper ; perforated 
 12|. There are seven rays to the sun, but they are very coarsely 
 done, and none of them are split. One of the said rays runs up into 
 the left top corner of the landscape. In most copies the pole of the 
 cap of Liberty is invisible. The lake in the foreground extends from 
 over the second c of cinco to above the middle of the t of centavos. 
 The left-hand peak is very much darker than the two peaks to th\e 
 right of it. There are no stems to the trees in the left lower corner. 
 The left-hand frame bears the word porte instead of correos, being 
 imitated from the genuine 2 centavos. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have only seen the genuine pen-stroked. The cancellation of 
 the forgery is the same as that of the forged 1 centavo. 
 
346 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 10 Centavos, vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, yellowish-wliite wove paper ; 
 perforated 12, or rouletted. The rays of the sun are hardly visible. 
 
 The left-hand mountain peak is scarcely any 
 r.-^-^-vrv'v^. ^v^ darker than the two similar peaks to the right 
 c of it. There is a dark, pointed shadow, which 
 I comes from the brightly-illuminated peak in 
 ^ the foreground, to the right of the stamp, beside 
 the ORTE of porte, and the top of this shadow- 
 c peak is level with the top of the o of porte. 
 J The lettering of DIEZ centavos is very nearly 
 .rw>_r^ ry-n^r^^^ large as that of NICARAGUA, though the 
 letters of the name are put rather farther apart. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed, in rosy-vermilion, on very white wove 
 paper, thicker than that of the genuine ; badly perforated 12|. This 
 forgery can be easily detected by the rays of the sun, which are very 
 white and prominent, and twelve of them can be easily counted, one 
 of them extending, almost like a flash of lightning, right across the 
 stamp, to above the p of porte. The left-hand peak is very much 
 darker than the two similar peaks to the right of it. The dark, 
 pointed shadow of the foreground peak reaches up to level with the 
 centre of the p of porte. The lettering in the bottom label is 
 decidedly smaller than that of Nicaragua, and very ragged. I don't 
 think this forgery is likely to deceive. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large double circle, with name between the circles, 
 and full date in the centre. 
 
 Forged. The same as that of the forged 1 centavo. 
 
 25 Centavos, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper and perforation the same as in the 
 genuine 10 centavos. The rays of the sun are not at all prominent, 
 but theie is one tolerably distinct ray, which extends across the 
 stamp to the top of the tree under the NC of cinco. The left-hand 
 mountaiia peak is equally dark all over, without any white patch 
 upon it. The riglit-hand outline of this peak is considerably 
 hollowed in the centre. The figures 25 in each of the corners 
 extend quite across the compartments containing them, and are 
 very nieelj drawn. The colour of the stamp is a decidedly yellow- 
 green. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FOEGED STAMPS. 
 
 347 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed on moderately stout, very white wove paper ; 
 badly perforated 12|. The rays of the sun are very broad, very 
 white, and much too prominent, the one reaching to the tree not 
 showing more than the rest. The left-hand mountain peak is quite 
 w^hite towards the bottom, and the right-hand outline of this peak 
 is a straight oblique line, without any hollow in it, making the peak 
 look exactly like a pyramid. The figures 25 in the corners are very 
 badly drawn, and do not extend anything like across the containing 
 compartments. The colour of the stamp is a very bluish-green. 
 
 N.B. — The genuine stamp is often found changed to Uuq by 
 chendcals, with intent to defraud. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I have only seen the genuine pen-stroked. 
 Forged. The same as on the forged 1 centavo. 
 
 NOEWAY. 
 
 Issue of 1854. 4 Skilling, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed (?) in very chalky, and usually pale blue, on rather 
 hard, yellowish-white wove paper. The horizontal lines in the circle 
 round the shield are thin, with wide white spaces between them. 
 Counting them on the left side of the circle, there are thirty-nine of 
 the said lines. The vertical lines in the shield 
 are also thin, with wide white spaces between 
 them ; there are twenty-four of these lines, count- 
 ing at the top of the shield. The bottom corner 
 of the blade of the axe comes between the sixth 
 and seventh lines from the left. The lower end 
 of the handle touches the third line from the 
 left. There are four lines visible to the right of 
 the hind leg of the lion. His head is properly 
 shaped, the mouth closed, and the eye placed 
 well to the front. His crown is very small, and perched on the 
 point of the back of the head. There are five horizontal dashes 
 along the base of the large crown above the shield, and there is a 
 little, but distinct pearl above the second dash from the right. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, in a most blotchy manner, on thick, white wove 
 paper. The colour is a peculiar shade of neutral-tint, very like what 
 is commonly called " slate- colour.'' The horizontal lines of shading 
 
348 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 in tlie circle round the shield are very thick, so that the white spaces 
 between the lines are thinner than the lines themselves. There 
 seem to be only thirty-seven of them, but the bottom ones are so 
 blotched that it is not easy to count them. The vertical lines in the 
 shield are also thick and coarse, though the white spaces between 
 them are somewhat wider than those in the circle ; they are only 
 twenty-one in number. The bottom corner of the head of the axe 
 touches the sixth line from the left, and the said head is so blotched 
 as to be utterly shapeless. The lower end of the handle comes be- 
 tween the second and third lines from the left. There are only three 
 vertical lines visible to the right of the lion's hind leg. His head is 
 very badly shaped, being like that of a cock, with the mouth wide 
 open and the tongue sticking out. The eye is abnormally large, and 
 placed quite at the back of the head. The crown looks several sizes 
 too large for him. There are only four horizontal dashes at the base 
 of the large crown, together with three vertical dashes which do 
 not exist in the genuine. The little pearl above the second dash 
 from the right is not visible. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large single circle, with name in large capitals, and 
 date, &c., at the bottom and in the centre. 
 
 Forged. A few indistinct blotches, which I have not been able to 
 resolve into any regular postmark. 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 Issue of 1858. One Penny, red-brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on medium, very strongly hleute wove 
 paper. The backgrounds of the four outer frames, containing the 
 name and value, are composed of crossed, 
 oblique engine-turned lines, so that none of 
 them are solid in any part. The points of 
 the central diamond, which contains the por- 
 trait, are all perfect ; the top point comes 
 very much nearer to the o than to the v of 
 NOVA ; the right-hand point is just a shade 
 to the left of the t of postage; the bottom 
 point is much nearer to the o than to the T 
 of SCOTIA, and the left-hand point comes 
 midway between the p and e of penny. The background behind 
 the portrait is entirely formed of engine-turned lines. The ink 
 stands out from the jmper. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FOKGED STAMPS. 
 
 349 
 
 Forged, 
 
 Lithographed, paper very similar to the genuine, but not quite so 
 strongly hleut^. The background of the label containing postage is 
 quite solid and uniform, except after the e ; the other three labels 
 show lines, but so close together and so blotched that they appear 
 solid at a little distance. The top point of the central diamond is 
 not perfect ; but if complete it would come exactly midway between 
 the o and v of nova. The right-hand point is exactly under the 
 centre of the t of postage ; the bottom point is exactly midway 
 between the o and t of scotia, and the left-hand one is over the 
 second half of the P of penny. Most of the background of the 
 central diamond is of solid colour, showing traces of lines here and 
 there. The ink does not stand out from the paper. 
 
 PostmarTcs. 
 
 Genuine. Usually parallel lines with numerals in the centre. 
 
 Forged. An oval, formed by three straight lines at top and bottom, 
 and two curved lines each side, with something undecipherable in 
 the middle. 
 
 Issue of 1868. 6d., green. 
 
 Of this issue I have only seen the 6d. forged, same type as 
 the annexed illustration, except the change in the value. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Nicely engraved in taille-douce, on tolerably thick wove paper. 
 There are small dark lines in each of the letters of the words six- 
 pence and POSTAGE, following the curves 
 of the said letters ; for instance, the s is a 
 small dark s in the centre of a large white 
 one. When the stamp is placed with the 
 thistle uppermost, the leaves run right up 
 into three of the star -points forming its 
 background on the left, and into one only 
 on the right. The stars, flowers, crown, &c., 
 are all enclosed in a large quatrefoil orna- 
 ment, and the points of this quatrefoil exactly 
 meet the points of the small corner-diamonds 
 which contain the figures of value. The orb and the cross pattee on 
 the top of the crown are quite distinct. The two leaves of the rose 
 are shaded nearly all over, and, if the stamp be held with the rose 
 uppermost, the left-hand leaf runs up into one of the star-points. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on thinner and harder paper than the genuine. 
 The little dark lines before mentioned are visible in the word six- 
 pence, as in the genuine ; but there are none in the word postage, 
 
350 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 whose letters are plain white. The leaves of the thistle run into all 
 three points on the left, and also into all three on the right. The 
 points of the large qnatrefoil do not meet the points of the diamonds 
 containing the figures of value, the one at the bottom, especially, 
 coming much too far to the right. The orb and cross at the top of 
 the crown are very indistinct, and seem to be, as it were, somewhat 
 crushed down into the crown. The leaves of the rose are very white, 
 and neither of them runs into the star-points. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. As in the genuine Id., but frequently obliterated merely 
 with pen-strokes. 
 
 Forged. As in the forged Id. 
 
 Issue of 1860. 1, 2, 5 Cents. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Beautifully engraved in taille-douce, on thick, yellowish-white wove 
 paper ; perforated 12. The lines forming the background of the 
 central circle are very fine, and they are a good deal darker behind 
 the head than in front of it. There is no outline touching the 
 shaded circle ; but the lines break off in such a manner as to leave 
 a broad white ring, equally wide in every part, 
 between the shading and the thick outline. The 
 front of the base of the neck does not come to 
 the edge of the shaded circle, though tolerably 
 close to it. The front of the neck and the base 
 of the chin are shaded by a double set of lines 
 — one set being merely the continuation of those 
 running forward from the cheek, &c., and the 
 other set being short, horizontal lines running 
 backwards from the front of the neck. The 
 mouth is open, with the lower lip projecting 
 much less than the upper one. The forward curl of the side of the 
 nostril is not formed by a single hooked line, but by almost invisible 
 shading. On the top of the coronet there are five pearls, the front 
 one being very small, but distinct, the last one being half hidden in 
 the hair. Below each of these large pearls, except the front and the 
 last ones, there are two more, placed rather obliquely on the body 
 of the coronet. There is no dark outline to the front of the nose. 
 
 Forged. First Set. 
 
 Yery coarsely lithographed, on stout, very yellowish- white wove 
 paper ; perforated 13. The lines of the shading in the central circle, 
 like all the other lines, are coarse, and very little darker in one part 
 than in another. These said lines are not properly graduated in 
 length, so that the white ring round the circle is not equally wide 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 351 
 
 all the way round. The front of the base of the neck comes to the 
 very edge of the shaded lines. The front of the neck and base of 
 the chin are very darkly shaded, but the lines all run the same way, 
 the horizontal lines which ought to cross the others being absent. 
 The mouth is almost sliut, the lips level with each other, and the 
 expression rather contemptuous. The forward curl of the side of the 
 nostril is formed by one line or hook. The front pearl on the top of 
 the coronet is invisible, and the three sets of two pearls on the body 
 of the coronet cannot be distinguished. There is a distinct dark 
 outline to the front of the nose and forehead. 
 
 Forged. Second Set. 
 
 Lithographed, rather better than the first set, on very white paper, 
 wove, thin, and rather hard ; perforated 12|. The lines of shading 
 in the central circle are more like the genuine, and darker at the 
 back than in the front ; but there is a thin outline joining all their 
 ends together. The mouth is shut, and the corner pointing down- 
 wards. The forward curl of the side of the nostril is a hooked line, 
 as in the first forgery. The front pearl on the coronet is almost in- 
 visible, but the last one is not at all hidden by the hair, and the three 
 sets of two pearls on the body of the coronet cannot be distinguished. 
 There is a dark outline to the front of the nose and forehead. 
 
 I have found some difficulty in describing these forgeries. The 
 lines are tolerably well copied as to position, though the execution is 
 execrable. The 1 cent of the second set is the Ijest imitation. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large oval, formed by parallel bars, containing 
 numerals. Sometimes only a pen-stroke is found. 
 
 Forged. First set, an oval, formed by three straight lines at top 
 and bottom, and five curved lines each side. Second set, a diamond 
 of diamond-shaped dots. 
 
 Issue of 1861. 8i, 10, 12i Cents. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Beautifully engraved in taiUe-douce, on rather thick, hard, yel- 
 lowish-white wove paper ; perforated 12. The 
 Queen's eyes are small, and the pupils can be 
 distinctly seen as still darker spots upon the 
 dark iris of each eye. The eyebrows are light, 
 especially at the outer corners. There is very 
 little light upon the hair. There are twenty- 
 three pearls in the upper row of the necklace, 
 and twenty -eight in the lower row. The 
 narrow white oval round the central oval con- 
 tains two very fine dark lines, running all its 
 whole length, but they are so fine as hardly to 
 be seen at a little distance. 
 
352 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper much the same as the genuine in colour and 
 thickness, but coarse in texture ; pin-perforated 13 and 12^. The 
 eyes are very large, and the pupil and iris of each are blotched into 
 a large dark spot ; i.e. the pupil cannot be seen in the centre of the 
 iris. The eyebrows are very heavy, almost meeting over the nose. 
 There are patches of light all over the hair. The upper row of the 
 necklace contains only nineteen pearls, as far as I can see, and the 
 lower row has sixteen only. The white oval round the central oval 
 is all white ; i.e., there are no dark lines in it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An oval of parallel lines, containing numerals as before. 
 
 Forged. An oval of parallel lines, containing something unread- 
 able ; also an oval of four straight lines top and bottom, and five 
 curved lines each side. 
 
 OLDENBUEG. 
 Issue of 1855. J Silbergroschen, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved (?) in black, on soft, coloured wove paper, tolerably thick. 
 There is only one type of this value. The mantle iDehind the arms 
 is knotted up without tassels. The cross on the top of the crown is 
 partly obliterated by the thin inner line of the top frame, which 
 passes right across it. The pointed bottom of the central shield cuts 
 into the name-scroll below it, exactly over the centre of the N of 
 OLDENBURG. There is no stop after this word. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, rather hard wove paper. The cords which 
 knot up the mantle show two tassels each side. The thin inner line 
 of the top frame passes quite clear of the cross on the top of the 
 crown. The pointed bottom of the central shield does not cut into 
 the upper outline of the name-scroll at all. There is a stop after 
 
 OLDENBURG. 
 
 Issue of 1851. -3-0 Thaler, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved (?) on coloured wove paper, rather harder than that of 
 the J sgr. There are two types of this stamp — one having a thick 
 stroke across the top of the a of thaler, and the other having 
 hardly any sign of each stroke. In the one having the cross-stroke 
 to the A, the bottom point of the central shield cuts far into the out- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 353 
 
 line of the name-scroll below it, exactly over the centre of the N of 
 OLDENBURG, and actually touching the said letter. In the other type, 
 without cross-stroke at the top of the a, the bottom 
 point of the central shield only just cuts into the 
 outline of the name-scroll, above the first stroke 
 of the N of OLDENBURG, and does not touch that 
 letter. In this second type the cross on the crown 
 is a good deal nearer to the inner line of the top 
 frame than in the first type, but not so near as in 
 the forgeries. The following points are common 
 to both types : there is no stop after oldenburg ; 
 there is a hollowed-out portion of the shield coming just under the 
 beginning of the r of thaler ; the 1 of 1 SGR. is almost exactly 
 horizontal ; the name-scroll is at some considerable distance from 
 the thin inner outline of the bottom frame, showing some distinct 
 scroll-work between the label and the frame. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, hard wove paper. There is a very thin 
 stroke across the top of the a of thaler, very different from the 
 short, fat stroke of the genuine first type. The point of the 
 central shield does not cut into, or even touch, the top outline of the 
 name-scroll, and is above the centre of the N of oldenburg. There 
 is a stop after this word. The cross on the crown is very close to the 
 thin outline of the frame above it. The hollowed-out portion of the 
 central shield comes exactly between the e and r of thaler. The 
 1 of 1 SGR. stands upwards to the left, so as almost to point to the 
 of ijIq. The name-scroll is very close to the bottom of the stamp, so 
 that only some very indistinct marks and blotches are to be seen 
 between it and the bottom frame. 
 
 Same Issue, -^s Thaler, rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved (?) as before ; paper decidedly thinner than that of the 
 genuine thaler. There are said to be two types of this value, but 
 I can only discover one, with a thin stroke across the top of the a of 
 THALER, and a similar stroke across the top of the l of that word. 
 There is no stop after oldenburg ; the 1 of touches the bottom 
 edge of the mantle above it ; the letters GR. of the inscription 44 gr. 
 do not touch each other. The fraction-line of 4 is very short, so that 
 its ends do not anything like touch either boundary-line of the con- 
 taining-scroll. The orb, at the top of the crown, on which the little 
 cross stands, is very small, with a little shading on it, but the shading 
 does not form a cross on the face of the orb itself. The letters of 
 THALER are particularly fat. The scroll containing oldenburg 
 curves downwards in the centre, so as to go tolerably near the 
 bottom line. The colour is a chalky dull pink. 
 
 2 A 
 
354 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, poor paper. The tops of the letters hal of 
 THALER do not show any cross-strokes. There is a stop after olden- 
 burg ; the 1 of yV is some little distance below the bottom of the 
 mantle ; the letters gr of the left-hand inscription touch each other 
 at the bottom. The fraction-line of 4 is so long as to go completely 
 across the label, and to touch the outline on both sides. The orb on 
 the crown is much larger than in the genuine, and is so shaded as to 
 show on its face a light cross on a dark ground. (Of course it will 
 be understood that this is in addition to the cross which stands on 
 the top of the orb.) The colour of the paper is a pale, washed-out 
 sort of pink, with a bluish tinge. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is an abominable production, but I thought I might as well 
 mention it. Very badly lithographed, on pink wove paper, much the 
 same shade as the genuine, but of a very coarse grain. The letters of 
 THALER are tall and thin ; the 1 of does not touch the mantle 
 above it ; the cross on the top of the crown is of solid black, instead 
 of having merely a black outline. The scroll containing Oldenburg 
 is straight, instead of curving downwards in the middle. 
 
 Same Issue, Thaler, black on yellow. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 I have only been able to find one type of this value, having cross- 
 strokes to the tops of HAL of THALER, aucl a very fine point at the 
 bottom of the great shield, touching the outline of the scroll just 
 above the centre of the n of Oldenburg. Engraved as before on 
 thick wove paper. The fraction-line of in the left-hand inscrip- 
 tion, touches the 1, but not the 5 ; the top of this line touches the 
 border, but the bottom of it is at some little distance from the oppo- 
 site border of the scroll. The head of the 1 of this fraction does 
 not touch the border of the scroll. The letters gr of this same in- 
 scription do not touch each other. The hoUowed-out portion of the 
 shield under the letters er of thaler is very much wider than the 
 similar hollowed-out jDortion under the beginning of the H of that 
 word. There is no shading at the top of the scroll containing 3 sgr. 
 The letters of thaler do not touch each other at the bottom. The 
 shading in the background, behind the whole design, is very light ; it 
 does not reach up to the tops of the side value-labels, and under the 
 OLDENBURG label there is no shading, but only some very finely-out- 
 lined scrolls. There is a stop after the name in this value. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, yellow wove paper. The bottom point of the 
 central shield is rather blunt. In most copies the fraction-line of ^ 
 touches both the 1 and the 5, and the top and bottom of this line are 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 355 
 
 at equal distances from tlie outlines of the containing scroll. The 
 head of the 1 of i touches the outline of the scroll, and the letters 
 GR in the same scroll touch each other at the bottom. The hoUowed- 
 out part of the shield, under the letters er of thaler, is only a very 
 little wider than the similar hollowed-out part under the beginning 
 of the H of that word. The top end of the 3 sgr. scroll is lightly 
 shaded. Most of the letters of thaler touch each other at the 
 bottom. The shading in the background, behind the whole design, 
 is much too dark ; it reaches up almost as high as the level of the 
 centre of the crown. Under the Oldenburg label there is a lot of 
 dark shading. 
 
 Issue of January, 1858. i Groschen, black on green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 There are two types of this value, one with and one without pearls 
 under the bottom label. The forgers have imitated the type with 
 pearls. Engraved in black, on green paper, wove and stout. The 
 tail of the G does not touch the r of groschen, the l of drittel is 
 almost upright, and the ends of the label are shaded so as to partly 
 cover the e of ein and the en of groschen. The lion in the shield 
 has four legs, a long upward curling tail, and a peculiar square face, 
 without any features. There is a small S]3ot at the left edge of the 
 right-hand oval, and another at the right edge of the left-hand oval. 
 The two hanging forks of the left-hand end of the Oldenburg scroll 
 are a good distance above the left-hand oval. The two ends of the top 
 part of this scroll are shaded as far as the L of Oldenburg on the 
 left, and as far as the r on the right. The fraction-line of the J on 
 each side is as thick as the 1, and does not touch either the 1 or the 
 3. The thin inner line of the label, below ein drittel groschen, 
 extends right across the label, and the last pearl on the left side is 
 exactly below the r of drittel. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, coarsely wove green paper. The tail of the 
 G touches the r of groschen. The l of drittel is very much sloped 
 over to the right. There are only a few lines of shading at the ends 
 of the bottom label, not covering any of the letters of the inscription. 
 The lion's right fore-leg is a mere stump, his tail is merely a black 
 lump on his back, and his face is oval, with a distinct black dot for 
 features. There are no black spots in the side ovals. The left fork 
 of the left-hand end of the Oldenburg scroll almost touches the 
 outline of the oval beneath it. The two ends of the top part of this 
 scroll are not much shaded, so that the shading does not tresjDass, at 
 either end, on the letters of the name. The fraction-line of each 
 J is very thin, and touches the 3 in each case. The thin inner 
 line of the bottom scroll is broken away for a good part of its length, 
 only showing under ttel gro of drittel groschen. The last pearl 
 on the left-hand side is exactly under the d of drittel. 
 
356 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Same Issue. 1 Groschen, black on blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved as before, in black, on stout, dull blue wove paper. 
 There is only one type of this value. The letters gr of groschen 
 do not touch each other at the bottom, and the o is small and per- 
 fectly upright. The lion in the shield has four legs, a long upward- 
 curling tail, a peculiar square face, without any features at all, and 
 his crown does not touch liis head, but is suspended above it. There 
 is a small black spot in each of the little side ovals containing the 
 figure of value ; the right-hand oval has the spot in the centre of its 
 left-hand rim, and the left-hand oval has the spot in the centre of its 
 right-hand rim. These two spots are probably the engraver's secret 
 marks. The two points of the left-hand end of the Oldenburg 
 scroll are a good distance above the little oval which contains the 
 figure of value. The orb and cross stand out well above the outline 
 of the crown, and the top of the cross is cut off obliquely, sloping 
 irregularly down from left to right. The roimded sides and lower 
 point of the shield are a good distance from the outline of the 
 central oval. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, hard, bright chalky blue wove paper. The 
 end of the tail of the g of groschen curls out so as to touch the 
 bottom of the r, and the o leans over considerably to the right. The 
 lion has only three legs ; his tail is a misshapen bunch upon his back, 
 not extending higher up than level with the shoulders ; the face is 
 oval, with a large black spot in the very centre of it ; his crown 
 rests on his head. The little side ovals containing the figures of 
 value do not show the black spots of the genuine. The two points 
 of the hanging end, at the left-hand side of the oldenburg scroll, 
 are very close to the outline of the small oval beneath, indeed the 
 outer point almost touches the oval. The orb does not stand out 
 well from the crown, quite half of it being below the outline of the 
 crown. The top of the cross on the orb is cut ofi" level. The rounded 
 sides and lower point of the shield very nearly touch the outline of 
 the central oval. 
 
 Same Issue. 2 Groschen, pink, rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved as before, in black, on stout, dull pink or rose wove 
 paper. There is only one type of this value. The letters GR of 
 groschen do not touch each other at the bottom, and the o is small, 
 and perfectly upright. The lion in the shield has four distinct legs ; 
 his face is in profile to the left, showing mouth and tiny eye. There 
 is, as before, a black spot in each of the little side ovals, but in this 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 357 
 
 value the dots are inside the ovals, instead of being just on the 
 outline. The forked, left-hand hanging end of the OLDENBURa 
 scroll is a long way above the top of the left-hand oval. The orb 
 stands well above the crown, hardly touching it, and the cross is 
 very small compared with the size of the orb on which it rests. A 
 straight-edge, laid along the centre of the oblique stroke of the z of 
 ZWEI, would pass through the u of oldenburg. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on bluish-pink paper, wove, thin, and hard. The 
 tail of the g of groschen curls down so as to touch the bottom 
 of the R, and the o is large, and slants slightly to the right. The 
 lion has three stumpy legs, and the very indistinct remains of a 
 fourth ; he has an oval full face, with a black dot in the very centre 
 of it, as in the forged 1 groschen. There is no black spot in either 
 of the side ovals. The hanging end of the Oldenburg scroll almost 
 touches the top of the left-hand side oval. The orb does not stand 
 out well from the crown, more than half of it being below the top 
 outline of the crown ; the cross looks considerably bigger than the 
 orb upon which it stands. A straight-edge, laid along the centre of 
 the oblique stroke of the z of zwei, would cut into the d of olden- 
 burg. 
 
 Same Issue. 3 Groschen, yellow. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved as before, in black, on stout yellow paper. There is only 
 one type of this value. The letter d of drei is curiously sloped at 
 the bottom, and the i leans over ver^j much to the right, so that it 
 points almost directly towards the centre of the large shield. The 
 letters gr of groschen do not touch each other at the bottom. The 
 lion is the same as in the genuine 2 groschen. There is a small 
 black spot in the centre of the left-hand edge of the right-hand oval, 
 and another similar spot in the centre of the right-hand edge of the 
 left-hand oval. The 3 in each oval is much more like an 8 than a 
 3. There are only seven pearls below the bottom label. The shading 
 on the right-hand end of the said label covers the N and part of the 
 E of GROSCHEN. The centre of the Oldenburg scroll goes right up 
 to the top of the stamp. The point at the bottom of the large shield 
 is a long way from the bottom of the containing oval. The second 
 pearl from the left comes exactly under the I of drei, and there is 
 no pearl under the g of groschen. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, in very dark black, on thin, yellow wove paper. 
 The D of drei is of the usual shape, and the i is almost upright, and 
 points to the cross in the left-hand bottom corner of the shield. The 
 
358 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 letters gr of groschen toiicli each other at the bottom. The lion is 
 the same as in the forged 2 groschen. There is no black spot in 
 either of the side ovals, and neither 3 could possibly be mistaken 
 for an 8. There are nine pearls below the bottom label. The 
 shading in the right-hand end of this label does not come anywhere 
 near the word groschen. The oldenburg scroll shows a wide 
 space between its centre and the top of the stamp. The point at the 
 bottom of the large shield almost touches the outline of the oval 
 beneath it. The second pearl from the left comes under the space 
 between drei and groschen, and the third pearl comes exactly 
 under the g of this latter word. 
 
 Issue of December, 1850. | Groschen, yellow on white. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 There are two types of this stamp — one with and one without 
 pearls below the bottom scroll. The forgers have imitated the type 
 without pearls. Lithographed in colour, on stout white wove paper. 
 There are eight pearls on the left-hand arch of the crown, and 
 apparently the same number on the right-hand arch. The other 
 arches have no pearls along them, but each of them rests upon a 
 transverse row of three pearls. The lower inscription reads EIN 
 viertel groschen, and all the small letters of it are of the same 
 size and height. The shading on the scrolls is faint ; but it can be 
 seen easily on the upper scroll as far as the space between ol, and on 
 the other side as far as the b of oldenburg. The lower scroll shows 
 some shading all over the ein, and at the other end, as far as the c 
 of GROSCHEN. The right-hand fork of the right-hand end of the 
 lower scroll is a good deal broader than the left-hand fork of the 
 same end ; and this said right-hand fork almost touches the right- 
 hand border of the stamp. The point at the bottom of the large 
 shield is not very sharp, and it points towards the top of the l of 
 DRITTEL, which is very much sloped over to the right. The o of 
 OLDENBURG is quite upright. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper very much thinner than that of the genuine. 
 There are only seven pearls on each of the outer arches of the crown, 
 and the other two arches on each side of the central one have pearls 
 along them, instead of jewels. The lower inscription reads ein 
 viRRTEL GROSCHEU, the letters ROSCHEU gradually increasing in 
 height to the end of the word. The shading of the upper scroll is 
 much too dark, and extends too far, leaving only the n of olden- 
 burg free. The same is the case with the shading on the lower 
 scroll, which leaves free only the letters tel gr. The left-hand fork 
 of the right-hand end of the lower scroll is a good deal broader than 
 its fellow ; and the said fellow is a long way from the right-hand 
 edge of the stamp. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 359 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Very mucL. better than the last, and decidedly dangerous. Litho- 
 graphed ; paper like that of the genuine. The arches of the crown 
 are white, and do not show any pearls at all anywhere. The R of 
 viERTEL is malformed. The shading on the left-hand of the Olden- 
 burg scroll hardly extends as far as the o ; and there seems to be no 
 shading at all at the other end of the scroll, which makes it look 
 much too white. The shading at the right-hand end of the lo.wer 
 scroll only extends as far as the N, and the e before it is ridiculously 
 too small. The point at the bottom of the shield is very sharp, and 
 it points exactly centrally between the two words viertel groschen. 
 The L of VIERTEL is upright, and the o of Oldenburg is very much 
 sloped over to the right. I have only seen this forgery lately, and 
 believe it to be new. 
 
 Same Issue, i Groschen, green on white. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper as before. There are two types of this value, 
 one with, and one without pearls below the bottom scroll. 
 
 First Type, with pearls. 
 
 Genuine. This is exactly the same as the J groschen of the 1858 
 issue, except that it is printed in green on white, instead of in black 
 on green paper, so that the tests for this value in the 1858 issue will 
 serve for the detection of the genuine ^ groschen of this first type. 
 
 Forged. Exactly the same as the forgery of the ^ groschen of the 
 1858 issue, except that it is lithographed in green on white paper. 
 The tests are the same as for the forgery of the 1858 stamp. 
 
 Second Type, without pearls. 
 
 Genuine. I much regret that I have been unable to get a copy of 
 this stamp anywhere ; it appears to be decidedly rare. However, I 
 think my readers will be able to detect the forgery from the tests 
 given for the \ groschen which follows, as, except for the altered value, 
 the forgery of the ^ and that of the \ appear to be identical in type. 
 
 Forged. Lithographed on rather liard, very white wove paper. 
 Only the N of , Oldenburg is free from shading, and also the tel g 
 of EiN drittel groschen. The stamp is exactly the same as the 
 forgery of the | groschen next to be described, except, as I have said, 
 for the alteration in value. 
 
 Same Issue. \ Groschen, yellow-brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper as be t ore. There are two types, one with 
 pearls below the bottom scroll, and one without them. It is the 
 
360 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 type without pearls which has been imitated by the forgers. There 
 are eight pearls on the left-hand arch of the crown, and ten pearls on 
 the right-hand arch. The other three arches have no pearls along 
 them, but each of them rests upon a transverse row of three pearls. 
 The lion seems to have only three legs, but they are of the proper 
 length. There is no white patch at the bottom point of the shield. 
 The little white patches containing the figure of value, ^, are slightly 
 oval in shape ; the fraction-line of the right-hand ^ extends to the 
 bottom of the oval. The right-hand half of the forked end of the 
 bottom scroll, above N of groschen, is much more sharply pointed 
 than its fellow ; and, in the forked end of the upper scroll above it, 
 the half below G of oldenbdrg hangs a good deal lower than its 
 fellow. The middle of the upper scroll is almost entirely free from 
 shading, behind the letters denb of oldenburg. There is a good 
 space between the end of halber and the beginning of groschen. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper, a good deal thinner than that 
 of the genuine. There are only seven pearls on each of the outer 
 arches of the crown ; the centre arch is badly drawn, and the other 
 two remaining arches have pearls on them instead of jewels. The 
 lion shows the stumps of four legs. There is a white patch in mosj 
 of the forgeries at the bottom point of the shield. The white 
 patches, containing the fraction-value, ^, are almost circular ; the 
 fraction-line of the right-hand ^ does not touch the bottom of the 
 circle. Both forks of the right-hand end of the bottom scroll are 
 rounded, and both forks of the right-hand end of the top scroll hang 
 quite level. The vertical lines of shading on the upper scroll are so 
 numerous as to leave only the n of oldenburg entirely free. The r 
 of HALBER almost touches the g of groschen, and the scroll con- 
 taining these words has far too much shading on it, leaving free only 
 BER and G of these words. The final letters, en, of groschen are 
 quite illegible. 
 
 Same Issue. 1 Groschen, blue on white. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in blue, on thick, white wove paper. The tests 
 are exactly the same as those for the genuine 1 groschen, black 
 on blue paper, of the 1858 issue. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in blue, on thin, white wove paper. The tests are 
 exactly the same as those for the forged 1 groschen, black on blue 
 paper, of the 1858 issue. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 361 
 
 Same Issue. 2 Groschen, red on white. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in rose, on thick, white wove paper. Tests the same 
 as in the genuine 2 groschen, black on red paper, of the 1858 issue. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in sc.irlet, on thin, white wove paper. Tests the same 
 as for the forged 2 groschen, black on red, of the 1858 issue. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Very nicely lithographed in vermilion, on very white wove paper, 
 moderately stout. The letters gr of groschen touch each other at 
 tha bottom, and the o slants over a good deal to the left. The side 
 ovals contain the coloured dots like the genuine, but they are very 
 small, and too high up. The hanging ends of the oldenburg scroll, 
 which ought to be almost as wide as the scroll itself, are very much 
 narrower ; and the left-hand fork of the left-hand end of the said 
 scroll hangs much lower than its fellow, instead of being level with 
 it. A straight edge, laid along the centre of the oblique stroke of 
 the z of zwEi, would pass through the b of oldenburg. The tops 
 of the side-ovals, which ought to be considerably above the level of 
 the top of the shield, are only just about level with it. There ought 
 to be eight pearls visible below zwei groschen, but there are only 
 seven in this forgery, the one under the space between RO of 
 groschen being missing. This forgery is infinitely better than any 
 of the others, and is decidedly dangerous. I have only lately seen it. 
 
 Same Issue. 3 Groschen, yellow on white. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in yellow, on thick, white w^ove paper. Tests the 
 same as in the genuine 3 groschen of the 1858 issue. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in yellow, on thin, white wove paper. Tests the 
 same as for the forged 3 groschen of the 1858 issue. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 Genuine. An oblong frame, 1^ inch wide, and | an inch high, 
 apparently always in blue, containing name of town and date in two 
 lines ; also a double circle, with name between the circles, and date 
 in the centre, in blue ; also a pen-and-ink cross. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 An oblong frame, always in black ; same width as the genuine, 
 but I inch high ; inscribed, in two lines, oldenburg im grossher- 
 
 ZOGTHUM. 
 
362 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 OEANGE FEEE STATE. 
 Issue of 1868. Id., 6d., Is. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on thin, slightly surfaced, white wove paper ; 
 perforated 14. There are seventy-nine horizontal lines of shading 
 behind the tree, &c., and, though the uppermost line is very close to 
 the thick outline above it, the lowest line is so far from the thick 
 outline below it that there is almost room to add 
 another line at the bottom. The top of the tree 
 touches the top line of shading, but not the thick 
 outline above it. The loops or rings at the top of 
 the cords from which the post-horns hang are large 
 enough to show a line of the background through 
 each of them. The ring from which the lowest 
 post-horn hangs is exactly beneath the centre of 
 the trunk of the tree. The knot at the left side 
 of the trunk occupies the space of three of the 
 horizontal lines. The n and J of oranje do not touch each other, 
 and the stop after staat is large. There is an equal breadth of white 
 space between the horizontal lines and each of the side frames ; i.e., 
 the central lines do not reach entirely from side to side of the central 
 rectangle, but leave a white band of equal breadth down both right 
 and left sides of the rectangle. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on ordinary, very white wove paper, rather thick ; 
 unperfo rated, or perforated 12 or 12^. There are only seventy-four 
 horizontal lines of shading in the central rectangle, and they come 
 quite close up to the thick outline of the frame at the bottom, but 
 leave almost space enough for another line at the top ; this is exactly 
 the reverse of the genuine. The top of the tree touches the thick 
 outline of the frame above it. The loops or rings at the top of the 
 post- horn cords are very small, and the left-hand one is the only one 
 which usually shows a line of the horizontal shading through it. 
 The ring from which the lowest post-horn hangs is too far to the 
 right. The knot at the left side of the trunk of the tree is too large, 
 and occupies the space of four of the horizontal lines. The tails of 
 the N and J of oranje touch each other, and the stop after staat is 
 very small. The ends of the horizontal lines of shading in the 
 central rectangle come too near to the left side of the frame, leaving 
 a broader space of white down the right side than down the left. 
 The lettering of the forgeries is all in thinner type than that of the 
 genuine. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 363 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An oval of short, parallel horizontal lines, surrounding 
 a small circle containing a numeral ; also a double circle, with name 
 between the circles, and date, &c., in the centre. 
 
 Forged. A single circle, containing lettering ; also an outlined 
 oval, filled with six oblique parallel bars, after the style of the old 
 Spanish stamps. 
 
 PACIFIC STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY. 
 
 As the forgeries of these stamps are, perhaps, more widely 
 scattered than any other counterfeit known to me, I must needs 
 mention them here. But unfortunately I have not been able to 
 get hold of any of the genuine, and therefore I am compelled 
 to take Mr. Atlee's description of them from the Philatelist, 
 instead of describing them for myself. 
 
 1 Real, blue, carmine. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Finely engraved in taille-douce, in blue, on wove paper, blued by 
 the gum (1857), or in carmine, on white laid paper (1858). Every 
 detail of the stamp is extremely clear and distinct. The s is joined 
 to the stop after it, and the top of the 1 almost touches the oval. 
 The ship is sailing to the left. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, in all sorts of colours — red, red-brown, blue, pink, 
 orange, yellow, green — on yellowish -white wove paper. Mr. Atlee 
 says that there is a clear space between the s and the stop after it, 
 but I have found forgeries with the dot touching the s. The engine- 
 turning is very indistinct, and the shading in the central oval is 
 coarse. There is a slight space between the top of the 1 of and 
 the oval frame. The whole design is very poor. The ship is sailing 
 to the left, as in the genuine. 
 
 2 Reales, red-brown, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Finely engraved in taille-douce, in red-brown, 
 on wove paper, blued by the gum (1857), and 
 in blue, on white laid paper (1858). The design 
 is the same as that of the 1 real, but the ship 
 is sailing to the right. 
 
364 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, as before, on yellowish-white wove paper, in a 
 variety of colours. The design is similar to that of the forged 1 
 real, and the ship is sailing to the left, as in the 1 real. 
 
 Some time ago I saw a couple of new forgeries of these stamps. 
 They were very superior to the counterfeits just described, but I saw 
 them for such a short time that I had no opportunity to take notes, 
 more especially as I have no genuine specimens. These said forgeries 
 were on very thick, very white wove paper, and the imitation of 
 taille-clouce engine-turning was remarkably successful. 
 
 Reprints. 
 
 These stamps were reprinted, date unknown, on white wove paper, 
 colours as follows : 1 real, blue, carmine, yellow, green ; 2 reales, 
 blue, carmine, yellow, green, brown. 
 
 As the originals were always on either hleute wove paper or white 
 laid, these reprints on white wove can easily be detected. They are, 
 of course, always unused. 
 
 Postraarhs. 
 
 Genuine. I do not remember the genuine cancelled otherwise than 
 by a pen-stroke. 
 
 Forged. Several concentric circles, after the manner of the old 
 Badens, &c. 
 
 N.B. — It will be remembered that I have taken all the differing 
 points above-named from Mr. Atlee's description, not having the 
 genuine stamps myself. 
 
 PAPAL STATES. 
 
 Issue of 1852-65. 50 Bajocchi, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on thick, hard, yellowish -white wove paper. 
 The F of FRANCO is very clear and distinct, and its bottom stroke 
 projects to the right, quite as far as the top 
 arm. The p and t of postale have Avide 
 bottom strokes, and the L has a wide top 
 stroke ; the upright first stroke of the E of 
 this word is straight. The a of baj is 
 sharply pointed, and both its bottom strokes 
 are of equal width. The groundwork of the 
 tiara, between the crowns, is white. The two 
 ribbons, each side of the tiara, show a long 
 dark fringe at their ends, but this fringe is not forked. Tlie tassels 
 are not forked, and they are joined to the keys by cords which are 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 365 
 
 composed of dotted lines. The cross on the top of the tiara appears 
 to be merely a short lump, and it is a long way below the ll of 
 BOLLO. In each corner of the stamp there is what appears to be an 
 oak-leaf ; the central vein of each leaf is very short, reaching from 
 near the point to about the centre of the leaf, and not going near to 
 the short projection inside the base of the leaf, which seems to be 
 intended as part of the vein. The whole stamp is slightly indented 
 or sunk into the jDaper, in the manner of epargne, and the stop after 
 BAJ is quite deeply indented. There is a sort of fringe of twenty-two 
 short lines in the frame below baj ; there are sixteen sinnlar lines in 
 the fringe to the left of baj ; seventeen in the fringe to the left of 
 FRANCO ; eighteen or nineteen in the fringe above co bol ; about 
 sixteen in the fringe above LO pos ; sixteen to the right of tale ; 
 fifteen to the right of 50, and eighteen below 50. These are the 
 numbers as nearly as I can make out, but they are difficult to count. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This is very poor, and can easily be detected. It is lithographed 
 on yellowish-white laid paper. The bottom stroke of the f of 
 FRANCO is very short. The p and t of postale have hardly any 
 bottom strokes. The top stroke to the L of this word is also very 
 short. The a of baj is distinctly rounded at the top, and its right- 
 hand bottom stroke is much wider or longer than the corresponding 
 left-hand one. The groundwork of the tiara, between the crowns, 
 is darkly shaded with vertical lines, placed so close together as almost 
 to touch. The fringe at the end of each of the ribbons, on each side 
 of the tiara, is very short and distinctly forked. Each of the four 
 tassels is deeply forked. This is a very easy test. The cords joining 
 the tassels to the keys are composed of unbroken lines instead of 
 dotted ones. The cross on the top of the tiara is very distinctly 
 drawn, and it goes very close to the bottom of the first L of bollo. 
 The veins in the corner oak-leaves are very long, extending from the 
 very base of each leaf to within less than one-eighth of an inch 
 from the point. The whole impression, including the stop after baj, 
 is flat, not in the least sunk into the paper. The fringe below baj 
 contains twenty-two lines ; the one to the left of baj has seventeen; 
 the one to the left of franco has eighteen ; the one above CO bol 
 has twenty-one ; the one above lo pos has twenty-three ; the one to 
 the right of tale has seventeen ; the one to the right of 50 has 
 seventeen, and the one below 50 has twenty-three. These lines are 
 easy to count. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thick, rough, very hard, white wove paper. The 
 F of FRANCO is Very badly drawn, the bottom part being apparently 
 all doubled up or broken. This will be found the best test for this 
 forgery. The upright first stroke of the E of postale is not straight, 
 but considerably curved in the centre. The a of baj is blunt at the 
 
366 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 top, and its right-hand bottom stroke is considerably longer or wider 
 than the corresponding left-hand one. The ends of the ribbons each 
 side of the tiara are clumsy, and do not look like fringes. The tassels 
 are joined to the keys by continuous lines instead of dotted ones. 
 The cross on the top of the tiara is a sort of lump, as in the genuine, 
 but it is much too long, too pointed, and is bent over to the right, 
 besides being much too near to the first l of bollo. The whole 
 impression is flat on the paper, instead of being rather sunk into it. 
 The fringes in the border of the stamp are perfectly uncountable, 
 the lines being all blotched together. I have not been able to count 
 any one of the sets ; indeed the whole impression is very much 
 blotched, though I do not lay much stress on this point, as the 
 genuine stamps are sometimes not very clearly printed. With the 
 exceptions just mentioned this stamp is a most excellent copy of the 
 genuine, and I fancy that most amateurs might be deceived by it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A diamond-shaped frame, containing five parallel bars ; 
 also two small concentric circles, with name in between the circles, 
 and date, &c., in the centre. 
 
 Forged. A diamond-shaped frame, containing six parallel bars ; 
 also a blue wavy postmark, the shape of which I have not been able 
 to make out ; also a pen-stroke. 
 
 Same Issue. 1 Scudo, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on thick, rather hard, yellowish- white wove 
 paper. The cross at the top of the tiara does not touch the l above 
 it, and the three crowns on the said tiara are parallel with each other, 
 and horizontal, or rather, very slightly arched. The f of franco has 
 a very large bottom stroke, and the bottom 
 of the oblique stroke of the N is decidedly 
 blunt. In the word postale the bottom 
 stroke of the P is quite as long as the width 
 of the projecting top of the letter ; the top 
 of the A is rather rounded, without any cross- 
 stroke at the top of it ; the bottom stroke 
 of the T is quite as wide as the top stroke ; 
 the thick first stroke of the e is not at all curved, the tongue of 
 it is in the centre of the letter, and the bottom limb is plainly 
 larger than the top one. In the word scudo the tail of the c bends 
 very slightly outwards, so as apparently to point towards the centre 
 of the following u ; the d is properly shaped, and the o has rather a 
 clumsy look. The cross in the wards of the left-hand key is better 
 made than the one in the wards of the right-hand key. Neither of 
 the ribbons touches the tiara, and each end finishes ofi" with a distinct 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 367 
 
 and very dark fringe. All four of the large tassels are about the 
 same size and shape. If the tassels be supposed to be snakes, the 
 upper one on the right-hand side is looking horizontally to the right, 
 below the upper lettering ; and the upper one on the left-hand side 
 is looking horizontally to the left, below the upper lettering. The 
 circular handle over the o of scudo is firmly attached to tlie shaft of 
 the key, but the similar circular handle over the c of scudo only 
 just touches the shaft of the key. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, very white wove paper. The cross at 
 the top of the tiara does not touch the l above it. The F of franco 
 has hardly any bottom stroke. The top of the a of postale is flat, 
 and bears a small cross stroke on it. The top half of the e of this 
 word is much larger than the bottom half. The bottom of the d of 
 SCUDO is slanted absurdly up to the right, instead of being flat. This 
 is perhaps the easiest test for this forgery. The cross in the wards 
 of the left-hand key is much more crooked than the one in the wards 
 of the right-hand key, thus just reversing the test of the genuine. 
 The right-hand ribbon touches the side of the tiara. The bottom 
 stroke of the t of postale is very much shorter than the top stroke, 
 and it does not touch the bottom of the following a. The n of 
 franco is badly made, having the last vertical stroke drawn too 
 much to the left, so that it cuts almost into the middle of the 
 oblique stroke, instead of joining its end. The upper right-hand 
 tassel ends in a large, dark ball, very diff'erent from the other tassels. 
 The colour is a sort of rosy- vermilion, very much more intense than 
 the genuine. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is hand-stamped from a die. I have only seen it struck in 
 black on a card, so cannot tell what sort of paper is used for the 
 real counterfeits. It hails from Breslau, and, I believe, as the die is 
 exceedingly well done, its productions will probably be offered as 
 • repnnts. The tests are as follows : the crowns on the tiara slant 
 downwards to the left (this is more especially clear with the upper- 
 most crown) ; the bottom of the oblique stroke of the n of franco 
 is quite sharp. In the word postale the bottom stroke of the p is 
 very short, not anything like as long as the width of the projecting 
 upper part of the letter ; the bottom stroke of the t is also very 
 short, especially upon the left-hand side ; the thick first stroke of 
 the E is curved, as though it had a bend in its back ; the tongue is a 
 little too low, and the top limb projects slightly more than the 
 bottom one. In the word scudo the tail of the c does not curve 
 outwards at all, and it appears to point towards the top of the 
 following u ; the o is of a nice oval shape. There appears to be a 
 fringe to the end of each of the ribbons, but the fringes are not 
 
368 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 dark. The lower tassels are darker than the upper ones ; and, sup- 
 posing them to be snakes, the right-hand upper one appears to be 
 looking upwards, directly at the e of postale, and the left-hand 
 upper one appears to be looking just below the f of franco. The 
 key and handle over the c of scudo are only very slightly joined 
 together, but the key and handle over the o of scudo scarcely touch 
 each other at all. With these exceptions this forgery corresponds 
 very closely with the genuine in all points of the design. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large, outlined diamond, containing five parallel bars ; 
 also a diamond of square dots, not outlined. 
 
 Forged. An outlined diamond, like the genuine, but containing 
 six parallel bars ; also a pen-stroke. 
 
 Issue of 1867. 2 Cents, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, in black, on medium wove glac^ paper, white 
 at the back, but coloured green on the face. 
 The F of FRANCO does not touch the inner line 
 of the frame, and the N has a cross- stroke to 
 each of its vertical lines. The cross on the tiara 
 comes under the middle of the first L of bollo. 
 The two ribbons are at equal distances from 
 the tiara, and neither of them touches it. The 
 ribbons or cords hanging between the keys, be- 
 low the tiara, are formed by dotted lines. The c of cent is a good 
 distance above the bottom outline of the frame. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in blue, on very thick, hard, white wove paper, not 
 glace, and not coloured green on the face. The f of franco touches 
 the outline of the frame to the left of it ; the n has no cross-stroke 
 at the top of its last upright line. The cross on the tiara comes 
 exactly under the space between the ll of bollo. The right-hand 
 ribbon almost touches the tiara, whilst the left-hand ribbon is at a 
 considerable distance from it. The ribbons or cords below the tiara, 
 between the keys, are formed by unbroken lines, instead of dotted 
 ones. The c of cent touches the outline of the frame below it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The diamond of square dots above described. 
 Forged. My only specimen of this forgery is uncancelled. 
 
 
 ^^^^^ 
 
 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 369 
 
 PARAGUAY. 
 
 Issue of 1870. 1 Beal, rose-pink. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, oii very slightly yellowish- white wove paper, 
 tolerably thick and hard. The lion is standing upon a piece of ground, 
 the boundary line of which is about level with the 
 stops before and after uN real. His feet barely 
 touch the outline of the shaded circle. The rest of 
 the circle, above the ground, is shaded with fine 
 horizontal lines, without any dark bands across the 
 circle. Round the 1 in each corner there is, first 
 of all, the dark outer line, then a tolerably broad 
 white circle, then an inner dark circle, then a very 
 narrow white circle, then the dark outline of the 
 shaded background to the numeral. The lion is shaded nearly all over, 
 and his mane appears to be the darkest portion of the whole stamp. 
 The E of REPUBLiCA is properly drawn. The pole supporting the cap 
 of Liberty is shaded nearly all over, and where it is not shaded the 
 lines of the background can be seen through it. The cap of Liberty 
 does not touch the outline of the circle above it. The side-stroke of 
 each figure 1 ends with an ornamental curl. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on very white wove paper, thinner than that 
 of the genuine, but quite as hard. The artist has evidently failed to 
 see that the lion is standing on the ground, for he has made him 
 stand upon the inner outline of the circle, and has drawn six thick 
 dark bands across the circle, at equal distances, to make them 
 uniform with the one thick band which represents the horizon in the 
 genuine. The circles round the corner-figures are badly copied. Out- 
 side there is the outer dark circle, then a narrow white space, then 
 the rest is blotchy, only showing parts of the other lines and spaces. 
 The face of the lion is quite white, and there are large white patches 
 down the sides of his body, parts of the mane being also white. The 
 E of REPUBLICA is broken, and badly shaped. The lion appears to 
 be grinning, and one of his eyes is shut. All the upper part of the 
 pole is white, and the lines of the background cannot be seen through 
 it. The cap of Liberty touches the outline of the circle, under the 
 beginning of the e of del, and it has a patchy appearance, instead of 
 being shaded all over. The side-stroke of each figure 1 is a plain 
 oblique line, without any ornamental curl. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A double circle in blue, with name between the circles, 
 and date in the centre. 
 
 2 B 
 
370 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Forged. An oval, formed by four straight lines at top and bottom, 
 and five curved lines each side. 
 
 The forgeries are separated from each other by lines, and the 
 colour is a more chalky rose than that of the genuine. 
 
 PAEMA. 
 
 Issue of 1852. 5, 15, 25 Centes, colour on white. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Apparently lithographed, on medium, yellowish-white wove paper. 
 The point of the Jleur-de-lys does not touch the outline of the circle 
 above it ; indeed, there are two lines of the shading of the central 
 circle to be seen between the point of the Jleur-de- 
 lys and the top of the circle. Each of tlie three 
 tails of the Jleur-de-lys bears a line of shading in it. 
 The little cross on the toj) of the crown touches 
 the border above it, exactly between the two words 
 STATi FARM. There is only one stop after farm, 
 and that is level with the centre of the m. The 
 groundwork behind the Jleur-de-lys is formed by 
 fifty-seven fine lines, set very close together ; and 
 the groundwork behind the crown is formed by very tiny, square, 
 coloured dots. There is a round white stoj) between the words 
 STATI FARM. The broad white circle surrounding the Jleur-de-lys 
 goes as near to the white lines of the frame to right and left of it 
 as it does to the white line of the frame below it. Each of the two 
 outer arches of the crown bears four good-sized pearls, and each of 
 the inner arches bears three similar pearls. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, very coarsely- wove paper. The point of the 
 Jleur-de-lys touches the outline of the circle above it. The right- 
 hand tail of the Jleur-de-lys has no line of shading in it. The little 
 cross on the top of the crown comes under the i of stati. There 
 are two stops, like a colon, after farm. The groundwork behind the 
 Jleur-de-lys is formed by thirty-eight lines of shading, far apart ; and 
 the groundwork behind the crown is formed by crossed, vertical 
 and horizontal lines of colour. The white circle round the Jleur-de- 
 lys is nearer the frame at the left-hand side and bottom than it is at 
 the right-hand side. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on coarse wove paper, rather thicker than in the last 
 forgery. There is only one line of shading to be seen between the 
 point of the Jleur-de-lys and the outline of the circle above it. The 
 l^ittle cross on the top of the crown is nearer to the i than to the f. 
 The groundwork behind the JleiLr-de4ys is formed by forty-one lines 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 37i 
 
 of shading ; and the groundwork behind t]ie crown is formed by- 
 short, crooked, irregular lines, making a sort of "crinkly" pattern. 
 'I'here is a large hyphen between the words stati farm. The broad 
 white circle surrounding the fleur-de-lys is at some little distance from 
 the side-frames, allowing a portion of the groundwork to be seen 
 between the frame and the nearest portions of the circle. Each of the 
 outer arches of the crown bears five pearls, and each of the inner 
 arches has four jjearls. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed, on medium, wove paper, not so coarsely made as in 
 the other forgeries. The little cross on the top of the crown is under 
 the I of STATI. The groundwork behind tlie fleur-de-lys is formed by 
 fifty-three horizontal lines of shading, and the groundwork behind 
 the crown is formed by vertical rows of oblong dots. There is no 
 stop at all between the words stati farm. The white circle round 
 the fleur-de-lys is slightl}'- nearer to the left-hand than to the right- 
 hand frame. The left-hand arch of the crown bears seven pearls ; 
 the right-hand arch has live, and the inner arches four each. 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 Very coarsely lithographed, on thick wove paper. There seems to 
 be onl}^ one line of shading between the j^oint of the fleur-de-lys and 
 the top of the outline above it. The middle tail of the fleur-de-lys 
 has no line of shading in it. The cross on the to^D of the crown 
 appears to be under the i of stati. There is no stop after farm, 
 and none before stati ; and the one between stati farm is level 
 with the bottom of the letters, instead of level with their centres. 
 The groundwork behind the fleur-de-lys is formed by twenty-eight 
 lines of shading, very thick and coarse ; and the groundwork behind 
 the crown is composed of a blotchy pattern, which it is impossible 
 to make out. The circle round the fleur-de-lys is a very long way 
 from the side frames, instead of touching them, and it does not 
 touch the bottom frame either, though it is nearer to this latter than 
 to the others. This is an easy test. The stamp is so blotched that 
 the pearls on the crown cannot be seen at all, much less counted. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large double circle, with name between the circles, 
 and date in the centre ; also a single circle, much smaller, with 
 name and date ; also name in large capital letters, without any frame ; 
 also the same in two lines of inscription ; also a small rectangular 
 frame, not a quarter the size of the stamp, containing a lattice- work 
 of crossed oblique, parallel bars. 
 
 Forged. First Set. The lattice-work rectangle above described. 
 
 Second Set. Five concentric circles ; also the Spanish oval, "grid- 
 iron " pattern. 
 
 Third Set. A word in large capitals. 
 
 Fourth Set. Four very thin concentric circles. 
 
372 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Issue of 1852-57. 6, 10, 16, 26, 40 Centes, black on colour. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Apparently engraved in epargne; paper rather thinner than that 
 of the first issue. The type is exactly the same as that of the first 
 issue, so that the tests of the genuine already given will serve for 
 the genuine of this issue, except that the stamps are printed in black 
 on coloured paper, instead of in colour on white paper. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 All the four types of forgeries described in the first issue, but 
 printed in black on coloured paper. Tests the same as in the four 
 forged sets. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 Genuine and forged as in the first issue. 
 
 Issue of 1867-59. 15, 26, 40 Centes. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on stout, yellowish- white wove paper. There 
 are twenty- nine horizontal lines of shading in the oval, counting 
 down the left-hand side. The three lower limbs or branches of the 
 fleur-de-lys are of a good size, about half as large 
 as the corresponding upper limbs, and each of the 
 six limbs has a line of shading in it. The tail of 
 the c of CENT is made exactly like the head. The 
 left-hand branch, outside the shield, bears six oak- 
 leaves and only two acorns ; the right-hand branch 
 bears one olive-berry on the inner side of the double 
 stem, to the left of the lowest bunch of leaves. 
 Three of the horizontal lines of shading can be 
 seen between the top of the Jleur-de-lys and the outline of the oval 
 above it. The stop after ecc is small and round. All the arches of 
 the crown are equally well-made and distinct. The two branches do 
 not touch the frame or the shield anywhere. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, coarsely-wove, very white paper. There 
 are only twenty-seven horizontal lines of shading in the oval, count- 
 ing down the left side. The three lower limbs of the fleur-de-lys are 
 very much smaller than the corresponding upper limbs, and the right 
 and left lower limbs do not appear to have the line of shading in 
 them. The c of cent has a head but no tail, just like an ordinary 
 English capital c. The left-hand branch bears seven oak-leaves and 
 three acorns ; the right-hand branch has no olive-berry on it. Five 
 of the lines of shading can be seen between the top of the fleur-de- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 373 
 
 lys and the outline of the oval above it. The second arch of the 
 crown, counting from the left, is smaller than the rest, and badly- 
 drawn. The left-hand branch touches the frame in one place, and 
 almost touches it in another. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on soft, thick, very yellowish-white wove paper, so 
 coarsely made that it might be mistaken for laid. There are only 
 twenty-five lines of shading in the shield, counting down the left 
 side. The right and left lower limbs of the Jleur-de-kjs have no line 
 of shading in them. The head and tail of the c of cent are pretty 
 much alike, but without the knobs or points of the genuine. The 
 right-hand branch shows the stem where the olive-berry ought to be, 
 but the berry itself is not there. Only two lines of shading can be 
 seen between the top of the jkur-de-lys and the outline of the oval 
 above it. The stop after ecc is a dash. This is the easiest test for 
 this counterfeit. The middle arch of the crown is crooked, and the 
 arch to the left of it is very indistinctly drawn. The olive-branch 
 touches the shield in one place. 
 
 This forgery is blotchy, but it has an exceedingly deceptive look, 
 much more so than the first forgery. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large double circle, generally in red, with name be- 
 tween the circles, and date in the centre ; also a single circle, generally 
 in black, with name and date ; also a rectangle, containing a lattice- 
 work of oblique lines. 
 
 Forged. First Set. Uncancelled, 
 
 Second Set. The oblong with lattice- work, but the corners of the 
 oblong are very decidedly rounded ofi^ ; also a large diamond, con- 
 taining oblique parallel lines. 
 
 Issue of 1853-57. 6, 9 Cent, black on colour. 
 Issue, of 1859. Same type 5, lO, 20, 40, 80 Cent., colour 
 on white. 
 
 Ge7iiiine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on stout wove paper. The frame of the stamp 
 is composed of three lines, the middle one of the 
 three being considerably nearer to the outside than 
 to the inside line ; indeed the outer and middle lines 
 are frequently found ]:)lotched together. All the lines 
 of the outer octagon are distinctly hollowed inwards, 
 or concave, but of course the shorter sides are not 
 so much hollowed as the longer ones. The i of 
 STATi has no cross-stroke at the top, and the i of 
 PARMExsi often wants part of its bottom stroke. The c of cen- 
 
 STATI 
 
 IF ARMENS Ii 
 
374 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 TESiMi has a tail exactly like its head, after the manner of the foreign 
 capital c. The last i of this word has hardly any top stroke. None 
 of the letters of the inscription touch the frame anywhere. The 
 letters of centesimi are much smaller than those of parmenst, 
 and the figures of value are exactly the same height as the letters of 
 CENTESIMI. The outer line of the frame is not very much thicker 
 than the other two. The middle v-part of the m of parmensi does 
 not come anything like down to the bottom of the letter ; indeed it 
 does not come much lower than the tongue of the e which follows it. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on moderately stout wove paper. The middle line 
 of the three composing the octagonal frame is exactly central between 
 the other two lines. The short sides of the octagon are very nearly 
 straight. The i of stati has a very distinct cross-stroke at the top. 
 The tail of the c of centesimi is rather like the head, but not 
 exactly like it. The last i of this word has a large cross-stroke at 
 the top of it. The letters of centesimi are very nearly as large as 
 those of PARMENSI, and the figures of value are distinctly taller than 
 the letters of parmensi. The outer line of the frame is a good deal 
 thicker than the other two lines. The middle v-part of the m of 
 parmensi comes down quite to the very bottom of the letter. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Besides the values given above, this set contains an altogether 
 imaginary value — "60 centesimi." Lithographed on thick, hard, 
 finely- wove paper. The outer line of the frame is absurdly thick, 
 being eight or ten times thicker than the other two, and the middle 
 line is, if anything, rather nearer to the inner than to the outer one. 
 The short outlines of the octagon are perfectly straight. Every i of 
 the inscription has a large top stroke and a large bottom stroke. The 
 c of centesimi has no tail, and is exactly like the ordinary English 
 capital c. The bottom of the p of parmensi touches the frame to 
 the left of it. The letters of centesimi are too small, and the figures 
 of value are very much taller than the letters of this latter word. 
 The middle v-part of the m of centesimi comes quite down to the 
 bottom of the letter. This is not nearly so good a forgery as the 
 one just described. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large double circle, with name between the circles, 
 and date in the centre ; also a single circle, containing name and 
 date. 
 
 Forged. First Set. Uncancelled. 
 
 Second Set. Five parallel rows of large oblong dots ; also th$ 
 same with a pen-stroke added ; also a shapeless blotch. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 375 
 
 PERSIA. 
 Issue of 1876. 1, 2, 4, 8 ShaM. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed (?) on thick, white wove paper, 
 usually rouletted, and on thin paper, imperforated. 
 The 2 shahi is, it is said, also found perforated 
 13, but I have not seen a specimen. The lion is 
 full-faced, his tail is thin and tapering, with a 
 distinct dark blot in the centre of the tassel of 
 it. The white line on which the lion stands does 
 
 not touch the circle of pearls either side. The ^ 
 
 pearls are small and regular. The lion has a very 
 full beard. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very nicely lithographed, on thick, white wove paper ; imperfor- 
 ated, or perforated 13. The lion is only three-quarter-faced ; his 
 tail is thick for its whole length, and the tassel is quite white, with 
 no dot in the centre of it. The white line on which the lion stands 
 touches the circle of pearls on the right, and almost touches it on 
 the left. Tiie pearls are rather large, and vary in size. The lion's 
 mane is very white, and there seems to be no beard at all just under 
 the chin. As a rule these forgeries are much better-looking than 
 the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Usually a large circle, containing name, &c., in English 
 and Persian characters. 
 
 Forged. Usually uncancelled, but occasionally with a few shape- 
 less blotches. 
 
 Issue of 1877. 10 Shahi, black and blue. 
 
 I have only seen the 10 shahi, but there exists a full set. 
 The tests for the 10 shahi will serve for the others. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Printed in two colours, on moderately stout, 
 white wove paper ; perforated 13. The face of 
 the Shah is entirely covered with dark lines. 
 The cap comes down somewhat lower over the 
 right eye, on the left side of the stamp, than it 
 does over the left eye, on the right side of the 
 stamp. There are sixteen pearls visible in the 
 fastening of the aigrette in the cap. The lion 
 has two horizontal lines across his forehead, his 
 tail tapers slightly to the end, and the tassel is plainly forked. He 
 
376 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 holds a sword in his right paw, and the little black line on which 
 he stands touches the border on the right side of the stamp, but not 
 on the left. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper, rather thin ; pin-pricked 13. 
 The face of the Shah is very little shaded, and looks more like that 
 of a white man. The cap is put on very nearly level ; or, if at all 
 sloped, it comes down slightly further over the left eye, to the right 
 of the stamp. The aigrette only shows nine pearls. There are no 
 horizontal lines across the forehead of the lion ; his tail is alx)ut the 
 same thickness for its whole length, and the tassel at the end of it 
 seems to be a very little forked in some copies, but not decidedly, as 
 in the genuine. The sword seems to be in the left paw, but it is not 
 easy to say for certain which paw holds it. The little black line on 
 which the lion stands touches the black border on both sides. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The same cancellation as in the issue just described. 
 Forged. A large rectangle of st^uare dots. 
 
 PEKU. 
 
 Issue of 1860. 1 Dinero, blue. 
 
 This is the type with frame composed of ten lines, the outer 
 and inner lines rather separated from the rest, but no thicker, 
 and the ground, in the inner corners, formed by rows of short 
 oblique lines, each row pointing alternately to right and left, so 
 as to appear almost like vertical zigzags. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on medium, white wove paper. There are ninety- 
 six pearls round the central circle. The o of porte is much too tall, 
 reaching up to the next line above the one touched by all the other 
 letters of the word ; and the o of franco is a 
 little taller than the other letters of that word. 
 The letters r, c, and o of this latter word rest 
 upon the same bottom line as all the letters of 
 roKTE, but the letters f, a, and n rest upon the 
 next line above. In the left-hand correos the 
 ^i^^^t two and last two letters reach above the rest, 
 and the first o reaches below the rest. In the 
 right-hand correos the s and each o reach below 
 the other letters, and the last o reaches above them. There are 
 fifteen horizontal lines of shading in the compartment of the shield 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 377 
 
 which contains the llama, counting down the right-hand side of it. 
 There are fifteen short strokes in the top row of the groundwork, to 
 the left-hand side of the circle, and sixteen in the top row on the 
 right-hand side. The bottom row on the left-hand side contains 
 sixteen short strokes, and the bottom row on the right-hand side 
 contains thirteen. The right-hand branch of the large wreath con- 
 tains twenty-two leaves, and the left-hand branch contains twenty- 
 one. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thickish, white wove paper. There are only 
 seventy-two pearls round the central circle. The words porte- 
 FRANCO are in letters of equal height, all bounded by the same lines 
 top and bottom. In the left-hand correos the last letters, os, stand 
 rather higher than the rest, and the first o and the s reach lower 
 than the other letters. In the right-hand correos the letters are all 
 bounded by the same two lines except the s, wliich is rather taller 
 than the rest. There are only thirteen horizontal lines of shading in 
 the compartment of the shield which contains the llama, counting 
 from the right-hand side, and the head and neck of the llama are 
 rounded, just like those of a goose. There are only eleven short 
 oblique strokes in the left-hand top row of the ground behind the 
 circle ; eleven or twelve in the right-hand top row ; thirteen in the 
 left-hand bottom row, and eleven the right-hand bottom row. The 
 right-hand branch of the large wreath bears twenty leaves, and the 
 left-hand branch bears about seventeen. 
 
 Una Peseta, rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 There is no una peseta of the type described above. The nearest 
 approach to it is the issue of 1861, which has mj,^ ^ 
 the short lines of the background in the corners E^^^^^^^i 
 joined end to end, instead of being separate 
 from each other, thus making real rows of ver- 
 tical zigzags ; and the circle round the central 
 shield, &c., L5 composed of a zigzag line instead 
 of the ninety-six white pearls. The value is 
 VTitten as above, " una peseta." 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, yellowish-white wove paper. There are 
 eighty-eight white pearls round the central circle, instead of the 
 zigzag line. There are fourteen horizontal lines of shading in the 
 compartment of the shield which bears the llama, counting on the 
 right-hand side of it, and the llama has an absurd blot on its shoulder. 
 There are nineteen leaves in the right-hand branch of the large 
 
378 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 wreath, and about eighteen in the left-hand branch. The letters of 
 PORTE-FRANCO are all the same height, top and bottom. The value 
 is written " UN peseto," which is an easy instant test. 
 
 Issue of 1858. Medio Peso, 6 50 Centimos, yellow, rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 This is an excessively rare stamp ; the rose is an error. The bottom 
 label bears the word correos, the left-hand label has medio peso, 
 and the right-hand label has 6 50 centimos. The groundwork of 
 the corners consists of wavy vertical lines. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, yellowish-white wove paper. The design 
 is the same as that of the " un peseto" forgery just described. The 
 right-hand and left-hand labels bear the word correos, and the 
 bottom label has medio peso. The groundwork is of short oblique 
 lines, pointing different ways, in alternate rows, as in the forged 
 
 "UN PESETO." 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large single circle, with name and date ; also a double 
 circle, with name between the circles and date in the centre. 
 
 Forged. The large single circle, containing the word correos, &c. 
 
 Note. — It will be seen that the "un peseto" and the medio peso 
 are merely imaginary stamps, not agreeing with any of the genuine 
 t3^pes. The un dinero is a much more deceptive forgery, being 
 printed very nearly as well as the genuine, and in the exact shade of 
 blue — a cold, dead, pale tint. 
 
 Issue of 1866. 5 Centavos, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, yellowish- white wove paper ; 
 perforated 12. The front foot of the white llama, above the aloe 
 plant, is absurdly large ; and a straight-edge 
 laid along the front of its face would just cut 
 into the tail of the R of franco. This said 
 white llama has a cloth or saddle under the 
 pack on its back, and the corner of this cloth 
 can plainly be distinguished under the pack. 
 The back leg of this llama is darkly shaded, 
 but it is quite distinct, and slim like the other 
 legs. There is a small ball or fruit amongst 
 the leaves over the beginning of the v of cen- 
 tavos, and this ball is dark, and shaded all 
 over. The u of peru is not joined at the top. The left-hand leaf 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 379 
 
 of the aloe is rather stumpy, as though it had been broken off, but 
 it is only very little shorter than the right-hand leaf. The ends of 
 the label containing correos, peru, do not touch the ends of the 
 label which contains porte, franco. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, and also on rather thin, white wove paper; 
 badly perforated 13. The front foot of the wliite llama is small and 
 pointed, like its fellow. A straight-edge laid along the face of the 
 llama would cut through the c of franco. The pack on its back 
 does not show any saddle underneath it. The back leg of this llama 
 is thick and clumsy, and very indistinct. The ball among the leaves, 
 over the beginning of the v of centavos, is perfectly white. The u 
 of PERU is joined at the top. The left-hand leaf of the aloe plant 
 is very sharp, and venj much shorter than any of the other leaves. 
 The ends of the two upper labels touch each other at both ends. 
 
 Same Issue. 10 Centavos, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving, paper, and perforation exactly the same as in the 
 genuine 5 centavos. The front llama has some 
 dark shading on the back of the head, and a 
 dark patch on its back ; but the two masses of 
 shading are not joined by shading down the 
 back of its neck. The cactus in the foreground 
 has eight leaves. The llama in the background 
 has a head, neck, and ears exactly like those of 
 a greyhound, and the eyes are well marked. 
 The head and tail of the c of centavos almost 
 touch. The mountain peaks in the background ^i^^ 
 are so lightly drawn that they are hardly visible at a first glance. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thick, white wove paper ; perforated 13. The 
 dark shading on the back of the head of the front llama goes down 
 the neck, and joins the patch of shading on its back. The cactus 
 seems to have about eleven leaves, but they are very blotchy. The 
 head, neck, and ears of the llama in the background are like those 
 of a wolf, and there is only one eye visible. The head and tail of 
 the c of CENTAVOS are a good distance apart. The mountain peaks 
 in the background are much too distinct, so that they can be plainly 
 seen at a glance. 
 
 Same Issue. 20 Centavos, brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving, paper, and perforation the same as in the genuine 5 
 centavos. The background of the scroll, behind the words correos 
 
380 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 DEL PERU, is shaded with crossed lines. The central picture is 
 exactly the same as that on the genuine 10 centavos, except that not 
 quite so much of it is visible, so that the tests 
 lor that portion of the genuine 10 centavos will 
 hold good for the genuine 20 centavos. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, and also on 
 stout, very white wove paper ; perforated 13. 
 There are two dark oblique lines of shading on 
 the mountain, which come between the heads of 
 the two llamas, the right-hand line touching the 
 nose of the llama in the background. The rest of the picture is the 
 same as in the forged 10 centavos. The background of the scroll, 
 behind the words correos del peru, is of solid colour. The 2 in 
 the left top corner, and the 2 in the right-hand bottom corner, both 
 appear to be in two pieces, as though the tail of each figure could 
 " take off." 
 
 PostwMrhs. 
 
 Genuine. A shapeless blotch ; also a very long oval, containing 
 seven very thick parallel bars running across the short side of the 
 oval ; also a double circle, with name and date. 
 
 Forged. A small oval, not much larger than the centre of the 
 stamps, containing six thin parallel bars running the long way of 
 the oval. 
 
 I must say that the design of the originals has been carefully 
 copied in these forgeries ; but there is an enormous difference between 
 taille-douce engraving and lithography. 
 
 Issue of 1874. 2 Centavos, violet. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, greyish-white, wove paper ; 
 perforated 12, and embossed at the back with a grille," or sort of 
 grating of crossed lines. There is a very distinct 
 wedge-shaped accent over the u of peru. Each 
 figure 2, towards the bottom of the stamp, is 
 surrounded by a white oval, and each oval is 
 exactly the same width all the way round. The 
 letters NT of centavos touch each other at the 
 top, and the letters ta touch each other at the 
 bottom. There are seven cannon-balls in a heap 
 below the mouth of the left-hand cannon. The 
 two rammers, or flag-staves, or whatever they are, 
 beside the heap of cannon-balls, are white, and hardly shaded at all. 
 The compartments of the shield are very light, showing off the llama, 
 tree, and cornucopia very distinctly. Below the mouth of the ri^ht- 
 hand cannon there are three rounded things, which it is impossible 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 381 
 
 to decipher. They look like the heads and trunks of three babies, 
 placed side by side, as much as anything, but they are not in the 
 least like cannon-balls. The inner edge of the large white oval, 
 round the central design, is only outlined at the top and the bottom, 
 and the outer edge of the oval is not outlined at alL 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very well lithographed, though too darkly printed, on thinnish, 
 very white wove paper ; perforated 13, and without any embossed 
 " grille " at the back. There is no accent over the u of PERU. The 
 white oval surrounding the figure 2 at the right side of the stamp, 
 near the bottom, is very irregularly drawn, and very much wider in 
 some parts than in others. The oval round the left-hand 2 is wider 
 at the sides than at the top and bottom. None of the letters of 
 CENTAVOS touch eacli other anywhere. There are only three cannon- 
 balls in the heap below the mouth of the left-hand cannon. The 
 two rammers beside this heap of cannon-balls are shaded all over. 
 The compartments of the shield are very dark, so that the llama, 
 &c., can hardly be seen in some copies, and the cornucopia looks 
 exactly like a big German pij)e turned upside-down. There are six 
 distinct cannon-balls below the mouth of the right-hand cannon. 
 The large white oval, surrounding the central design, is outlined all 
 round, both inside and outside. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Usually a double circle, with name and date. 
 Forged. Four concentric circles. 
 
 This is an exceedingly exact forgery, having evidently been trans- 
 ferred in some manner from the genuine, instead of being merely 
 imitated. It is always printed much too heavily. 
 
 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 
 
 Issue of 1854. 10 Cuartos, red. 
 
 Of this stamp I have neither the genuine nor the forged, so 
 I copy from the Stamp Collector's Magazine the ^ 
 description of both. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Roughly engraved in taille- douce, on yellowish- 
 white wove paper. The numerals 55 of the date 
 are upright. There are forty-three and a half pearls 
 round the head, and they are circular, and tolerably 
 regular. The lines of shading are thick ; the crown 
 of the head is left white ; the coronet is irregularly drawn, and the 
 colour varies from intense red to rose. 
 
$82 
 
 ALBUM "WEEDS; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed. The numerals 55 are sloping. The circle round 
 the head only contains forty pearls, and they are imperfect, and very 
 irregular. The lines of shading are a good deal thinner than those 
 of the genuine. The crown of the head is all covered with lines of 
 shading. The coronet is regular, and the colour is a dull lake. The 
 forgers have issued a 5 c., orange-buff, a 1 real, indigo, and 2 reales, 
 green, of exactly the same type as the above. These values, in the 
 originals, are of quite different types. 
 
 Issue of 1863. 6 Cuartos, vermilion. 
 
 This is the type with a colon separating the two words 
 
 CORREOS : INTERIOR. ^ 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on very thick, yellowish-white wove paper. There 
 is a faint line drawn under franco 5 cs., on which all the letters 
 stand. The s of cs. has a small stop after it. There are ninety-four 
 pearls round the head. The f of franco is at 
 some little distance from the left-hand end of the 
 label. There seem to be about ten leaves in the 
 wreath on the Queen's head, but they are not very 
 clear. There is a dark line across the middle of 
 the head, with white on each side of it, and shaded 
 lines each side of the white. There are eight hori- 
 zontal lines of shading to the right of this coloured 
 line, and about six similar lines to the left of it, and 
 their ends are pretty nearly level. About three rows of the scaly 
 pattern show between the circle and the frame, under the first i of 
 INTERIOR, and two rows show outside the bottom of the circle, be- 
 tween it and the frame, above the c of franco. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, on moderately stout, white wove paper, which is, 
 however, much thinner than that of the genuine. There is no thin 
 line between the frame and the inscription, so that the words franco 
 5 cs do not rest upon any line at all. The s of cs has no stop after 
 it. There are only ninety-two pearls round the head, and they are 
 all distinctly separate from each other, whereas in the genuine many 
 of them run together. The F of franco is very close to the left- 
 hand end of the label. There are five leaves in the wreath on the 
 head, and a white blotch above them. There are ten or eleven dark 
 lines, of different lengths, on the right-hand side of the dark line 
 which runs across the middle of the head ; and there are a number 
 of small lines on the left-hand side of the said line, but these latter 
 are all blotched together, so that it is impossible to count them. 
 Only one row of the scaly pattern shows between the circle and the 
 frame, below the first i of interior, and one row also at the bottom 
 of the circle, between it and the frame, above the c of franco. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 383 
 
 Same Issue. 2 Reales, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Same type as the genuine 5 c, just described, but witli altered 
 value. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Same type as tbe forged 5 c. just described, but with the value 
 altered, and better printed than the other forgery. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. My genuine copies are not postmarked. 
 
 Forged. A large circle, containing lettering and numerals. 
 
 Issue of 1865. 3i, 6f , 121, 25 Cent. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on medium, tinted wove paper. None of the 
 pearls on stalks, at the sides of the stamp, touch 
 the curved lines of the border anywhere, either on 
 the inside or the outside. This is a very easy test. 
 The thin inner line of the label, below the value, 
 runs unbroken quite from end to end of the label. 
 The T of CENT has a distinct bottom-stroke. The 
 lines which mark the red parts of the Queen's lips 
 reach quite to the edge of the profile. The stops 
 before and after correos are exactly midway be- 
 tween the letter and the end of the label. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithograj)hed, on strongly coloured wove paper, rather thinner 
 than that of the genuine. Most of the stalked pearls in the side- 
 frames touch either the inner or outer curved lines of the frame. The 
 thin inner line of the frame, below the value, is incomplete, and 
 only shows a short piece under cent, and another short piece under 
 PO fe. The T of CENT has no bottom-stroke. The line which marks 
 the red part of the upper lip is too short, and does not go to the end 
 of the profile. The stop before correos is a good deal nearer to the 
 c than to the end of the label ; and the stop after correos is rather 
 nearer to the s than to the end of the label. 
 
 The genuine stamps are very clearly printed, as a rule, but the 
 forgeries are always rather blotched. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large oval filled with lattice-work, and a star at every 
 intersection of the lattice-work. 
 
 Forged. An oval of parallel lines, also a rectangle of similar 
 lines. 
 
384 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 POKTUGAL. 
 
 Issue of 1870. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 80, 100, 120, 
 240 Reis. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on stout, white wove paper ; perforated 13. 
 There are sixty-one white pearls embossed in the oval round the 
 head, and none of them touch either the outer or inner outline of 
 the oval. The imperial forms a little rounded lump in the hollow 
 below the under lip, but the bottom end of it does not project. 
 
 The top of the stamp, above the left-hand side 
 of the upper reis, contains twenty-seven ver- 
 tical coloured lines, the inner ones being mere 
 dots ; and there are the same number of lines 
 above the right-hand end of the said reis, the 
 inner ones being mere dots. At the bottom of 
 the stamp, below the left-hand end of the lower 
 REIS, there are twenty-eight vertical lines, the 
 inner ones being mere dots, and the reis label 
 just touches the bottom line of the frame, so that this set of lines is 
 completely separated from the corresponding set below the right- 
 hand end of this bottom reis label, which contains twenty-six lines. 
 The triangular piece to the left of gal contains eight vertical coloured 
 lines ; the similar triangle to the right of cor contains seven lines ; 
 the one to the left of for contains nine lines, and the one to the 
 right of ETO also contains nine lines. The profile of the nose is per- 
 fectly straight. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 This is a most excellent forgery, and I have only seen it quite 
 lately, so that it is very likely new. Nicely embossed, probably an 
 electrotype, on white wove paper, thinner and softer than that of 
 the genuine, and perforated 11|, very badly. There are only fifty- 
 seven white embossed pearls round the central oval ; and some of 
 them just touch the inner, and some of them the outer, outline of 
 the oval. The imperial on the chin sticks out too much, looking 
 rather like a comma, the bottom end of it projecting. Above the 
 left-hand of the upper reis there are twenty-four vertical lines of 
 shading, and above the right-hand end of it there are twenty-five. 
 Below the bottom reis there are fifty-seven lines of shading ; the 
 reis label does not touch the bottom frame, so that the lines can be 
 counted all along the bottom of the stamp. The triangular piece to 
 the left of GAL contains seven lines ; the similar piece to the right of 
 COR contains nine lines ; the piece to the left of for contains eight 
 lines, and the piece to the right of eio contains seven. The profile 
 of the nose is rather hollowed out in the centre, but not very much 
 so. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 385 
 
 I do not know how many of the values have been imitated, but 
 there is probably a full set of them. I have the counterfeits of the 
 5, 10, 50, and 100 reis. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 Genuine. A very large unoutlined oval, formed by eight very 
 thick parallel bars, with numeral in the centre. 
 
 Forged. The same as the genuine, but the oval not so large. 
 
 PORTUGUESE INDIES. 
 
 The native-printed stamps are rather bothering to the amateur. 
 Moens arranges them as follows: Issue of 1871, thirty-two 
 vertical lines of shading in the oval, pin-pricked 16; 1872, 
 forty-four lines in the oval, pin-pricked 12^ ; 1872, same on laid 
 paper; 1873, thirty-two lines in the oval, like the first issue, 
 but on bluish paper, and pin-pricked 12^; 1876, forty lines at 
 the top of the oval, forty-two at the bottom, the v of serving 
 having a bar across it, like an inverted a, on bluish paper, with 
 small numerals; 1879, with star over the numeral and white 
 line below it. I think these are the principal varieties, and 
 fortunately the forgeries do not agree with any one of them. 
 
 10, 15, 20, 40, 100, 200, 300, 600, 900 Reis. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on white, greyish-white, yellowish- white, 
 and bluish-white wove and laid paper, of various thickness, accord- 
 ing to the issue. The letters round the oval are much smaller than 
 those of the word reis. There is a very distinct round white dot 
 under the 9 of SERVigo, which is intended to represent the cedilla 
 under that letter. Before serviqo there is a little cross, formed of 
 five very distinct round white dots, the central one being as large as 
 the rest. There is a similar cross after postal. The oval is too 
 large for the rectangular frame containing it, so that it touches the 
 frame at the top, bottom, and the left-hand side, in all the types, 
 and also at the right-hand side in most of the types. The vertical 
 lines in the oval are, in all the types, very irregularly drawn, and 
 some of them are always more or less crooked. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on medium, white wove paper ; pin-pricked 12^, but 
 with round perforations, instead of the rectangular perforations of 
 the genuine. There is no dot under the 9 of SERV150. The five 
 
 2 c 
 
386 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 white dots before serviqo and tliose after postal are so very small 
 as to be almost invisible, and the central dot is even smaller than 
 the others. The central oval does not touch the outer line of the 
 frame either at the top or at the left-hand side. There seem to be 
 about forty- two lines in the oval, but they are always so lightly 
 drawn on the right-hand side as to be almost impossible to count ; 
 and they are very regularly drawn, all parallel, and not one of them 
 crooked. This is not at all a bad-looking forgery, and it is better 
 than the genuine in many respects. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, white wove paper, of a very particularly 
 coarse make, showing the marks of the wire meshes on which it was 
 made ; pin-pricked 11^. The letters round the oval are very much 
 too large, being quite as tall as those of reis. There is no dot under 
 the q of SERVIQO. There is no cross of dots either before serviqo or 
 after postal, their places being supplied by large white dashes or 
 hyphens. The oval appears to be so large as to be absolutely cut off 
 by the frame at the top and bottom and left side. This is an exag- 
 geration of the genuine. The vertical lines in the oval are only 
 twenty-eight in number, thus failing to agree with any of the types ; 
 they are, of course, much too far apart. It will be seen that this 
 forgery is not at all a good one, but it has a good appearance, and is 
 likely to deceive many. I have not troubled to describe the various 
 types very minutely, as the forgeries do not agree with any one of 
 them. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A very large, unoutlined oval, formed of fourteen parallel 
 bars, sufficient to cover two stamps, with a large numeral in the 
 centre. 
 
 Forged. First Set. A large outlined circle, with unreadable mark's 
 in it. 
 
 Second Set. Uncancelled. 
 
 PEINCE EDWAED ISLAND. 
 
 Issue of 1872. 4 Cents, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on stout, rather yellowish-white wove paper ; 
 perforated 12. The letters of the inscription, puince edward 
 ISLAND, are all exactly the same height, and quite level. The 
 numerals in the upper corners do not touch their containing squares 
 anywhere. The white inner outline of the central frame has eight 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 387 
 
 re-entering points ; each of these points is quite sharp, and they are 
 all alike. Tlie bottom of the neck just touches 
 one of these points, above the o of four. The 
 frame of the stamp, on the right-hand side, con- 
 sists of one dark line ; and inside this line there 
 is a vortical row of fine dots, then a vertical row 
 of horizontal dashes or short lines, and then another 
 row of dots. The Queen's eyeball is perfectly 
 white. The wavy outline of the central frame 
 comes down equally above the o of four and the 
 N of CENTS ; and the said s is at some little distance from the end 
 of the containing label. The squares which contain the bottom 
 numerals are considerably taller than the height of the label con- 
 taining FOUR CENTS. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very nicely lithographed, on moderately stout, white wove paper ; 
 perforated 13, rather badly. The letters of the inscription, prince 
 EDWARD ISLAND, are very irregular in height, and the c of prince 
 and the s of island are a good deal taller than the other letters ; the 
 E of prince touches the o of postage above it, though they are 
 distinctly separate in the genuine. The cross-stroke of each upper 
 4 touches the right-hand side of its containing square. The white 
 inner outline of the central frame has eight re-entering points, like 
 the genuine, but they are not all alike, and the one under the n of 
 prince, and the one above the o of four are very much blunter 
 than the others. This latter point goes to the left of the point of 
 the Queen's neck instead of touching it. The frame of the stamp, 
 on the right-hand side, consists of two dark lines, then a vertical row 
 of horizontal dashes, then a vertical row of small dots, which all run 
 together into one vertical line, about level with the centre of the 
 stamp. The Queen's eyeball is shaded all over. The wavy outline 
 of the central frame comes down very much lower on the left-hand 
 side, above the o of four, than it does on the right-hand side, above 
 the n of cents ; indeed the u of four is partly cut away at the top 
 by it. The s of cents is as close to the right-hand end of the label 
 as it can be without absolutely touching it. The squares which con- 
 tain the bottom numerals are exactly the same height as the ends of 
 the label containing the inscription four cents. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large oval, without outline, formed by ten long, thin 
 parallel lines, the long way of the oval. 
 
 Forged. A diamond of oblong dots, short and very short alter- 
 nately. 
 
 This is the only forgery of the stamps of Prince Edward Island 
 which I have seen ; it was made, I believe, in Birmingham, and is 
 rather deceptive. 
 
388 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 QUEENSLAND. 
 
 Issues of 1861-76. Id., 2d., 3d., 4d., 6d., Is. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, yellowisli-wliite wove paper, 
 watermarked with a long-pointed star, and unperf orated, 1861 ; also 
 the same, perforated 14, 1862 (?) ; also on thick 
 paper, nnwatermarked, and perforated 13, 1864 ; 
 also the same, with star watermark, 1866 ; also 
 on thick paper, with the watermark Queensland 
 POSTAGE STAMPS through the whole sheet, and 
 perforated 13 ; also with fat star, and with 
 QUEENSLAND watermarked in the sheet, and per- 
 forated 13 ; also watermarked with Q under a 
 crown, perforated 13, and on thin paper, &c. 
 Of course it will Le understood that all the 
 values given above are not found in every issue ; for instance, the 3d. 
 and 4d. did not appear until 1864. 
 
 The Queen's coronet is very distinct, and the base of it is composed 
 of three rows — the central one of jewels, the outer ones of pearls — all 
 also distinct. The background of the central oval is formed by fine, 
 crossed, horizontal and vertical lines. The Queen's eyes are small, 
 not at all blotched, and the pupil and iris of each eye can be easily 
 seen. The letters of the value are at equal distances from both out- 
 lines of the oval, not touching either oiitline. The engine-turning, 
 outside the central oval, shows a vertical row of three diamond- 
 shaped dark dots in each corner of the stamp. There are parts of 
 other dots visible ; but I mean that there are three distinct dots in 
 each corner, which do not touch either the oval or the outer frame. 
 There is no white patch on the hair, which is shaded all over with 
 fine lines. There is no stop after the words of value. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 I have only the 4d. and 6d., but most likely the others exist. 
 Lithographed on stout, yellowish-white wove paper, no watermark, 
 and perforated 11|. The Queen's coronet is extremely blotched and 
 indistinct, and it is impossible to trace the three rows of jewels and 
 pearls at the base of it. The background of the central oval apj)ears 
 to be formed by vertical lines only, but they are blotched into one 
 solid mass of colour almost all over the oval. The Queens eyes are 
 very large, with pupil and iris blotched into one large mass. The letters 
 of the value are not level, and some of them rest upon the lower 
 outline of the oval. The vertical rows of three dots can be traced 
 in the upper corners of the stamp, outside the oval, but they are 
 blotched into the background at the bottom of the stamp. The hair 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 389 
 
 has a very distinct white patch upon it below the s of Queensland, 
 and the rest of the hair is shaded with solid masses of colour instead 
 of fine lines. The 6d. has a stop, or rather a hyphen, after pence. 
 If these stamps were not so heavily printed they would be rather 
 deceptive, notwithstanding the vast difference between taille-douce 
 engraving and lithography. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A number of small square dots, with a numeral in the 
 centre ; also three concentric ovals, with Q. L. in the centre ; also an 
 oval of four concentric rows of oblong dots, with numeral in the 
 centre ; also the same, with q. l. in the centre ; also an oval, formed 
 by radiating lines, like the spokes of a wheel, with q. l. in the centre. 
 
 Forged. An oval, formed by five lines, of varying length, at the 
 top and bottom, and five curved lines each side. I never saw any 
 postmark like this on the genuine. 
 
 EEUNION ISLE. 
 Issue of 1852. 15, 30 c, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 I have not now any of the genuine stamps in my possession, but 
 tliey are typographed, in black, on very thin, bluish wove paper ; 
 the designs being the same as in the accompanying illustrations. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 These are poor German productions, very common, but not in the 
 least resembling the genuine. Lithographed in black, on thick, dark 
 grey wove paper, for the 15 and 
 30 centimes ; but there are also 
 imaginary values — 5 c, green on 
 yellowish- white ; 10 c, bistre ; 
 30 c, blue ; 80 c, rose, &c. The 
 design is the same in all — a 
 rose, surrounded by scroll-work 
 proceeding out of the rose, in a 
 white circle, surrounded by a 
 square, or rather in the centre of 
 a square, of solid colour, with white floriated scrolls in the corners 
 of Ihe square, and lettered reunion jsle, with a small flower in 
 each corner of the stamp, and scroll-work down the right and left 
 sides of the frame. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A single circle, with name and date. 
 Forged. A large outlined diamond, containing six thick parallel 
 bars ; also the parallel bars without any outline. 
 
 
 
 
 rilcdclaRe'imionJ 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Timlj-Postc,3oc.| 
 
 
 
 
 
390 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 ROMAGNA. 
 Issue of 1859. ^, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 20 Eai. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on stout, very rough, coloured wove paper. 
 The cross-bar of the a of bai is higher than thje level of the upper 
 stop after the word. The two stops after bai are square. The top 
 of the A of this word is cut off perfectly square. 
 In the word franco the overhanging stroke of the 
 F hangs down below the middle of the central 
 tongue of the letter. None of the letters of the 
 word touch each other. The thick back of the c is 
 rather pointed behind, and the bottom limb of the 
 c is not joined to the body of the letter. The top 
 and bottom of the o are flat, and the thick sides 
 are rather pointed, like the back of the c. In the 
 word BOLLO the b has the two thick right-hand parts rather pointed ; 
 each o is exactly like the o of franco ; and the end stroke of each 
 L reaches above the level of the middle of the letter. In the word 
 POSTALE the o is like the o of franco ; the side-strokes of the t hang 
 down to the level of the middle of the letter ; the a is crossed very 
 low down ; the L is like each l of bollo, and tlie right-hand pro- 
 jecting arms of the e almost join each other. In the word romagne 
 the R, the o, and the g have apparently little semicircles bitten out 
 of their thickest parts in several places ; the top and central arms of 
 the E are of equal length, and the bottom arm is longer than the 
 other two. The tail of the G of this word has a very peculiar inward 
 bend projecting right into the interior space of the letter. The orna- 
 ment in each corner of the stamp consists of a small ring in the 
 centre of a square of four similar rings, each of the four touching 
 the central one, and with a little v-shaped ornament between every 
 two rings of the square, and a small dot oiltside each of the outer 
 rings. At the four corners of the imaginary square of the said 
 ornaments, the one in the right top corner of the stamp is not perfect 
 like the others, as the ring nearest the top corner of the stamp joins 
 the central ring without being completed, and is drawn too low 
 down. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This is really the latest forgery ; but I take it first, as it is really 
 the best, and very likely to deceive any but a good collector. It is 
 lithographed on paper very similar to that of the genuine, but a 
 trifle smoother. The cross-bar of the a of bai is not quite straight, 
 but it is in the proper place. The lower stop after bai, which ought 
 to be level with the very bottom of the i, is very slightly higher, 
 making the two stops appear rather too near together. The over- 
 hanging end of the f of franco comes down just about to the centre 
 
 PALI 
 
 SROMAGNEii 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 391 
 
 of the letter, and tlie letters ran touch each other at the bottom. 
 The thick back of the c of this word is perfectly rounded, and the 
 O is rounded both at the top, bottom, and sides. In the word bollo 
 the letters are of the ordinary rounded shape, except that the right- 
 hand side of the last o is very slightly pointed in the centre of the 
 thick part. The end stroke of each L of this word does not reach 
 higher than level with the middle of the letter. In the word 
 POSTALE the o is rounded like an ordinary o ; the side-strokes of the 
 T do not hang quite down to the level of the middle of the letter ; 
 the A is crossed rather low down, but not absurdly so, as in the 
 genuine ; the end-stroke of the L does not come nearly up to the 
 level of the middle of the letter, and the two arms of the E are at a 
 good distance from each other, instead of nearly touching. In the 
 word ROMAGNE the letters are a very close imitation of those of the 
 genuine, but the lowest arm of the E is only very slightly longer 
 than the other two arms. The corner ornaments of the stamp are 
 well imitated ; but each of the v-shaped things, dividing the little 
 rings from each other, is more like a tiny capital Y ; and the orna- 
 ment in the right-hand top corner of the stamp has its lower right- 
 hand ring too high, rather than its upper right-hand ring too low. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, smooth wove paper. The | bai of this set 
 is printed on white paper, instead of yellow. The cross-bar of the a 
 of BAI is level with the very centre of the upper stop after the word, 
 and both stops are very large and round. In the word franco the 
 overhanging end of the letter does not come down anything like near 
 to the level of the centre of the letter ; the letters ran touch each 
 other at the bottom, and the o is an ordinary capital ; the back 
 of the c is rounded, the tail of it is joined to the body, and the 
 tongue at the end of the tail is actually larger than the correspond- 
 ing tongue of the upper limb. In the word bollo the b is simply 
 an ordinary capital B ; each o is an ordinary capital o, and the end 
 stroke of the right-hand l is considerably higher than that of the 
 left-hand l. In the word postale the o is an ordinary capital o ; 
 the side-strokes of the T are short, the left-hand one being shorter 
 than the other ; the a is crossed very high up ; the L has its end 
 stroke barely reaching up to the level of the middle of the letter,, 
 and the two arms of the E do not anything like touch each other. In 
 the word romagne the o is the only letter which has the little semi- 
 circular pieces taken out of it. Each of the corner ornaments forms 
 a tolerably correct square, the right-hand top corner one being like 
 the others. The one in the left-hand bottom corner of the stamp has 
 no dots outside the little rings, but the dots outside the rings of the 
 ornaments in the other three corners of the stamp are actually jowe(^ 
 to the said rings, looking like projections from them. This test of 
 course is enough to condemn the forgeries in a moment. 
 
392 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 I tliink a few words will te enough to dispose of this counterfeit. 
 It is lithographed on very thin, very coarse wove paper. The a of 
 FRANCO, the A of rosTALE, and the a of bai are all pointed at the 
 top, instead of being cut off square. The stops after bai are small 
 and round, the upper one being the larger. All the letters, except 
 those of ROMAGNE, are ordinary capitals, and none of the letters of 
 ROMAGNE have the semicircles taken out of them. The ornament 
 in the left toj) corner is the defective one in this forgery, and none of 
 the ornaments show the four dots of the genuine outside the rings. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A diamond-shaped frame, containing parallel bars. 
 Forged. An oval, containing parallel bars ; also a set of bars, 
 without outline, forming a rectangle. 
 
 EOUMANIA. 
 
 Issue of 1858. 27 Paras, black, on laid rose paper ; 54 Paras, 
 blue, on green laid ; 81 Paras, blue, on pale blue laid ; 
 108 Paras, blue, on rose-tinted laid. 
 
 Those of my readers who know much about stamps will 
 understand that there is nothing astonishing in the fact that I 
 
 have never seen any one of the stamps mentioned above, and I 
 therefore cannot give any information concerning them, except 
 at second-hand. The 27 paras is almost unique; the 81 paras 
 is unknown of the genuine type. Mr. 0. Taylor, in the Stamp 
 Collector's Magazine for 1872, proves, from official documents, 
 that there were 8,675 stamps issued of the 27 paras; 4,756, of 
 the 54 paras; 693, of the 81 paras; and 2,568, of the 108 
 paras ; so I think it is not difficult, seeing these numbers, to 
 class the numerous pretenders we meet with in their proper 
 places as forgeries. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Hand-struck, as above, on laid paper. This is all the description 
 which I can give of the genuine. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 393 
 
 Forged. 
 
 I have never, until lately, seen a forgery of the 27 paras, which 
 happened to be unknown to the Jassy people and other concoctors 
 of the forgeries. I possess the following counterfeits : 54 paras, 
 apparently an electrotype cliche, in green^ on pale green wove paper ; 
 54 paras, lithographed in blue, quite a different type, on stout hori- 
 zontally laid green paper ; 54 paras, lithographed in blue, of yet 
 another type, on vertically laid, stout green paper ; 81 paras, litho- 
 graphed in blue, on pinkish- blue wove paper; 8i paras, lithographed 
 in blue, on blue wove paper, of a different type from the last ; 81 
 paras, apparently struck from an electrotype, different from either ot 
 the others, in blue, o:i blue w^ove paper; 81 paras, lithographed in 
 blue, on blue wove paper, different from any of the others ; 108 
 paras, lithographed in blue, on white wove paper ; 108 paras, litho- 
 graphed in blue, on white wove paper, of another type ; 108 paras, 
 apparently struck from an electrotype, in blue, on thick, cream- 
 coloured wove paper, of yet another type. 
 
 My readers will see that they have plenty of varieties to choose 
 from in the way of counterfeits, Mr, Overy Taylor says of these 
 stamps : " We had better abstain altogether from the attempt to 
 collect specimens of the first Moldavian series. We must look upon 
 them as philatelic mammoths and dodos — extinct species, of which 
 few traces exist ; and, above all, we must refrain from investing in 
 the spurious imitations which are all that can now be ohtainecV 
 With these remarks Mr. Pemberton, in the Philatelic Journal, seems 
 decidedly to agree. 
 
 I may add that of the forgeries above enumerated most are un- 
 cancelled, one or two have a pen-stroke, and one 54 paras is cancelled 
 with a diamond of square dots. 
 
 Second Issue of 1858. 5, 40, 80 Paras. 
 
 These are, as before, hand-struck. Mr. Overy Taylor takes 
 Dr. Magnus' monograph, and remarks upon the doctor's types 
 as follows : 
 
 First Type. These are undoubtedly genuine. 
 
 "5 paras, horns nearly upright, struck in black, on transparent, 
 bluish-white, wove jpelure paper ; also on dull white and on yellowish- 
 white wove jjelure paper. 40, 80 paras, 
 large six-pointed star, pretty regular ; 
 40 paras, blue, 80 paras, wine-red, on 
 bluish, Jpelure wove paper ; also 40 paras, 
 blue, 80 paras, vermilion-red, on trans- 
 parent, wove pelure paper ; also 40 paras, 
 dark blue, 80 paras, bright red, on dull 
 
 white or yellowish-white wove pelure paper. 
 
394 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Third Ttjpe. Probably genuine. 
 
 " 80 paras. Star with six points, but small. The only known 
 obliterated copy is in Mr. Philbrick's collection. 80 paras, vermilion- 
 red, dark red, on white wove pelure paper. 
 
 " Second Type. Probably forged. 
 
 " 5 paras. Horns strongly curved, struck in black, on white wove 
 pelure paper. 
 
 " 40 paras. Star with five points, struck in pale blue and in 
 bright blue, on white pelure, satin wove paper. 
 
 "80 paras. Star of five points, struck in bright red, on white 
 wove pelure paper. Obliterated copies of this type are unknown. 
 
 " Fourth Type. Undoubtedly forged. 
 
 " 5, 40, 80 paras. The star is six-pointed ; but whereas in the 
 first type of the 40 and 80 paras the word scrisorei commences and 
 terminates at an equal distance of three millimetres from the border, 
 it commences in this fourth type at 1-^^ millimetres, and terminates at 
 three millimHres. Besides, the paper of this fourth type is not the 
 same as for the other types, but opaque, thicker, and showing some 
 traces of being laid. Placed beside the genuine stamps the forged 
 are immediately condemned. They do not resemble the genuine in 
 colour, paper, or even in size ; but bear on their faces that suspicious 
 look which is so noticeable in most spurious productions." 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A circle, with date in the centre, Moldavia at the 
 bottom, and the name of the town at the top ; also a circle, with 
 FRANCO at the top, name of town below, and an ornamental bar 
 across the middle ; also an oblong, with a pointed projection at the 
 ends, FRANCO at the top, and the name of the town at the bottom ; 
 
 also an oval, lettered like the last, but with no in the middle ; 
 
 also a lattice-work of lines. The name of the town generally appears 
 in the genuine cancellations. 
 
 Forged. Several of the above cancellations, but with no name of 
 town, and franco only ; also a set of four or five very thin, parallel 
 bars, set very wide apart. 
 
 Issue of 1862. 3 Paras, yellow. 
 
 Ge7iuine. 
 
 Hand-stamped from a die, on yellowish-white, wove pelure paper ; 
 also (1864) on laid paper. These latter I have not seen. The pelure 
 paper is so thin that the gum in drying has given it a very peculiar 
 " crinkly " appearance. The ear of the bull nearest to scrisorei is 
 blunt, and appears to point upwards towards the c of that word. 
 The upper corners — shoulders — of the wings of the eagle are both 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 395 
 
 white and the top of the wing which is nearest to franco is not so 
 hiah as the level of the end of the c of that word, measuring Ironi' 
 the bottom of the stamp. The frame of the stamp is composed ot 
 two lines, the inner one being generally blotched into the onter one 
 for a considerable part of the way round ; but the two lines can 
 always be seen at some part of the frame. The head-strokes and 
 foot-strokes of all the letters are invariably very thick and .heavy. 
 The letters of scrisorei are, as nearly as possible, parallel with the 
 line of the frame to the right of them. The shading on the post-horn 
 is in lines which follow the curves of the horn. The whole stamp 
 is slightly indented into the paper. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin very white wove paper, not showing the 
 " crinkly " appearance of the genuine. The ear of the bull nearest 
 to scrisorei is quite sharp, the top outline of it is horizontal, and 
 level with the first stroke of the r of that word, towards which it 
 points. The upper corner or shoulder of the wing of the eagle, on 
 the left side of the stamp, is of solid, dark colour, instead ot being 
 white ; and the top of this same wing is slightly higher than the 
 level of the end of the c of franco, measuring from the bottom ot 
 the stamp. The frame is composed of one thick line, with no trace 
 of the inner, thinner line of the genuine. The head-strokes and 
 foot-strokes of the letters are much too thin and light. The end of 
 the word scrisorei is a little farther from the outline of the frame 
 to the right of it than the beginning of the word is. As far as I can 
 make out the post-horn appears to be solid, without lines of shading. 
 The impression, being a lithograph, is not indented into the paper 
 at all. 
 
 Same Issue. 6 Paras, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper and printing as in the 3 paras. The eagle's wing touches 
 the ear of the bull. The two horns of the bull appear to be of solid 
 colour, but this may be because my only specimen of the genuine is 
 rather heavily printed. The letters ret of scrisorei are all joined 
 together at the bottom. The lines of shading on the post-horn 
 follow the curves of the horn, and the distance between the horn 
 and the top of the p of par below it is almost exactly the same as 
 the distance between the frame and the bottoms of the letters par. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed, in vermilion, instead of carmine-red, on thin, very 
 white wove paper, without the "crinkly" appearance described 
 above. The eagle's wing does not touch the ear of the bull, and the 
 two horns of the bull are not much more than outlined, showing 
 white centres. The letters rei of scrisorei are not joined together 
 
396 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 at the bottom. The lines of shading on the post-horn are wide apart, 
 and run down rather obliquely from right to left, not following the 
 curves of the horn ; indeed, the appearance of them is as though the 
 printer had put his finger upon the horn before the impression was 
 dry. The distance between the bottom of the horn and the p of 
 PAR below it is much less than the distance between the bottom line 
 of the frame and the bottoms of the letters par. The impression 
 is not at all indented into the paper, and it is very faint, and with 
 a washed-out look. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is very poor. Lithographed, in orange-vermilion, on thick, 
 very yellowish- white wove paper. The bull's ears look exactly like 
 another pair of horns, and the eagle's wing does not touch the ear. 
 The horns are three parts white, only their bases being shaded. The 
 s and I of scrisorei touch the frame to the right of the word, and 
 the letters rei do not touch each other at the bottom. The post-horn 
 is only very partially shaded, a large portion being left white ; the 
 mouthpiece is very small, instead of being almost as large as the 
 *' bell " end. The P of the bottom par almost touches the post-horn, 
 but there is a good space between the bottom frame and the bottoms 
 of the letters par. The frame of the stamp is composed of three 
 lines — an inner, thin one, which is blotched into the middle one for 
 part of the way round ; a middle, thick one ; and a thin, outer one, 
 a long way from the other two. The eagle's shoulders are rounded 
 instead of being almost pointed, and the bull's mouth comes down far 
 below the level of the eagle's feet. This forgery is not at all likely 
 to deceive ; I have only seen one specimen of it, and fancy that it is 
 very old. 
 
 iO.PAR. 
 
 Same Issue. 30 Paras, blue. 
 
 I have seen no forgery of this value. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A double circle, with Moldavia and 
 the name of the town between the circles, and 
 date in the centre ; also a double oval, with 
 '''' rather sharp ends, similarly inscribed. 
 Forged. I have only peen the forgeries either uncancelled or 
 marked with a pen-stroke. 
 
 Issue of 1865. 2 Parale, yellow. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper ; also on rather thicker 
 wove ; also on laid paper, moderately stout. The head is of a good 
 size, so as to pretty well till up the central oval ; the top of the head 
 coming very near to the outline of the oval, and the point of the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 397 
 
 beard coming almost as close to the outline near the bottom. The 
 upper inscription is doua parale, which can be easily read, and is 
 not to be mistaken for anything else. There is a horizontal row of 
 dashes above the said inscription. The lattice-work behind the word 
 POSTAjs very faint, and there are no dots in the diamonds formed 
 by the lattice-work. The lattice-work behind the word romana is 
 exactly like that behind posta, and without dots in it. The o of 
 franco is small and oval, with a rounded bottom. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on medium, white wove paper. The head is a good 
 deal too small, so that it does not anything like fill up the oval, the 
 top of the head and the point of the beard being respectively a long 
 way from the outline of the oval. The upper inscription reads 
 BODAPIOME, apparently in one word. There is no row of dashes 
 above this inscription, and the lattice-work behind it contains dots 
 between the diamonds, which do not exist in the genuine. The 
 lattice-work behind posta, and also behind romana, is very decided 
 and coarse, and each diamond contains a coloured dot. The o of 
 franco is coarse, and the bottom of it is cut off flat. 
 
 Same Issue. 6 Parale, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed. I believe this value only exists on thin white 
 wove, and slightly thicker white wove paper. The head is large, as 
 in the genuine 2 parale, and pretty well fills up the 
 oval. The c of cinci is the same distance from the 
 left-hand end of the label as the e of parale is 
 from the right-hand end of it. The lattice-work 
 of the various labels is faint, with a short horizontal 
 dash where every two lines intersect, and a tiny 
 ring, with a white centre, in the middle of each 
 diamond. Each a of romana has a distinct accent 
 above it, and there is a dark dot immediately under the s of posta, 
 between the line of the frame and the bottom of the s, but touching 
 neither. The o of franco is oval. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, yellowish-white wove paper, thicker than 
 the genuine. The head is small, the same as in the forged 2 parale. 
 The c of cinci almost touches the left-hand end of the label, whilst 
 the E of PARALE is a good distance from the right-hand end of it. 
 The lattice-work of the various labels is far too prominent and dark, 
 without any short lines or dashes across the intersections of the 
 diamonds of the lattice- work, and with a solid dark dot in the centre 
 of each diamond, instead of the rings with white centres of the 
 genuine. There is no accent over either a of romana, and the dot 
 
398 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 under the s of posta is a mere blotch, which touches the line under 
 the s, and with several similar blotches to the right of it. The c of 
 FRANCO is square at the bottom, as in the forgery of the 2 parale. 
 
 Same Issue. 20 Parale, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 There are two types of this stamp, but the variations do not affect 
 the description given below. Lithographed, on thin and thicker 
 white wove, also on thin and thicker bluish-white wove paper. The 
 upper inscription is doua deci par, and it is perfectly legible. 
 There is, as before, a stop under the s of posta, which does not 
 touch either the s or the line below it. The lattice-work of all the 
 labels is faint, allowing the lettering to be easily read. There are no 
 dots in the diamonds of the lattice-work, but there is a short hori- 
 zontal line or dash at the intersections of all the lines of the lattice- 
 work. The o of FRANCO is small and oval. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on stout white wove paper. The upper inscription 
 is quite unreadable ; I cannot tell what the words are intended for. 
 The stop under the s of posta is a mere blotch, resting upon the 
 line below the s, and with a row of similar stops or blotches to the 
 right of it. The lattice-work of all the labels is much too dark and 
 heavy, with a coloured dot in the centre of each diamond, and a 
 coloured dot, instead of a dash, at the intersection of most of the 
 lines of the lattice-work. The o of franco is coarse, and quite flat 
 at the bottom. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is very easily detected. It is lithographed on stout, yellowish- 
 white wove paper. The upper inscription is in two words, and 
 appears to be unda parale. The stop under the s of posta is 
 exactly the same as in the first forgery just described, with a row of 
 similar stops to the right of it. The lattice- work of all the labels is 
 heavy and dark, with a coloured dot in the centre of each diamond, 
 and another coloured dot at the intersection of most of the lines of 
 the lattice-work. The o of franco is coarse, and flat at the bottom. 
 I think this stamp was probably intended to imitate the 2 parale, 
 but that the numerals 20 were put in the corners by mistake, as the 
 inscription unda is evidently meant for doua. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A lattice-work of thin lines, but I do not know what is 
 the form of the whole postmark, as it is larger than the stamp ; also 
 a double circle, with name between the circles, and date in the form 
 of a fraction in the centre. 
 
 Forged. A single circle, containing lettering ; also a diamond of 
 square dots ; also a diamond or square of round dots. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 399 
 
 Issue of 1866-67. 2 Parale, yellow; 6 Parale, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed in black, on moderately stout, coloured wove paper. 
 The moustache is very slight ; it is composed of very short vertical 
 lines placed close together, and showing the bottom 
 outline of the top lip underneath it. The shading 
 just under the chin appears to be formed by one 
 line, slanting somewhat obliquely down to the 
 right. The shading on the under lip consists of a 
 few separate dots. Only a portion of the ear is 
 outlined, the part near the lower lobe being 
 perfectly blank. The lower lip projects level with 
 the upper one. The neck is a good length, with 
 the front end pointing downwards. The accent over the first a of 
 ROMANA is distinctly a circumflex ; the one over the second a is a 
 sort of dash, the two not being at all alike. The bottom limb of the 
 L of PARALE is Very short, and does not touch the following e. The 
 outer line of the frame runs, unbroken, right round the stamp. The 
 width of the lines forming the Etruscan pattern, down the sides of 
 the stamp, is just about equal to the width of the first stroke of the 
 
 P of PARALE. _ , 
 
 Jb orged. 
 
 Lithographed on coarse, stout, coloured wove paper. The mous- 
 tache is formed by one thick wavy line, running right up to the nose, 
 and showing an absurdly large portion of the upper lip below it. 
 The shading under the chin is formed by one thick line, crossed by 
 a number of oblique lines. The shading on the under lip consists of 
 one line or blotch. The whole of the ear is very 23lain, the lower 
 portion being darkly outlined. The lower lip does not project nearly 
 so far forward as the upper one. The neck is cut off very short, the 
 front portion of the base curving slightly forwards. The accent over 
 each A of romana is a straight dash, both being alike. The bottom 
 limb of the l of parale is long, and it touches the e which follows 
 it. The outer line of the frame is broken at the top corner of the 
 little square in the left lower corner of the stamp. The lines forming 
 the Etruscan pattern are much too wide, being, especially on the 
 right side, nearly twice as wide as the straight stroke of the p of 
 
 PARALE. 
 
 Same Issue. 20 Parale, black on red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 There are two types of this stamp. The first type has the r of 
 PAR drawn with a sort of squeezed-in tail almost parallel with the 
 first stroke of the letter, and the upper Etruscan pattern on the right 
 side running the opposite way from the upper pattern on the left- 
 hand side ; the brickwork in the corners outside the circle is fine, 
 that in the upper corners having seven horizontal lines in it. The 
 second type has the tail of the r of par spreading to the right in 
 
400 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 the usual manner ; the Etruscan pattern is the same in both the 
 upper corners, and the brickwork in the corners is coarser, having 
 only four horizontal lines in the upjDer corners. The forgers have 
 imitated the first type, at least, so far as the Etruscan pattern is con- 
 cerned ; and it is this first type of the genuine which I will describe. 
 Lithographed (?) in black, on coloured wove paper, moderately stout, 
 and also on thinner paper. The head is exactly the same as in the 
 genuine 2 and 5 parale, so that I need not repeat the description of 
 it. The letters of romana are all of the same height. The p of 
 POSTA is at a good distance from the side of the frame to the left of 
 it, but the last a of romana almost touches the frame to the right of 
 it. The brickwork in the upper corners consists of seven horizontal 
 lines ; that in the lower corners of six horizontal lines. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on stout wove paper. The head is exactly the same 
 as in the forged 2 and 5 parale. The first a of romana is very much 
 shorter than the other letters, and the second a is also short, but not 
 quite so short as the other. The p of posta is very close to the left- 
 hand end of the frame, and the last a of romana is a long way from 
 the right-hand end of it. The brickwork in the right ujjper corner 
 consists of five horizontal lines ; that in the left upper corner of four ; 
 that in the right lower corner of five ; and that in the left lower 
 corner of five horizontal lines. The whole impression is very rough, 
 and not particularly likely to deceive. All these forgeries of this 
 issue are very common, and one or more will be found in the albums 
 of all our youthful friends. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A double circle, with name and a curly ornament between 
 the circles, and date in the centre. 
 
 Forged. A set of parallel bars, apparently forming a circle ; also 
 a square of diamond-shaped dots ; also a single circle, containing 
 lettering. 
 
 Issue of 1868. 2, 3, 4, 18 Bani. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on moderately stout, white wove paper. The 
 bottom of the ear is only outlined by a few dots. 
 The front end of the moustache goes to the outline 
 of the middle of the lip. The shading on the front 
 of the base of the neck is chiefly composed of dots. 
 The head of the t of posta is very short, without 
 any downward bends at the ends of it. There is a 
 distinct accent over each a of romana. The i of 
 BANI is dotted. The two thin coloured lines which 
 form the inner outlines of the side frames are very 
 close together, so that it would be impossible to draw another line 
 between them. 
 
 QipostaromanaQ 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 401 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thinnish, white wove paper. The bottom of the 
 ear has a heavy single line for outline, instead of the dots of the 
 genuine. Tlie front end of the moustache goes upwards to where 
 the nose and lip join, thus showing far too much of the front of the 
 lip below the moustache. The shading on the front of the base of 
 the neck is formed by thick oblique lines. The head of the t of 
 POSTA is not too short, and the ends hang down, as in an ordinary 
 capital T, except that the right-hand end hangs down lower than the 
 left. There is no accent over either a of romana. There is not any 
 dot to the I of BANi. The two thin coloured lines forming the inner 
 boundary of each of the side frames are so wide apart that it would 
 be quite possible to draw another line between them. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 Genuine. The same as in the 1866-67 issue. 
 
 Forged. A single circle, with name and date ; also a set of parallel 
 lines, forming a circle, without outline. 
 
 Issue of 1869-70. 5, 10, 15, 25, 50 Bani. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne (?), on stout, yellowish-white wove paper. The 
 head is the same as in the issue just described. There is a dot over 
 the I of BANI in all the values except the 5, the dot 
 being generally joined to the line above it. The 
 easiest test is the word posta. The letters of this 
 word are at equal distance from the right and left 
 outlines of the containing label, looking at the 
 stamp with the head upwards ; or at an equal dis- 
 tance from the line above and the line below them, 
 looking at the stamp with the word posta horizon- 
 tal. The shading below the chin does not show any 
 white outline of the chin below it. In the 5 bani value each c of 
 CINCI has a head like an ordinary capital c, and the last i of this word 
 is almost touched by the little sharp ornament to the right of it. In 
 the 10 bani the ends of the c of dece are not at all squeezed towards 
 each other, as in an ordinary capital c, but the whole letter is more 
 the shape of half a transverse oval. The inner outline of the label 
 containing the word bani is indented inwards at regular intervals, the 
 indents above and below the word corresponding with each other. 
 In the 15 bani the value reads ciNCis predece, and there is a dot 
 over the first i of ciNCis. In the 25 bani there is a sort of small 
 blotch or break in the line above the space between the letters ci of 
 douedeci. In the 50 bani the thin inner outline of the top label is 
 broken above and below the i of ciNCi, but the broken ends of the 
 lines do not end in knobs. 
 
 2 D 
 
402 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 LithograjDhed on medium, very white wove paper. The head is 
 like that of the forgeries of the last issue. There is no dot over the 
 I of BANi in any of the values. The letters of the word posta are 
 much nearer to the side of the frame than to the oval ; i.e., if the 
 stamp be held with the word posta the right way up. The letters 
 are far too near to the line above them, and show a considerable 
 space between them and the line below them. The shading below 
 the chin is not drawn to the bottom of the outline of the chin, so 
 that the white outline of the bottom of the chin can be distinctly 
 seen below the shading. In the 5 bani each c of cinci is a plain 
 block capital, and the last i of this word is a long way from the 
 sharp ornament to the right of it. In the 10 bani the ends of the c 
 of DECE point towards each other, as in an ordinary capital c ; and 
 the indentations of the thin inner line above and below dece are 
 very irregular, and do not correspond with each other. In the 15 
 bani the value reads ciNCis pre dece, in three distinct words, and 
 there is no dot over the second i of cincis. In the 25 bani there is 
 a large and dark wedge-shaped blotch both above and below the 
 space between the letters ci of douedeci. In the 50 bani the thin 
 inner outline of the frame at the top is broken, both above and 
 below the last i of cinci, and each broken line ends in a knob. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A double circle, with name and curly ornament between 
 the circles ; also a single circle, with name and date. 
 Forged. The same as in the forgeries of the last issue. 
 
 Issue of 1871. 6, 10, 15, 20 Bani. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne (?), on medium yellowish-white, wove paper. 
 
 The eye is rather small, but not abnormally so. The 
 moustache slopes backwards, so as apparently to 
 point about to the n of bani. The test for the 
 genuine which may always be depended upon is 
 the position of the letters of the word posta. 
 These letters, as in the genuine stamps of the last- 
 described issue, are placed centrally between the 
 two outlines of the containing label, no nearer to 
 one than to the other. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper, a trifle thinner than that of 
 the genuine. The eye is ridiculously small. The moustache bends 
 downwards, so as apparently to point between the letters ba of bani. 
 The letters of posta are in exactly the same position as those of the 
 forgeries last described ; i.e., nearer to the frame than to the oval, or 
 nearer to the upper than to the lower outline of the containing label. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 403 
 
 "With the exception of the above differences the forgeries of this set 
 are exceedingly well done, perhaps better than any of the other sets. 
 
 In 1872 the stamps of this bearded type were issued perforated 
 13. All the forgeries which I have seen as yet were not perforated. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The same as in the genuine stamps of the last- described 
 issue. 
 
 Forged. A circle of parallel lines, without outline. 
 
 SAINT CHRISTOPHER 
 
 Issue of 1870. One Penny, rose ; Sixpence, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on thin, white wove paper, slightly glac^, 
 watermarked with a crown and CO.; perforated 12^. The monetary- 
 value is not always placed at an equal distance 
 from the top aud bottom of the containing label. 
 In my collection I have some in which it is printed 
 too near the top of the label, and some in which 
 it is too near the bottom. The penny value 
 varies in this respect more than the sixpence. 
 There are three jewels, in separate compart- 
 ments, on the band of the coronet, the one over 
 the ear being rather indistinct. The forehead is 
 lightly shaded. One of the waves of the hair 
 comes down so low as to cover the corner of the eyebrow. The front 
 pearl of the coronet touches the white circle a little before the be- 
 ginning of the first h of Christopher. A line dropped perpendicu- 
 larly down from the end of the right arm of the t in this same word 
 would cut into the bunch of curls at the back of the head. The ear 
 is shaded all over, but very lightly at the bottom ; indeed the whole 
 of the portrait is shaded all over, except a small part of the front 
 of the forehead. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thick, unsurfaced paper ; no watermark ; 
 perforated badly 12^. The value is always placed in the centre of 
 the containing label, neither too low nor too high. There are indis- 
 tinct blotches, instead of jewels, in the three compartments of the 
 lower band of the coronet. The forehead has no shading on it, and 
 is therefore much too white. The base of the neck also is unshaded. 
 The hair sweeps clear of the eyebrow. The front pearl of the 
 coronet comes almost under the middle of the first h of Christopher. 
 A perpendicular line let fall from the right-hand arm of the t of this 
 word would cut oft" the back of the head without touching the 
 chignon. The rim of the ear is not shaded until it is covered by 
 
404 ALBUM weeds; or, 
 
 the hair. The flmr-de-lijs in the right-liand bottom spandrel is 
 imperfect. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large circle, containing name and date. 
 Forged. An outlined oval, containing six parallel bars. 
 
 SAINT HELENA. 
 
 Id., 2d., 3d., 4d., 6d., Is., 5s. 
 
 1856. Star watermark ; unperforated ; 6d. 
 
 1862. Star watermark j perforated 15, 14, 12; 6d. 
 
 1863. Crown and CC. watermark; unperforated ; Id., 4d., 6d. 
 1864-74. Crown and CC. watermark ; perforated 13 ; Id., 2d., 
 
 3d., 4d., Is., 5s. ^ . 
 
 ' Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on white wove paper ; watermarks and 
 perforations as in the above list, according to the date of issue. The 
 background of the corners is formed by white lines, evidently 
 
 scratched out of a dark groundwork. The back- 
 ground of the central circle is formed by coloured 
 lines on a white ground. The Queen's eyeball is 
 darkly shaded all over. The pearl earring has 
 one line of shading on it, like a comma, and the 
 rest of the shading is not on the pearl, but under 
 and behind it, so as to make it stand out con- 
 spicuously. The nose is as nearly as possible 
 straight, only the slightest degree aquiline. There 
 are four oblong white jewels in the band at the 
 base of the coronet, the front one much shorter than the rest, owing 
 to its being at the edge of the profile, and thus foreshortened, but 
 quite distinct. The ornaments on the top of the coronet are crosses 
 pattee and bunches of liowers alternately, each bnnch showing the 
 rose and thistle, and the central bunch showing the shamrock also. 
 These, of course, are very small, but can be seen. The ear is shaded 
 all over. The stop under the T of ST. is round, and the same 
 diameter as the width of the stem of the T. There is no stop after 
 HELENA. Just in front of the face there is a semicircle of twelve 
 white dots, rather pear-shaped. There are also thirt3^-six white dots, 
 more of a diamond-shape, surrounding the bust ; there ought to be 
 three more, but the front of the coronet hides one, and the neck hides 
 two others. The two ends of the ST. Helena label are not cut 
 straight off, but are rather scalloped by the groundwork respectively 
 to right and left of these ends. It is of course understood that the 
 6cl. has no surcharge, and that the other values are all from the die 
 of the 6d., but printed in difl'erent colours, and with the new value 
 surcharged on them in black. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 405 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on very white wove paper ; no watermark ; per- 
 forated 12|. Most of the background of the corners appears to be 
 merely coloured blotches on a white ground. There is hardly any 
 shading on the Queen's eyeball. The pearl earring has rather too 
 much shading upon it, but none behind or under it. There are only 
 three oblong jewels at the base of the coronet, the front one being 
 invisible, and they are too dark. The ornaments on the top of the 
 coronet, between the crosses pattee, are apparently trefoils. Only 
 the outline of the ear is shaded. The stop under the t of ST. appears 
 to be a sort of upright oblong, but very small and indistinct. There 
 is a very tiny white stop after Helena. There are twelve dots in 
 the sendcircle in front of the face, as in the genuine ; but they are 
 very irregular in position, shape, and size, and the upper one is much 
 too small, and too close to the face. There are only thirty-three dots 
 in the circle round the bust, and some of them are hardly visible. 
 The right-hand end of the top label is rounded outwards ; the left- 
 hand end is ragged. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed, the paper much like that of the genuine ; no water- 
 mark ; unperforated. The corners of the stamp are evidently dark 
 blotches on a white ground. The eyeball is only partly shaded. The 
 pearl earring is little better than a "dark blotch. The nose is vulgar, 
 with a hollowed curve near the point. There appear to be traces of 
 five oblong jewels in the band at the base of the coronet, but the front 
 one is very faint, and the back one is quite dark. The ornaments 
 between the crosses patUe are distinctly trefoils. The ear is not shaded 
 all over. The stop under the t of ST. is square. There is a semicircle 
 of fourteen white oblong dots in front of the face, and there is a 
 circle of forty dots, or rather dashes, round the bust, none of which 
 are hidden by the said bust. The two ends of the ST. Helena label 
 are cut straight off. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, white wove paper ; no watermark ; per- 
 forated 12. This looks infinitely worse than the one described as 
 the " second forgery," but I think it is merely the last state of that 
 second forgery, before the stone was altogether used up. The design 
 is the same, except that everything is much blotched, and the name, 
 in particular, so very much blotched as to be almost unreadable. 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 This is a frightful thing. Lithographed on very thick, yellowish- 
 white wove paper ; unwatermarked ; unperforated. There are eight 
 oblong jewels at the base of the crown, and the ornaments at the top 
 seem to be all crosses pattee. The ends of the ST. Helena label are 
 cut straight off. There are thirteen white dashes in front of the 
 face, and thirty-eight dashes round the bust. The nose is quite 
 
406 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 hooked. Tlie eyeball is white. The surcharge is in the same colour 
 as the stamp, printed at the same time. Nobody is at all likely to 
 be taken in by this counterfeit. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A set of four very thick parallel bars ; also a set of four 
 V's, placed point to point ; also an unoutlined oval, formed by six 
 parallel lines of varying lengths ; also a penstroke. 
 
 Forged. A set of small dots ; also a set of four concentric circles 
 with five parallel bars in the centre ; also an unoutlined oval, formed 
 by eight bars of varying length ; also a large unoutlined oval, formed 
 by nineteen parallel bars, rather thin ; also five concentric circles ; 
 also a pen-stroke. 
 
 SAINT LUCIA. 
 
 No value. Hed, blue, green, rose, slate -blue, emerald, 
 black, yellow, violet, mauve, orange. 
 
 1859. Star watermark; perforated 15^; red, blue, green. 
 
 1863. Crown and CC. watermark; perforated 13; rose, slate- 
 blue, emerald-green. 
 
 1865. Crown and CC. watermark; perforated 13; black, 
 yellow, violet, mauve, orange. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on moderately stout, yellowish-white 
 wove paper ; watermark, perforation, and colour as in the list above, 
 according to the date of issue. The letters of the inscription st. 
 
 LUCIA POSTAGE are very nearly tall enough to 
 touch both inner and outer outlines of the con- 
 taining oval. The groundwork of the corners is 
 of engine-turned design, very nicely executed. 
 The ground of the central oval contains, first, a 
 . vertical strip of dark zigzag, quite to the left ; 
 
 then four very distinct, dark, diamond-shaped 
 L dots, close to the right of the dark zigzag pattern ; 
 ' then a broad strip of vertical wavy and zigzag 
 white lines, crossed by twelve horizontal white bars, in front of 
 which strip is drawn the profile of the face. There is a dark zigzag 
 line under the chin, with two diamond-shaped dark dots to the right 
 of it. There are two dark diamonds under the base of the neck, 
 another above the first cross pattee of the crown, another below the 
 u of LUCIA, and another below the beginning of the i of lucia. 
 There is another dark vertical zigzag behind the back of the head, 
 and there are three of the dark diamond-shaped dots to the right of 
 it. The mouth is open, and the expression of the face is pleasant. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 407 
 
 The nose is very slightly aquiline. There is no sign of any pupil to 
 the eye. There is a very thick and dark line of shading running 
 round from below the base of the neck to the beginning of the hair 
 at the back of the head. There is a similar very thick and dark line 
 shading the back of the outline of the chignon. There is a row of 
 fourteen pearls on the band of the coronet, just below the crosses 
 2)attee, &c. The said crosses pattee are squat, and do not look as 
 though they were standing on stalks. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on moderately stout white wove paper ; no water- 
 mark ; perforated 13. The letters of the inscription ST. lucia are 
 very close to the line of the oval above them, but a good distance 
 from the line of the oval below them, and the letters of the word 
 POSTAGE are at some little distance from both outlines of the oval. 
 The A of this latter word seems to have dropped rather below its 
 proper place. The groundwork of the corners is chiefly composed 
 of black blotches on a white ground. The dark, vertical zigzag line 
 to the very left of the central oval is visible, but the four dark, dis- 
 tinct, diamond-shaped dots are not there. To the right of this 
 vertical zigzag line comes a vertical strip of dark wavy lines, not 
 showing any cross-bars of white. There are no dots to the right of 
 the zigzag line under the chin, neither are there any in any of the 
 other places mentioned in the genuine. The mouth is pursed up, 
 and shut, and the general expression of the face as though in the 
 act of listening to some tale of horror. The nose is quite Koman in 
 outline. The eye, at a first glance, seems to have a decided pupil. 
 The line of shading from the front of the base of the neck to the 
 roots of the back-hair is not at all noticeable ; indeed the shading 
 there is very little thicker or darker than elsewhere. The line behind 
 the outline of the chignon also is not at all marked. About ten 
 pearls can be counted on the band of the coronet, the others being 
 hidden by the shading. The crosses patUe at the top of the coronet 
 are set high, up on stalks, like the trefoils. 
 
 Note. — The values of these stamps are, I believe : 
 
 Black, red . ... one penny. 
 
 Blue, yellow . . . fourpence. 
 
 Green . ... sixpence. 
 
 Orange , ... one shilling. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An oval, formed by four or five bars at the top and 
 bottom, and two curved lines each side, enclosing the colony-letter 
 and numeral. 
 
 Forged. An outlined oval, containing six parallel bars ; also a set 
 of eiglit parallel bars, set very close together ; also an oval, something 
 like the genuine, but smaller. 
 
408 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 ST. SALVADOR. 
 
 Issue of 1867. |, 1, 2, 4 Reales. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 design. 
 
 Finely engraved in 
 taille-douce, on stout 
 wove paper, the face 
 of which usually ap- 
 pears to be slightly 
 
 In the ^ real the background, outside the central oval, is entirely 
 filled up with vertical rows of the fraction " -| " very often re- 
 peated. 
 
 In the 1 real the said background is composed of repetitions of the 
 word " UN." 
 
 In the 2 reales the background is formed by repetitions of the 
 word " DOS." 
 
 In the 4 reales the background is filled up with repetitions of the 
 figure " 4." 
 
 I only give this single test, as it will be found amply sufficient for 
 the detection of the counterfeits, which are very poor. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on tliinnish, white wove paper ; unperf orated, 
 and also perforated 12. In all the values the background, outside 
 the central oval, is composed of a sort of plaid or tartan pattern of 
 wavy, crossed, vertical and horizontal lines, not in the least like the 
 figures and words of the genuine. 
 
 Genuine. A number of black dots, apparently intended ioT fieurs- 
 de-lys ; also a thick circle, containing a monogram of the letters SS 
 in large ornamental characters ; also a set of initials in pen-and-ink ; 
 also a plain pen-stroke. 
 
 Forged. Five concentric circles, with six parallel lines in the 
 centre ; also a circle, containing unreadable letters. 
 
 Note. — These forgeries are extremely common, and yet one would 
 think that the youngest collector could not possibly be deceived by 
 them, especially if he had ever seen one of the beautifully -executed 
 originals. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 PostmarJcs. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 409 
 
 SAINT THOMAS AND PEINCE ISLANDS. 
 Issue of 1869-77. 5, 10, 20, 25, 40, 50, 100, 200, 300 Reis. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on moderately thick, yellowish-white wove 
 paper ; perforated 12^. There is an accent to the e of thom6. The 
 central jewel in the band or circlet of the coronet is diamond-shaped ; 
 the others, on each side of it, are oblong. The -r^^- ^j-^-v-^j'^^t^^^ 
 letter (and word) E, between thome and b 
 PRINCIPE, has its bottom half considerably ^ 
 larger than the top half. The e of thome is 
 similarly shaped. The line under correio, ^ 
 and the line above reis, are drawn right across r 
 from one boundary line to the other, touching ^ 
 both. The arches of the crown bear a number < 
 of pearls — nine on the left-hand arch, eleven ^ 
 on the next, five on the centre arch, eleven on ' ^^-r^-r^-^-^-e^AM 
 the next, and nine on the right-hand arch. The corner ornaments 
 are of a peculiar shape, rather difficult to describe without a diagram. 
 Imagine two capital E's, placed face to face, a little distance apart, 
 with the central tongue of each lengthened until they joined the 
 two letters together, and a vertical cross-bar where the two tongues 
 join. This is the sliape of the ornaments in the corner squares as 
 nearly as I can describe it. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on soft, thin, very white wove paper ; badly per- 
 forated 12^. The E of THOME is not accented. The jewels in the 
 circlet of the crown are all diamond-shaped. The E between thome 
 and PRINCIPE is very nearly the same size both at the top and the 
 bottom ; the E of thome is also the same size both top and bottom. 
 The line under correio, and the line above reis, only reach as far 
 as the boundary line, and they do not touch the outer line at all. 
 The first arch of the crown on the left-hand side has six pearls, the 
 next arch has seven, the central arch has four, the next has seven, 
 and the right-hand arch has five. The dots surrounding the central 
 design are separate, and of various shapes and sizes, whereas in the 
 genuine they seem to be touching each other, and are all more or 
 less diamond-shaped. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on the same paper as that of the first forgery ; 
 perforated 12|. The e of thome is properly accented, like the 
 genuine ; and the line below correio, and the line above reis, go 
 right across from one boundary line to the other, touching both, as 
 
410 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 in the genuine. The chief difference is in the corner ornaments. In 
 this forgery they are not in the least like two E's joined face to face. 
 To describe them I should say, Imagine a cross, with the arms pro- 
 ceeding in the usual manner for a little distance, and then each arm 
 being bent three times to the left, the bends being rectangular, in 
 the Etruscan style. Only three of the corner ornaments are of this 
 shape ; the fourth is a sort of compromise between the shape of the 
 genuine and that of the forged. The left-hand arch of the crown 
 bears nine pearls, the next has ten, the central arch has four, the next 
 has eleven, and the right-hand arch has nine. The letters of the word 
 CORREio touch the boundary line above them, and the word reis 
 only occupies about half of the label containing it, leaving the other 
 half for the numeral of value, whereas in the genuine the word and 
 the numeral are equally spread out. The dots in the circle round 
 the crown are nearly all oblong, instead of being diamond-shaped. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. These stamps are not often seen cancelled. The post- 
 mark is an oblong frame, containing name, &c., and with the corners 
 of the said frame squared off. 
 
 Forged. An oval, formed by four parallel straight lines at the top 
 and bottom, and two curved lines each side, with a blank centre. 
 
 Note. — Of the second forgery here described I only possess the 
 5 reis, but most likely a full set exists. 
 
 SAINT VINCENT. 
 One Penny, Fourpence, Sixpence, One Shilling. 
 
 1861. No watermark j perforated 11^, 14, 14|-, 15, 15^. 
 
 1866. No watermark ; perforated 12, 15 J. 
 
 1869. No watermark; perforated 11^. 
 
 1871. Watermarked with a star; perforated 14-^-, 15, 12. 
 
 1876. Watermarked with a star; perforated 15. 
 
 The values and colours of the above issues are as follows : 
 1861. Id., pale red, carmine-red ; 6d., green. 1866. 4d., blue; 
 Is., slate. 1869. Is., dull blue; Id., red; 4d., yellow; 6d., 
 yellow-green; Is., red-brown. 1871. Id., black; 6d., green; 
 Is., red, dull red, wine-red. 1876. 6d., pale yellow-green; Is., 
 bright vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, yellowish-white wove paper ; 
 perforation, &c., as in the above list, according to the date of issue. 
 The head is beautifully engraved, the expression being rather solemn. 
 There is a very thick and heavy dark outline behind the neck, 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 411 
 
 running down below the base of it to the front, and a similar 
 line behind the back of the head and curl. The nose is slightly 
 aquiline, and the face and bust are shaded all 
 over, except a small portion below the eye. The 
 lines of shading on the top part of the head, 
 which shows above the coronet, are not parallel, 
 but radiating. The frame of the oval, each side 
 of the bust, is composed of white lines, forming 
 a sort of lattice-work; and the diamond- shaped 
 spaces between the white lines of this lattice-work 
 are not solid, but filled up with crossed, oblique, 
 dark lines of shading. The groundwork outside this lattice-work 
 oval is formed by numbers of interlacing, white, semicircular lines, 
 scratched out of a dark background. Five oblong jewels can be 
 made out at the base of the coronet, and fifteen pearls above the 
 oblong jewels. The t of st. has its vertical stroke very nearly as 
 wide as those of any of the other letters, and the stop below it is 
 square, and quite as wide as the vertical stroke of the said t. The 
 long curl which hangs down behind the head is particularly clear 
 and distinct. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather stout, very white wove paper ; no water- 
 mark ; perforated 13. The head is very poorly printed, and the 
 expression of the face bad-tempered and sour. The thick outline 
 behind the neck, below the neck, and behind the head, is hardly 
 visible. The nose is straight. There are several white, unshaded 
 patches on the face and bust. The lines of shading on the top 
 of the head above the coronet are all parallel. The frame of the 
 oval, each side of the bust, forms a very coarse lattice-work, and the 
 spaces between the lines of this lattice-work are filled up with solid 
 colour, instead of crossed dark lines. The groundwork of the 
 spandrels, outside this lattice-work oval, is composed of coloured 
 dots, on a white ground, without any particular design or pattern. 
 The row of jewels cannot be made out, and there are twelve or 
 thirteen pearls above where the oblong jewels ought to be. The t 
 of ST. has its vertical stroke very much thinner than those of the 
 other letters of the inscriptions, and the stop below it is an upright 
 oblong, and sometimes is almost oval or rounded, the same width as 
 the vertical stroke of the T, The long curl which hangs down behind 
 the head is hardly visible at all at first sight. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An oval, formed by two thick, or three thin lines at the 
 top and bottom, and two curved lines each side, containing the colony 
 letter and number, " a 10 " ; also a small circle, containing name 
 and date, like an English date-stamp. 
 
 Forged. An oval, formed by four straight lines, top and bottom, 
 and two curved lines each side, witii a blank centre. 
 
412 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 Second Issue of 1852. 5, 13 Cents, blue. 
 
 Of the rare early issues of this country I have neither the 
 genuine nor the forgeries ; but, unwilling to leave them out 
 altogether, I condense the description of them from Mr. Atlee's 
 set of papers in the Philatelical Journal, to which I beg to 
 refer my readers for a full account of the first issues. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, or typographed, on yellow- 
 ish-white wove paper ; migummed. The outer 
 corners of the ftmcy scpiare are formed, each by a 
 single semicircular line, holding a small three-lobed 
 flower. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed (?) on yellowish-white wove paper, 
 very like that of the genuine ; gummed. The 
 outer corners of the fancy square are the same as 
 the annexed illustration, the flowers not being joined to the corners, 
 but plainly separate from them. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 I do not know what was the cancellation of the genuine, but the 
 forgery is cancelled with a large circle, with date in the centre, and 
 u. s., HONOLULU, rouud the circle. 
 
 Note. — There is a 2 cents of a very similar type to the 5 and 13 
 cents above described. It is, I believe, bogus. 
 
 Issue of 1852-53. Five Cents, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on white, and also on very bluish-white 
 wove paper. There are two little dots or marks projecting down- 
 wards from the line above five cts— one of them between the f and 
 I of FIVE, and the other between the t and s of cts. 
 The fact is, that the 13 cents value was the flrst 
 engraved, and the same die used for the 5 cents ; 
 and these two marks are the remains of the two 
 lines found in the higher value, and which were not 
 altogether cut away when the die was altered for 
 the 5 cents value. The background behind the bu.st 
 is formed by thick horizontal lines, crossed by 
 oblique ones, which run down from right to left, so 
 
 wait ail 
 Postage 
 
 'Un Cents. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 413 
 
 that the spaces between the lines are oblique white diamonds. The 
 top of the hair touches the eighth horizontal line of shading of the 
 background, connting from the top, and the hair begins, on the left 
 side of the stamp, level with the twenty-second line from tlie top. 
 The coat shows six buttons down each side ; they are white and 
 distinct, but scarcely round. The embroidered spray or branch on 
 the coat, at the left side of the stamp, has twelve very distinct white 
 leaves, and the corresponding spray on the right side of the stamp 
 has ten similar white leaves. The seam down the centre of the coat 
 is formed by two dark lines, close together. There is a vertical dark 
 line, bordering the central picture, running down to the left of 
 HAWAIIAN IS., and another similar line running down to the right 
 of HONOLULU. These lines reach from the top of the stamp to the 
 line above five cts. The white lines marking the top edges of the 
 collar do not join in front, where the seam of the coat touches them. 
 The side of the collar on the left of the stamp is shaded by five dark 
 lines, counting the one which joins the coat ; and the side of the 
 collar on the right of the stamp also shows five lines, but not so 
 distinctly as in the other half. Both arms are cut obliquely off ; the 
 arm on the left side of the stamp touches the dark line of the frame, 
 to the right of the letters HON of Honolulu, and the line dividing 
 the arm from the chest does not quite reach to the bottom, where it 
 is cut off. The other arm is at some little distance from the frame, 
 by the n is. of Hawaiian is. The line sejDarating it from the chest 
 reaches to the bottom of the outline of the chest, and the bottom of 
 the arm curves away from the chest, instead of touching it. The 
 moustache, though small, is dark, and easily seen. Both nostrils are 
 of equal size and shape. A line drawn along the outside edge of the 
 back of the e of postage would cut the mouth in two, and pass 
 between the third and fourth buttons of the coat on the left side of 
 the stamp, counting from the top. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, pale blue paper. The two dots 
 wdiich ought to show in the line above five cts. are absent. This 
 is the easiest test for all the forgeries which I have seen. The white 
 dots in the background, behind the bust, are quite shapeless, instead 
 of being diamond-shaped. The top of the hair touches the seventh 
 horizontal line from the top, and the hair begins on the left side of 
 the stamp at the twenty-third line from the top, but these lines are 
 so blotched that it is very difficult to count them. There are live 
 round white buttons on the coat at the left side of the stamp, and a 
 very tiny white dot above the uppermost one, which is probably 
 intended for the sixth button. There seem to be seven buttons on 
 the other side of the coat, but they are indistinct. The seam down 
 the centre of the coat is formed by a single dark line ; this line is 
 very thin at the top. The vertical line to the left of Hawaiian is. 
 
414 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 readies from the top of the stamp to nearly the bottom of the 
 POSTAGE label, then it breaks off altogether ; then another portion of 
 it can be traced to the left of waii ; then no more of it can be seen, 
 so that the chief part of the shaded backgronnd of the central 
 picture has no outline on the right side of the stamp. Indeed, if 
 the line from the top were continued down the stamp, it would cut 
 right into the crossed lines of the background, instead of bordering 
 them. The white lines marking the top edge of the collar distinctly 
 join in the front, above the line of the seam of the coat. The collar, 
 on the left side of the stamp, is shaded with three dark lines, and the 
 other side of the collar is shaded with what appears to be a solid 
 blotch of colour, instead of lines. The arm on the left side of the 
 stamp is cut obliquely off, but the other arm is cut off by a very 
 curved, concave line, which does not stand out clearly from the back- 
 ground. The arm on the left side of the stamp does not go near to 
 the outline of the central picture, and the bottom of the arm on the 
 other side of the stamp touches the boundary of the picture between 
 I and s of is. The bottom of the arm on this same right side of the 
 stamp curves very slightly away from the chest, but there is no line 
 to separate it from the chest. The moustache is so very small that 
 it might be easily mistaken for two of the shaded lines of the face. 
 The nostrils are hardly equal in size. A line drawn down the back 
 edge of the e of postage would pass clear to the left of the mouth, 
 and cut through the centie of the second large button from the top, 
 not counting the white speck as a button. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is very poor. Lithographed on yellowish-white wove paper, 
 thick and soft. There are no dots in the line over five cts. The 
 lines in the background of the picture are so very indistinct that the 
 said background appears to be formed by rows of white and shapeless 
 dots. The coat, on the right side of the stamp, shows six buttons, 
 the top one much too small ; and the other side of the coat seems to 
 have ten buttons, but they are irregularly placed, some of them 
 being side by side, instead of in one straight line. The spray on the 
 right side of the stamp has only nine leaves. The seam down the 
 centre of the coat shows three lines part of the way, but the rest is 
 blotched into one thick line. The white lines marking the edge of 
 the collar join in the front. The collar, on the left side of the stamp, 
 is shaded by five dark lines, the bottom one, which joins the coat, 
 being very much too thick. The other side of the collar is partly 
 blotched, but shows traces of four dark lines, very thin. The arms 
 do not reach to the boundary on either side. The moustache is 
 absent. The nostrils are not nearly so broad as in the genuine. A 
 line drawn down the back of the e of postage would just clear 
 the left side of the mouth, and cut into the fourth button from 
 the top. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 415 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 This is very like the last, but better printed. Lithographed on 
 pale blue wove paper, showing the meshes of the wire-gauze on 
 which it was made, rather thin and hard. There are no dots in the 
 line above five cts, A good portion of the background of the 
 picture is blotched into a solid mass of colour, and the rest hardly 
 shows any traces of the oblique lines, so that it appears to be com- 
 posed of shapeless white dots on a coloured ground. There are 
 seven buttons on the coat at the left side of the stamp, the top one 
 being very small. The other side of the coat appears to have only 
 three buttons, at great distances apart. The leaves on the branches 
 are not outlined, so as to be merely white patches. The seam down 
 the centre of the coat is composed of one very thick line. The 
 sides of the picture are nicely level in this forgery, but they do not 
 appear to have a boundary line. The white lines marking the edges 
 of the collar join in front, above the dark line of the seam of the 
 coat. The lines of shading on the collar are the same as in the 
 second forgery. There is no moustache. The nose is much too wide 
 along the middle, but the nostrils are not broad enough. 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on pale blue wove paper, rather thin. There are no 
 coloured dots in the line above five cts. The buttons on the coat 
 are round, and outlined. The seam down the centre of the coat is 
 formed by one thick line, which however is separated into two lines 
 for a short distance, just at the top. The vertical line, to the left of 
 HAWAIIAN IS,, cuts iuto the edge of the background of the picture, 
 or rather, the background projects to the right, over the edge of the 
 boundary line. The white lines of the edges of the collar join in 
 the front, where the seam of the coat touches them. There are only 
 three lines of shading in the collar on the left side of the stamp, and 
 the lines of shading on the other side of the collar cannot be made 
 out. The arm on the right side of the stamp almost touches the 
 outline, but the outline and the background are very broken and 
 irregular just there. The moustache is visible, but not sufficiently 
 distinct from the lines of shading on the cheek. There is a white 
 patch on the chin, with a dark dot in the centre of the white patch. 
 These are not in the genuine. A line drawn from the back edge of 
 the E of POSTAGE would pass quite clear to the left of the mouth, 
 and go between the first and second buttons from the toj), on the 
 left side of the stamp. The outline under postage is ragged and 
 uneven. This is, perhaps, the best of the forgeries which I have seen, 
 the background being fairly copied. 
 
 Mr. Atlee, in the Fhilatelical Journal, gives a description of five 
 forgeries in his possession. I have only been able to identify one of 
 them, which is the same as my second forgery. His tests are as 
 follows, but it will be understood that I have not seen the forgeries 
 themselves. 
 
416 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 Atlee's First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in pale washy bine, on coarse white paper, wider 
 than the genuine, but not so tall. The face is shaded by specks, 
 irregularly scattered, instead of lines. There is no moustache, and 
 the chin is entirely unshaded. The leaves are very indistinct on the 
 right side of the stamp. The side-frames are the same width as the 
 bottom one ; the side lettering is, therefore, much too large. The 
 letters ii of Hawaiian are like an n, with 07ie dot over it. The 
 corner figures are very large. 
 
 Atlee's Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in deep blue, on thick white paper, and also on blue 
 paper. There are no dots on the right side of the chin. The white 
 line of the edge of the collar is so thin as to be hardly visible. There 
 are only ten leaves on the coat, at the left side of the stamp, and 
 there are no buttons on the other side of the coat. The seam of the 
 coat is formed by two lines, but they are very wide apart. The line 
 under the left-hand 5 cuts into the outline of the postage label. 
 The last u of Honolulu is large, and badly shaped. The second a 
 of HAWAIIAN is at some distance from the following i. 
 
 Atlee's Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in pale blue, on coarse paper. The white line of the 
 edge of the collar is very thin. The left arm is rounded off. The i 
 of IS is like an ordinary 1. The s of cts slants to the left. 
 
 Atlee's Fourth Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in blue, on white paper ; also in black, on blue paper. 
 The face is very boyish-looking, without moustache. There is a wide 
 space between the left arm and the side. The background is solid, 
 with lines of white spots. 
 
 Athens Fifth Forgery. 
 
 This is the one which I have already described as my second 
 forgery. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I have no cancelled copy of the genuine. 
 Forged. A set of parallel bars, very wide apart ; also a set of four 
 concentric circles. 
 
 Same Issue. 13 Cents, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on rather thin, very yellowish-white or 
 tinted wove paper ; gum brownish. The central picture is exactly 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 417 
 
 the same as that of the genuine 5 cents. There is a double line under 
 the figures 13 on each side, in the top corners of the stamp. In the 
 left-hand i'rame there is a dash after Hawaiian, and a stop after cts. 
 This stop almost touches the double line under the 13. The cross- 
 stroke of the T of CTS is quite distinct. In the right-hand frame 
 there is an oblong stop after states, the 8 is very little higher than 
 the s which precedes it, and there is no stop after cts. The outer 
 border of the stamp on this right side is composed of two thin lines, 
 close together. In the bottom frame ihe foot-stroke of the 1 of 13 
 is very long, and it touches the 3 which follows it. There is a very 
 small stop after the cts in the right-hand bottom corner, and this 
 stop touches the frame, or rather projects from it. The bottom line 
 of the stamp is quite as thick as the line above 13 and cts in the 
 lower squares. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This is the latest production, but I take it first, as it is infinitely 
 better than any of the others, being an extremely dangerous forgery. 
 It is engraved in taille-douce, on very thick, very white paper, so thick 
 as to be almost cardboard. The top of the hair goes between the 
 seventh and eighth horizontal lines of the shading of the back- 
 ground, counting from the top ; and the huir begins;, on the left side 
 of the stamp, between the twentieth and twenty-first lines of the 
 shading. The white lines which mark the edges of the collar touch 
 in front, above the seam of the coat. The collar on the right side 
 of the stamp appears to have six lines of shading, instead of five. 
 The arm on the right side of the stamp just touches the border, be- 
 tween the 8 and c of 8 cts ; this arm in the genuine is at some 
 distance from the side. The line under the 13 in each of the 
 tojD corners is really double, but the two lines are so very close to- 
 gether as to look like one thick line. The stop after cts in the left- 
 hand frame is quite clear of the line under the 13. The cross-stroke 
 of the t of this same cts is very faint, almost invisible. In the 
 right-hand frame there is a square stop after cts, very small ; the 8 
 appears to be just the same height as the s which precedes it ; and 
 the T of CTS is the same height as the s, instead of being considerably 
 taller than the said s. The outer border of the stamp on this right- 
 hand side is formed by a single line. In the bottom frame the foot- 
 stroke of the 1 of 13 is short, and does not anything like touch the 
 3. There is no indication of a stop after the CTS in the right-hand 
 bottom corner. The bottom line of the stamp is much thinner than 
 the thick lines over 13 and cts in the bottom corners of the stamp. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, poor, very white wove paper. The white 
 dots of the background, between the crossed lines, are quite shape- 
 less, instead of being diamond-shaped. The top of the hair touches 
 the sixth horizontal line of shading from the top, as far as I can 
 
 2 E 
 
418 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 make out, and the hair begins, on the left side of the stamp, about 
 the eighteenth line from the top. The coat shows five large round 
 buttons on the left side of the stamp. The seam down the centre of 
 the coat is formed by one thick line. The side -outlines of the 
 central picture are very ragged. The white lines marking the top 
 edges of the collar join above the seam of the coat. The collar on 
 the left side of the stamp is shaded by three dark lines, and the other 
 side of the collar is blotched, so that the lines cannot be counted. 
 The arm on the right side of the stamp is cut off in a most ragged 
 and irregular manner, as though it had been amputated with a blunt 
 hatchet ; it touches the border between the 8 and c of 8 CTS. The arm 
 on the left side of the stamp does not touch the border. The two 
 sides of the moustache are not shaped alike. The nostril is splayed 
 out on the left side of the stamp, but not on the other side. The 
 line under each of the figures 13 in the top corners of the stamp is 
 single. There is no stop after cts in the left-hand frame. The t of 
 this word is too tall, being the same height as the c which precedes 
 it. In the right-hand frame there is a small round stop after states, 
 and the bottom half of the 8 is very much larger than the top half. 
 The outer border of the stamp on this right side is formed by one 
 line. In the bottom frame the foot-stroke of the 1 of 13 is short, 
 and does not touch the 3. There is no stop after the cts in the 
 right-hand bottom corner. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on hard, yellowish-white wove paper, rather thick. 
 The hair begins, on the left side of the stamp, level with the twenty- 
 third line of the horizontal shading. The buttons of the coat, on the 
 left side of the stamp, are so very faint that they can hardly be seen ; 
 there appear to be about six. On the other side of the coat they are 
 still more indistinct, and only one can be made out with certainty. 
 The seam down the centre of the coat is formed by two dark lines, 
 but they are wide apart. The white lines forming the edges of the 
 collar are very thin, not nearly so distinct as in the genuine. The 
 collar on the right side of the stamp shows only four lines. Neither 
 of the arms touches the frame. There is a single line under the 13 
 in each of the top corners. The word Hawaiian in the left-hand 
 frame is spelt hawaniian ; there is no dash after it, and the t of cts 
 is as tall as the c. In the right-hand frame there is no stop after 
 states ; the 8 is very much taller than the s which precedes it, and 
 there is a distinct stop after cts. In the bottom frame the foot- 
 stroke to the 1 of 13 is very short, and does not anything like touch 
 the 3 ; there is a large stop after the cts, but my specimen is cut 
 away just there, so that I cannot say whether the stop touches the 
 right-hand outline of the frame. The letters ia of Hawaiian in this 
 bottom frame touch each other ; they are separate in the genuine, 
 and in all the other forgeries. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 419 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 This needs only a few words of description. It is printed in blue, 
 instead of red, on thin, blue wove paper. The face is almost all white. 
 There is only a single line under the 13 in each of the top corners. 
 The second a of Hawaiian, in the left-hand frame, is much too 
 widely splayed out, and the stop after cts appears to be much higher 
 than the level of the bottom of the letters. In the right-hand frame 
 there is no stop after states, the 8 is a good deal taller than the s 
 which precedes it, and there is a distinct stop after cts. In the 
 bottom frame the 1 of 13 has hardly any foot-stroke at all. The left 
 side of the stamp is composed of a single line. 
 
 Mr. Atlee mentions four forgeries of this stamp ; three of them are 
 amongst the four which I liave already described. 
 
 Athens Fourth Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on slightly blue paper, backed with white gum ; 
 colour, a bright vermilion. There is no stop after states, and the 
 lettering of united is very uneven. The arm touches the frame on 
 the right-hand side of the stamp. There is no stop after cts in the 
 bottom right-hand corner. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have no cancelled copy of the genuine. 
 
 Forged. A set of four concentric circles ; also the same with short 
 parallel lines in the centre ; also a large outlined oval, containing 
 HAWAIIAN, and something else which I have been unable to decipher. 
 
 The first forgery is quite new ; it is of German origin, and marks 
 a new era in forgery-making. Of course when a counterfeiter goes 
 to the expense of having a taille-douce engraving made, he naturally 
 tries to get as exact a copy as possible, and I must warn my readers 
 particularly against this most successful falsification. 
 
 Issue of 1862. 2 Cents, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thin, very yellowish-white, or rather, 
 tinted wove paper, backed with brownish gum. Also lithographed, 
 on laid paper. Those who know more about these 
 stamps than I do must decide as to whether the 
 lithograph or the engraving is the more authentic. 
 Mr. Atlee's article states that, in his opinion, the 
 engraved ones were made to oblige collectors ; but 
 Mr. Pemberton's Handbook catalogues them side by 
 side, as though the two were of equal value. I have 
 only the engraved one in my possession, and there- 
 fore must describe from that ; but the two are alike, 
 except for the difference between a lithograph ancl 
 
420 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 a taille-douce engraving. There is a distinct stop after keneta. The 
 2 in the right upper corner is in the centre of its containing square ; 
 and the 2 in the left top corner, thongh not quite in the centre, is not 
 near the right side of the containing square. None of the large leaves 
 of the branches in the side-frames touch the side lines of the frames. 
 The stop after leta is nearer to the a than to the side of the frame. 
 The nose is shaded all over. The thin dark line under uku leta 
 cuts through the inner line of the side-frame on the left-hand side. 
 The beard is not at all prominent, but it appears to end some little 
 distance above the bottom outline of the central picture. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very white wove paper, moderately thick. The 
 gum, when there is any, is white. There is no stop after keneta. 
 The 2 in the right upper corner is too low, too much to the right, 
 and very close to the right side of the frame. The 2 in the left-hand 
 corner is still more out of the centre ; it rests U23on the bottom of 
 the frame, and touches the right boundary line. The large leaf on 
 the right side of the branch in the left-hand frame touches the frame 
 to the right of it. The stop after leta is equidistant from the a 
 and the side of the frame. The nose is quite white and unshaded 
 all down its centre. The thin dark line under eku leta only joins 
 the inner line of the side-frame on the left-hand side, instead of 
 cutting right through it. The beard is much more distinct and 
 prominent than in the genuine, and the point, which can be plainly 
 seen, comes down very close to the bottom outline of the central 
 picture. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I have no cancelled specimen. 
 
 Forged. A set of four concentric circles, with five short parallel 
 lines in the centre. 
 
 Issue of 1864. 2 Cents, vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, very yellowish-white, or tinted 
 wove paper, backed with brownish gum, and perforated 12, ver^ 
 clearly. The figures of value in the top corners o 
 the stamp are on a ground of very tine crosse' 
 lines, i^laced very close together. The front of th 
 foot of each 2 ends in a large white ball. Th 
 white parts of the feet of the h of Hawaii do no 
 touch each other, and the a hardly touches the h • 
 the last A and the i do not touch each other either. 
 (It is true that the shadows or outlines of th 
 letters seem to touch, but the white parts do not.) 
 The long stem of the floral ornament which for 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 421 
 
 the middle part of the frame of the left side of the stamp is crossed 
 by twenty -five short, parallel, horizontal lines, each line being 
 double ; and the similar ornament in the middle of the frame on the 
 right side of the stamp bears twenty-three of these pairs of lines. 
 The shoulder on the right side of the stamp is shaded by eleven very 
 thick dark lines, counting where the shoulder is widest ; and the 
 other shoulder bears twelve lines in its widest part. The outer corner 
 of the necktie, above the ua of el da, projects into the background, 
 outside the outline of the shoulder. The little roses, or whatever 
 flowers they are, below each end of the Hawaii label, have a tiny 
 dot in their centres, from which radiate a few very fine lines. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on poor, thin, very white wove paper, with white 
 gum, when there is any ; perforated very badly some uncountable 
 number. The figures of value in the top corners are on solid back- 
 grounds. The front of the foot of each 2 ends in a very tiny ball, 
 more like a rounded hook than a ball. The feet of the H of Hawaii 
 are joined by a distinct white line or bar, which is continued into 
 the first foot of the following a ; the second a and the i are joined 
 together by a white line. The long stem of the ornament forming 
 the middle of the left-hand side of the frame of the stamp is crossed 
 by fourteen pairs of short, horizontal lines, most of them showing 
 very plainly that they are double, but some of the top ones are 
 blotched together. There are either sixteen or seventeen similar 
 pairs of lines in the corresponding ornament on the right side of the 
 stamp. The shoulder on the right side of the stamp is shaded by 
 seven thick dark lines, and the other shoulder is shaded by ten lines. 
 The outer corner of the necktie, above the ua of elua, does not 
 project beyond the outline of the coat into the background. There 
 is a large dark dot in the centre of the flower, below the left-hand 
 end of the Hawaii label, and the flower at the other end of the label 
 contains a great dark blotch. This forgery is very common, but I do 
 not think it is likely to be dangerous. 
 
 Postraarks. 
 
 Genuine. My copies are uncancelled. 
 
 Forged. A set of four concentric circles, rather wide apart, with 
 a blank centre ; also a similar set, much closer together, with straight 
 parallel lines in the centre ; also a set of parallel straight bars, wide 
 apart. 
 
 Issue of 1866. Five Cents, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, white, or bluish-white wove 
 paper, generally more or less smeared on the front with a blue tint, 
 and clearly perforated 12. The numerals in the upper corners are on 
 
422 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 a ground of very fine crossed lines, and the bottom of eacli 5 ends in 
 a very large white ball. The letters of Hawaii 
 are set too high in the label, being considerably 
 nearer to the top than to the bottom of it. The 
 bottom of the stop after keneta is level with the 
 bottom of the a. There are thirty-two j^airs 
 of short lines drawn across the long ornament 
 which forms the middle of the left-liand side 
 of the stamp, and about twenty-six pairs of 
 similar lines in the corresponding ornament 
 forming the middle of the right side of the 
 frame. The background to the portrait is formed 
 by very fine lines, placed very closed together. The top of the hair 
 touches the ninth of these lines from the top of the oval. The side 
 of the collar, on the right of the stamp, is shaded by nine dark lines, 
 not blotched together. The button on the chest is not conspicuous, 
 as all the portion which is not shaded is coloured a dark blue. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on common, medium, soft, very white wove paper; 
 very badly jDerforated, so that I cannot tell the gauge. The numerals 
 in the upper corners are on a ground of solid colour, and the white 
 ball of each 5 is very small comj^ared with the genuine. The letters 
 of the word Hawaii are set better than in the genuine, being at an 
 equal distance from the top and bottom of the label. The bottom 
 of the stop after the a of keneta is distinctly above the level of 
 the bottom of the a. There are twenty-eight pairs of short lines 
 crossing the long stem of the ornament which forms the middle of 
 left side of the frame, the lower ones being very imperfect ; and there 
 are twenty pairs in the corresponding ornament on the otlier side of 
 the stamp. The two lines of each pair, as in the forged 2 cents just 
 described, are much wider apart than in the genuine. The back- 
 ground to the jDortrait is formed by fine horizontal lines, but they are 
 too far apart. The top of the hair touches the seventh line from the 
 top of the oval. There is a small white patch at the back of the 
 parting on the top of the head, which is not visible in the genuine. 
 The side of the collar, on the right of the stamp, is shaded by eight 
 or nine lines, but they are dreadfully blotched. There is a little 
 white circle or ball close to the upper right-hand corner of the w of 
 HAWAII which does not exist in the genuine. The button of the 
 chest is very conspicuous, the part which is not shaded being per- 
 fectly white. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. My only cancelled copy bears several pen-strokes. 
 
 Forged. A set of five concentric circles, with straight lines in the 
 centre ; also an unoutlined oval, formed by straight lines at the top 
 and bottom, and curved lines at the sides. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 423 
 
 Issue of 1871. 1 Cent, mauve. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on creamy-white wove paper ; perforated 
 12. The stamp is hacked with dark brown gum. The oval round 
 the head is j)erfect in all parts. The figures in 
 the bottom corners are nearer to the bottom 
 than to the top of the containing circles. The 
 lettering is in that peculiar thick type favoured 
 by the American engravers, as in the latest 
 Newfoundlands, &c. The h and i of akahi 
 touch each other at the top and bottom, and 
 the I of AKAHI and the k of keneta are 
 separated from each other by a dark space of 
 background, which, in consequence of the 
 curved shape of the letters, forms an exact 
 circle. The eyes are well open, and there is a light in the pupils. 
 The nose is well drawn. The lips are not very full. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed, on very white wove paper ; perforated 1 3. 
 The stamp is not gummed. The oval round the head is not con- 
 tinuous, but divided ; and the two ends overlap under the word 
 HAWAII, one end forming the l)ottom of the name-label. The figures 
 in the bottom corners are much nearer to the top than to the bottom 
 of their containing-circles. The lettering is thin and meagre, and all 
 too straight. The h and i of akahi are not near each other. The 
 I of AKAHi and the k of keneta are very far apart, so that the space 
 between them is a transverse oval, instead of a circle. The left eye 
 is half shut, or, at least, not so wide open as the right, and the pupils 
 are dark, without any light in them. The nose is absurdly broad ; 
 the right nostril hardly visible, and the left nostril much exaggerated. 
 The lips are very full, as though the princess were blowing at some- 
 thing. There is a very white patch just above the right shoulder. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I have not seen anything but a clumsy blotch on the 
 genuine stamps, which are not common cancelled. 
 Forged. A set of thin concentric circles. 
 
 Same Issue. 6 Cents, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on yellowish-white wove paper ; per- 
 forated 12, All the lettering is very clear and distinct. The two 
 circles in the upper corners are mathematically true. The letters 
 HA of HAWAII touch each other, as do also the letters ta of keneta. 
 
424 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 There is jolenty of hair on both sides of the head. The coat has a 
 line drawn down its centre to mark where the 
 two sides button together. The middle button 
 is white, except that it has a dot in the centre, 
 and a ring round the outside. There is a point 
 under the letters ke of keneta, which comes 
 down below the boundary-line. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on yellowish paper ; perforated 
 13. The lettering looks ragged. The two 
 circles in the upper corners are very badly 
 drawn, and the outline is broken and untrue. The letters ha of 
 HAWAII do not touch each other, neither do the letters ta of keneta. 
 The king seems to have hardly any hair on the left side of his head. 
 There is no join in the coat where it buttons. The middle button 
 is shaded nearly all over, except a small white patch on one side of 
 it. The point under the letters ke does not come within two or 
 three lines of the boundary, instead of overlapping it as in the 
 genuine. The perforation is rather better than usual, but the minor 
 details of the drawing are bad. The colour of the original is rather 
 like that of the United States, 3 cents, wdiilst the forgery is a 
 peculiar shade of chalky, yellow-green. The eyes are very much 
 too fierce and glaring. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I have no cancelled copy. ' • 
 Forged. A set of concentric circles, as in the 1 cent. 
 
 Same Issue. 18 Cents, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on yellowish-white wove paper ; perfor- 
 ated 12. The eyes are pretty well oj)en, and the pupils visible. 
 There are three strongly-marked " crow's-feet " 
 wrinkles in the corner of the right eye. The 
 two strong wrinkles on each side of the nose 
 are exactly opposite to each other. The coat 
 and waistcoat are very distinct, so that there is 
 no difficulty in seeing which is which. The 
 figure 1 is the same in both the bottom corners. 
 All the labels stand out distinctly from the 
 background. All the lines of shading through- 
 out are extremely fine, except the lines on the 
 coat, which are a very great deal thicker than 
 the rest. There are two little triangles coming down from the top, 
 over the h and last i of Hawaii ; half of the one over the h is very 
 darkly shaded, and the one over the i is hardly shaded at all. The 
 bow of the necktie is very distinct. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 425 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very yellowish paper ; perforated 13. The eyes 
 are almost shut, and the pujDils are not visible. There are no 
 wrinkles to be seen in the corner of the right eye. The wrinkles 
 each side of the nose are not opposite to each other, the one on the 
 right cheek being considerably higher than the one on the left. It 
 is impossible to say which is coat and which is waistcoat, as they are 
 indistinctly drawn. The figures in the bottom corners are not both 
 alike, the left-hand 1 being larger than the other. The labels do not 
 stand out well from the background, and the lines of shading 
 throughout are rather coarse, those on the coat being no thicker 
 than the rest. The two little triangles over the H and the last i of 
 HAWAII are both very darkly shaded, and form part of an arch over 
 the name — the rest of the arch being supposed to be cut away by 
 the top outline of the stamp — but this is much more evident in the 
 forgery than in the genuine. The bow of the necktie is not well 
 drawn, and the right-hand end is particularly indistinct. This 
 forgery is ungummed. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 Genuine. I have only one cancelled copy of the genuine, and it 
 merely bears a shapeless blotch. 
 
 Forged. An oval, formed by four straight lines at the top and 
 bottom, and five curvecl lines each side. 
 
 Figure Issues. 1 Cent, 2 Cents. 
 
 I am sorry to say that I am compelled to leave out all notice 
 of these stamps, and of the shoals of counter- 
 feits. It is no use attempting to describe them 
 without having all the varying types before 
 me ; and I have utterly failed in obtaining 
 more than two or three undoubted specimens, 
 so that any description which I could write 
 would only confuse my readers and lead them 
 astray, instead of enlightening them. 
 
 SAXONY. 
 Issue of 1850. 3 Pfennige, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on toleralDly stout, white wove paper. The 
 stamp is ratlier more than three-quarters of an inch square. The s 
 and N of SACHSEN are at equal distances from their respective ends 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 & 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Cent. 
 
 
426 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 of the label. The letters of pfennige di^ not touch each other any- 
 where, and there is no stop after the word. The a of franco is 
 square at the top, and its cross-bar is placed very low down. There 
 is a good distance between the dark background 
 behind the 3, and the thin coloured line running 
 all round the square, so that there would be 
 plenty of room to draw another line between 
 them. In each of the four corners of the stamp 
 there is a sort of flower, with a cross or star in 
 the centre of it, and, opposite to each point of each 
 cross or star, there is a curved coloured line, 
 following the curve of the petal of the flower. The flower in the 
 left-hand top corner of the stamp has four of these curved lines, one 
 opposite to each of the points of the cross or star ; but, in each of 
 the other flowers, the one which ought to be opposite to the upper 
 left-hand point of each cross or star is missing, whether by accident 
 or design I do not know. The outer line of the frame of the stamp 
 is very thick, many times thicker than the thin inner line which 
 runs parallel with it inside. The lettering is a good deal sunk into 
 the paper. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on horizontally-laid paper, of a very yellowish tint. 
 The stamp is decidedly less than three-quarters of an inch square. 
 The letters nni of ppennige are all joined together at the top. The 
 letters ra of franco are joined together at the bottom, though they 
 are separate in the genuine. The distance between the dark back- 
 ground containing the 3, and the thin line running all round the 
 square, is not equal on all sides, so that the two vertical lines to the 
 right-hand of drei are closer together than the two similar lines to 
 the left-hand of ppennige. There are no curved lines opposite to 
 any of the ends of the stars or crosses in the centres of the corner 
 flowers. If I have made myself understood, this is an easy test. 
 The outer frame is the same thickness as the thin inner one running 
 parallel with it. The lettering is not at all indented or sunk into 
 the paper. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is very much better than the last, and it is decidedly a 
 dangerous forgery. Indeed, I had a specimen in my own collection 
 for a long time without suspecting it, as it had come to me from one 
 of our principal dealers. It is very nicely lithographed, on very 
 yellowish wove paper. The stamp is considerably less than three- 
 quarters of an inch square. The s of sachsen is much nearer to 
 the left-hand end of the label than the n is to the right-hand end of 
 it. There is a stop after the word ppennige. The a of franco is 
 sharp at the top, and the cross-bar is placed about the middle of the 
 letter. There is hardly room to draw another line between the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 427 
 
 central square and the thin coloured line running all round it. The 
 flower in the right-hand top corner is tolerably like the correspond- 
 ing one in the genuine, but the curved lines in the bottom flowers 
 are stuck on to the ends of the cross or star, and the top right-hand 
 flower has only two of these curved lines, instead of the three of the 
 genuine. The outer line of the stamp is hardly any thicker than 
 the inner one parallel with it. The lettering is not sunk at all into 
 the paper. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A double circle, with Dresden, or Leipzig between the 
 circles, and parallel lines in the centre. I believe these stamps are 
 unknown with the name of an 3^ other town besides these two upon 
 them. 
 
 Forged. The first forgery bears the double circle, similar to the 
 genuine, but with the names of zwickau, reichenbach, risa, 
 NEissEN, herrnhuth, &c., between the circles, and numerals in the 
 centre. I have not seen a cancelled copy of the second forgery, but 
 I am told that it is found with the later Saxony cancellation ; i.e., 
 a double circle, with lattice-work lines between the circles, and 
 numerals in the centre. This cancellation was not even invented 
 when the 3 pfennige was current. 
 
 Issue of 1855. 2 Groschen, black on blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on blue wove paper, 
 which shows the meshes of the wire-gauze on 
 which it was made. The inner line of the frame, 
 at the top of the stamp, is distinctly thicker than 
 the outer one. The inner line of the frame, down 
 the left-hand side of the stamp, is single. The 
 back of the stamp is blue, the same colour as the 
 face, the gum not affecting the colour. 
 
 Forged (?) or Reprint (?). 
 
 This stamp was given to me as a forgery, and as being the pro- 
 duction of a Leipzig counterfeiter ; but I have sj^ent several hours 
 over it, and fail to detect the slightest variation in any one line of the 
 design, so that I think it must be a reprint from the original die, 
 though I know it is said that the stamps of Saxony have never been 
 reprinted. The description is as follows : Engraved in taille-douce, 
 on rather coarsely-made wove paper, not showing any signs of the 
 meshes of the wire-gauze upon which it was manufactured. The 
 inner line of the frame at the top of the stamp is hardly at all 
 thicker than the inner one ; the inner line of the frame down the 
 left-hand side of the stamp is distinctly double for nearly its whole 
 length. The back of the stamp is a peculiar blue-green, evidently 
 
428 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 caused by the very yellow gum. If this stamp is really a forgery, I 
 must say that it is the very best counterfeit which I have ever seen, 
 and I would almost defy any collector to find more certain tests for 
 distinguishing it than the ones just given. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The double circle before described, with lattice-work 
 lines between the circles, and numerals in the centre. 
 
 Forged. My only specimen of this stamp is not cancelled. 
 
 Issue of 1856, 10 Neugrosclien, blue on white. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on moderately stout, yellowish-white 
 wove paper. The shaded lines of the background have been drawn 
 too far in several places, and cut into the jaw, under the chin, and 
 also into the base of the neck in front. The leaf over the N of neu, 
 which points towards the N, almost touches the boundary-line of the 
 label above the top of the n. Under the bottom 10 there is a semi- 
 circular enlargement of the outline of the bottom of the label, and 
 the two leaves at the bottom of the stamp almost touch with their 
 points the outline of this semicircular enlargement. Three lines of 
 the vertical shading can be seen between the back of the head and 
 the inner outline of the oval, so that there is a good distance between 
 the back of the head and the boundary -line. The line of the mouth 
 is very faintly indicated. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very white paper, wove, and rather thin. The 
 shaded lines of the background do not cut into the chin, or into the 
 base of the front of the neck. The leaf over the n of neu, which 
 points towards the N, does not come near to the boundary-line of the 
 label above the N. The two leaves at the bottom of the stamp do 
 not touch the outline of the semicircular enlargement under the 
 bottom 10, the left-hand leaf being much further from the outline 
 than the right-hand leaf is. The back of the head nearly touches 
 the inner outline of the oval, so that there is barely room for one 
 vertical line of shading between the back of the head and the inner 
 line of the oval. The mouth is formed by a strong dark line. The 
 whole impression is quite fiat, whereas the lines of the design in the 
 genuine stamp stand out from the surface of the paper. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The double circle, already described, with lattice-work 
 lines between the circles, and numerals in the centre. 
 
 Forged. My only specimen of the forgery is not cancelled. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 429 
 
 SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. 
 
 Issue of 1850. 1 Schilling, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed, witli white embossed centre, on thin, very white, and 
 yellowish-white wove paper, with a blue silk thread running ver- 
 tically down the stamp, in the substance of thejjaper. 
 As this thread is incorporated into the paper during 
 its manufacture, putting the stamp in water will, 
 of course, not bring the thread away. The em- 
 bossed shield is divided down its centre by a single 
 strong line, and it bears on the left-hand side two 
 lions on a dotted ground, and on the right-hand 
 side a spread eagle, on a ground of vertical lines. 
 There is a very distinct crown at the top of the embossed shield, and 
 resting upon it. The background of the stamp is composed of rather 
 coarse horizontal lines of shading ; only four lines can be seen above 
 the left-hand eagle's head, between it and the thick outline at the top 
 of the stamp, but there are five similar lines above the head of the 
 right-hand eagle. The white corner ovals are not outlined, but the 
 lines of the background merely stop short so as to form these ovals ; 
 all four are about the same size, but the one in the right-hand bottom 
 corner is badly shaped. The s of schilling touches the bottom two 
 feathers of the eagle's wing, and its head appears to break into the c 
 which follows it. The letters hi of this same word are joined to- 
 gether by a white bar across their tops. The eagle's leg, on the right 
 side of the stamp, passes almost exactly between the letters in of this 
 same word. The o of post is placed almost centrally on the eagle's 
 neck, so as hardly to show any of the neck to the left of it. The 
 lowest feather but one on the right-hand side appears to go quite 
 behind the top of the g of schilling. The corner ovals do not 
 touch the outline of the stamp in any case. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Rather well lithographed, on what appears to be very stout, bluish- 
 white wove paper, with a silk thread running down in the paper. 
 The stamp, however, is really composed of very thin paper, with the 
 thread laid on the back of it, and then another piece of very thin paper 
 pasted over this, so as to enclose the silk thread between two sheets 
 of paper. If the stamp be placed in water for a short time the 
 backing can be removed, and the silk thread will come with it, thus 
 exposing the fraud. The embossed shield is divided down its centre 
 simply by the last of the vertical lines of the right-hand half, which 
 is no thicker and no more prominent than the rest. The lions and 
 spread eagle on the embossed shield are quite undecipherable, and 
 the thing at the top of the shield looks more like a cup and saucer 
 than a crown. The background of the stamp is composed of very 
 
430 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 fine horizontal lines, so that six or seven can be seen above the head 
 of the eagle on the left-hand side, and about eight aljove the head of 
 the other eagle, not counting the thick outline of the stamp in either 
 case. The white ovals in the corners are outlined for about half the 
 way round ; they are very irregular, and vary in shape with different 
 specimens, so that I am unable to say which is the normal shape. 
 The s of SCHILLING does not touch any of the eagle's feathers, and 
 it does not come at all close to the c which follows it. The letters 
 HI are not joined together at their tops, and the H has its central 
 cross-stroke much too distinct. The eagle's leg, on the right side of 
 the stamp, cuts into the first stroke of the N of schilling. The o of 
 POST is placed a good deal too far to the right, so that part of the 
 eagle's neck can be plainly seen to the left of the letter. The lowest 
 feather but one of the wing on the right side of the stamp does not 
 seem to touch the g of schilling. In some of my specimens the 
 tops of the upper white ovals are so blotched as to touch the thick 
 outline of the frame above them. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, yellowish-white wove paper, with a false 
 back of tissue paper, and a silk thread between the stamp and the 
 backing. The white embossed shield is exceedingly well done in 
 this forgery. Three lines of the horizontal background can be seen 
 above the eagle's head on the left side of the stamp, and five lines 
 above the eagle's head on the right side. The white ovals in the 
 corners are distinctly outlined for three parts of the way round. 
 They are all of a very nice, regular, oval shape. The s of schilling 
 is at a considerable distance from the c. The letters hi of this word 
 are not joined together at the top. The eye of the eagle on the left 
 side of the stamp, which is invisible in the genuine, is large and 
 glaring in this forgery, with a great pupil. The letters in of schil- 
 ling are joined together at the top ; they are separate in the genuine. 
 The claw of the eagle does not appear from below the N of this word. 
 
 Same Issue. 2 Schilling, rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 The printing, paper, silk thread, and embossed shield are exactly 
 the same as in the genuine 1 schilling. Four of the horizontal lines 
 of the background can be seen above the top of the head of the 
 eagle on the left-hfaid side, and five above the head on the right-hand 
 side, not counting the frame in either case. The white corner ovals 
 are the same as in the genuine 1 schilling, but appear to be rather 
 more carefully done. The s of schilling touches the bottom two 
 wing-feathers on the left-hand side, and the shadow of its head 
 touches the back of the c which follows it. The letters hi of this 
 word are joined together by a white bar across their tops. The c 
 looks quite as big as the s. The bottom wing-feather but one on the 
 right-hand side appears to go behind the top of the G. The leg on 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 431 
 
 the right-hand side touches both the i and N of schilling. One of 
 the eagle's claws shows below the bottom of the first stroke of the 
 N of SCHILLING. No part of the neck of the eagle can be seen to 
 the left of the o of post. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed ; the paper, printing, silk thread, and false back 
 being the same as in the forged 1 schilling. Seven of the horizontal 
 lines of shading can be seen above the eagle's head on the left side 
 of the stamp, and eight above the head on the right side of the 
 stamp, not counting the thick outline of the frame The embossed 
 shield is the same as in the forged 1 schilling. Each of the corner 
 ovals is three-j)arts outlined. The s of schilling touches neither 
 of the wing-feathers of the left-hand side, and the shadow of its head 
 does not touch the back of the c which follows it. The letters hi of 
 this word are not joined together at the top. The c of this word is 
 particularly small, and looks much smaller than the s. The g hardly 
 touches the wing-feather. The leg of the eagle, on the right-hand 
 side, goes through the first stroke of the N of schilling. There is 
 no claw showing below the bottom of the N. Part of the eagle's 
 neck can be distinctly seen to the left of the o of post. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper, printing, false back, &c., the same as in 
 the second forgery of the I schilling. The colour is an extremely 
 pale pink, making the design very hard to decipher. The embossed 
 shield is a very good imitation of that of the genuine, but the 
 crown does not show any of the inside hollowed part, whereas, in 
 the genuine 1 and 2 schilling, the inside part of the crown can 
 plainly be discerned, containing several curved embossed lines by 
 way of shading. Three lines of the background can be seen above 
 the eagle's head on the left side of the stamp, and about four above 
 the head on the right side. The corner ovals are outlined for three 
 parts of the way round. The s of schilling is at some distance 
 from the c which follows it. The letters hi of schilling are not 
 joined together at the top. 
 
 I have had great difficulty in deciphering the 2 schilling of this 
 last forgery, the colour being so very faint. 
 
 FostmarJcs. 
 
 Genuine. My specimens are not cancelled. 
 
 Forged. A set of coarse parallel bars, forming a sort of wavy 
 rectangle, with a hollow centre ; also the same, with very much finer 
 lines ; also a set of parallel bars, forming a circle, with very large 
 numerals in the centre. As far as I remember, the second of these 
 postmarks is not unlike the cancellation of the genuine, but it is a 
 long time since I saw a cancelled copy. 
 
 These forgeries are done well enough to deceive all our youthful 
 friends, and some of the oldsters as well. 
 
432 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 SERYIA. 
 Issue of 1866. 10, 20, 40 Paras. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne (?), on thin, yellowish-white wove paper ; 
 perforated 12 (Vienna impression), and perforated 9| (local impres- 
 " V sion). There are seventy-seven pearls round the 
 ^ head. In the central circle there are sixteen 
 N white lines on the right of the head, and nine- 
 ^ teen on the left, counting in both cases from the 
 ? bottom of the circle, beneath the neck. There 
 I are forty-nine wavy lines above the value-label. 
 ^ The hair is short, and rather curly. The p of 
 ^ POSHTA — a thing like two capital I's close to- 
 p gether — has a distinct bar across the top of it, 
 '^r>ur^_r\r^.r\j-\.r,J and so has the p of para. The top of the a 
 of POSHTA is pointed. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, on rnoderately thick, white wove paper ; unper- 
 forated. There are only fifty-nine pearls round the head. In the 
 central circle there are sixteen horizontal white lines on the right of 
 the head, and seventeen on the left, counting from the bottom in 
 both cases. The hair and beard are cropped quite close, like those 
 of a convict. The p of poshta has no bar across the top, neither 
 has the p of para. 
 
 PostmarTis. 
 
 Genuine. Sclavonic characters, in large capitals, in a straight line ; 
 also the same in an oblong frame ; also a double circle with Sclavonic 
 chaiacters and a curly ornament between the circles, and numerals, 
 &c., in the centre. 
 
 Forged. A single circle, containing illegible English lettering ; 
 also a number of large diamond-shaped dots, forming a circle without 
 outline ; also a set of five long parallel bars, placed widely apart. 
 
 Issue of 1869. 1, 10, 15, 20, 25, 35, 40, 50 Paras. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on moderately stout, rather yellowish-white 
 wove paper; perforated 9|, 12, and also the two combined. The 
 lower outline of the bottom of the base of the neck is invisible, so 
 that the neck seems to melt away into the dark background ; and 
 there is only a very faint white line to mark the outline of the back 
 of the neck. The twisted ornamental line, running along the top 
 of the stamp, contains fourteen white twists, and the similar orna- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 433 
 
 mental line at the bottom of the stamp also contains fourteen twists. 
 The three I's of the middle character of the top label — equivalent 
 to SH in English — are all upright, and quite 
 parallel with each other : they are joined to- 
 gether by a thick foot-stroke. The p of para in 
 the bottom label — a character like two I's joined 
 together at the top — has a broad top -stroke 
 across the two uprights. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very poor, thin, very white 
 wove j)aper ; badly perforated 12^. The lower 
 outline of the base of the neck is marked by a very distinct and 
 strong white line, which also runs right round the back of the head, 
 as far as the parting of the hair. The twisted ornamental line at 
 the top of the stamp, above poshta, is composed of fourteen white 
 twists, like the genuine, but the similar line below para only 
 contains thirteen twists. The middle character of the top label 
 (i.e., the sh of poshta) is not well drawn ; the left-hand stroke 
 leans rather away from the other two, often not being joined to 
 them at the bottom ; and, in the specimens in which it does join, 
 the three strokes are not connected by a decided white bar, as 
 in the genuine, but only just, as it were, touch each other. The p of 
 PARA in the bottom label is apparently composed of two I's, hardly 
 touching at the top. In most other respects this forgery is a very 
 good imitation of the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The same as in the genuine stamps of the first issue, 
 already described. 
 
 Forged. A single circle, containing unreadable English lettering ; 
 also a set of thin parallel lines, placed close together, forming a circle 
 without outline ; also the same, with a circular outline ; also a 
 number of diamond-shaped dots, apparently forming a diamond or 
 a square, without outline. 
 
 SHANGHAI. 
 
 Issue of 1865-66. First Set, value Candareen, without S; 
 
 Second Set, value Candareens, with S. 
 1 c, blue; 2 c, black; 3 c, brown; 4 c, yellow; 6 c, 
 
 orang-e, brown; 8 c, grey-green, bright green; 12 c, 
 
 brown; 16 c, vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on quite pelure, and also on rather thicker 
 white wove paper. The framework of the stamp is composed of 
 
 2 F 
 
434 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 twelve separate lines, none of them tonching each other anywhere ; 
 that is to say, there are four thick lines forming, respectively, the four 
 sides of the outer frame ; then two thin lines, 
 forming the two inner sides of the side-frames ; 
 then three thin lines, end to end, forming the 
 bottom outline of the top labels ; then three 
 similar lines, end to end, forming the top 
 outline of the bottom labels. There are seven 
 short dark lines to form the dragon's beard or 
 teeth, or whatever they are meant for. The 
 stop after the l of the upper inscription, l.p.o., 
 is very close to the L. The central picture is 
 almost exactly alike in all the values ; it is 
 invariably blotched somewhere, generally at the bottom, and it has 
 a dark outline along the top and the right side, and part of a 
 similar outline shows on the left side, but does not go more than half 
 the way up. Each side of the dragon's moustache is composed of 
 three hairs, often blotched together ; and the outline of his body 
 consists of two parallel lines, with clots or short lines at frequent 
 intervals between the lines. The lines of the frames, and several 
 other portions of the design, are deeply sunk into the paper, so that 
 they stick out at the back of the stamp. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have only the 1 candareen. It is an excellent counter- 
 feit, and is, I think, quite new. Engraved in epargne, whether cliche 
 or woodcut I do not know, on white wove paper, thicker than that 
 of either of the genuine sets. The various lines of the framework 
 are nearly all separate from each other, as in the genuine ; but the 
 outer frame is joined at the left bottom corner. The thin, inner line 
 of the left-hand frame touches the top of the stamp, and the thin, 
 inner line of the right-hand frame touches the bottom of the stamp. 
 The dragon's beard is formed by a fringe of nine hairs, quite twice 
 as long as those of the genuine. The stop after the l of the upper 
 inscription does not anything like touch the L. The central picture 
 has a thick dark outline all round it, quite as thick as the outer 
 frame of the stamp. This is an easy test. The said picture is very 
 clear, and not blotched anywhere. Each side of the dragon's 
 moustache looks like a long white spike with a dark outline. The 
 outline of his body is formed of two parallel lines, but without any 
 dots between the lines. The lines of the frames are sunk into the 
 paper, as in the genuine. I think this forgery is very likely to 
 deceive. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, white wove paper, thicker than the 
 genuine. The thick outline of the stamp is continuous all the way 
 round, instead of being broken at each corner. The inner lines of 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 435 
 
 the frames are, however, separate, like the genuine. The dragon's 
 beard is formed by nine short lines or dots. The stop after the l in 
 the upper inscription is very nearly as close to the l as in the genuine. 
 The central picture seems to be the same for all the values ; it is 
 much clearer than in the genuine, not being blotched anywhere. 
 This said picture has a dark outline down the right side, another 
 along the top, which slants very much down on the left side of it, 
 and another down the left-hand side, which does not go quite to the 
 top. In the genuine the top line does not slant, and the left-hand 
 line only reaches from the bottom of the picture to the top of the 
 S-like curl. The lower outline of the upper third of the dragon's 
 body, the lower outline of the middle third, and the upper outline 
 of the bottom third, have no dots between the lines, and the dots 
 in the other outlines are few and far between, instead of being very 
 close together. The design is quite flat upon the paper, no portion 
 being sunk into it. There is a 6 candareens, green, of this type of 
 forgery. The genuine original 6 candareens was never issued in this 
 colour ; the forgers have copied the colour from that of the reprint. 
 
 Tliird Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on dull, white wove paper, thinner than that of the 
 second forgery, but evidently of European make. The design is 
 much poorer in this set. The outer frame goes, unbroken, right round 
 the stamp, and the tliin inside outlines of the labels are joined into 
 an " Oxford frame," and all touch the outline of the stamp. This is 
 an easy test. The dragon's teeth are formed by five, eight, nine, or 
 ten dark dots, according to the value, but none of the stamps show 
 the proper number — seven. The stop after the l in the upper in- 
 scription is a long way from the L. The central picture varies very 
 greatly with the different values ; it is very rarely blotched any- 
 where. In the 1 and 2 c. it is outlined along the top only, with a 
 very thin line ; in the other values it is also outlined at the sides as 
 well ; and in the 12 and 16 c. the top outline of the picture slopes 
 to the left. The dragon's moustache is badly done, often showing 
 two hairs only, or a blotch, on one side. Only the 4 c, the brown 
 12 c, and the 16 c, show the dots all the way between the parallel 
 lines forming the outlines of the dragon's body, and they are more 
 like thin short lines than thick dots. The design is not at all sunk 
 into the paper. There is a 12 c. orange-red of this type of forgery, 
 which has been copied from the colour of the reprint of that value. 
 
 Note. — I transcribe the substance of the following remarks from 
 Mr. Pemberton's Handbook. The first Shanghai stamps were all 
 without the terminal s. There are errors in the Chinese characters 
 down the left-hand side of the 2, 4, and 8 c. On the 2 c. the first 
 character ought to be the word two, instead of the numeral 2. The 
 word is like a T, with an E, face downwards, across its stem. This 
 is shown in the illustration of the 2 candareens, given above. The 
 
436 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 error has, in place of tins character, two horizontal strokes, answer- 
 ing to our 2. It is termed an "error" because it is less common, rather 
 than because it is incorrect. The second character on the left side 
 of the stamp signifies candareen, and is something like a tea-pot, 
 turned upside down, with two very curved legs sticking out from 
 where the lid was. This is found on normal specimens of the 1, 2, 
 3, 4, 6, and 8 candareens. In the errors of the 4 and 8 c. this is re- 
 placed by a character signifying mace (10 candareens), which is a 
 most complicated thing, impossible to describe. The mace is the 
 second character on the 12 and 16 c. The value 12 candereens is 
 represented on the stamp as 1 mace, two candareens silver ; and the 
 16 c. by 1 mace, 6 candareens silver, so that the values of the two 
 errors, bearing respectively 4 and 8 mace, instead of 4 and 8 canda- 
 reens, represent really 40 and 80 candareens. There are other 
 varieties as follows : 
 
 Antique numerals — words (?) — to the 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 c. 
 Ordinary numerals only on the 1, 2, 3, 12, 16 c. 
 Eonian numeral on the 1 c. 
 Error, candarfens, on the 3 c. 
 
 These stamps were issued by order of the General Council of 
 Shanghai, but never had much currency, though large quantities 
 were imported for stamp collectors. Reprints, usually on slightly 
 toned paper, exist of all the values, with ordinary numerals only. Of 
 these the 6 c. emerald, 12 c. orange, and 16 c. brown, never existed 
 in such colours as originals, the true colours being as quoted at the 
 head of this paper. 
 
 Issue of 1866. 2 Cents, rose. 
 
 All the values of this set differ from each other in type. I 
 only possess the forgery of the 2 cents. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on yellowish -white wove paper, very stout ; 
 perforated 13. The lower portion of the top character in the side- 
 label, on the right side of the stamp, is a four- 
 sided figure, with a horizontal bar running nearly 
 across the centre of it. In the upper inscription 
 the L leans over slightly to the left, and it is 
 _^ exactly the same height as the i of shanghai. 
 
 5 'J^ i^^^M ^ The is of a nice oval shape. In the lower in- 
 " " '"'^'^^■^'^'^'^ ^ scription there is no stop after cents, and the 
 lower line of the e is distinctly longer than the 
 upper line. In the left-hand label part of the 
 lowest character touches the inner frame. (I do 
 not speak of the character in the bottom square.) The background 
 of the central oval is composed of vertical rows of chains, very 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 437 
 
 finely executed, and all distinct. The said oval is surrounded by a 
 broad dark line, equally wide all the way round, and not blotched 
 into the chain-pattern anywhere. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Tolerably well lithographed, on rather thin, very white wove 
 paper ; well perforated 12^. The four-sided figure which forms part 
 of the top character in the right-hand side frame has a white centre, 
 with no line across it. In the upper inscription the second a of 
 SHANGHAI is Very badly shaped, and leans over to the right ; the L 
 is perfectly upright, and is taller than the i ; and the o is a d. In 
 the lower inscription there is a stop after cents, and the upper line 
 of the E is very much longer than the lower one. In the left-hand 
 label no part of the middle character touches the inner frame. The 
 background of the central oval is very poorly executed, so that it is 
 impossible to make out the chains. The band surrounding it is much 
 thinner in some parts than in others, and, on the left side, it is 
 blotched into the background. With these exceptions, this forgery 
 is a fair imitation of the genuine. 
 
 Postw.arks. 
 
 Genuine. The genuine stamps are very rarely found postmarked. 
 The only cancellation which I have seen is on a stamp in my own 
 collection. It is a double circle, struck in red, with Chinese characters 
 in the centre, and between the circles. 
 
 Forged. An unoutlined, transverse oval, formed by four straight 
 lines, of varying length, at the top and bottom, and two curved lines 
 each side. 
 
 Issue of 1869. 1 Candareen, brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on very stout, yellowish-white wove paper ; 
 perforated 15. The English inscriptions read respectively shanghai 
 L.P.O., and 1 CAND. As the dragon's body is 
 twisted all to one side, the centre of the stamp 
 w^ould be blank, so the engraver has put an 
 ornament into the very centre of the stamjD, 
 which looks rather like a serpent, coiled into a 
 ring, with a head and open mouth sticking out 
 from the right -and left of the ring. This orna- 
 ment does not touch the dragon's body anywhere. 
 The ground behind the dragon is composed of 
 very fine vertical lines, placed very close together, 
 and not at all blotched. None of the Chinese characters touch the 
 outlines of the containing labels, but the outline of the stamp touches 
 the rounded ends of almost all the labels. 
 
438 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forg&d. 
 
 Litliographed, on thinnish, very white wove paper ; badly per- 
 forated 13. Tlie English inscriptions are respectively Shanghai 
 L.p.o,, and 1 GAND. The ornament in the centre of the dragon's 
 body is like a spider or a crab, with six long legs, all of which touch 
 the dragon. The ground behind the dragon is very uneven and 
 blotched, showing too much white in some places and too much 
 colour in others. Nearly all the Chinese characters touch the out- 
 lines of the labels which contain them. The thin outline round 
 the stamp is a long way from it, and only touches the stamp in 
 the right-hand top corner. 
 
 SICILY. 
 
 Issue of 1859. |, 1, 2, 6, 10, 20, 60 Grani. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, yellowish-white wove paper. 
 The groundwork of the central rectangle is, to all appearances, solid, 
 but it is really composed of crossed, vertical and horizontal lines, 
 placed so very close together as to touch, and showing no white at 
 all. The lines can hardly be seen without a microscope, and many 
 specimens only show them at the top right-hand 
 corner of the rectangle, behind the head. The 
 lips are not level or equal, the upper one being 
 much thicker than the lower one, and projecting a 
 good deal more. The stop after sicilia is vei-y 
 small, and, looking at the stamp with the head 
 upwards, the said stop is higher than the level of 
 the white line under the head ; if the white 
 line of the inner rectangle, below the head, were 
 produced to the right, it would pass almost clear below the stop 
 after sicilia. The head and foot-strokes to all the letters of the 
 various inscriptions are broad, well-defined, and with square ends. 
 The line below the head, if produced to the left, would pass just 
 below the first stroke of the b of bollo, but would cut into the head 
 and foot-strokes of it. The a of posta is very broad and square at 
 the top. The outline of the nose is nearly straight. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper. The ground of the 
 central circle is formed of very distinct crossed, vertical and hori- 
 zontal lines, showing the white background between the lines. 
 There is no difficulty in seeing these lines, and they are quite far 
 apart ; they show over the whole of the central rectangle behind 
 the bust. The lips are both of the same thickness, and the under 
 one projects forward level with the upper one. The stop after 
 
 GR Va *' 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 439 
 
 siciLiA is large and distinct, and, if the white line below the portrait 
 were produced to the right, it would obliterate the stop altogether. 
 The head and foot-strokes to all the letters are not particularly- 
 broad, and almost all of them are pointed at the ends. The white 
 line below the portrait, if produced to the left, would cut into the 
 first stroke of the b of bollo. The nose is very snub or blunt at 
 the end, and the a of posta is not quite so square as in the genuine. 
 The whole design of this forgery is very poor, and there is not much 
 likelihood of its taking in any but the youngest of our philatelic 
 brethren. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 I don't think this is very common, as I have only seen one speci- 
 men. Lithographed on paper nearly as stout as that of the genuine. 
 The background of the central rectangle is really solid, not bearing 
 the slightest vestige of crossed lines. The lips come to a sort of 
 point, quite different from the well-marked lips of the genuine, and 
 both are about the same thickness and project equally. There is no 
 stop at all after sicilia. The head and foot-strokes to the letters 
 are very thin, pointed instead of square at the ends, and several of 
 them are wanting. The b of bollo is very badly made, the lower 
 half being many times larger than the upper one. The a of posta 
 is pointed at the top. The nose is hollowed in the outline near the 
 point, making it look very vulgar and common. The top of the 
 head appears to be quite 1)ald, like a monk's tonsure, though it is all 
 covered with hair in the genuine. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thick, rather hard, white wove paper. The 
 background of the central rectangle is absolutely solid, without any 
 trace of crossed lines. The lips are very similar to those of the 
 original. The stop after sicilia is far too large and distinct, and, if 
 the white line below the portrait were prolonged to the right, it 
 would altogether obliterate the said stop. The head and foot-strokes 
 to all the letters are of a good length, but most of them are pointed, 
 and too thin. The line below the portrait, if prolonged to the left, 
 would cut not only into the first stroke of the b of bollo, but also 
 almost into the body of that letter, the b being placed a good deal 
 too low down. The cross-bar of the a of posta is not in the middle 
 of the letter as it ought to be, but placed too near the bottom of the 
 letter. The nose is tolerably like that of the genuine, but it has a sort 
 of knob at the point. In the genuine stamps the nose is quite pointed. 
 
 This is a much better forgery than either of the others, and might 
 deceive many. 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, hard, white wove paper. The groundwork 
 of the central rectangle is absolutely solid, without any trace of 
 crossed lines. The under lip is, if anything, rather thicker than the 
 upper one. The stop after sicilia is large and distinct, and the 
 
440 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 white line under the portrait (which in this forgery is very thin, 
 instead of being extremely broad) would pass above the stop. The 
 head and foot-strokes to all the letters are too thin, many of them 
 defective, and some of them pointed. The line below the portrait, 
 if prolonged to the left, would run right through the centre of the 
 first stroke of the b of bollo. The a of posta is somewhat rounded 
 at the toj). The nose, though pointed, has an iipward tilt. The 
 front of the base of the neck, which ought to appear to be almost 
 resting on the white line under the portrait, is clear above it, show- 
 ing the background between the front point of the neck and the said 
 white line. All the shading on the head, face, and neck is too coarse, 
 and the beard is much too pointed. 
 
 This is not so good a forgery as the one last described. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. This is perhaps one of the most ornamental of all the 
 cancellations employed in Europe. It is said that the king did not 
 like to have his portrait obscured by unsightly blotches of ink, as is 
 the manner of most countries ; so the postmark is something like 
 the frame of an old mirror or picture with the toj) side taken away, 
 and all the rest formed by bold and handsome curls. This oblitera- 
 tion leaves the face quite clear. 
 
 Forged. The first set bears a sort of chain -pattern, in the form of 
 a u or a horse-shoe, with various dots in the hollow of it. (This 
 same cancellation is found on two of the forgeries of the Costa Rica 
 stamps.) The second set bears a colourable imitation of the genuine 
 postmark, but a good deal smaller. The third set bears a full-sized 
 imitation of the genuine cancellation. The fourth set bears a rather 
 poor and small imitation of the genuine. 
 
 STEREA LEONE. 
 Issue of 1872. Id., 2d., 3d., 4d., Is. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on medium, white wove paper; watermarked 
 with a crown and CO., and perforated 13. The value is struck after 
 the rest of the design has been 
 printed, so that it is often of 
 a slightly difi'erent colour from 
 the rest of the stamp. The 
 face and neck are entirely 
 covered with lines, except a 
 very small j)art of the top of 
 the forehead.- The outlined 
 diamonds in the four corners 
 of the stamp are perfectly true, and all four exactly alike. The 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 441 
 
 letters of postage do not touch each other anywhere. The lines of 
 the central rectangle do not touch the outline round them, so that 
 there is a white line to the right of sierra, another below postage, 
 another to the left of leone, and another above the value. All 
 these white lines (or rather, white spaces) are of equal width. The 
 ornaments on the coronet are a pearl, a thistle, another pearl, a 
 shamrock or trefoil, another pearl, another thistle, another pearl. 
 These are all well drawn, and perfectly distinct. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on thin, very white wove paper ; no water- 
 mark ; very badly perforated 13. The value is, of course, litho- 
 graphed at the same time as the rest of the stamp, so as to be always 
 in exactly the same shade of colour. The face and neck have large 
 white patches on them — one patch runs down from the top of the 
 front pearl to the tip of the nose, utterly unlike the original. The 
 outlined diamonds in the corner- squares are very poorly done ; the 
 drawing is untrue, and they are all different from each other, and 
 blotchy and indistinct. The letters ta of postage touch each other 
 at the bottom. The central rectangle shows a tolerably broad white 
 space to the right of sierra, and a similar one to the left of leone ; 
 but the one above the value is narrower than the others, and the 
 one below postage is very narrow indeed. The ornaments on the 
 coronet are the same as in the genuine, but very indistinctly drawn. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Very coarsely lithographed, on very white wove paper, ratlier 
 thick ; no watermark ; unperforated. The value is in the same 
 colour as the rest of the stamp. The front of the face and the front 
 of the neck are entirely white, and the cheek and part of the base 
 of the neck are shaded with dots instead of lines. The outlined 
 diamond-shaped ornaments, in the corners of the stamp, are drawn 
 too large for the containing-squares, so that the points are not all 
 complete, and the diamonds are not alike, and are poorly drawn. 
 The central rectangle hardly shows any white line below postage, 
 or above the value, though the side-lines are moderately broad. The 
 ornaments on the coronet are coarsely drawn, very different from 
 the genuine, and a great deal too white and patchy. The outline of 
 the hair, where it comes over the cheek and forehead, has a thick, 
 dark outline, which is absent in the genuine. This forgery is much 
 worse than the one just described, and not likely to do harm. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An oval, without outline, formed by three thick parallel 
 bars at the top and bottom, and two or three curved lines each side, 
 enclosing the colony-letter and number, " B 31." 
 
 Forged. Like the genuine, but with thinner lines, and without 
 the central letter and number. 
 
442 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 SOUTH AUSTEALIA. 
 
 Twopence, red, vermilion, carmine; Is., brownish- orange, 
 yellow-ochre, red-brown, dark brown. 
 
 Issue of 1855-57. Rather thick, yellowish-white wove paper; 
 unperforated ; watermarked with a star. 
 Issue of 1860-62. The same, rouletted. 
 Issue of 1869-69. The same, perforated 12, &c. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper, watermark, &c., as mentioned 
 above, according to the date of issue. There are vagaries of per- 
 foration to be found, but it is not necessary to note them here. The 
 outHne of the central circle does not touch the dark value-label 
 below it. There are two distinct dots, one above another, in the 
 engine-turning of the spandrel, above and behind the s of south. 
 There is a vertical row of four similar dots in a line, above the little 
 square in the bottom left-hand corner. There is a row of four 
 similar dots above the square in the bottom right-hand corner, and 
 there are two dots in a line above the last a of Australia. In each 
 corner of the stamp is a star, and each star is drawn upon a back- 
 ground of two concentric outlined squares, the outer one of which 
 joins the points of the star together. The south Australia label 
 is placed a long way above the central circle, so that there is a con- 
 siderable space between the bottom of the label and the outline of 
 the central circle. The queen has no earring ; the upper li-p projects 
 decidedly farther forward than the lower one ; the fine lines of 
 shading cover the whole of the face and neck. (This can only be 
 seen in good copies.) The ornaments on the coronet are two crosses 
 pattee and two Jleurs-de-lys, one of each alternately. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on moderately stout, very yellowish wove 
 paper (tinted on the face) ; no watermark ; unperforated, or badly 
 perforated an uncountable number, and also well perforated 13. 
 The ink is perfectly flat on the surface of the paper. The 
 outline of the central circle is blotched into the top edge of the 
 dark value-label below it. The two dots in the spandrel above the 
 s of SOUTH can be faintly discerned, but only as blotches, instead of 
 distinct oval or diamond-shaped dots. The dots in the other corners 
 are not visible. The star in each of the upper corners of the stamp 
 has a square outline joining all its points together, but inside this 
 square, in place of the second similar square, there is a ring. In 
 the lower corners of the stamp each star has the outline square, and 
 inside it is an upright oval outline. The south Australia label is 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 443 
 
 placed close down upon the top of the central circle, so that the 
 space which really does exist between them appears to be merely the 
 continuation of the outline of the central circle. The queen has a 
 long earring, which hangs down the side of the cheek ; the upper 
 lip appears to be sucked in, whilst the lower lip projects consider- 
 ably. The whole of the face, up to the side of the cheek, is quite 
 unshaded and white, as is also the front of the base of the neck ; 
 and the right-hand cross pattee, on the top of the coronet, looks like 
 a trefoil, rather badly made. 
 
 I have only seen the 2d. and Is. of this set ; but, as the genuine 
 stamps of this type are all from the same die, the tests given above 
 will be sufficient to detect the forgeries of the other values, if such 
 should exist. I do not think these counterfeits ought to deceive 
 anybody ; they are wretchedly done. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An unoutlined oval of parallel lines, with an outlined 
 diamond in the centre, containing numerals ; also the same, with a 
 circle in the centre ; also name and date arranged in a circle without 
 outline. I have never seen this latter cancellation on the unper- 
 forated stamps. 
 
 Forged. The oval of parallel lines, but without the central 
 diamond or circle ; also name and date arranged in a circle without 
 outline. This latter is found on the perforated and unperforated 
 forgeries alike. 
 
 Ninepence, grey, lilac, mauve. 
 
 Issue of 1860-62. Rouletted ; watermarked with a star. 
 Issue of 1873. Watermarked with a star; perforated 12. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taiUe-douce, on thick, hard, very yellowish-wliite 
 wove paper, varying as above, according to the date of issue. The 
 paper is particularly rough. The outer line of the large oval touches 
 the thin outside line of the stamp at the top, the bottom, and each 
 side. The left side of the oval, between nine and south, contains 
 sixteen pairs of fine dark lines, including the two lines at the end of 
 the top label, and the two at the end of the bottom label. The right 
 side of the oval, between Australia and pence, contains sixteen 
 similar pairs of lines, including the pair at the other end of each 
 label. The corners of the stamp and the ground of the central oval 
 are formed of a network of engine-turned lines. The whole stamp 
 has two outlines — an inner one, rather thick, and a very thin outer 
 one. There is a very strong and dark line of shading running from 
 below the front of the base of the neck right round to where the 
 hair springs at the back of the head. The chignon comes very close 
 to the outline of the oval, below the last a of Australia. 
 
444 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thick, very hard, very transparent, smooth, 
 white wove paper ; unperforated ; no watermark. I have never seen 
 this forgery in any but a sort of lavender hue. The outer line of the 
 large oval does not touch the thin outer line of the stamp either at 
 the top or the bottom. The left side of the oval, between nine and 
 SOUTH, contains thirteen pairs of parallel lines ; and the right side 
 of the oval, between Australia and pence, contains fourteen pairs 
 of lines and one single line. The corners of the stamp, and the 
 ground of the central oval, are of solid colour, without any trace of 
 Hnes. The whole stamp has only one outline, the thick inner line 
 being absent. There is no dark line of shading below the neck, or 
 at the back of the neck. The chignon is a long way from the out- 
 line of the oval. This forgery is exceedingly poor, and not likely 
 to deceive. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 Genuine. The name and date, arranged in a circle without outline, 
 as before described. 
 
 Forged. An unoutlined circle of parallel straight bars. 
 
 Tenpence, red, orange, lemon. 
 
 Issue of 1866-67. On rather thin, yellowish-white wove 
 paper; watermarked with a star, and rouletted. 
 
 Issue of 1868-69. Same watermark; perforated 12 at the 
 top and bottom, and rouletted at the sides. 
 
 Issue of 1869. The same, but perforated 12 all round. 
 
 Issue of 1869. Watermarked with crown and S A; per- 
 forated 12. 
 
 There are one or two vagaries of surcharge which need not 
 be enumerated here. 
 
 lij^^TT^^wH Genuine. 
 
 ^^^^M j Engraved in taille-douce ; watermark, &c., vary- 
 w^^^^pi [ iug as above, according to the date of issue. The 
 B'^^^BSlf '^^'^^P merely the die of the 9d. value, just 
 m. .^^mm Mi t described, with the addition of the words ten 
 3|^Hl^^^H|f PENCE in blue, and also in black. The tests for 
 jl ^jr ^^^jl'f genuine 9d. will therefore hold good for the 
 genuine lOd. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very coarsely lithographed, on thin, very white wove paper ; no 
 watermark ; perforated 13. The central oval has a background of 
 plain, crossed, oblique lines, instead of the wavy, lace-work pattern 
 of the genuine. The spandrels, or corners of the stamp, have a 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 445 
 
 ground of plain horizontal lines of shading, and each spandrel bears 
 an ornament like a couple of worms struggling together, which is 
 utterly imaginary, as there is nothing but the ornamental engine- 
 turning in the genuine stamps. The back of the head is a very long 
 way from the outline of the oval. The coronet in the genuine bears 
 a cross patMe, and a sort of trefoil alternately, four of each, and 
 there is no twisted roll of hair to be seen behind these ornaments. 
 In this forgery the front of the coronet has a very large cleft orna- 
 ment, and the rest appear to be three very small pearls, a long 
 distance apart. Behind these pearls there is a twisted roll, or mass 
 of hair, and above the hair the outline of the head can be seen. All 
 this is not in the least like the genuine. I have not often seen a 
 worse forgery than this, and I am really almost ashamed to describe 
 it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The name and date arranged in a circle, without outline, 
 as before described. 
 
 Forged. A coarse imitation of the genuine postmark. I have not 
 seen any forgeries of the other types. 
 
 SPAIN. 
 
 Issue of 1850. 6 Cuartos, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on yellowish-white, grey, or white wove 
 paper, thin, medium, and thick. The stamp is decidedly more than 
 three-quarters of an inch high. The 6 is wide, and the bottom part 
 is a good deal larger than the top part ; i.e., the head of the 6 is low. 
 The two halves of the 8 of 1850 are of equal size, and the top of 
 the 5 does not project backwards nearly so far as the rounded back 
 of the figure. The curly ornament, to the right of the date, goes 
 much nearer the side of the frame than the corresponding curly 
 ornament to the left of the date. The vertical lines of the shading 
 in the background have been drawn too far upwards in several 
 places, notably below the 6 and c of 6 cuartos, so that, in these 
 places, they cut right into the white line under the top label. The 
 tip of the queen's nose touches the fourth vertical line of shading 
 from the left in the background, counting the outline of the rectangle 
 as one line. The back of the head touches the second vertical line 
 of shading from the right. The back of the hair is plainly coiled 
 three times round to form the chignon, and the coils do not look at 
 all like drapery. The outline of the top of the head is higher than 
 the top of the small trefoil under the tail of the r of cuartos. 
 The pupil of the eye is extremely indistinct ; indeed, it is rather 
 difficult to say whether the eye is really open or shut. The front of 
 
446 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; ORj 
 
 the base of the neck is rounded off, and it comes above the space 
 between the curly ornament and the 1 of 1850. This is a very easy 
 test. The back of the base of the neck is blunt. The outline of 
 the profile of the upper lip projects distinctly forwards or outwards. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Apparently engraved, on yellowish-white wove paper, stout, but 
 not quite so hard as the genuine. The stamp is considerably under 
 three-quarters of an inch high. The 6 is tall and thin, the bottom 
 part wanting the fat rounded curve of the genuine. The upper half 
 of the 8 of 1850 is very much smaller than the lower half, and the 
 top of the 5 projects backwards, level with the rounded back of the 
 figure. The ends of the two curly ornaments, each side of the date, 
 are equidistant from their respective ends of the bottom label. The 
 vertical lines of shading in the background do not, in any case, 
 trespass into the white line under 6 cuartos. The tip of the queen's 
 nose goes between the fourth and fifth vertical line, from the left 
 side, and the back of the head goes right against the right-hand 
 outline of the background, so that no line can be seen between the 
 head and the border. The back of the hair looks like folds of 
 drapery hanging from the back of the coronet, and there is a very 
 distinct white curved spike sticking out at the top of the middle 
 coil of the back-hair, which points to the F of franco. This spike 
 is absent in the genuine. The small trefoil under the tail of the r 
 of CUARTOS stands very slightly above the outline of the top of the 
 head, instead of being decidedly helow it. The pupil of the eye is 
 very plain, and the eye is evidently wdde open. The front of the 
 base of the neck is very sharply pointed, and it only reaches forward 
 as far as the space between the 1 and 8 of 1850. The back of the 
 base of the neck is also pointed. The outline of the profile of the 
 upper lip goes inwards, as though the queen had lost all her front 
 teeth. 
 
 Same Issue. 5 Reales, dull red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne (I), on thick, hard, yellowish-white, and on 
 white, and also on thin white wove paper. The ornament in each 
 of the corners of the stamp is a sort of four-leaved 
 primrose ; i.e., the leaves are shaped like those 
 of a primrose, but there are only four of them. 
 The cross of dark lines which marks the sepa- 
 ration between the petals of each flower has its 
 arms vertical and horizontal, so that they point 
 to the middles of the four sides of the containing- 
 square. The curly ornament to the left of 1850 
 almost touches the 1, but is at some distance from 
 the left side of the frame. The front of the base of the neck projects 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 447 
 
 forward till it conies exactly over the end of the of 1850. The 
 curly ornament to the left of correos almost touches the corner- 
 square to the left of it. The c of certificado is much further 
 from the end of the label than the o is. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper. The ornament in each 
 of the corners of the stamp is a sort of white St. Andrew's cross, 
 containing a coloured St. Andrew's cross in its centre. The arms of 
 both the white and coloured crosses point, of course, to the corners of 
 the containing-squares. The curly ornament to the left of 1850 
 almost touches the left-hand border, but is at some distance from the 
 1. The front of the base of the neck is too sharp, and it projects too 
 far forward, so that it comes beyond the level of the end of the of 
 1850. The curly ornament to the left of correos is equidistant 
 between the border and the c. The c of certificado is very nearly 
 as close to the end of the label as the o is. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A quatrefoil, with an arrow sticking out from the 
 rounded part of each of the four lobes ; also a very large circle, 
 usually in red, containing name and date. 
 
 Forged. The quatrefoil as above, but the arrows have no heads, 
 and are merely straight strokes ; also an oval outline, filled by six 
 parallel bars. This latter I shall term the "gridiron" when referring 
 to it. 
 
 Issue of 1851. 6 Cuartos, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne (?), on thin, white or yellowish-white paper. 
 There are fourteen dotted lines of shading on the neck, at the back, 
 and six long dotted lines reaching from below the 
 chin to the hair. The tail of the c of franco is the 
 same as the head, but it does not look like a g. The 
 letters an of franco do not touch at the bottom, 
 though they are rather close together. The wreath on 
 the head consists of five clusters or rosettes of jewels. 
 The one over the forehead shows only four of the 
 jewels, or pearls, or whatever they are ; but each of 
 the other rosettes bears seven. The ornaments in 
 the corners of the stamp are very nicely and clearly drawn, and 
 all of them are exactly alike. There is a very strong oblique line 
 at the corner of the nose, exactly like the one at the corner of the 
 mouth. 
 
448 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This is the latest and best. It is an extremely dangerous forgery, 
 and must have been reproduced by photography, or some similar 
 method. Lithographed (?) on thin, white wove paper, very like that 
 of the genuine. The letters an of franco are joined together at the 
 bottom by a very distinct line. This is positively the only difference 
 between this excellent imitation and the genuine, so my readers 
 cannot be too careful. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 •Poorly lithographed, on rather stout, greyish-white wove paper. 
 There are only twelve short dotted lines of shading at the back of 
 the neck, and they are not parallel with each other. There are eight 
 long dotted lines under and on the side of the chin. The c of franco 
 has hardly any trace of a knob to its head, and none at all to its tail. 
 The letters cu of cuartos are a very great deal smaller than the rest 
 of the lettering. This is a very easy test. The ornaments in the 
 corners of the stamp are very coarsely drawn, and they are all 
 different from each other in one or more points. There is no oblique 
 line at the corner of the nose. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on very stout, soft, yellowish -white wove paper. 
 The tail of the c of franco is rather larger than the knob of the 
 head, so that it looks rather like a g. The letters an of this word 
 are joined at the bottom by a distinct line, as in the first forgery. 
 The rosette over the forehead shows six pearls or jewels. The corner 
 ornaments on the right side of the stamp are different from those on 
 the left side ; they are drawn in a very blotchy manner. The line 
 at the corner of the nose is very faint, and it is drawn much too 
 near the front. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The quatrefoil with arrow-heads sticking out from it, 
 before described ; also the gridiron. One of my specimens has the 
 said gridiron struck in blue. 
 
 Forged. The quatrefoil with arrow-heads ; also the same, with 
 straight lines instead of the arrow-heads ; also the gridiron, with 
 five bars instead of six. 
 
 The first forgery is the only one likely to deceive ; the others are 
 very poor. The Catalogue of the Philatelic Society says that some 
 forgeries are dated 1831 ; I have not seen these counterfeits. 
 
 Same Issue. 12 Cuartos, violet, pale lilac. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 This is exactly the same as the 6 cuartos, except that it bears the 
 word DOCE (12) instead of seis (6). 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 449 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very poorly lithographed, on stout, yellowish-white wove paper. 
 There are only thirteen short, dotted lines of shading at the back of 
 the neck. The tail-knob of the c of franco is larger than that of 
 the head, and the letters an of this word are joined by a distinct 
 line at the bottom. The front rosette, over the forehead, appears to 
 contain five pearls. The ornaments in the corners of the stamp are 
 not drawn exactly alike. There is no oblique line at the corner of 
 the nose, and only a very faint one at the corner of the mouth. The 
 front of the base of the neck touches the outline of the oval ; it is 
 at some distance from it in the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I have only seen this stamp cancelled with the quatre- 
 foil with arrow-heads. 
 
 Forged. An oval of six parallel bars, without outline. 
 
 Same Issue. 2, 5, 6, 10 Beales. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Exactly the same as the 6 and 12 cuartos, except that they bear 
 CERTIFO., and the value — DOS, cinco, seis, diez reales — respectively. 
 The letters if of cbrtifo do not touch each other, and the stop 
 under the o does not touch the o. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed, on very thick, very yellowish-white wove 
 paper. There are only four lines reaching from the hair to the front 
 of the chin, the bottom one being very much thicker than the rest, 
 instead of being the same as the others. The letters if of certifo 
 touch each other both at the top and bottom, and the o of this word 
 is touched by the stop under it. The four pearls of the rosette on. 
 the forehead are arranged in a circle, instead of a sort of cross. The 
 ornaments in the corners of the stamp are not exactly alike, and 
 they are blotchy. There is no oblique line either at the corner of 
 the mouth or at the corner of the nose. These forgeries are very 
 poorly done, and not likely to be dangerous. There exists a very 
 fine forgery of the 2 reales, but I have not been able to obtain a copy. 
 It was probably made by the same person* who forged the 6 cuartos. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have only the cinco reales. It is very much better done 
 than the set just described. Nicely lithographed on thin, yellowish- 
 white wove paper, very little thicker than the genuine. There are 
 seven dotted lines of shading from the chin to the hair. The o of 
 
 2 a 
 
450 ALBUM weeds; or, 
 
 CERTiFO is not so near the top outline of the oval as the other letters, 
 and the sto-p under the o is nearer to the bottom outline of the oval 
 than to the o. In the genuine, the o is level with the tops of the 
 other letters, and the stop under it is a great deal nearer to the o 
 than to the bottom outline of the oval underneath it. There is a 
 very thick dark line running down the back of the neck, very near 
 the outline of it. This is not found in the genuine, and it is an easy 
 test ; it gives the back of the neck the appearance of having been 
 printed twice over. The letters ea of reales do not touch each 
 other ; in the genuine they touch at the bottom. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The quatrefoil with arrow-heads. 
 
 Forged. An unoutlined oval, formed by several thick parallel 
 bars ; also the gridiron, but with the bars running obliquely in it, 
 instead of the long way of the oval ; also the gridiron, with a 
 number of thin bars running the short way of the oval. 
 
 Issue of 1853. 2, 5 Reales. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne (?), on thin, white and yellowish- white wove 
 paper. The second r of correos is the same height as the first r ; 
 
 the second o of this word is perfectly upright ; and 
 the stop after it is at an equal distance from the s 
 and from the 1 of 1853, The c of cert^.^ ^loes not 
 touch the outline above it ; the T is not quite 
 straight, but slants a little over to the right ; the d 
 is nicely shaped, and flat at the bottom ; and the 
 stops under do, and under the s of rs, do not touch 
 the outline below them. There are twenty-eight 
 perfect pearls each side of the central circle, besides 
 portions of several pearls, which are partly hidden by the top and 
 bottom labels. There are eleven dark horizontal lines in the tri- 
 angular spandrel in the upper left corner ; eleven similar lines in 
 the right top spandrel ; and ten in each of the lower triangular 
 spandrels, counting the outline of the triangle in each case. The 
 back of the chignon almost touches the outline of the circle ; and 
 the twists of the small plait of hair, below and to the left of the ear, 
 are shown by horizontal lines. The ornaments on the coronet are 
 trefoils, the third and the fifth from the front being greatly larger 
 than the rest. There is a strong oblique line of shading at the 
 corner of the mouth, and another similar line at the corner of the 
 nose. The thin vertical white lines, down the right and left sides of 
 the frame respectively, if prolonged upwards and downwaids, would 
 touch the ends of the top and bottom labels. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 451 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have only the 2 reales. Rather coarsely lithographed, 
 on very thin, j^ellowish-white wove paper, thinner even than the 
 genuine. The second r of correos is slightly lower than the first ; 
 the second o leans over somewhat to the right, and the stop is nearer 
 to the s of correos than to the 1 of 1853. The c of cert^'^ touches 
 the line above it ; the D is decidedly sloped at the bottom ; and 
 the stops after rs and under do touch the line below them. 
 There are twenty-seven perfect pearls on the left side of the circle, 
 and twenty-eight on the right side ; but each side shows another 
 pearl, almost perfect, at the top and bottom. The triangular spandrel 
 in the top left corner contains nine horizontal lines ; the one in the 
 right top corner contains nine also ; the one in the bottom left corner 
 has ten, and the one in the bottom right corner has nine. The back 
 of the chignon is at a good distance from the outline of the central 
 circle, and the twists of the small plait, below and to the. left of the 
 ear, are shown by vertical coloured lines. The third trefoil on the 
 coronet, counting from the front, is enormously larger than the rest; 
 but the fifth trefoil is very little larger than the fourth. There is no 
 oblique line of shading, either at the corner of the mouth or at the 
 corner of the nose. The thin vertical lines down the sides of the 
 stamp, if prolonged upwards and downwards, would pass quite clear 
 of the ends of the top and bottom labels. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is very much better done than the one just described. Very 
 nicely lithographed on very thin, white wove paper. The letters re 
 of CORREOS are joined together at the bottom, though they are quite 
 separate in the genuine. The stop after this word is much nearer to 
 the s than to the 1 of 1853. The letters of certR^ are placed much 
 too low, so that they almost rest upon the line below them. The 
 stop under do is higher than the one under the s of RS. There are 
 only twenty-five perfect pearls to the left of the head, and twenty- 
 seven to the right of it. There are twelve horizontal lines in the left 
 upper sj^andrel, thirteen in the right upper spandrel, twelve in the 
 left lower spandrel, and thirteen in the right lower one ; the shortest 
 of the lines being, of course, mere dots. The back of the chignon is 
 almost as near to the outline of the circle as in the genuine. The 
 twist of the hair, below and to the left of the ear, is a plain rope, 
 shaded with a number of lines, instead of a plait with the four lines 
 of the genuine. There is a faint oblique line at the corner of the 
 mouth, but none at the corner of the nose. I have only the 5 reales 
 of this type of counterfeit. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The gridiron of six bars, as in the earlier issues. 
 Forged. The first forgery is not cancelled ; the second forgery 
 has the gridiron, but with five bars instead of six. 
 
452 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Issue of the same year for Madrid. 1 Cuarto, bronze. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne (?), on very thin, white wove paper. The 
 outline of the stamp is a good deal thicker than the upright stroke 
 of the F of FRANCO. There are ten horizontal 
 lines in each corner, counting the one under 
 CORREOS INTERIOR, and the one above franco 1 
 CUARTO. These lines are almost as broad as the 
 outer line of the stamp. The boughs of the tree 
 do not touch the outline of the oval anywhere. 
 The bear has a crown on, very distinct, with three 
 points ; and his mouth and eye are also distinct. 
 The bear closely resembles a tailless kangaroo. 
 The stamp has the appearance of being printed in gold size, or 
 something similar, and then to have had the metallic powder dusted 
 on. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed, on rather stout paper, very much thicker than the 
 genuine. The outline of the stamp is considerably thinner than the 
 first stroke of the F of franco. There are only five horizontal lines 
 in the spandrel in the left top corner, seven lines in the right top 
 corner, six lines in the left bottom corner, and five lines in the right 
 bottom corner. The boughs of the tree touch the outline of the oval, 
 just under the second star from the top on each side. The bear is 
 much better shaped than in the genuine, but it has no crown on. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Very nicely lithographed, in a sort of grey instead of bronze, on 
 stout, yellowish-white wove paper, much thicker than the genuine. 
 The details of the design are admirably copied, but the lines in the 
 spandrels — though there are ten in each, as in the genuine — are 
 much too thin, and plainly thinner than the outer frame of the 
 stamp. The three points of the bear's crown are not distinctly 
 visible, and he seems to have no mouth. Except that the colour is 
 altogether wrong, this forgery is exceedingly good. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. My specimen of this stamp is marked with a blotch 
 which I cannot decipher. 
 
 Forged. Either a pen-stroke or uncancelled. 
 
 Issue of 1854. 6 Cuartos, carmine. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in Epargne (?), on very thin white, yellowish- white, or 
 bluish wove paper. The tail of the c of correos is exactly the same 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 453 
 
 shape as tlie head, and the letters are all at equal distances from 
 each other, and do not touch one another anywhere. The crown is 
 not damaged anywhere. The pearls on the arches, nicely made, and 
 countmg from the left, are respectively 5, 7, 3, 7, 5. 
 The dark vertical line which divides the upper 
 portion of the shield into two parts would, if 
 prolonged upwards, cut exactly through the very 
 middle of the central arch of the crown, and 
 through the cross on the top of it. The white line 
 down^'the left side of the stamp, if prolonged up- 
 wards, would cut into the back of the c of correos ; 
 and the corresponding white line down the right 
 side of the stamp, if prolonged upwards, would cut througli, and 
 very nearly obliterate, the stop after 1854, which is large and dis- 
 tinct There is a large stop after correos. Each lion wears a three- 
 pointed crown, and the eye can be seen. Each castle m the shield 
 has two windows and a door ; the windows are distinctly rectangular, 
 and the two put together would make a rectangle decidedly larger 
 than the door. The door is a long way below the windows. Ihe 
 Golden Eleece, below the bottom of the shield, is a little like a King 
 Charles' spaniel, with head and tail hanging down, suspended by a 
 cord tied very tightly round its waist, and with a dark pear-shaped 
 dot in the middle of its body. It does not rest upon the line ot the 
 frame below it. Each side of the fleece there is a curled hook-iike 
 end of the scroll-work ; the two are very much alike, and neither ot 
 them is curled into a complete ring. They do not touch the outhne 
 of the label below them. The white line dpwn the left side ot the 
 stamp does not touch the bottom label. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithof^raphed on rather thin, very white wove paper, decidedly 
 thicker than the genuine. The tail of the c of correos is hke the 
 tail of an ordinary capital c, without any knob. The word is spaced 
 c ORRE o s. The letters re touch each other at the bottom. There is 
 no stop after the word. The crown is very poor ; the lower part of the 
 ri'^ht side of it looks as though a piece had been gnawed out ot it. 
 The pearls on the arches, counting from the left, are respectively 6, 6, 
 2 6, 7. The dark line which divides the upper part of the shield into 
 two' parts, if prolonged upwards, would cut through the left side ot 
 the central arch of the crown, and pass clear to the left of the cross 
 on the top of it. The white line down the left side of the stamp, it 
 prolonged upwards, would pass quite clear to the left of the c of 
 CORREOS ; and the similar white line down the right side ot the 
 stamp, if prolonged upwards, would not touch the stop atter 1854, 
 which is exceedingly small, and touches the 4. The lions m the shield 
 are not crowned, and neither of them is provided with an eye. The 
 windows of the castles are circular dots, so small that the two put 
 
454 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 together would not equal the size of the door. The door is tall and 
 thin, and comes up very close to the windows. The Golden Fleece is 
 not like any animal ; the legs are not visible, and part of the fleece 
 seems to rest upon the outline of the label below it. The end of the 
 scroll-work to the left of the fleece is a long way from it, and is bent 
 into a plain hook ; the end the other side of the fleece almost touches 
 it, and is bent into a complete ring. In the genuine, both are at 
 equal distances from the fleece. The white line down the left side 
 of the stamp touches the white bottom label. 
 
 Same Issue. 4 Cuartos, 1 Beal. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, on the same paper as the 6 cuartos. There 
 is a large stop after correos, and the stop after 1854 is close to the 
 side of the label. The white lines down the sides 
 of the stamp do not touch the bottom label ; the 
 one down the left side, if prolonged upwards, would 
 cut into the back of the c of correos ; and the one 
 down the right side of the stamp, if prolonged up- 
 wards, would obliterate the stop after 1854. The 
 tail of the c of correos is made exactly like the 
 head, and none of the letters touch each other. In 
 the word franco the f seems to be slightly smaller 
 than the other letters, the N larger than the other letters, and the 
 tail of the c is made exactly like the head. The arches of the crown 
 are very wide and white, much more distinct than in the genuine 6 
 cuartos ; the pearls on these arches, counting from the left, are re- 
 spectively 5, 7, 3, 7, 5. The crown has a dark outline or background, 
 which shows distinctly outside the rows of pearls and round the 
 cross. The Golden Fleece is exactly like that on the genuine 6 cuartos, 
 the cord which suspends it, and the dark pear-shaped mark in the 
 middle of the body, where the cord is supposed to have compressed 
 it, being particularly distinct. The two windows in each of the 
 castles are very large, each of them being not much smaller than the 
 door. The hooked ends of the scroll-work each side of the fleece are 
 both alike, and both of them rest upon the outline of the bottom 
 label. The corner-ornaments of the stamp do not touch the frame 
 anywhere. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, very white wove paper. There is no stop 
 after correos, and the stop after 1854 is a long way from the end of 
 the label. The white lines down the right and left sides of the 
 stamp touch the ends of the bottom label, and the lower corners of 
 this label are quite square, instead of being nicely rounded oft". The 
 white line down the left side of the stamp, if prolonged upwards, 
 would pass clear to the left of the c of correos ; and the white line 
 
 CORREOS. 185 4 
 
 'FRANCO 1.RV 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 455 
 
 down the right side of the stamp, if prolonged upwards, would pass 
 clear to the right of the stop after 1854. The tail of the c of 
 CORREOS has no knob to it, and the letters re are almost joined 
 together at the bottom. The letters of franco are all the same size, 
 and the tail of the c of that word has no knob to it. The white 
 lines forming the arches of the crown are very thin and indistinct ; 
 the pearls on these arches, counting from the left, are respectively 7, 
 5, 3, 4, 8. There is no dark background showing beyond the outline 
 of the crown or of the cross. The Golden Fleece is not in the least 
 like the genuine ; it resembles a very shaggy Skye terrier, not tied 
 up at all in the middle, walking on the line above franco. There 
 is no cord to suspend it from the chain of the Order. The two 
 windows of each castle are particularly small, the two together being 
 not half the size of the door. The hooked end of the scroll-work to 
 the right of the fleece is more circular than the one to the left of the 
 fleece, and the left one does not rest upon the line below it. The 
 ornament in the top left corner of the stamp touches the frame 
 in two places. 
 
 Same Issue. 2, 5, 6 Reales. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving and paper the same as in the genuine 6 cuartos. The 
 tests for the genuine 2, 5, and 6 reales are exactly the same as those 
 for the genuine 6 cuartos before described, to which I may add that 
 the c of CERT^^ has its head and tail alike ; that the stop after 
 CERT^^ comes below the space between the letters do ; and that the 
 letters of this word are equidistant from the top and bottom of the 
 containing-label. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, very white wove paper. The tail of 
 the c of CORREOS has no knob to it, and the letters orre are closer 
 together than the rest. The letters re are joined together at the 
 bottom. There is no stop after correos, and the stop after the 1854 
 is very small, and touches the 4. The crown is better made than in 
 the forged 6 cuartos, but the right side is rather imperfect. The 
 pearls on the arches, counting from the left, are respectively 6, 6, 2, 
 6, 7. The dark vertical line which divides the upper part of the 
 shield into two parts, if prolonged upwards, would cut through the 
 left side of the middle arch of the crown, and pass clear to the left 
 of the cross on the top of it. The white line down the left side of 
 the stamp, if prolonged upwards, would pass clear to the left of the 
 C of CORREOS ; and the white line down the right side of the stamp, 
 if prolonged upwards, would pass clear to the right of the stop after 
 1854. The lions in the shield are not crowned. The windows of 
 the castles are very small, so that the two put together would not 
 
456 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 equal the size of the door. The Golden Fleece at the bottom of the 
 shield is not like any animal, and the dark spot on it, which ought 
 to be where the cord is supposed to tie it up, is quite near the right 
 side of the fleece. The end of the scroll-work to the left of the 
 fleece is a long way from it, and is bent into a plain hook ; the end 
 the other side of the fleece almost touches it, and is bent into a 
 complete circle. In the genuine, both are at equal distances from 
 the fleece. The bottom corner of the left-hand end of the lower 
 label is pointed, instead of being rounded off. The c of cert^° has 
 no knob to its tail ; the stop after cert^o is under the end of the D, 
 and the letters of the word are much nearer to the bottom than to 
 the top of the containing-label. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have only the 5 reales. Lithographed on rather thin, 
 yellowish-white wove paper. The letters re of correos are joined 
 together at the bottom. The pearls on the arches of the crown, 
 counting from the left, are respectively 5, 7, 3, 5, 5. The white line 
 down the right side of the stamp, if prolonged upwards, would pass 
 clear to the right of the stoj) after 1854. The crowns of the lions 
 are blotchy, and the crown of the upper lion is placed very far back 
 on his head. The windows of the lower castle are a long way above 
 the door, but those of the upper castle are very close to the door. 
 The Golden Fleece is damaged on the left side, else it would be very 
 like the genuine. The hooked end of the scroll-work, to the left of 
 the fleece, is much further from it than the end to the right of it ; 
 and neither end rests upon the line below. The ornaments in the 
 spandrels are much too white and coarse looking. The s of , which 
 ought to be merely the size of the do of cert^^ , is much too large, 
 and comes down below the middle of the R. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 Genuine. The gridiron of six bars. 
 
 Forged. The gridiron of six bars, like the genuine ; also a thick 
 line, or a couple of thick parallel lines drawn right across the stamp. 
 
 Note. — This latter obliteration is also found on the genuine. It 
 was done by the post-oflice, when the remainder of the stock was 
 sold to the dealers. Stamps thus marked are therefore really unused. 
 I have specimens in my collection marked with one, with two, and 
 with three lines. 
 
 Issue of the same year, for Official Correspondence. Medio, 
 Una, Cuarto Onza, Una Libra. 
 
 The above denominations are, it will be understood, of weight, 
 and not of value. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 457 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne (?), on coloured paper, rather thin. The head 
 and tail of the c of correos are both alike, and none of the letters 
 touch each other. There is a stop after correos. The uncoloured 
 line down the left side of the stamp, if prolonged upwards, would 
 cut into the back of the c of correos; and the uncoloured line 
 down the right of the stamp, if prolonged upwards, 
 ■\yould almost cover the stop after 1854. There is a 
 sort of black outline all round the crown, showing 
 above the tops of the pearls and behind the cross, as 
 in the genuine 1 real of the last issue ; and the 
 jDearls on the arches of the crown, as in that issue, 
 are 5, 7, 3, 7, 5. The uncoloured lines down the 
 side of the stamp do not touch the lower label. The 
 lions are both crowned. The windows of the castles are large, 
 rectangular, and a long way above the doors. The fleece is exactly 
 the same as in the genuine 6 cuartos of the last issue. Both ends of 
 the scrolls, to the right and left of the fleece, rest upon the line 
 below them. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Very nicely lithographed, on tolerably thick, coloured wove 
 paper. The tail of the c of correos has no knob to it, and it is 
 lower than the other letters. There is no stop after the word, and 
 the letters rre are all joined together at the bottom. The un- 
 coloured lines down the sides of the stamp, if prolonged upwards, 
 would respectively pass clear to the right of the stop after 1854, and 
 clear to the left of the c of correos. There is no black background 
 or outline round the crown and cross. The pearls on the arches of 
 the crown, counting from the left, are 7, 6, 3, 4, 7. The uncoloured 
 lines down the sides of the stamp both touch the lower label. The 
 lower lion has no crown on, and the crown of the upper lion consists 
 of three spikes sticking out of his head. The windows of the castles 
 are irregular in shape and position, and too close to the doors. The 
 fleece is the Skye terrier of the forgery of the 1 real, blue, of the last 
 issue, the cord which suspends it being hardly visible, and without 
 the dark dot in the centre of the fleece. The end of the scroll to 
 the left of the fleece does not rest upon the line below it. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithograj)hed on rather thin, coarsely wove coloured paper. The 
 impression is blotched and very coarse, but the details of the genuine 
 have been fairly copied. The letters rre of correos are joined 
 together at the bottom. The uncoloured line down the right side of 
 the stamp, if prolonged upwards, would pass clear to the right of the 
 stop after 1854. The crown does not show the black background of 
 the genuine. The pearls on the arches of the crown, counting from 
 
458 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 tlie left, are 5, 6, 3, 5, 5. The upper lion has his crown too far back, 
 and the lower lion has his crown too far forward. The windows of 
 the upper castle are very much nearer to the door than those of the 
 lower castle. The fleece is rather like the genuine, but it is im- 
 perfect on the left side, and the cord is hardly visible. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 This is a frightful thing. Very badly lithographed, on stout, 
 coloured wove paper. The tail of the c of correos has no knob to 
 it, and there is no stop after the word. The stop after 1854 is 
 blotched into the line below it. The uncoloured line down the left 
 side of the stamp, if prolonged upwards, would pass clear to the 
 left of the c of correos. The pearls on the arches of the crown are 
 so blotched as to be quite uncountable. The cross comes exactly 
 under the middle of the second o of correos, instead of under the 
 space between the os. The windows of the lower castle are larger 
 than the door. The fleece is an undecipherable blotch. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 Genuine. The gridiron of six bars. 
 
 Forged. Uncancelled ; also a gridiron of nine or ten oblique 
 bars ; also a gridiron of five bars, placed the proper way. 
 
 Issue of 1855, for Official Correspondence. Media, Una, 
 Cuatro Onza, Una Libra. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 There are two types of this set — the first having each a in the 
 inscription pointed at the top, and the second having each a dis- 
 tinctly square at the top. I have only the latter set, and describe 
 therefore from the second type. The pearls on the arches of the 
 crown are all round and distinct. The stop after 
 OFiciAL is level with the join of the two links of 
 the chain to the left of it. At the bottom of the 
 shield there is a triangular space, containing a thing 
 said to be a pomegranate, but which looks like a 
 tulip. Both the lions are crowned. The upper lion 
 touches the little oval central shield with one of his 
 hind legs, but not with either of his fore legs. The 
 lower lion touches the central oval shield with his crown and his 
 tail. The doors of the castles are very distinct, and the windows 
 are rectangular. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Kather nicely lithographed, on stout, rather glace, coloured wove 
 paper. Some of the a's in the inscription are blunt, and some 
 sharply pointed. The pearls on the arches of the crown are the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 459 
 
 same in number as the genuine, but they are badly shaped, and not 
 nearly so distinct as they ought to be. The stop after oficial is a 
 good deal lower than the level of the join of the two links of the 
 chain to the left of it. The triangular space at the bottom of the 
 shield is left blank, without the tiower. This is of course a very 
 easy instant test. The lions are not crowned. The upper lion rests 
 one of his front legs ujDon the central oval shield, but neither of his 
 hind legs touches it. The lower lion does not touch the oval shield 
 with either his head or tail. The doors of the castles are almost 
 completely hidden by the shading, and the windows are shapeless 
 dots. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An oval of seven thick parallel bars ; also a double 
 circle, containing name and date. 
 
 Forged. The forgeries are not cancelled. 
 
 Issue of 1866. 4 Cuartos, 10 c. d. Escudo. 
 
 Genui7ie. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on smooth white paper, moderately stout ; 
 perforated 14. There are sixty-five horizontal lines of shading in 
 the central circle, counting down the left side. The highest part of 
 the front of the coronet touches the fourth line from the top, and 
 the lowest part of the front of the neck rests 
 upon the fourth line from the bottom. The base 5 
 of the neck, where it is cut off, is of solid colour, ? 
 without lines. The crowns over the little shields 
 in the corners are very distinct, and nicely made, 
 both being alike. The little lion in the right- 
 hand shield is crowned ; his tail touches his 
 back, but does not touch the inner outline of the 
 shield anywhere. The curved white line under 
 CORREOS has ten coloured dashes drawn along it. The nose of the 
 queen is turned up, but of a good length, and the lips are rather 
 thick. There is a very distinct double chin, and there are about 
 twenty-eight horizontal lines of shading from the cheek, in front of 
 the ear, down to almost the bottom of the front of the throat. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have only the 4 cuartos. My one specimen is litho- 
 graphed on thin, rather rough, white wove paper, and unperforated. 
 There are only forty-seven horizontal lines of shading in the central 
 circle, counting down the left side. The highest part of the front of 
 the coronet touches the third line from the top, and the lowest part 
 of the base of the neck comes rather below the fourth line from the 
 bottom. The base of the neck, where it is cut off, shows seven white 
 lines on a dark background. The upper part of the right-hand 
 
460 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 crown is taller and narrower than the corresponding part of the other 
 crown, and the dark markings in it very much resemble the letters 
 s w, with a large stop after them. This is not to be seen in the 
 genuine. The little lion in the right-hand shield is very like a 
 heraldic griffin ; it is not crowned ; its tail touches the inner outline 
 of the shield, and it appears to have three front legs and only one 
 hind leg. There are only eight coloured dashes along the centre of 
 the white curved line under correos. The queen's nose is very 
 short, very blunt and round, and not turned up. The upper lip is 
 enormously thick and swollen. There is no indication of the double 
 chin. There are only fifteen horizontal lines of shading from the 
 side of the cheek to the front of the throat, and they are much 
 coarser than in the genuine. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Of this I have only the 10 c. de escudo. It is lithographed, in 
 very yellow-green, on thick, yellowish- white wove paper ; very 
 badly perforated, about 13, apparently by a sewing-machine. There 
 is no stop after the 10, though there is one in the genuine. There 
 are sixty-three horizontal lines of shading in the central circle, 
 counting down the left-hand side, and they are exceedingly faint. 
 The highest part of the front of the coronet touches the second line 
 from the top, and the lowest jDart of the front of the base of the 
 neck rests upon the fifth line from the bottom. The base of the 
 neck, where it is cut oft", has some white blotches on it ; but some of 
 the genuine show similar blotches occasionally. One of the arches 
 of the left-hand crown is badly-shaped. The lion in the right-hand 
 shield is an impossible sort of beast, and he touches the left outline 
 of the shield with both his front paws. The second r of correos 
 is almost a b, and the white line under this word has most of the 
 coloured dashes joined together, so as to form a continuous dark line 
 for part of the way. The nose is too snub, and the mouth is of a 
 nice shape, much nicer than in the genuine. There is no double 
 chin. There are, as far as I can make out, only fourteen horizontal 
 lines of shading from the side of the cheek to the throat, and they 
 do not come nearly so low as in the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A double circle, with very thick lettering between the 
 circles ; also a double oval, of thin lines, with thin lettering between 
 the ovals and in the centre ; also an unoutlined oval, formed by very 
 thick, blotchy lines of varying length, with a numeral in the centre. 
 
 Forged. A double circle, with the space between the circles 
 separated into several portions by short lines across from circle to 
 circle. This is similar to the genuine postmark of the next issue 
 but one, though I have never seen it on the genuine stamps of this 
 issue ; also the thick double circle like the genuine. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 461 
 
 CAELIST INSUERECTION. 
 
 Issue of 1873. 1 Real, blue. 
 
 There are two types of this stamp — one without, and one 
 with the " tilde " or accent over the n of espana. The forgers 
 have imitated the one with the accent, so I describe from that 
 type. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thick, white wove paper, very glac<f. The hair is 
 parted in the centre of the forehead ; the nose is shaded with dots 
 at the point. There is a considerable space of white between the 
 eyebrows, and a faint outline can be seen all round the beard, which 
 is caused by the horizontal lines of shading in the 
 background not being drawn quite up to the beard. 
 The point where the neck is cut off in front is at 
 some little distance from the edge of the containing 
 oval. The horizontal lines of shading are not drawn 
 quite up to the edge of the oval, so that there is a 
 narrow ring of white round the inside of the oval, 
 and this ring is of equal width all the way round. 
 The end of the moustache is long, droops down, 
 and then curls up again. The outline of the oval 
 touches the frame at the middle of the left-hand side. Only one 
 line of the shading touches the F of franqueo, and none of the 
 lines touch the o. The highest part of the hair touches the third 
 line from the top, and the lowest point of the neck touches the sixth 
 line from the bottom of the horizontal lines in the central oval. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thinnish paper, not glac^; ungummed. The hair 
 shows no parting. The point of the nose is unshaded. There are 
 two little dots near the corner of the eyebrow, and, if a vertical line 
 be drawn down from those dots, it will almost pass through two 
 larger dots — one on the upper edge of the whisker, and the other on 
 the lower edge of it. (None of these dots are found in the genuine.) 
 The eyebrows almost meet, there being only the slightest separation 
 between them. There is no white outline round the beard, and the 
 beard itself is much more like a beard than in the genuine. The 
 front point of the neck is very near the edge of the containing oval. 
 The horizontal lines of shading almost cut into the outline of the 
 oval in front of the forehead, and in front of the beard, so that the 
 white line is, of course, much narrower there than elsewhere. The 
 end of the moustache is quite short, and scarcely comes beyond the 
 corner of the mouth. The outline of the oval does not touch the 
 
462 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 frame anywhere. Three of the horizontal lines of shading appear to 
 touch the F of franqueo, and one of them touches the top of the o. 
 The highest part of the hair touches the top line but one in the 
 background, and the lowest point of the neck touches the fifth line 
 from the bottom. This is rather a deceptive forgery. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The genuine postmarks are very numerous. A circle, 
 with name and date ; also a rectangle of seven thick parallel bars ; 
 also the same with eleven bars ; also a diamond of round dots, with 
 a solid diamond in the centre ; also a five-pointed star, with or with- 
 out numeral in the centre ; also one or more numerals, with or 
 without No. above ; also a numeral and letter together ; also two 
 letters ; also a sort of cog-wheel, without nave or spokes ; also a 
 double circle, with correos in the centre, and name of province, and 
 of town between the circles. I copy this list from the Philatelical 
 Society's Catalogue, but I have all but three of these postmarks in 
 my own possession. 
 
 Forged. A large rectangle, the size of the stamp, composed of 
 square dots. 
 
 Note. — There are some stamps, evidently from the genuine types, 
 now being offered for sale, in two or three colours. These must be 
 reprints ; they are on much the same paper as the genuine as to 
 thickness, but can be easily detected by the paper being dull, instead 
 of being very highly glazed. 
 
 Issue of April, 1874. 1 Real, lilac. 
 
 Genuiiie. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, or on medium white wove paper. The nose 
 is rather blunt. The " tilde " over the N of espana is very distinct. 
 
 The top of the f of franqueo is below the level 
 of the other letters. The shading behind the scrolls 
 is composed of vertical wavy lines, fine, but dis- 
 tinct. The whole of the ear is lightly shaded, and 
 there is a line or wrinkle from the corner of the 
 nose to the corner of the mouth. The unshaded 
 part of the neck reaches up almost to the tip of the 
 ear. There is a small stop after rl in the right 
 bottom corner. The letters of franqueo are 
 exactly equidistant from the top and bottom of the containing label, 
 and the inside of the o is an oval. The front of the bottom of the neck 
 ends in quite a long peak, which comes above the E of franqueo. 
 There is a distinct white outline to the back of the neck, running 
 up to the hair. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 463 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on yellowish-white paper, very thin, ungiimmed. 
 The nose ends in a very sharp point. The "tilde" over the n of 
 EaPANA looks like a thickening of the outline of the scroll, and it 
 does not stand out separate from the outline of the scroll as the 
 genuine does. The top of the f of franqueo is above the level of 
 the other letters. The shading behind the scroll is partly solid, 
 though some of the lines can be seen in the right top corner, and 
 the said lines are straight instead of wavy. The rim of the ear is 
 quite white, and there is no wrinkle or line on the face. There is a 
 white dot on the under lip, and another on the side of the chin, 
 below the corner of the moustache, which are not seen in the 
 genuine. The white, unshaded part of the neck does not come near 
 the ear, but only about as high as the level of the mouth. There is 
 no stop after the rl in the right bottom corner. The letters of 
 franqueo are nearer to the top than to the bottom of the containing 
 label. The inside of the o of this word is rectangular at the top. 
 The front of the bottom of the neck ends in a very short point, which 
 comes above the space between ue of franqueo. There is no white 
 outline to the back of the neck. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large Jleur-de-lys in a circle ; also the diamond of round 
 dots containing a solid diamond, as before described ; also a numeral 
 or numerals ; also a pen-and-ink numeral. 
 
 Forged. A large rectangle of square dots. 
 
 Issue of April 15, 1874. 16 Maravedis Vellon, rose. 
 
 Geiiuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thin white, or slightly toned wove paper. There 
 is a " tilde " over the N of ano, and another over the n of cataluna. 
 The stop after correos is circular. The 1 of 16 
 comes both higher and lower than the 6, and the 
 monetary denomination is MS. VN. The hair behind 
 the ear, down the back of the neck, is cut quite 
 short. The lines forming the network are wavy, 
 and the meshes are therefore rather oval in shape. 
 The lines of shading on the ends of the upper 
 scroll are much thicker and rather shorter on the 
 right side than on the left. The shading on the 
 forehead is light. The moustache droops very little. The beard is 
 easily distinguished from the shading on the neck. The whiskers 
 join the hair. The outline of the frame is very jagged. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, on paper rather thicker than that of the genuine, 
 and ungummed. There is no accent to the N of ano or of cata- 
 
464 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 LUNA. The stop after correos is a short hyphen. The 6 of 16 
 is higher than the top of the 1, and the 1 is lower than the bottom 
 of the 6, The monetary denomination is apparently Ms. vs. All 
 the hair is long, and it looks very like a wig, seeming to spring from 
 the back of the head. The lines forming the network are all quite 
 straight, so that the meshes are diamonds. The lines of shading on 
 the upper scroll are very much longer on the right side than on the 
 left. The front of the forehead is heavily shaded, and the neck is so 
 absurdly dark in front that it looks like part of the beard. The 
 whisker also appears to be pointed, from the same cause. There is 
 a small division between the hair and the whisker. The moustache 
 droops a good deal. There is a mark like a large comma just above 
 the middle of the eyebrow, which is not found in the genuine. The 
 outline of the frame is well done. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have never seen the genuine stamps postmarked. The forgeries 
 are obliterated with a large rectangle of square dots. 
 
 Issue of 1874-75. | Real, lake-red. 
 
 There are no fewer than four types of this stamp, differing 
 considerably from each other. The one which the forgers have 
 imitated is Type III., which I now describe. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on thinnish, white wove paper, showing the marks 
 of the wire gauze on which the paper was manufactured. The white 
 space at the side of the under jaw, above where the 
 beard comes, is of a pointed form, the point being 
 above the figure of value. The central oval con- 
 tains twenty-eight horizontal lines of shading on 
 the right side and thirty on the left. There are 
 seventy-seven oblique lines round the medallion, 
 counting the one in each corner of the stamp ; and 
 there are two of these lines or rays between the 
 point of each fleur-de-lys and the end of the scroll above it. If the 
 oblique fraction-line of the ^ were prolonged upwards it would pass 
 considerably to the right of the face. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather stout, ordinary, white wove paper. The 
 white space on the under jaw, above where the beard grows, is semi- 
 circular in shape. There are thirty-two lines of shading behind the 
 head, counting down the right side, and thirty-three counting down 
 the left side. There are eighty-eight oblique rays or lines round the 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 465 
 
 medallion. These rays, both in the genuine and forged, must be 
 counted from where they touch the frame of the stamp, as some of 
 them only reach as far as the scroll. There is only one clear ray 
 between the point of each fleur-de-lys and the end of the scroll above 
 it. The oblique fraction-line of the ^, if prolonged upwards, would 
 cut through the beard, and touch the point of the nose. The colour 
 of the genuine stamps is lake-red and vermilion-red ; that of the 
 forgeries is quite a deep carmine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have seen no postmarked copy of the genuine. The forgeries 
 are cancelled with the rectangle of square dots before described. 
 
 Note. — There are, I believe, many more forgeries of the Spanish 
 stamps, some of which have duly franked letters, and others having 
 " fetched " some of the dealers. I possess, however, only the varieties 
 described in this book. 
 
 STEAITS SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 Issue of 1867. 
 
 2y 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 Cents. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on medium, yellowish-white wove paper ; 
 watermarked with a crown and CC ; perforated 13. The central 
 part of the design is the same in all the values, but the corners differ 
 for each value. The 2 cents has a sort of fleur-de-lys ornament in 
 each corner ; the 4. cents has a triangle ; the 6 cents has a rose ; the 
 r ^r^^^^^-nrv.^^^ 8 cents has a bell-shaped leaf- 
 c ornament ; the 12 cents has a 
 
 triangular leaf, and the 24 
 cents has a sort of ace of 
 spades ornament. The dark, 
 horizontal lines of shading in 
 the central oval do not quite 
 ^ Ie'iGHT cents! j reach to the inner, dark out- 
 kix--»^^n.rw^Xru^L«^ line of tlie name-oval, so that 
 there is a distinct white ring all the way round, between the name- 
 oval and the central oval. The face is shaded all over. The chignon 
 goes right up to the very edge of the background of horizontal lines. 
 The ornaments on the top of the coronet are, counting from the 
 front, a pearl, a thistle, a pearl, a shamrock, a pearl, another thistle, 
 a pearl — all being perfectly distinct, so that there is no fear of 
 mistaking them for anything else ; and the first pearl goes quite up 
 to the edge of the horizontal lines of shading of the background. 
 
 2 H 
 
466 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OB, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on rather thin, very white wove paper, not 
 watermarked, and perforated 13, very badly. All the values are 
 from the design of the 2 cents, so that each one has a sort of Jleur-de- 
 lys ornament in the corners, instead of a different ornament for each 
 value. The dark, horizontal lines of shading in the central oval go 
 quite up to the inner outline of the name-oval, so that there is no 
 white line between the shading and the name-oval. The whole of 
 the front of the face and cheek are white, without shading. The 
 chignon hardly touches the dark, inner outline of the name-oval. 
 The ornaments on the top of the coronet are not clearly done, so 
 that the two thistles might be anything one likes to call them. The 
 first pearl of the coronet does not go to the edge of the shaded lines 
 of the background. It will be seen that the 2 cents is the only one 
 at all like the genuine, all the others having the same ornament as 
 the said 2 cents, whereas each value ought to have different corner 
 ornaments. 
 
 Same Issue. 32 Cents. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving, paper, watermark, &c., the same as in the genuine 
 stamps just described. The horizontal lines of shading in the central 
 rectangle do not come quite to the edge of the frame, so that there is 
 a white line, of equal width on all the four sides, running all romid 
 the said central rectangle. The ornaments on 
 the top of the crown are the same as in the 
 l genuine stamps just described, and equally dis- 
 tinct. The chignon does not trespass into the 
 white line to the right of it. Each corner of the 
 stamp contains an ornament composed of four 
 trefoil-looking things, joined into a sort of St. 
 Andrew's cross, with a diamond-shaped white 
 dot in the centre. Four of the horizontal lines 
 of the backgiound can be seen at the bottom of the central rect- 
 angle, below the front of the base of the neck, where it comes 
 nearest to the bottom of the frame. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very white wove paper, rather thin, without 
 watermark, and badly perforated 13. The white line round the 
 central rectangle is very broad at the sides, much narrower at the 
 bottom, and very narrow at the top, instead of being equally wide all 
 the way round. The ornament to the left of the right-hand pearl is 
 apparently a shamrock, so that there are two shamrocks, instead of 
 two thistles, amongst the ornaments. They are all poorly drawn. 
 The back of the chignon trespasses distinctly into the white line 
 running down at the right-hand side of the central rectangle. The 
 corner ornaments are pretty like those of the genuine, except that 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 467 
 
 they are not so distinct ; and the diamond-shaped white dot in the 
 centre of each ornament appears to be sometimes square, and some- 
 times almost circular. Only two of the horizontal lines of shading 
 of the background can be seen below the front of the base of the 
 neck. 
 
 Same Issue. 96 Cents. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper, engraving, watermark, perforation, &c., the same as in the 
 genuine stamps first described. The ornaments 
 on the crown, the white line round the central 
 rectangle, and the chignon, are exactly the same 
 as in the genuine 32 cents just described. The 
 ornaments in the four corners of the stamp are, 
 however, quite different, each being composed of 
 two interlacing white oblongs, with pointed ends, 
 not in the least resembling the ornaments of the 
 32 cents. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very white wove paper, rather thin ; no water- 
 mark ; badly perforated 13. The ornaments on the crown, the 
 white line round the central rectangle, the chignon, and the corner 
 ornaments of the stamp, are exactly like those of the forged 32 cents, 
 so that there will be no difficulty in telling this forgery, which is 
 merely the 32 cents with the value changed. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A very large oval, not outlined, composed of four broad, 
 straight, parallel bars at top and bottom, and two curved lines each 
 side, with numerals in the centre ; also a set of four concentric 
 hexagons, or octagons, of very thin lines, with letter and numeral in 
 the centre, after the fashion of one of the East Indian cancellations ; 
 also a large square of square dots, not outlined. Besides the above, 
 the stamps of this country almost invariably bear a private cancel- 
 lation as well, in the shape of the initials or name of the sender of 
 the letter, sometimes written in ink, but oftener stamped with a 
 hand-stamp. This is, I suppose, to guard against theft ; and the 
 same sort of private cancellation will also be found on the East 
 Indian stamps, though they, for the most part, simply have 
 " stamped " written across them by the sender of the letter. 
 
 Forged. A large oval, without outline, composed of about fifteen 
 thin parallel lines ; also a circle, containing unreadable letters ; also 
 a sort of rectangle, composed of four long, parallel lines at the top 
 and bottom, and five curved lines each side, without numerals or 
 letters ; also a set of long, diamond-shaped dots, apparently arranged 
 in a circular form ; also a number of small, circular dots, only very 
 slightly obliterating the stamp. 
 
468 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 SWITZERLAND. 
 
 So many have failed in their efforts to describe intelligibly 
 the stamps of this country, that I feel rather doubtful as to my 
 own capabilities. However, I can only do my best. I adhere 
 to the formerly-accepted names of the stamps to avoid any 
 chance of mistake. 
 
 BASLE. 
 Issue of 1845. 2| Happen. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in ^pargne, tricoloured impression, in pale greenish-blue, 
 dull crimson, and black, on very stout, yellowish-white wove paper. 
 The black parts are unmistakably ^pargne ; the blue parts are litho- 
 graphed ; and the red parts are possibly ^pargne. There is a short, 
 stumpy hyphen between each of the words stadt-post-basel. In 
 each corner of the stamp there is a hurel^, or network, of crossing 
 and interlacing vertical white lines, on a ground of pale greenish- 
 blue. The o of POST is very nearly perpendicular, with the merest 
 trace of a slope to the right. The l of easel, when the stamp is 
 held right side up, lies on its back, and slopes very much down to 
 the left, so that, if a flat ruler or card be laid along the centre of 
 what would be the vertical stroke of the l if it were in its normal 
 position, the line would merely graze the side of the s of stadt 
 nearest to the t. In the figures of value, in the left-hand bottom 
 corner of the stamp, the large 2 does not touch 
 the black inner outline of the frame ; the small 
 1 does not touch either the curved name-label 
 above it, or the fraction-line below it, and the 
 little 2 does not touch the fraction-line. If the 
 fraction-line were prolonged to the right, it would 
 pass clear below the outline of the whole stamp 
 before reaching the centre of the bottom of it. 
 Particular attention must be paid to these points, 
 as all the forgeries vary from the genuine here. The r of rp does 
 not touch the inner outline of the frame below it, and the stop after 
 the p is level with the centre of the p, and midway between the p 
 and the outline of the frame to the right of it. The two lines which 
 come down from each side of the middle of the top outline of the 
 stamp, enclosing a white space which contains part of what is called 
 the " crozier-case ornament," are not straight, but are bowed out- 
 wards in their centres. It will be found that these two lines, if 
 produced downwards, would join the outline of the little white 
 shield below them, and form with them three-fourths of a long 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 469 
 
 ellipse. It is easy to see that the lines are not straight. The black 
 crozier-case is sensibly wider above than below the central white 
 division, and the white line in the centre of the upper half of it 
 runs up to the bend, where the ornament curls over to the left, the 
 said white line being sharply pointed at the top. The black frame of 
 the stamp is double all the way round, the outer line being twice as 
 thick as the inner one. The red outline of the frame is a little 
 thicker than the outer black one. This red line ought to come 
 between the two black lines of the frame, but owing to the difficulty 
 of placing the stamp in exactly the right place for the second print- 
 ing, the red line seldom occupies its proper position, and is most 
 frequently found printed over either the outer or inner black line. 
 I have before me a copy with rather a deep margin at the bottom, 
 showing the top of the next stamp ; and in this it is evident that 
 each stamp was only about three-fourths of a millimetre separate 
 from the one next below it. I do not know how near the vertical 
 rows were to each other. The white dove on the red shield is highly 
 embossed. The little leaf-ornaments in the top corners of the stamp 
 do not touch the vertical, inner outline of the frame on either side 
 of the stamp. The curled top of the crozier-case is almost half a 
 millimetre from the inner black outline of the top of the stamp, and 
 the bottom point of the said ornament is about the same distance 
 from the inner outline of the bottom of the little white shield. In 
 the copy before me the right-hand point of this ornament touches 
 the outUne of the little shield, but the left-hand point does not 
 touch, though very close, Mr. Pemberton states that it touches both 
 sides of the little shield, but I fancy, from his other remarks, that he 
 was describing from a very heavily-printed copy. 
 
 For the forgeries I will take Mr. Pemberton's numbers for those 
 described by Mm in the Philatelist for 1870, pp. 131, 132. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This is lithographed, the paper very similar to that of the genuine. 
 The corners of the stamp are in plain solid colour, without any 
 hureU of white lines. This is an easy test. The L of easel lies 
 quite horizontally, so that a line drawn through the middle of what 
 ought to be its vertical stroke passes almost through the very centre 
 of the s of STADT. The 1 of the fraction touches the outline of the 
 curved name-label above it, and the fraction-line touches the large 2. 
 If this fraction-line were produced to the right it would cut into the 
 bottom of the o of post. The two black lines coming down from 
 the top outline of the stamp, enclosing the white space, are perfectly 
 straight. The black crozier-case is a good deal wider below than 
 above the central division ; the white line running up the middle of 
 the upper half of it is blunt at the top, and hardly reaches up to the 
 bend. The outer and inner black lines of the frame are of the same 
 thickness. The curled top of the crozier-case is not a quarter of a 
 millimetre from the inner black outline of the top of the stamp ; the 
 
470 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 bottom of this ornament is a full millimetre from the bottom of the 
 little white shield ; the right-hand point of it is a quarter of a 
 millimetre from the side of the little shield, and the left-hand point 
 touches the outline of the shield. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on stout, white wove paper. The corners of the 
 stamp, as in the last forgery, are of solid colour, without any hureM 
 of white lines. The colour of the said corners is really a bluish- 
 green, rather than greenish-blue. There is no hyphen between post 
 and BASEL. The o of post is slanted over very much to the right. 
 The L of BASEL slants very much downwards to the left, so that a 
 line drawn through the middle of the thick stroke of the L, as before, 
 would just touch the t of stadt, altogether clearing the s. The large 
 2 almost touches the curved outline of the name-lalDel ; the small 1 
 has an oblique head-stroke to it, which does not exist in the genuine, 
 and it touches the outline of the name-label ; the fraction-line, if 
 prolonged to the right, would cut into the o and s of post. The r 
 of RP touches the black outline of the frame below it, and the stop 
 after the p is merely a projection from the vertical side of the frame. 
 The two vertical lines, near the middle of the top of the stamp, are 
 perfectly straight. The crozier-case is wider below than above the 
 central projection. The white line in the centre of the upper half 
 of it is very short and stumpy, not reaching half-way up to the bend. 
 This white line is square at the top, or, at least, blunt. The inner 
 black frame of the stamp is thicker than the outer one ; the two are 
 far too far apart ; and the red outline of the frame, instead of being 
 merely as thick as the thicker black one, is a full millimetre in 
 breadth. This is an easy test. Each stamp is one and a half milli- 
 metres from each of its neighbours on the sheet. The white dove is 
 not embossed. The little leaf-ornament in the left top corner of the 
 stamp touches the side of the frame, and the similar leaf-ornament 
 on the right side of the stamp almost touches the frame. The curled 
 top of the crozier-case is nearly three-quarters of a millimetre from 
 the inner black line of the top frame, and the bottom point of the 
 ornament is quite the same distance from the bottom of the little 
 white shield. The right-hand point is a long way from the side of 
 the little shield, and the left-hand point is rather close to the left 
 side of the shield, but does not touch it. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 This I have not seen. Mr. Pemberton says that " it is, compara- 
 tively, a very poor production, with the carrier pigeon printed instead 
 of being embossed. That is enough to condemn it ; but it may be 
 well to add that the blue dots" (Mr. Pemberton means the burele) 
 " composing the ground are much too coarse, and that the ^ in the 
 value is so smudged that no space appears between the down-stroke 
 and the figures." 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 471 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 This I have not seen. Mr. Pemberton says : " This is the com- 
 monest of the falsifications, and has deceived ]nany young philatelists. 
 The point of the key is some distance from the shield" {i.e., the 
 bottom point of the crozier-case is a long way above the bottom of 
 the little shield) ; " the o of post is slanted." 
 
 Fifth Forgery. 
 
 This I have not seen. Mr. Pemberton says : " Very much like 
 the last, only better engraved. The point of the ornament is very 
 high above the apex of the shield" {i.e., the bottom point of the 
 crozier-case is a long way above the bottom of the little shield.) 
 
 Sixth Forgery. 
 
 Nicely lithographed, on white wove paper, a good deal thinner 
 than that of the genuine. The hyphens between stadt-post-basel 
 are too long, too thick, and too conspicuous. The hurele in the 
 corners is decidedly green in colour, and much coarser than in the 
 genuine ; the white lines of it are slanting, instead of almost vertical. 
 The o of POST slants over very much to the right. The l of basel 
 leans rather to the right, instead of the left ; and, if a line be drawn 
 through its horizontal stroke as it lies, it will slightly cut into the s 
 of stadt. There is a little line or flaw which joins this L to the 
 outline of the curved name label. The large 2 touches the inner 
 outline of the frame ; the little 2 is much too large, being more than 
 half the height of the large 2, and nearly as wide. The dividing- 
 line of the fraction, if prolonged to the right, would just touch the 
 bottom of the name label. The R and the p of rp just touch the 
 outline of the frame below them, and the stop after the word is 
 nearer to the side of the frame than to the P. The two lines which 
 come down from the top outline of the stamp, towards the middle, 
 are both quite straight. The inner black outline of the frame is 
 much thicker than the outer one. The red outline of the frame is 
 far too thick, being nearly a millimetre broad, instead of only about 
 as thick as the thicker black one. The white dove is only very 
 slightly embossed. The little leaf-ornaments in the top corners of 
 the stamp both touch the sides of the frame. The curled top of the 
 crozier-case almost touches the inner outline of the top of the stamp. 
 The bottom point of the said case is quite half a millimetre from the 
 bottom of the little shield. Both the side -points touch the sides 
 of the little shield. 
 
 Seventh Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, white wove paper. The hurele in the 
 corners is very like that of the genuine, but that on the left side is 
 more patchy than the other. The o of post is very much slanted 
 over to the right. The l of basel leans rather to the right, instead 
 
472 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 of to tlie left ; and, if a line be drawn along the centre of its hori- 
 zontal line as it lies, it will pass clear above the s of stadt. The 
 fraction-line of the 2^, if prolonged to the right, would pass clear 
 below, not only the name label, but also below the outer frame, at 
 the middle of the stamp. The R of rp touches the frame below it, 
 and the stop after the p is level with the top of the p, and a good 
 deal nearer to it than to the side of the stamp. The two lines hang- 
 ing down from near the middle of the top of the stamp are perfectly- 
 straight. The inner black outline of the stamp is thicker than the 
 outer one at the top and bottom, and thinner than the outer one at 
 the sides. The white dove is only slightly embossed. The left-hand 
 leaf-ornament in the top of the stamp touches the side of the frame, 
 but the similar leaf in the right top corner does not touch the frame. 
 The side -points of the crozier-case do not touch the sides of the 
 little shield. 
 
 Eighth Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on very stout, white wove paper. There is a very 
 short hyphen between the words stadt-post, and a much longer 
 hyphen between the words post-basel. The burele is very coarse 
 and patchy ; it is decidedly blue, but of a greenish cast. The o of 
 POST is very much slanted over to the right. The l of basel slopes 
 over rather to the right, and, if a line were drawn through its hori- 
 zontal line as it lies, it would cut almost through the middle of the 
 s of STADT, but nearer to the beginning than the end of that letter. 
 The large 2 touches the side of the frame, and the little 1 touches 
 the fraction-line. If the said fraction-line were prolonged to the 
 right it would pass clear below the outer frame of the stamp long 
 before reaching the centre. The two lines which hang from the top 
 of the stamp, near the middle of it, are perfectly straight. The black 
 crozier-case is a good deal wider below than above the central white 
 division. The white line in the middle of the upper part of the 
 ornament runs right up, further than the bend, so as to be bent itself. 
 The black inner outline of the stamp is thicker than the outer one 
 at the top and on the left side ; the outer one is thicker than the 
 inner one at the bottom and on the right side. The little leaf- 
 ornaments in the top corners of the stamp both touch the side- 
 frames. The curled top of the crozier-case is more than half a 
 millimetre from the inner black outline of the top of the stamp, 
 and the bottom point of it is a millimetre from the bottom of the 
 little white shield. Neither of the side-points of the ornament 
 touches the shield. There is a dot over the s of post which does 
 not show in the genuine. There are white marks in the s and e of 
 BASEL, as though the letters had been outlined and then not quite 
 filled in with black. The dove is pretty well embossed. The right- 
 hand black outer line of the large red shield is carried a little too 
 far up, and the top outline of it is carried a little too far to the left, 
 so that in each case there is a little projecting point, which does 
 not exist in the genuine or in any of the other forgeries. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 473 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The only postmark which I have seen is an oblong 
 frame, with rather rounded ends, containing franco in large letters, 
 struck in red. 
 
 Forged. No. 1 bears a red circle, containing unreadable letters ; 
 No. 2 has a small black circle, containing basel, in rather small 
 block capitals ; No. 6 and No. 7 are not cancelled ; and No. 8 I have 
 seen pasted on part of an envelope with the schaffhaij sen post- 
 mark. 
 
 Reprints. 
 
 Mr. Pemberton says that "in 1867 some reprints were brought 
 out ; but they are easily detected, as the groundwork of the corners 
 is a dark green, and the shield is a bright orange-red. They are 
 sometimes sold to the unwary as ' trial stamps.' " 
 
 GENEVA. 
 
 Issue of 1844. Double Stamp, 10 c, black on green. 
 
 This stamp consists of two " Port Local " labels, joined 
 together, side by side, with the words 10. port cantonal, 
 cent, above the top of the conjoined stamps. The stamp, in its 
 entirety, is very scarce, the two labels being usually found 
 divided, each half having served as a 5 cent stamp. As each 
 side of the twin impression is of a different type, it will be 
 necessary to describe each separately. The reader will please 
 note that there never was a " Port Local " stamp issued singly, 
 so that any genuine single stamp with this inscription is merely 
 the right or left-hand half, as the case may be, of the double 
 stamp. 
 
 Right-hand Half. Genuine. 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, hard wove paper, of a decidedly 
 apple-green or yellow-green colour. The thin, vertical inner line of 
 the frame on the right-hand side runs up 
 too high, so that it cuts into the thick hori- 
 zontal line below the stop after cent. The 
 thin, inner horizontal line at the top of the 
 stamp is broken at the corner, under NT of 
 cantonal. There is a distinct head-stroke 
 to the top of the t of poste, and another at 
 the top of the d of de ; the said D does not touch the thin outline 
 of the frame above it. There are four lines of shading in the tene- 
 BRAS label, immediately after the s of that word. The word lux 
 can be easily read, though the L is not very distinct. The right-hand 
 forked end of this label or scroll is nearly a millimetre from the thin 
 
 10 iTop.T CAJJTOJfAt.. |Cen1 
 
474 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 inner line of the frame ; but the left-hand end of the scroll almost 
 touches the thin inner line of the frame to the left of it. The letters 
 JHS are very much smaller than those of tenebras. There are 
 thirteen vertical lines of shading in the half of the shield containing 
 the key, counting at the top of the key, and reckoning all the thin 
 lines from the central dividing-line of the shield to the outer thin 
 line. The central dividing-line of the shield runs down into the 
 thick outline of it at the bottom ; and, if the said line were prolonged 
 downwards, it would run straight through the whole length of the 
 L of LOCAL, which stands exactly under it. This is an easy test. The 
 bottom of the tail of the eagle very nearly touches the inner outline 
 of the shield below it. The last l of local is exactly under the 
 thick right-hand outline of the shield. The figure 5 leans over con- 
 siderably to the right ; the stop after it is exactly midway between 
 the 5 and the shield, and the stop after the c is midway between the 
 c and the inner right-hand outline of the frame of the stamp. The 
 eagle has no eye, and the crown is midway between the head of the 
 eagle and the thin outline of the stamp above it. The first L of 
 local is a good distance below the bottom of the shield. The stamp 
 is fifteen millimetres broad, from outside to outside, and fifteen and a 
 half millimetres high. 
 
 Left-hand Half, Genuine. 
 There is a distinct head-stroke to the top of the t of poste, and 
 another at the top of the D of de ; the said D does not touch the 
 thin outline of the frame above it. There are four lines of shading 
 in the tenebras scroll, immediately after the s of that word, ost 
 of POST can be read. The letters jhs are somewhat smaller than 
 those of tenebras, but not so much as in the right-hand stamp. 
 There are twelve vertical lines in the half of the shield containing 
 the key, counting all the thin lines, and reckoning at the top of the 
 shield. The central dividing-line of the shield runs down into the 
 thick outline of the shield below it, and, if it were prolonged down- 
 wards, it would just graze the beginning of the o of local. The 
 bottom of the tail of the eagle is not so near to the bottom of the 
 stamp as in the right-hand half. The first l of local does not touch 
 the bottom of the shield. The stop after the c is much nearer to 
 the thin outline of the frame than to the c. The eagle has no eye. 
 There is no stop after geneve, and the G does not touch the frame 
 of the stamp above it. The stamp is distinctly smaller than the 
 right-hand half, being fourteen millimetres across, from outside to 
 outside, and about fifteen and a half high. Of course it will be 
 understood that I have not included the top portion of the double 
 stamp in either measure ; i.e., the strip with the inscription 10. port 
 cantonal, cent. 
 
 Top of the Stamp. Genuine. 
 The 1 of 10 has a very distinct and longish oblique side-stroke. 
 There is a stop after 10, as well as after cantonal and cent. The 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 475 
 
 two thin vertical lines enclosing the 10 are five and a half milli- 
 metres apart. The p of port has a long top-stroke, which touches the 
 vertical line after the 10. The upright stroke of the t of port is 
 three millimetres distant from the beginning of the c of cantonal. 
 
 Bight-hand Half. First Forgery. 
 Printed on dull green paper, a good deal darker than that of the 
 genuine. The thin inner line of the frame of the stamp is unbroken 
 all the way round, but the left-hand vertical line is too long, so that 
 it touches the thick outline of both the top and bottom of the stamp. 
 There is no head-stroke at the top of the head of the t of poste, and 
 only a sort of lump at the top of the d of de ; and this d is joined 
 to the thin outline of the frame above it. There are eight lines of 
 shading immediately after the s of tenebras. The last word in the 
 scroll is LU instead of lux. The right-hand forked end of the scroll 
 touches the thin vertical line of the frame to the right of it, and the 
 left-hand forked end is nearly a millimetre from the left side of the 
 frame, thus exactly reversing the points of the genuine. The letters 
 JHS in the halo or glory are the same size as those of tenebras. 
 There are fifteen thin vertical lines in the key-half of the shield, 
 counting all the thin lines, and reckoning from the top of the stamp. 
 The central dividing-line of the shield does not run down to the 
 bottom of the shield, but only to the inner outline of it. If this said 
 line were prolonged downwards it would just graze the beginnmg of 
 the o of LOCAL, instead of passing down the middle of the first L of 
 that word. This is an easy test. The bottom of the tail of the eagle 
 is almost a millimetre from the inner outlme of the bottom of the 
 shield. The thick right-hand vertical outline of the shield, if pro- 
 longed straight downwards, would pass far to the right of the last l 
 of LOCAL, instead of passing through it. The figure 5 is upright ; 
 the stop after it is nearer to the 5 than to the outline of the shield, 
 and the stop after the c is nearer to the frame than to the c. 
 The eagle has a large white patch for an eye, which also runs down 
 the neck. The crown is nearer to the eagle's head than to the top of 
 the shield. The first L of local touches the bottom of the shield. 
 The stamp is fourteen millimetres wide, and less than fifteen and a 
 half high, not including the strip with the top inscription. 
 
 Left-hand Half First Forgery. 
 There is no head-stroke to the top of the t of poste ; and the top of 
 the D of DE is a sort of lump, which touches the outline of the frame 
 above it. There are seven lines of shading immediately after the s 
 of tenebras. Only the letters OS of post can be seen in the scroll. 
 The letters jhs in the glory are the same size as those of tenebras. 
 There are fifteen thin vertical lines in the key-haK of the shield, 
 counting all the thin lines, and reckoning at the top of the shield. 
 The central dividing-line of the shield does not run down below the 
 thin outline of the bottom of the shield, and, if it were prolonged 
 
476 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 downwards it would just graze the beginning of the o of local, as 
 in the genuine. The bottom of the tail of the eagle is the same 
 distance from the bottom of the shield as in the right-hand forgery. 
 The first L of local touches the bottom of the shield. The stop 
 after the c is about midway between the c and the side of the frame. 
 The eagle has a large white patch for an eye, which also runs down 
 the neck. There is a stop after gen eve, and the g touches the frame 
 of the stamp above it. The stamp is fourteen millimetres wide, and 
 fifteen and a half high, not including the top strip. 
 
 Top of the Stamp. First Forgery. 
 
 The 1 of 10 has only the very faintest sign of an oblique head- 
 stroke. There is no stop after the 10. The two thin lines enclosing 
 the 10 are only the least fraction more than five millimetres apart. 
 The top-stroke of the p of port does not touch the vertical line 
 before it. The upright stroke of the P of port is only two and a 
 half millimetres from the beginning of the c of cantonal. 
 
 Right-hand Half. Second Forgery. 
 
 I do not possess this, but it must needs exist, as I have the left- 
 hand half of it, with the half of the top inscription. 
 
 Left-hand Half Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in blue, on white wove paper. The top of the t of 
 POSTE has no head-stroke. The d of de has a long head-stroke, but 
 it touches the frame above it. There are six lines of shading after 
 the s of tenebras. Only the letters os of post are visible. The s 
 of JHS is smaller than the other letters. There are fourteen thin 
 vertical lines in the key-half of the shield, counting at the top of the 
 stamp, and reckoning all the thin lines. There is a little line joining 
 the inner and outer lines of the shield at its bottom point, but this 
 line is not a continuation of the central dividing-line of the shield, 
 being too much to the left. If the central dividing-line were prolonged 
 downwards, it would pass midway between the letters lo of local. 
 The body of the 5 is upright, but its head slopes very much to the 
 right. The stop after the 5 is much nearer to the 5 than to the 
 shield to the right of it. The eagle has a blotch for an eye. There 
 is a stop after gen^ve, and the g touches the line of the frame above 
 it ; indeed, the frame seems to cut away part of the g. The stamp 
 is fourteen and a half millimetres wide, and fifteen and a half high, 
 not including the top strip. This forgery is coarse, and, even if 
 printed with proper paper and ink, it would not be dangerous, 
 except to those who have never seen a genuine copy. 
 
 Top of the Stamp. Second Forgery. 
 
 There is no stop after the 10. The top-stroke of the p of port 
 does not touch the vertical line l)efore it. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 477 
 
 First Singh Forgery. 
 
 This is a single stamp, copied from the left-hand half of the 
 genuine, without the top inscription. It is rather nicely printed in 
 black, on very yellow-green wove paper, brighter than that of the 
 genuine. The head-strokes to the tops of the t of poste and the d 
 of DE are exaggerated, the one to the d, especially, being as thick as 
 the vertical stroke of the letter, instead of being much thinner. 
 There are thirteen vertical lines in the key-half of the shield, 
 counting as before. The central dividing-line of the shield does not 
 run down to touch the outer line of the shield at the bottom ; and, 
 if prolonged downwards, it would just pass clear to the left of the 
 o of LOCAL. The stop after the c is nearer to the c than to the out- 
 line of the stamp. The eagle's claw, which touches the wing in the 
 left-hand half of the genuine, does not touch it in this forgery. The 
 last L of LOCAL is placed too far to the left, so that the thick outline 
 of the right-hand side of the shield, which ought to stand almost 
 directly above the l, would, in this forgery, if prolonged downwards, 
 pass quite clear to the right of the said L. The first L of this word 
 stands on a lower level than that of the other letters ; but in the 
 genuine they are all on the same level. This is not a bad forgery ; 
 the yellow-green colour gives it a specious appearance. Mr. Atlee 
 says that it exists also on white, yellow (?), and on dark green paper, 
 but I have only seen it in yellow-green, as described. 
 
 Second Single Forgery. 
 
 This is a very poor production ; it, like the last, is copied from 
 the left-hand half of the genuine, without the top inscription. 
 Coarsely lithographed in black, on rose-coloured wove paper. There 
 is no top-stroke to either the t of poste or to the d of de. The letters 
 of the word post in the scroll above the shield are utterly invisible ; 
 tenebras is in letters of different sizes ; and the right-hand part of 
 the scroll containing that word is a good deal wider than the rest of 
 it, the whole being most uneven and irregular. There are either 
 fifteen or sixteen vertical lines in the key-half of the shield, reckoned 
 as before, but they are so very close together, and so smudged, that 
 they are very difficult to count. There is no stop after the 5 or after 
 the c ; but there is, by way of compensation, I suppose, a stop after 
 port, which does not exist in the genuine. The eagle is a very tame- 
 looking bird, with no crown above its head ; the colour light, merely 
 outlined, instead of being all black ; and its leg points downwards 
 towards the word port, instead of upwards towards the word poste. 
 These tests will be abundantly sufficient to detect this forgery, which 
 is very poor. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 Genuine. A sort of outlined primrose flower, containing an out- 
 lined, square-ended cross, the centre of the primrose showing through 
 
478 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 the centre of the cross. This is struck either in red or black, but 
 more generally the former. 
 
 Forged. An imitation of the genuine, printed in black, red, lilac, 
 or blue. 
 
 Note. — Of the stamps now to follow I must give all the genuine 
 stamps first and the forgeries afterwards ; for it is, in many cases, 
 almost impossible to tell which particular type the forgery is intended 
 to imitate. However, if a suspected stamp does not agree with one 
 or other of the genuine types now to be dissected it must be a forgery. 
 
 Issue of 1845. Type I. ; 5 c., black on green. 
 
 This stamp is commonly known as "Type I." It may be 
 known by the eagle, which is dark black, uncrowned, and with 
 the wing not touching the frame of the stamp, but pointing 
 upwards. The eagle's breast appears to be hairy. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Finely engraved in black, on very yellow-green wove paper. The 
 top-stroke at the back of the p of poste not only touches, but 
 actually cuts through the thin inner line of the frame to the left of 
 it. The IHS in the glory is extremely small, much smaller than the 
 letters of tenebras. The rays of the glory extend as far as the s, 
 and further than the T of tenebras. The whole of the Latin in- 
 scription, post tenebras lux, can be easily read. The cross-stroke 
 to the lower arm of the G of geneve touches the following e. There 
 is a stop after the said word, and a grave accent over the second e. 
 
 The right-hand forked end of the scroll is nearly a 
 millimetre from the thin inner line of the frame of 
 the stamp ; and the left-hand forked end of it is 
 more than half a millimetre from the thin inner 
 outline of the stamp to the left of it. There are 
 four lines of shading in the scroll, immediately after 
 the s of TENEBRAS. The stop after the 5 is nearer to 
 the 5 than to the side of the shield. The central" 
 dividing-line of the shield runs up through the thin inner outline 
 of it, and touches the thick outline of the top of the shield. There 
 are twenty-one thin vertical lines of shading in the key-half of the 
 shield, including the dividing-line and all the thin lines, and count- 
 ing at the top of the shield as before. These vertical lines, or rather 
 some of them, show through the barrel or stem of the key. The 
 tail of the eagle touches the thin inner outline of the bottom of the 
 shield. There are two little balls or pearls, one on each side, touch- 
 ing the broad part of the handle of the key. There is a stop after 
 CANTONAL. The wiug of the eagle is very sharp at the tip ; it has 
 a concave upward curl, and the tip points up almost towards the T 
 
 of TENEBRAS. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 479 
 
 Issue of 1847. Type II. ; 5 c, black on green. 
 
 This is the type with the light-coloured eagle, whose wing 
 touches the side of the frame, and whose breast is feathered. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved on yellow-green and dark green wove paper. The glory 
 contains ihs, in small letters ; but, on looking closely at the stamp, 
 it is evident that jhs, in larger letters, must have been first engraved, 
 then erased, or rather partially erased, and the smaller ihs substituted. 
 Some copies show this very plainly, and all my specimens show it 
 more or less. The top-stroke at the back of the p of poste is very 
 long, and touches the thin inner outline of the left side of the stamp. 
 The word de is considerably nearer to geneve than to poste. 
 Three rays of the glory run up between de and GENi:vE, the right- 
 hand ray being shorter than the others. The letters ihs are the 
 same size as the letters of tenebras. The rays of the glory extend 
 as far as the first e, and farther than the s of tenebras. The whole 
 of the Latin inscription, post tenebras lux, can be easily read. 
 The black outline of the hollow of the left-hand forked end of the 
 scroll touches the p of post. The g of geneve is of a particularly 
 ugly shape, being too small at the top and too large and round at 
 the bottom. There is a stop after geneve, and another after 
 CANTONAL, but uone after the 5 or the c. The top fork of the right- 
 hand end of the scroll runs right through the thin inner outline of 
 the right side of the stamp, and almost touches the thick outline. 
 The left-hand end of the scroll is very near to the side of the stamp, 
 not more than half a millimetre from it. There appear to be three 
 lines of shading before the t of tenebras ; a line of shading cuts 
 through the tail of the a of this word, and another right through 
 the very centre of the s. The central dividing-line of the shield 
 goes right down, so as to touch the thick outline of the bottom of 
 the shield. If this said line were prolonged downwards, it would 
 pass exactly through the centre of the first a of cantonal. There 
 are nineteen thin vertical lines in the key-half of the shield, counting 
 all the lines, and reckoning at the top of the stamp as before. These 
 lines show through the broad handle of the key, and one of them 
 runs down the centre of the stem or barrel of it. The tail of the 
 eagle does not touch the bottom of the shield. The tip of the eagle's 
 wing is blunt ; it is very little concave at the top, and it points 
 towards the t of post. The second a of cantonal is not like the 
 first, being very square at the top. 
 
 Issue of 1845. Envelope ; Type III. ; 6 c, green on white. 
 
 This stamp can be easily known, as it is printed in green on 
 white, with a crowned eagle. 
 
480 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Printed in green, on rather rough, very yellowish-white wove 
 paper. I think the paper must have heen tinted from the beginning, 
 as age could not give it such a deep tone. The size of the envelope 
 is 140 by 111 millimetres. The glory contains jhs, in letters larger 
 and darker than those of tenebras. One ray of the glory runs up 
 clear between the words de and geneve. There is a very distinct 
 circumflex accent over the H of jhs ; the J has no top-stroke, and 
 the H has no top or bottom strokes. The eagle's wing touches the 
 side of the stamp in several places ; the extreme tip of it curls up, 
 and points between the letters te of tenebras. The top-stroke to 
 the p of POSTE goes rather close to the left side of the frame, but 
 does not touch it. The s of this word is quite flat at the bottom ; 
 the T has a very distinct, and rather thick top-stroke, and so has the 
 D of DE. The word de is midway between poste and geneve. 
 There is a rather large stop after geneve, but none anywhere else. 
 The glory extends from the o of poste to the stop after geneve. 
 post and lux are in smaller letters than tenebras, but they can 
 be read without much difficulty. The G of geneve is of a very 
 ugly shape, like that of the type last described. One of the rays of 
 the glory runs up almost through the centre of the letter. The 
 right-hand forked end of the scroll just touches the thin outline of 
 the frame to the right of it, but the left-hand end of it is three- 
 quarters of a millimetre from the left-hand vertical outline of the 
 stamp. There are two short lines of shading after tenebras, but 
 none before it. There are fourteen vertical lines of shading in the 
 key -half of the shield ; one of them passes down through the stem 
 or barrel of the key, but the lines do not show through the broad 
 handle. The tail of the eagle does not go near the bottom of the 
 shield. The central dividing-line of the shield, if prolonged down- 
 wards, would pass almost clear to the right of the first a of cantonal. 
 There are ten dots between the wing and beak of the eagle ; but one 
 of the ten, nearest to the bottom of the beak, is a triplet, so that 
 there are really twelve. 
 
 Issue of 1850. Type III. (?) ; 5 c, green on white. 
 
 I do not possess this stamp, but Mr. Pemberton says that it 
 is the same type as the envelope just described. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Mr. Atlee's description of the genuine is as follows : "A prominent 
 full-stop after geneve. The J of jhs has no top-stroke. There are 
 eleven dots between the wing and beak of the eagle. The p of 
 poste is very near the border, lux in the motto is very minute, 
 and scarcely readable. Printed upon white, in pale emerald-green." 
 
 For each forgery I will put, when possible, the type which it is 
 intended to represent. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 481 
 
 Forgeries of the Types above Described. 
 First Forgery. Type I. 
 
 This I have not seen. Mr. Atlee says : " No stop after gen^ve. 
 The G and e of gen^ve are quite distinct. That portion of the 
 ribbon which should contain lux is filled in with a hieroglyphical 
 inscription of some kind, X being the only readable letter, ihs is 
 larger than in the original." 
 
 Second Forgery. Type II. 
 
 Printed in black, on very dark green and on rose-coloured wove 
 paper, and also in sap-green and in olive-green on white wove paper. 
 The inscriptions suilice to condemn these counterfeits instantly ; the 
 glory bears ins, and the first word of the Latin inscription is 
 FIST, instead of post, tenebras is in enormous letters, far larger 
 than those of ins. The body of the eagle is as round as a barrel. 
 
 Third Forgery. Type II. {?) 
 
 Printed in green, on very thick, white wove paper. The glory is 
 reduced to a sort of scalloped oval, with no long rays issuing from it. 
 The inscription in the oval is ins, instead of ihs ; the letters of it 
 are the same size as those of tenebras. The word de is equidistant 
 between poste and genelve. The letters of lux are very far apart. 
 The hollow of the fork of the left-hand end of the scroll does not 
 come near the P of post ; indeed, there are several lines of shading 
 between the fork and the letter. The G of Geneve is of the normal 
 shape. There is no stop after any of the words, or after the 5. The 
 right-hand end of the scroll touches, but does not cut through, the 
 thin inner outline of the right side of the stamp, and the left-hand 
 end of the scroll very nearly touches the inner outline of the stamp 
 to the left of it. There is no line of shading through the tail of the 
 A of tenebras. There are seventeen vertical lines of shading in 
 the key-half of the shield ; they show through the broad part of the 
 handle of the key, but there is no line down the centre of the stem 
 of the key. The wing of the eagle is short and stumpy ; no part of 
 it touches the outline of the stamp, and the tip of it points between 
 post and tenebras. These tests will be more than sufficient for the 
 detection of this counterfeit. 
 
 Fourth Forgery. Type II. 
 
 This I have not seen. Mr. Atlee says of it : " Finely engraved ; 
 too much so in fact. The P of poste does not touch the frame. No 
 lines going through key. Shield not divided as in the original. 
 Printed on dark, dull green." 
 
 2 I 
 
482 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Fifth Forgery. Type II. 
 
 This I have not seen. Mr, Atlee says of it : " More roughly en- 
 graved. IHS too large. P of poste almost touching frame. Portion 
 of ribbon inscribed lux touches, but does not go through, the border 
 line. Distance between the words in the upper inscription equal. 
 Pale green, and also on pink paper." 
 
 Sixth Forgery. Type II. 
 
 Mr. Atlee says : " Coarsely engraved. Inscribed iNS. No halo, or 
 accent over e of geneve. tjpon very thin, dark green paper." 
 
 Seventh Forgery. 
 
 Mr. Atlee says : " A very coarse-looking label, with jhs encircled 
 with a few remnants of halo, supposed to be due to the worn state 
 of the die. Point of shield comes between a and N of cantonal. 
 Yellow-green." 
 
 Eighth Forgery. Type III. 
 
 Printed in black, on yellow-green wove paper. The J of jhs has 
 a very distinct top-stroke. There are two rays of the glory between 
 DE and GENEVE, but one touches the e of de, and the other touches 
 the G of GENEVE. The h of jhs has both top and bottom-strokes. 
 The eagle's wing does not touch the side of the stamp anywhere, but 
 the tip of the wing touches the inner outline of the top of the stamp, 
 which it does not do in the genuine. The said tip points to the t of 
 TENEBRAS. The words POSTE DE GENEVE are in thick black letters, 
 of quite a different sort of type from that of the genuine ; the p of 
 POSTE is a millimetre from the side of the stamp ; the s of this 
 word is rounded at the bottom ; and the t is cut off square, with- 
 out any top-stroke. The word de appears to be slightly nearer to 
 GENEVE than to poste. There is a very tiny stop after geneve, and 
 another after c. The glory fills all the upper part of the stamp, 
 reaching from side to side ; but none of the rays actually touch the 
 border or the top of the stamp. The inscription, post tenebras lux, 
 is all in small letters, much smaller than those of jhs. There is no 
 ray of the glory through the g of geneve. Neither side of the scroll 
 touches the outline of the stamp, the left end being a little farther 
 off than the other. There are no lines of shading either before or 
 after tenebras. The key-half of the shield contains seventeen 
 vertical lines of shading, the left-hand one being thicker than the 
 rest. The dividing-line of the shield, if prolonged downwards, 
 would pass almost centrally through the first a of cantonal. There 
 are either five or six dots between the wing and beak of the eagle. 
 
 Ninth Forgery. Type III. 
 
 Lithographed in light green, on yellowish-white wove paper. The 
 inscription poste de geneve is in very large letters, larger than 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 483 
 
 those of PORT CANTONAL. There are no signs of a glory. The eagle's 
 wing does not touch the side of the stamp anywhere ; the tip is very 
 sharp, and points to the T of post. The top-stroke of the p of poste 
 touches the frame to the left of it ; the s of this word is rounded at 
 the bottom. The stop after geneve is rather small, post and lux 
 are in very much smaller letters than tenebras. The right-hand 
 end of the scroll distinctly touches the side of the stamp, and the 
 left-hand end is rather close to the side. There are eighteen vertical 
 lines of shading in the key-half of the shield, and two of them pass 
 down the barrel or stem of the key. The tail of the eagle almost 
 touches the bottom of the shield. The central dividing-line of the 
 shield, if prolonged downwards, would pass through the first a of 
 CANTONAL, a good Way to the right of its centre. The dots between 
 the wing and beak of the eagle are so very faint in my specimen 
 that they cannot be counted. 
 
 Tenth Forgery. Type III. 
 
 For this and the following ones Mr. Atlee is responsible,, as I have 
 not seen them. " This is so very scarce and so finely engraved as to 
 lead to the supposition of its being an essay ; but all that can be 
 said now is that it is not from the accepted die. p of poste is at 
 some distance from the border, lux is easily readable. Very small 
 stop after geneve. j in the sacred monogram has a top-stroke. Six 
 dots between the wing and beak of eagle. Printed both in bright 
 green on white, and in black upon green." 
 
 Eleventh Forgery. Type III. 
 
 " Much like the last, only with eight dots between the bird's beak 
 and wing. I have only seen it on dark green paper." 
 
 Twelfth Forgery. Type III. 
 " Same die, only altered to seven dots. On bluish-green paper." 
 
 Thirteenth Forgery. Type III. 
 
 "Three dots only between beak and wing. Found both upon 
 yellow-green paper, and in pale sap-green on white." 
 
 Fourteenth Forgery. Type III. 
 
 " Very smudged and black eagle. Full-stop almost joined on to 
 final E of GENEVE. On dull green paper." 
 
 Note. — It will be seen that many of the forgeries described above 
 are wrongly printed as regards colour, or paper, or both ; but I have 
 judged it better to give them all, so that if these said stamps should 
 exist, now or hereafter, in their proper colour, nobody need be taken 
 in by them. 
 
484 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I liave never seen any other postmark than the one 
 described as appearing on the genuine double stamp. 
 
 Forged. Generally an imitation of the genuine, printed in red, 
 black, or blue. The " fist " forgeries are usually cancelled with the 
 letters P P, in large thin capitals. Mr. Atlee speaks of red bars also, 
 but I have never seen this cancellation. 
 
 NEUFCHATEL (so called). 
 Issue of 1851. 5 c, black and red, on white. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved, centre apjDarently lithographed, on rather thin and hard 
 greyish-white wove paper. The letters of the inscription, poste 
 LOCALE, are exactly one millimetre high, and the label containing 
 them is two millimetres high. The p of poste and the e of locale 
 are equidistant from their respective ends of the label. The o of 
 locale is taller than the rest of the letters. The upper fork of the 
 right-hand end of the top label just touches the thin outline of the 
 stamp to the right of it. The s of centimes in the lower label is 
 crooked, sloping over very decidedly to the right. There is a large 
 stop after the s. The 5 at the other end of the label 
 is, in its nearest part, one millimetre from the left- 
 hand vertical end of the scroll. There is a sort of 
 trefoil-shaped leaf at each end of this bottom label ; 
 the right-hand one is very close to the frame of the 
 stamp, but the left-hand one is half a millimetre 
 distant from the frame. The right-hand one, though 
 close to the frame, does not touch it, but is, perhaps, 
 one-fifth of a millimetre from it. The top outline 
 of the POSTE LOCALE label is one and a quarter millimetres from the 
 thin inner outline of the top of the stamp. This space is filled in 
 with a tracery of curly black lines, and, just above the l of locale, 
 will be found the test for this stamp, which is a distinct figure 8, 
 placed upright, between the poste locale label and the top of the 
 stamp. The lower point of the shield is exactly above the t of 
 centimes. In this I speak only as regards the black portion of the 
 stamp, as the red part is not always in its proper place. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Nicely printed on moderately stout, rather soft wove paper, which 
 has been steeped in something to give it a look of age, making the 
 paper a pale bulf colour ; also on greyish-white, like the genuine. 
 The letters of the inscription, poste locale, are much too large, 
 being more than one and a half millimetres high, and the containing 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 485. 
 
 label is two and a quarter millimetres high. The e of locale is 
 very much nearer to the right-hand end of the label than the p of 
 POSTE is to the left-hand end of it. The o of locale is the same 
 height as the rest of the letters. The right-hand end of the top 
 label is a trifle nearer to the frame of the stamp than the left-hand 
 end is, but does not touch the side of the stamp. The s of centimes 
 in the lower label is perfectly upright ; it is very close to the end of 
 the label, and there is no stop after it. The 5 at the beginning of 
 the label is even closer to its end of the label, being hardly a quarter 
 of a millimetre from it. The trefoil-shaped ornaments at the ends 
 of this bottom label both touch the inner outline of the stamp. The 
 top outline of the poste locale label is not more than a quarter of 
 a millimetre from the inner outline of the top of the stamp, and 
 there is no figure 8 above the L ; the space above ste loca of poste 
 LOCALE being quite blank, instead of bearing the curly lines. The 
 lower point of the shield is above the space between NT of centimes, 
 rather nearer to the n. The white cross in the red shield has a black 
 outline. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Printed on rather hard, very thin, greyish-white wove paper. The 
 letters of poste locale are a little more than one millimetre high, 
 and the label containing them is a little more than two millimetres 
 high. The o of locale is the same height as the rest of the letters. 
 Neither end of the top label touches the border of the stamp, and 
 the left-hand end is nearer to it than the right-hand end is. The s 
 of centimes is perfectly upright ; the stop after it is not very con- 
 spicuous. The 5 at the other end of the label is less than one 
 millimetre from the left-hand end of the label. Both the trefoil- 
 shaped ends of this bottom label touch the sides of the stamp. The 
 top outline of the poste locale label is barely one millimetre from 
 the thin outline of the top of the stamp. This space is filled up 
 with curly lines. There is no figure 8 above the l of locale, but 
 above te lo of poste locale there are three curly lines, each very 
 like a badly-formed 3 placed on its face. The lower point of the 
 shield is above the beginning of the t of centimes, instead of above 
 its very centre. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Printed on yellowish-grey wove paper, hard, and moderately stout. 
 The letters of the inscription, poste locale, are one and three- 
 quarter millimetres high, and the label containing them is two and 
 a quarter millimetres high. The p of poste is very slightly nearer 
 to its end of the label than the E of locale is to the other end of it. 
 The o of LOCALE is the same height as the rest of the letters. 
 Neither end of this upper label touches the frame of the stamp, the 
 right-hand end being a little nearer to it than the left. The s of 
 CENTIMES in the lower label is upright. There is an extremely small 
 stop after this s, which almost touches the end of the label. The 
 
486 
 
 ALBUM W^EDS; OR, 
 
 5 at the other end of the label is only a quarter of a millimetre 
 from the beginning of the label. The trefoil-shaped leaves at the 
 ends of this bottom label both touch the sides of the stamp. The 
 top outline of the poste locale label is not much more than a 
 quarter of a millimetre from the thin outline of the top of the 
 stamp, and there is no figure 8 above the l of locale. The lower 
 point of the shield is above the end of the N of centimes. Of these 
 forgeries I think No. 2 is most likely to deceive. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A set of twelve parallel bars, of varying lengths, 
 arranged in a diamond form, struck in black, and also in blue. 
 Forged. An imitation of the genuine cancellation. 
 
 VAUD {so-called). 
 Issue of 1849. 4 c., 5 c, black and red, on white. 
 
 The 4 c. value is extremely scarce. I believe it has been 
 said that the 5 c. was made out of the 4c., so that, as soon as the 
 latter value appeared, the former ceased to exist ; but, as all the 
 catalogues give the two as being both issued in 1849, this can 
 hardly be. Probably the reason for the scarcity of the 4 c. lies 
 simply in the fact that it was suppressed in 1850, the 5 c. 
 continuing in use. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in red and black, on thick, rather hard, yellowish-white, 
 or greyish-white wove paper. The outlines of the top and left-hand 
 side do not meet at the top, causing a break in the line at the very 
 point of the left-hand top corner of the stamp. In the right-hand 
 bottom corner there is a small black dot ; and there is another dot, 
 but not so distinct, in the right-hand top corner. These dots look as 
 though they had been made first, as guides for the position of the 
 frame of the stamp. The scroll-work does not touch the head of the 
 p of POSTE, but part of it touches the foot of that letter, and part of 
 it touches the extreme right-hand bottom corner 
 of the E of LOCALE. There is a stop after this 
 latter word, and there is a little rounded orna- 
 ment above the white cross, which stands almost 
 under the vertical stroke of the l of locale. 
 The thin line under poste locale does not cut 
 through this rounded ornament, which is, by the 
 way, simply a curve of the scroll-work. There are four black dots, 
 of graduated sizes, below the post-horn, and to right and left of it ; 
 i.e., four dots below it to the right, and the same number below it to 
 the left. These dots, however, are copied in most of the forgeries. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 487 
 
 The horn appears to be bound to the ring above it by tape or ribbon, 
 bound many times round it. There seem to be seventeen turns of 
 the ribbon round the horn, the last two or three turns to the left 
 being narrower than the others. This wrapping of ribbon ends, on 
 the left-hand side, level with the middle of the topmost large black 
 dot in the scroll-work ; i.e., the last left-hand turn of the ribbon 
 seems to point directly to the middle of the said large black dot. 
 This must be noticed as one of the chief tests. The bell, or wide 
 part of the post-horn, almost touches the black ring round the white 
 cross, and the small end of the horn goes very near to the left-hand 
 outside edge of the scroll-work on which it is placed. The white 
 cross has no black outline. The letters of poste locale are equal 
 in size. The left-hand top curl of the scroll-work is as near to the 
 top corner of the p of poste as the right-hand top curl of it is to 
 the top corner of the e of locale. The space immediately below 
 the POSTE locale label, behind the top of the ring, is shaded with 
 horizontal wavy lines, the top one, which forms the bottom of the 
 POSTE locale label, being almost straight, and not close to the 
 others. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Printed on extremely yellowish- white wove paper, a little thinner 
 than that of the genuine, but quite as hard. There is no break in 
 the outline of the stamp at the top left-hand corner, neither is there 
 any dot at the top or bottom right-hand corners. The scroll-work 
 touches the head of the p of poste, and not its foot ; and it does not 
 touch the E of locale anywhere. There is no stop after the latter 
 word. The rounded top of the bit of scroll-work above the top of 
 the ring stands tolerably correctly under the first stroke of the L of 
 LOCALE, but the line under poste locale distinctly cuts through 
 the said ornament. There are only three dots below the left side of 
 the post-horn, and the same number below the right side of it. The 
 horn is bound to the ring above it by twelve easily-counted folds of 
 tape or ribbon, and the left-hand turn or fold is far to the right of 
 the top black dot on the left-hand side. All the turns of the ribbon 
 are very nearly the same width. The bell, or wide part of the post- 
 horn, is more than half a millimetre from the black outline of the 
 ring round the white cross, instead of almost touching it. The small 
 end of the horn is more than a millimetre from the edge of the 
 scroll-work. The white cross has a strong black outline. The s of 
 POSTE stands decidedly lower than the rest of the letters. The left- 
 hand top curl of the scroll-work touches the p of poste, but the 
 right-hand top curl of it is a long way from the top of the e of 
 LOCALE. The spaces immediately below the poste locale label, 
 behind the top of the ring, are shaded with crossed, vertical and 
 oblique lines. In the lower value of this forgery the horizontal 
 stroke of the 4, instead of being a hair-line, as in the genuine, is a 
 thick stroke, very nearly as thick as the vertical stroke of the figure. 
 
488 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Printed in very dark black, on very white wove paper. The lines 
 of the top and left sides meet at the left top corner of the stamp ; 
 indeed, the left line has heen drawn too far, so that the end of it 
 sticks up above the stamp for more than half a millimetre. There 
 is no dot in either of the right-hand corners, and the right-hand top 
 corner is rounded, instead of square. The scroll-work very nearly 
 touches the top of the p of poste, but does not touch its foot ; and 
 the corresponding piece of scroll-work, at the other side of the stamp, 
 is a long way from both the top and bottom of the e of locale. 
 There is no stop after locale. The middle rounded portion of the 
 ornament at the top of the ring stands too much to the left, being 
 only under the beginning of the l of locale ; and the line under 
 POSTE locale distinctly cuts through the said ornament. The 
 ribbon is only wrapped twelve times round the horn, the left-hand 
 end being out of shape, being, as it were, stretched to make it 
 come level with the middle of the black dot below the left side of 
 the horn. The ring above the horn has two outlines, so that there 
 is a black outline all round the red portion, and another outside the 
 ring itself. In the genuine the red circle is not outlined. There 
 is also a black outline round the cross itself. There is a good 
 dark space between the ring and the bell, or large part of the 
 horn ; and the small end of the horn is more than a millimetre 
 from the left-hand edge of the piece of scroll-work on which it is 
 drawn. The o of locale is distinctly larger than the l. The space 
 below the poste locale label on each side is filled in with crossed 
 vertical and oblique lines, very black. 
 
 Tliird Forgery. 
 
 Nicely printed on rather thick, very hard, slightly yellowish- white 
 wove paper. The top left-hand corner of the stamp is perfect, and 
 there is no dot in either of the right-hand corners. The scroll-work 
 does not touch the p of poste or the e of locale anywhere. The 
 ribbon is wrapped thirteen times round the horn, and the left-hand 
 end of the wrapping is very far to the right of the top dot on the 
 left-hand side. The wrapping is almost equally distinct all the way, 
 the last two turns to the left being very nearly as wide as the rest. 
 The small end of the horn is more than a millimetre distant from the 
 edge of the scroll-work to the left of it. The bottom of the o of 
 locale is distinctly above the level of the bottom of the L and c to 
 the left and right of it. This is not at all a bad forgery, and is 
 likely to be dangerous. 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 Tolerably well printed, on thick, very hard, yellowish-white wove 
 paper. The left-hand top corner of the stamp is perfect, and there 
 is no dot in either of the right-hand corners. The scroll-work 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 489 
 
 touches the bottom of the p of post, and also of the e of locale, as 
 in the genuine ; but there is no stop after locale, and the top curl 
 of the scroll-work is very much nearer to the top of the p of poste 
 than the corresponding curl on the right side of the stamp is to the 
 top of the E of LOCALE, The ribbon is bound fifteen times round the 
 horn, the last two turns to the right not being joined to the ring, but 
 wrapped round the horn alone. The red circle containing the white 
 cross has a faint black outline. The bottom of the frame of the 
 stamp is not outlined all the way along. 
 
 Fifth Forgery. 
 
 This is poor. Eather coarsely printed, on very slightly yellowish- 
 white wove paper, hard, but not very thick. The left top corner of 
 the stamp is perfect, and there is no dot at either of the right-hand 
 corners. The scroll-work touches the foot of the p of poste, but 
 towards its W(//ii-hand side. My single specimen is rather heavily 
 cancelled, but I think the scroll-work does not touch the bottom of 
 the E of locale. I cannot make out whether there is a stop after 
 LOCALE. The top curl of the left-hand scroll-work is a good deal 
 nearer to the top of the p of poste than the corresponding top right- 
 hand curl is to the top of the e of locale. The middle rounded 
 part of the ornament at the top of the ring is under the end of the 
 L of LOCALE, instead of under its vertical stroke. There are only 
 three dots below the right side of the horn, and the middle one is 
 the largest ; the top dot under the left-hand side of the horn is not 
 perfect, and too far away from the other three. In the genuine 
 stamps the top dot is the largest, and the others get gradually 
 smaller. The ribbon is wrapped twelve times round the horn, the 
 width of the folds gradually decreasing from right to left. The left- 
 hand fold is almost two millimetres distant from the middle of the 
 top left-hand dot. The small end of the horn is a long way from 
 the left-hand edge of the scroll-work on which it is placed. The A 
 of LOCALE has a top-stroke which does not exist in the genuine, and 
 the L has a ridiculously long top-stroke, many times longer than that 
 of the original. The top outline of the curved label which contains 
 the value appears to have been drawn by an unsteady hand ; it is 
 nicely done in the genuine. The bell or wide part of the horn has 
 a distinct double outline, instead of the single one of the genuine. 
 I do not think this forgery is likely to be dangerous. 
 
 Sixth Forgery. 
 
 Printed on rather thin, hard, yellowish-white wove paper. The 
 black lines are all too close together in this forgery, giving it a very 
 dark appearance. There is a sort of dot in the right top corner, but 
 none in the right bottom corner, and the left top corner is perfect. 
 The scroll-work touches the foot of the e of locale, but not that of 
 the p of poste ; and the top left-hand curl of the scroll-work is 
 
490 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 much nearer to the top of the p of poste than the top right-hand 
 curl of it is to the top of the e of locale. The top of the frame of 
 the stamp is not outlined, though it is in the genuine and in all the 
 other forgeries. The top dot under the right side of the horn is very- 
 much smaller than the one below it. The ribbon is bound sixteen 
 times round the horn, the first two turns on the right not being 
 joined to the ring. The left-hand side of the binding is two milli- 
 metres from the middle of the top dot under the left side of the 
 horn. The outline of the top of the ring is very thick and heavy, 
 much more so than in the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A set of parallel lines, of graduated length, twelve in 
 number, forming a diamond ; also an outlined diamond, containing 
 a lattice- work of lines parallel with the sides of the diamond ; also 
 a cancellation rather like that of the Geneva stamps already des- 
 cribed. This latter is not perfect on any of my specimens, so that I 
 cannot say what is its exact shape. 
 
 Forged. A diamond of lines, like the genuine ; also a copy of 
 the forged Ziirich postmark ; also a flower of four double petals, 
 probably an imitation of the obscure postmark which I could not 
 decipher ; the latter being struck in red and in blue, the other two, 
 like the originals, being in black. 
 
 WINTEETHUE (so-called). 
 
 Issue of 1849. 2^ Rappen, black and red, on white. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved on medium white wove paper, rather hard. In the 
 margin, outside the stamp, there is a double-headed arrow, opposite 
 to each of the four sides of the stamp, each arrow being loosely 
 wrapped with a ribbon, in nine spiral folds ; the 
 arrows and spirals are all in red. The ring con- 
 taining the white cross is suspended from the top 
 of the stamp by two ropes, with a tassel between 
 them. The tassel hangs by two thin black lines, 
 and the left-hand rope has seven oblique lines 
 across it, to mark the strands, whilst the right-hand 
 rope has eight similar oblique lines across it. The inscription 
 ORTSPOST. POSTE LOCALE is in thick block lettering. There is a large 
 conspicuous stop after ortspost, and it is nearer to the p of poste 
 than to the t of ortspost. Supposing the horizontal red lines are 
 in their normal place (that is, with their left-hand ends touching the 
 inner vertical outline of the stamp, to the left of ortspost), then 
 there is a distinct white margin outside their right-hand ends, down 
 the right side of the stamp, and the e of locale goes to the very 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 491 
 
 edge of the red lines, but not beyond them. The thick black 
 outline round the white cross is very nearly the same thickness all 
 the way round. The r in the right bottom corner does not touch 
 the wavy outline which runs obliquely above it. This said wavy 
 outline ends in a curl at the bottom of the stamp, and this curl has 
 its bottom cut off by the thin inner outline of the bottom of the 
 stamp, not trespassing below the thin outline, but being, as it were, 
 obliterated. There is a similar wavy line above the 2^ in the left- 
 hand bottom corner, ending in a similar curl ; but this curl cuts 
 through the thin outline of the bottom of the stamp, almost touching 
 the thick outline below it. The long thin stem of the horn is joined 
 to the ring by a white space, bounded by two black lines, above the 
 top of the last t of ortspost, and level with the top of the p of that 
 word. There are four black lines across the thin stem of the horn, 
 near the small end, at varying distances, apparently intended for 
 joints. The wide bell-end of the horn is shaded with ten oblique 
 lines, and the very rim of this bell-end has four very short lines of 
 shading on it. There are thirteen vertical lines drawn across the top 
 of the ring, apparently intended to represent where the cords wrap 
 round it, and three of these little lines are broken ; i.e., they do not 
 reach right across. There are about seventeen short vertical lines 
 across the middle of the horn, above the word poste, and four of 
 them are broken. There are four lines drawn across the wide end 
 of the horn, opposite respectively to the a, the L, and the e of locale, 
 and parallel with the curve of the bell-end. The one opposite the 
 L is broken, instead of extending right across the horn. There are 
 thirty-eight horizontal red lines in the part of the stamp which 
 contains the word ortspost, counting from the bottom to the curve 
 under the r in the left-hand top corner. The stop after the top R is 
 a little larger than that after the bottom R ; and the latter stop is 
 very little nearer to the end of the tail of the bottom r than it is to 
 the thin inner outline of the right-hand frame of the stamp. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This is very poor. It is printed on thin white, and also on very 
 yellowish-white wove paper. None of my specimens show the 
 arrows and spirals outside the four sides of the stamp, and yet several 
 of them have wide margins, so I think the arrows do not exist at all 
 in this counterfeit. The ring containing the white cross is suspended 
 from the top of the stamp by ropes, but the left-hand rope has only 
 five black lines across it, and the right-hand one has five also. The 
 tassel is suspended by a single line, instead of two. The inscription 
 ORTSPOST POSTE LOCALE is in vcry thin block letters. There is no 
 stop after ortspost. When the left-hand ends of the horizontal 
 lines are in their normal place (i.e., touching the thin inner vertical 
 outline of the left side of the stamp), the e of locale is from half a 
 millimetre to a whole millimetre distant from the right-hand ends of 
 
492 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 the said red lines. An easy test for this forgery is that there is a 
 little black dot in the centre of the top arm of the cross, which does 
 not exist in the genuine or in any of the other forgeries. The outer 
 black outline of the cross is not equally thick all round, one half 
 being shaded twice as thickly as the other. The top of the letter R 
 in the bottom right-hand corner of the stamp touches the wavy out- 
 line to the left of it. The bottom curl of this wavy line is not cut 
 off by the thin inner outline of the bottom of the stamp, but it can 
 be traced round as a perfect curve or hook. (N.B. — The said wavy 
 line, both in the genuine and forged, consists of a thin and a thick 
 line running parallel with each other ; but what I have said refers 
 only to the thicker one, as the other is merely as it were an accom- 
 paniment to it.) The corresponding curl of the black wavy line 
 cutting off the 2| in the left bottom corner not only does not cut 
 through the thin inner outline of the bottom of the stamp, but does 
 not even touch it. There is no white line to join the horn to the 
 ring. There are only two black lines drawn across the thin stem of 
 the horn. The wide bell-end of the horn is shaded with eight lines, 
 parallel with the outline ; and the very rim of this bell-end is shaded 
 with eleven very short lines instead of four. The three thick lines 
 which run round the tube of the horn, opposite respectively to the 
 A, the L, and the e of locale are, in this forgery, represented by 
 five very short thick lines, which do not go half-way round the tube, 
 and several finer ones. There are only thirty-four horizontal red 
 lines in the part of the stamp which contains the word ortspost, 
 counting from the bottom to the curve under the r in the left top 
 corner. The stop after each r is of equal size, and the one after the 
 bottom R is a good deal nearer to the tail of the R than to the frame 
 to the right of it. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is very poor. Coarsely printed on moderately stout, very 
 yellowish- white wove paper. There are only about five turns of the 
 spiral ribbon round each of the red arrows in the margins between 
 the stamps, and they are most irregularly drawn. The left-hand rope 
 at the top of the stamp has six black oblique lines across it to mark 
 the strands, and the right-hand rope has six also. There is a small, 
 oblong, indistinct stop after ortspost, very different from the very 
 large round stop of the genuine. This stop is about midway between 
 the letters t and p. When the left-hand ends of the red lines touch 
 the thin outline of the side of the stamp to the left of them, the 
 right-hand ends touch the thin outline of the side of the stamp to 
 the right of them, so that there is no white space between the frame 
 and the red lines. Thus the e of locale does not reach the right- 
 hand ends of the red lines. There is a stop after this word which 
 does not exist in the genuine. The thick wavy line which shuts in 
 the R in the right bottom corner has two thin accompanying lines, 
 instead of one, and the top of the r touches the outer one of these 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 493 
 
 thin lines. The bottom curl of this thick wavy line is very nearly 
 perfect ; i.e., the thin outline of the bottom of the stamp only, as it 
 were, shaves part of the bottom of the curl off, instead of making it 
 quite tiat. The bottom curl of the corresponding wavy line which 
 shuts off the 2^ in the left lower corner of the stamp only touclies 
 the thin inner line of the bottom of the stamp, without cutting 
 through it. The short white line, bounded by two black ones, which 
 joins the thin stem of the horn to the large ring, points towards the 
 top arm of the cross, instead of towards its centre, and it is above the 
 second s of ortspost, and level with the first s of that word. There 
 are only three black lines across this thin part of the tube of the horn. 
 The wide bell-end of the horn is shaded with eight short thick lines, 
 parallel with the outline of it, and the very rim or lip of this bell- 
 end is shaded with nine very short lines, two being much thinner 
 than the others. There are seventeen vertical lines across the top of 
 the large ring, instead of thirteen ; and twenty-one similar lines 
 across the middle of the horn, instead of sixteen, none of them being 
 broken either top or bottom. There are only twenty-eight horizontal 
 red lines behind the word ortspost, counting from the bottom of 
 the stamp to the curve under the r in the left top corner, and several 
 of these lines are very crooked. There is no stop after the top r, and 
 the one after the bottom R is very much nearer to the tail of the r 
 than to the thin inner outline of the frame to the right of it. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Printed on medium, very white wove paper. The arrows and 
 spirals in the margins between the stamps are both in red ; but, as 
 my single specimen is cut rather close, I am unable to say whether 
 there are nine turns of the spirals or not. Each rope at the top of 
 the stamp has only five oblique lines across it to mark the strands, 
 and the tassel is suspended by one thick line. There is no stop after 
 ORTSPOST. The horizontal red lines, in their normal position, run 
 from side to side of the thin inner outlines of the stamp, and the e 
 of LOCALE is quite a millimetre from the right-hand ends of these 
 lines. The lower part of the thick wavy line, shutting in the r in 
 the right bottom corner, has two thin accompanying lines, as in the 
 genuine, and the top of the r touches the outer one of them. The 
 curl at the bottom of this said wavy line is perfect, not being cut off 
 at the bottom by the thin inner outline of the bottom of the stamp. 
 The curl at the bottom of the similar wavy line, shutting off the 2| 
 in the left bottom corner, merely touches the thin inner outline of 
 the bottom of the stamp, without cutting through it. There is no 
 white line to join the thin tube of the horn to the ring. There are 
 only three lines across the thinnest part of the tube of the horn. The 
 wide bell-end of the horn is shaded by eleven lines of varying length, 
 parallel with the outline ; and the very rim or lip of the bell-end is 
 shaded by about ten very short lines. There are no lines across the 
 
494 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 top of the ring, and about twenty across the middle of the horn 
 above poste, only one of them being broken. There are thirty-one 
 horizontal red lines behind the word ortspost, counting from the 
 bottom of the stamp to the curve under the r in the left top corner. 
 There is no stop after the upper r, and the top curls of the shield — 
 or whatever it is meant for — to the right of the upper r and to the 
 left of the upper 2^ resj)ectively, which ought to touch the thin 
 inner outline of the top of the stamp, do not do so ; the one to the 
 right of the upper R, especially, being far below the top outline. 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 I think this is decidedly the best of the lot. Printed on medium 
 white or slightly yellowish-white wove paper. The red arrows, in 
 the margins between the stamps, run through a set of nine balls or 
 discs, instead of one spiral, these discs being about a millimetre 
 apart, and altogether separate from each other. Each rope at the top 
 of the stamp has six oblique black lines across it, to mark the strands. 
 There is a very small faint stop after ortspost. The horizontal red 
 lines, when in their normal position, extend from side to side of the 
 thin inner outlines of the stamp ; thus, when a white line shows 
 down the right-hand side, the red lines trespass over the left side so 
 as to touch the thick outline of the left side of the stamp. The e of 
 LOCALE does not reach the right-hand ends of the red lines, even 
 when they are drawn too far to the left, so as to leave a white mar- 
 gin to the right. The curl at the bottom of the wavy line, shutting 
 off the 2| in the left bottom corner, cuts very slightly through the 
 thin inner outline of the bottom of the stamp, and the end of the 
 line forming the curl is split into two. The long thin stem of the 
 horn is joined to the ring by a wide white line, bounded by two 
 black lines, and pointing towards the top right-hand corner of the 
 cross, instead of towards its centre. There are three black lines 
 across the thin stem of the horn, near its end, and the joints made 
 by these lines are very uneven or irregular. This part of the horn is 
 considerably thicker than the ring, though in the genuine it is about 
 the same thickness. The wide bell-end of the horn is shaded by 
 ninejoblique lines of varying length, parallel with the outline, and 
 the very lip or rim of the said bell-end is shaded by six very short 
 lines. The four transverse lines across this bell-end of the horn are 
 too thin, and are not parallel with the curve of the bell. There are 
 twelve vertical lines across the top of the ring, three of them being 
 broken ; and fifteen across the bottom of the horn, only one of them 
 being broken. There are only twenty-nine horizontal red lines be- 
 hind the word ortspost, counting as before. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Exactly the same as that of the genuine Zurich stamps. 
 I have only seen it struck in black. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 495 
 
 Forged. The letters P P, in very large capitals ; also the same 
 cancellation as that on the forged 4 rappen of Zurich, in black or 
 blue ; also a set of thin parallel bars. 
 
 Note. — Mr. Atlee speaks of three forgeries of this stamp in his 
 possession which have the arrows in the margins in Uack, instead of 
 in red. He does not particularise them further, but they must be 
 different from any of mine, as all the ones above described have the 
 arrows in red, like the genuine. 
 
 ZUEICH. 
 
 Issue of 1843. 4 Happen. Local-Taxe. 
 
 There are five types of this stamp, all of which are exceed- 
 ingly scarce. The forgeries are plentiful enough. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved on moderately stout, greyish- white wove paper, which 
 is ruled all over with fine red lines, either vertical or horizontal, two 
 very thin lines close together, and one equally thin line further off, 
 alternately. Each corner of the stamp is ornamented with five little 
 square dots, forming a cross, and the five dots in the upper left-hand 
 corner are quite distinct from each other. Down each side of the 
 stamp there is a row of semicircular ornaments — six whole ones, 
 with a half-semicircle at the top, on the left side ; and six whole 
 ones, with a half-semicircle at the bottom, on the right side. The 
 half-semicircle, in each case, has one black circular dot in it, the other 
 semicircles containing three pear-shaped dots in each. The ground- 
 work of the stamp is formed by oblique black lines in sets of four, 
 with white spaces between, forming a sort of lattice-work. The 
 numbers of these lines vary in the different types, according to the 
 tables given below. The central numeral shows the number of perfect 
 sets of four lines ; the first numeral shows the number of lines in the 
 imperfect set at the top corner (if any), and the last numeral shows 
 the number of lines in the imperfect set at the bottom corner (if 
 any). 
 
 Table I. 
 
 Lines running from the right-hand top to the left-hand bottom. ( Begin to 
 count at the left-hand top corner.) 
 
 1 line ... 15 sets of four ... 3 lines 
 
 ... 3 „ 
 
 ... No,, 
 
 ... 1 „ 
 
 ... 2 „ 
 
 II. . 
 
 .. No,, . 
 
 .. 15 
 
 » 
 
 III. . 
 
 .. No,, . 
 
 .. 16 
 
 5) 
 
 IV. . 
 
 .. 3 „ . 
 
 .. 15 
 
 » 
 
 V. . 
 
 .. 2 „ . 
 
 .. 15 
 
 
496 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Table II. 
 
 Lines running from the left-hand top to the right-hand bottom. ( Begin to 
 count at the right-hand top corner.) 
 
 Type I. 
 » 11. 
 „ III. 
 
 „ ly. 
 
 No lines 
 No „ 
 2 „ 
 2 „ (?) 
 (?) » 
 
 16 sets of four 
 
 16 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 No lines 
 No „ 
 2 „ 
 
 2 „ 
 
 3 „ 
 
 In Type I. there is a stop after taxe, but not in any of the others. 
 In all the types there is a very distinct hyphen between the words 
 LOCAL-TAXE. The shading to the back of the tail of the 4 is perfectly 
 vertical and straight. There are two dots over the u of Zurich in 
 all the types, though they are not very clear in Type II., as the u is 
 so close to the top line. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Rather nicely lithographed, on very yellowish-white wove paper. 
 This may be dismissed with a very few words, as the corners of the 
 stamp bear the date, 1, 8, 4, 3 respectively, instead of the crosses of 
 black dots. There is no trema over the u of Zurich, and no hyphen 
 between the words local-taxe. The red lines are much the same 
 as in the genuine. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Very similar to the last, with 1, 8, 4, 3 in the corners. This 
 counterfeit has the trema over the u of Zurich, and the hyphen 
 between the words local-taxe ; but the red lines are all single, and 
 nearly a millimetre apart ; i.e., six or eight times as far apart as in 
 the genuine. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 This I describe only from^ memory. It has the date, but, if I 
 remember correctly, only in the two bottom corners — 18 in the left 
 corner, and 43 in the right. 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 Coarsely lithographed, on very white wove paper. The red lines 
 are arranged one and one, as in the second forgery, but rather closer 
 together. The square dots in the right-hand top corner all run 
 together, so as to form a solid black cross. The half-se"micircle at 
 the top of the left side contains a mark like a note of interrogation ; 
 the one at the bottom of the right side of the stamp contains a 
 comma and part of a dot. The shading to the back of the tail of 
 the 4 is rather wavy in shape, instead of being straight. The black 
 lines are as follows : 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 497 
 
 Table I. 
 
 Lines running from the right-hand top to the left-hand bottom. ( Begin to 
 count at the left-hand top corner.) 
 
 No lines ... 17 sets of four ... 1 line. 
 Table II. 
 
 Lines running from the left-hand top to the right-hand bottom. ( Begin to 
 count at the right-hand top corner.) 
 
 No lines ... 16 sets of four ... 2 lines. 
 
 It will be seen that this forgery does not agree with any of the 
 types of the genuine. 
 
 Fifth Forgery. 
 
 This is far better than any of the others, and is dangerous. 
 Apparently engraved, on yellowish-white wove paper, thicker than 
 that of the genuine. The red lines are tolerably well done, but 
 each double line has its component parts very nearly as far off as the 
 distance between it and the adjoining single line ; i.e., there is not 
 sufficient division into two and one. The half-semicircle at the top 
 of the left side contains two dots, and the half-semicircle at the 
 bottom of the right side contains a large and shapeless dot. The 
 lines in the background are as follows : 
 
 Table I. 
 
 Lines running from the right-hand top to the left-lmnd bottom. ( Begin to 
 count at the left-hand top corner.) 
 
 3 lines ... 15 sets of four ... 2 lines. 
 Table II. 
 
 Lims running from the left-hand top to the right-hand bottom. (Begin to 
 count at the right-hand top corner.) 
 
 No lines ... 16 sets of four ... no lines. 
 
 This forgery has a stop after local-taxe like Type I. of the 
 genuine. In most respects, except for those differences pointed out 
 above, this counterfeit closely resembles the originals. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 Genuine. A cancellation very like that of Geneva, except that 
 there are two oblique crossed Lines in the centre of the outlined 
 cross, instead of the species of star which is found in the centre of 
 the cross in the Genevas. It is struck in both red and black. 
 
 Forged. An imitation of the genuine, but the four arms of the 
 
 2 K 
 
498 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 cross are pear-shaped, instead of being rectangular ; and the two 
 crossed lines in the centre of the cross form part of the outline of 
 the cross itself, instead of being inside it. 
 
 Same Issue. 
 
 6 Rappen. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Cantonal-Taxe. 
 
 Apparently engraved, on very similar paper to that of the 4 rappen. 
 The red lines are disposed in the same way as in the 4 rappen. The 
 semicircles, with their triple dots, and the half-semicircles, with their 
 single dots, are also the same as in the 4 rappen. There is a distinct 
 trema over the u of zijRiCH, and a hyphen between the words 
 CANTONAL-TAXE. There are five distinct types as before. Types III., 
 IV., and V. have a stop after taxe. Each corner of the stamp is 
 ornamented with five little square black dots, forming a sort of 
 cross, and the five dots in the upper left-hand corner are distinct 
 from each other. The inner curl of the tail of the 6 does not stop 
 short where it reaches the body of the letter, but runs down more 
 or less, according to the type, towards the inside of the bottom of the 
 figure. The black lines are as follows : 
 
 Table I. 
 
 Lines running from, the right-hand top to the left-hand bottom. ( Begin to 
 coimt at the left-hand top corner.) 
 
 Type I. ... 2 lines ... 15 sets of four 
 
 „ II. ... No „ ... 15 
 
 „ III. ... No „ ... 15 
 
 „ IV. ... No „ ... 16 
 
 „ V. ... 2 „ ... 15 
 
 2 lines 
 
 3 „ 
 3 „ 
 No „ 
 1 line 
 
 Table II. 
 
 Lines running from the left-hand top to the right-hand bottom. ( Begin to 
 count at the right-hand top corner.) 
 
 Type I. ... No lines ... 16 sets of four 
 
 „ II. ... 3 „ ... 15 „ 
 
 „ III. ... 2 „ ... 15 
 
 „ IV. ... 1 line ... 15 „ 
 
 „ V. ... No lines ... 16 „ 
 
 1 line 
 
 1 „ 
 3 lines 
 3 „ 
 
 No 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This is very like the first forgery of the 4 rappen. It is litho- 
 graphed on rather stout, yellowish-white wove paper. The four 
 corners of the stamp bear the figures 1, 8, 4, 3, respectively, instead 
 of the crosses of black dots. There is no trema over the u of zQrich, 
 and no hyphen between the words cantonal taxe. The red lines 
 are much the same as in the genuine. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 499 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Kather like the one just described. The corners bear the date, 
 1, 8, 4, 3, as before. There is no trema over the u of ziirich, and 
 there is no hyphen between the words cantonal taxe. There are, 
 in this forgery, eight perfect semicircles down the left side of the 
 stamp, instead of the six and a half of the genuine, and of the other 
 forgeries. Down the right side of the stamp there are seven perfect 
 semicircles, with a half-semicircle at the top, and another half-semi- 
 circle at the bottom. Printed on greyish-white wove paper, rather 
 like that of the genuine, but thicker. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on hard, yellowish- white wove paper. The corners 
 of the stamp bear the date figures, 1, 8, 4, 3, respectively. There is 
 a trema over the u of ZURICH, but no hyphen between the words 
 CANTONAL TAXE. The lialf-semicircle at the top of the left side 
 contains two dots, instead of one ; and the half-semicircle at the 
 bottom of the right side also contains two dots. 
 
 Fourth Forgery. 
 
 This is quite new to me, but evidently an old counterfeit. Printed 
 on yellowish-grey wove paper, stouter than the genuine. The four 
 corners of the stamp are filled in with a network of crossed, vertical, 
 and horizontal lines, without any square dots to form the crosses. This 
 is an easy instant test. There is no trema over the u of Zurich, and 
 the word is in rather staring type, larger than that of the genuine or 
 of the other forgeries. There is a hyphen between the words 
 CANTONAL TAXE, and a stop after them. The half-semicircle at the 
 top of the left side contains two dots, instead of one, as does also tke 
 similar half-semicircle at the bottom of the right side. 
 
 Fifth Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed in jet-black, on very white paper, wove, and rather 
 thin. The five square dots in the top left-hand corner almost always 
 run into one another ; and, in the lightly-printed copies, where they 
 do not run into each other, they are too near to the centre of the 
 little containing square. The tail of the 6 stops short where it 
 meets the body of the figure. There is no hyphen between the 
 words CANTONAL TAXE ; and, though the specimen before me is rather 
 blotched at the top, I do not think there is any trema over the u of 
 ZURICH. There are two dots, instead of one, in the half-semicircle 
 at the top of the left side, and also in the half-semicircle at the 
 bottom of the right side. The red lines are almost invisible, but 
 seem to be single and far apart. The black lines of the background 
 are as follows : 
 
500 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Table I. 
 
 Lines rimning from the rigJit-hancl top to the left-hand bottom. (Begin to 
 count at the left-hand top corner.) 
 No lines ... 17 sets of four ... No lines. 
 
 Table II. 
 
 Lines running from the left-hand top to the right-hand bottom. ( Begin to 
 count at the right-hand top corner.) 
 
 No lines ... 16 sets of four ... 2 lines. 
 
 Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Forgeries. 
 
 Of these I have kept no notes, except as to the number of lines in 
 the background. As far as I remember they agree with the genuine 
 in most other respects, though, as will be seen from the tables now to 
 be given, the black lines do not agree with any type of the originals. 
 
 Table I. 
 
 Lines running from right-hand top to left-hand bottom. 
 
 at the left-hand top corner.) 
 
 6th Forgery ... 2 lines ... 18 sets of four 
 
 7th „ ... 3 „ ... 14 
 
 8th „ ... No „ ... 16 „ 
 
 9th „ ... No „ ... 16 „ 
 
 Table II. 
 
 Lines running from left-hand top to right-hand bottom. ( Begin to count 
 at the right-hand top corner.) 
 
 6th Forgery ... 2 lines ... 18 sets of four ... 2 lines 
 
 7th „ ... No „ ... 15 „ ... No „ 
 
 8th „ ... No,, ... 16 „ ... 3 „ 
 
 9th „ ... 2 „ ... 15 „ ... 2 „ 
 
 Tenth Forgery. 
 
 This is the best to look at, and is dangerous. Apparently engraved, 
 on greyish- white wove paper, stout and hard. There is a trema over 
 the u of zijRiCH, and also a hyphen between the words cantonal- 
 TAXE, and a stop after the latter word. The red lines are ruled two 
 and one, as in the genuine, but each pair of lines is too far apart. 
 The half-semicircle at the top of the right side contains two dots, 
 blotched into one ; and the half-semicircle at the bottom of the right 
 side contains a short oblique line, rather than a dot. The black 
 lines are as follows : 
 
 Table I. 
 
 Lilies rimiing from the right-hand top to the left-hand bottom. ( Begin to 
 count at the left-hand top corner.) 
 2 lines ... 15 sets of four ... 2 lines. 
 
 (Begin to count 
 
 ... 2 lines 
 
 ... 1 line 
 
 ... 3 lines 
 
 ... 2 „ 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 501 
 
 Table II. 
 
 Lines running from the left-hand top to the right-hmwL bottom. ( Begin to 
 count at the right-hand top corner.) 
 
 3 lines ... 15 sets of four ... 2 lines (the lower one very faint). 
 
 These tables, as will be seen, do not agree with any type of the 
 genuine. 
 
 PostmarJcs. 
 
 Genuine and forged the same as in the genuine and forged 4 
 rappen, except that the fifth forgery is postmarked with a set of five 
 or more coarse parallel lines. 
 
 TASMANIA. 
 Issues of 1855-65. Id., red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, yellowish-white wove paper ; 
 unperforated, with star watermark (1855) ; unperforated, with water- 
 mark of large 1 (1858) ; perforated 13, 11, 10, 12, with same water- 
 mark (1864) ; and perce en arc, with same water- 
 mark (1865 ?). The upper part of the tiara bears 
 three crosses pattee and three shapeless masses of 
 jewels alternately. The base of it shows three 
 rows of rather shapeless jewels {not pearls), the 
 upper row being so close to the part of the tiara 
 above it as to be invisible at a first glance, so that 
 there seem to be but two rows of jewels. The 
 pearls of the necklace are small at the sides and 
 larger in front, the four in the very front being 
 very much larger than the others. The oval outline containing the 
 design is broken at the bottom by the value-label, and at the top and 
 sides by the rectangular outline of the top and sides of the stamp. 
 The inner point of the square in the lower right-hand corner is (like 
 the point of the left-hand square) at some distance from the outline 
 of the oval. The label containing the word postage begins over the 
 first stroke of the N of one, and ends over the commencement of the 
 Y of PENNY. The inscription one penny is in fat and well-drawn 
 letters. The background behind the head is formed of crossed 
 vertical and horizontal lines, so close together as to seem solid. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on slightly thinner and softer, very yellowish-white 
 wove paper ; no watermark, unperforated, or badly perforated 12^, 
 The ornaments on the upper part of the tiara appear to be four 
 
502 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 crosses pattee, and two shapeless masses of jewels. The base of it 
 shows three rows of pearls, the upper row being particularly distinct. 
 The pearls in the necklace do not vary much in size, and the central 
 ones are not specially larger than the rest. The outline of the outer 
 oval is broken at the bottom, as in the genuine ; but it is complete at 
 the top (running outside the frame), and at the sides also (running 
 i7iside the frame). The inner point of the square in the right-hand 
 bottom corner almost touches the outline of the oval, but the left- 
 hand square is at some distance from the said outline. The label 
 containing the word postage begins over the middle of the n of one, 
 and ends over the middle of the second N of penny. The inscrip- 
 tion ONE PENNY is in thin, irregular letters, and the letters of post- 
 age are too tall for the label which ought to contain them. The 
 crossed lines of the central background are plainly visible. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A transverse oval, formed by four parallel straight lines 
 at the top and bottom, and three curved lines each side, with large 
 numerals in the centre ; also the same, with Tasmania, instead of 
 numerals, in the centre ; also with date in pen-and-ink. 
 
 Forged. A large single circle, containing undecipherable lettering. 
 
 Same Issues. 2d., green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thick, hard, very yellowish-white 
 wove paper ; unperf orated, with star watermark (1855) ; unperf or- 
 ated, and watermarked 2 (1858) ; with same watermark, and per- 
 forated 10, 11, 12, 13 (1864). The tiara, the rows of jewels, the 
 necklace, the oval outline, and the bottom squares are exactly the 
 same as in the genuine Id. The postage label begins over the first 
 stroke of the w of two, and ends above the beginning of the last E 
 of pence. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper like that of the genuine, but without water- 
 mark ; unperf orated. The tiara, the rows of jewels, the necklace, 
 the oval outline, and the bottom squares are the same as in the 
 forged Id. already described. The postage label begins almost over 
 the middle of the w of two, and ends just above the middle of the 
 c of PENCE. I have two different types of this forgery, but they are 
 both alike in the tests given above. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Same as the first postmark of the Id. 
 Forged. Same as the genuine, but with two curved lines each 
 side, instead of three. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 503 
 
 Same Issues. 4d., blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper as before ; unperf orated, and with 
 star watermark (1855) ; unperf orated, and watermarked with a large 
 4 (1858); perforated 10, 11, 12, 13, with same watermark (1864). 
 The tiara, the rows of jewels, the necklace, the oval outline, and the 
 bottom squares are all the same as in the genuine Id. The postage 
 label begins between the f and o of four, and ends above the end 
 of the c of PENCE. The t of postage is exactly above the first 
 stroke of the p of pence. The letters of the . value are fat, and 
 nicely drawn. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thick, very white wove paper ; no watermark ; 
 perforated 1 2. The tiara, the rows of j ewels, the necklace, and the oval 
 outline are all the same as in the forged Id. The right-hand bottoaii 
 square is a good deal nearer to the outline of the oval than the left^ 
 hand square is, but does not absolutely touch it. The postage label 
 begins over the middle of the o of four, and ends over the last 
 stroke of the n of pence. The t of postage comes between the 
 words FOUR pence. The letters of these last two words are very 
 badly drawn and ragged-looking. The squares are also very badly 
 drawn. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Same as first postmark of the genuine Id. 
 
 Forged. Same as above, but with two lines each side, instead of 
 three ; also an oval formed by a number of short thick lines arranged 
 radially, with a large number or letter in the centre. 
 
 Issues of 1860-64. One Shilling (octagon), vermilion. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce on yellowish-white wove paper, rather 
 thinner than that of the stamps before described ; unperforated, and 
 watermarked 12 (1860) ; also with same watermark, and perforated 
 10, 11, 13 (1864), The tiara, necklace, and rows of jewels are the 
 same as in the genuine Id. The dark and loop-shaped piece of 
 engine-turning above the M of Tasmania does not touch the m. 
 There is no stop after the s of this word, nor is there any dot above 
 the first L of shilling. The colour is a vermilion-red, sometimes 
 darkened by time. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on bluish-white wove paper, rather thin ; unper- 
 forated ; no watermark. The ornaments on the top of the tiara are 
 like those of the genuine, but the three rows of jewels, or rather 
 pearls, are the same as in the forged Id. The necklace consists of large, 
 
504 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 coarsely-drawn pearls, the one in the very front being the smallest 
 of all ; and there are only eleven or twelve of them, instead of six- 
 teen. The dark and loop-shaped piece of imitation engine-turning 
 over the m of Tasmania touches the top of the m, and is much too 
 prominent. There is a mark, like a wedge-shaped stop, below and 
 between the s and m of this word, and there is a distinct stop above 
 the first L of shilling. The colour is a sort of brown-lilac, like 
 that of some of the 6d. stamps, but not in the least like that of the 
 genuine one shilling. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 Genuine. Same as in the genuine 2d. 
 Forged. Same as in the forged 2d. 
 
 N.B. — I have seen a forgery of the first Id., blue (1853), but do 
 not possess a specimen, so am unable to describe it. 
 
 TEANSVAAL. 
 Issue of 1869. German Impression. One Penny, red. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on thin, smooth, white wove paper ; un- 
 perforated, and also rouletted ; gum usually somewhat cracked. The 
 shaft of the waggon very nearly touches the side of the shield, there 
 not being room to draw a line between them. The top outline of the 
 waggon slopes slightly down towards the left ; and the line a little 
 below, and almost parallel with it, slopes still more decidedly to the 
 left. There are fourteen vertical lines of shading in the part of the 
 shield which contains the seated animal, the last line to the left 
 being little more than a dot. The body of the animal is almost all 
 dark, with two white patches upon it ; the 
 upper paw very nearly touches the outline of 
 the little central shield which contains the 
 anchor. Only the centre of the face of the said 
 animal is white, and there is a very small dot for 
 an eye, almost in the middle of the white patch. 
 There are twenty-five oblique lines in the part 
 of the shield which contains the waggon, count- 
 ing above the top of the waggon. The thick 
 line across the middle of the shield is broken in 
 the centre, to allow the point of the little anchor-shield to show 
 itself. The outer ends of this line go close to the sides of the oval 
 shield, but do not touch them. The bird has a very small ciraUar 
 white patch in the centre of the face, with a tiny dot for an eye, 
 rather above the centre of the white patch. The points of both 
 wings go rather close to the flags. The inscription on the ribbon is 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 505 
 
 EENDRAGT MAAKT MAGT. The p of POSTZEGEL is very close to the 
 beginning of the label, but the L of that word is rather further from 
 the end of it. The spear-heads are all very nearly the same size 
 and shape. The bottom of the spear, ending in a ball, which passes 
 behind the word magt, ends exactly in the middle of the space above 
 the IE of REPUBLIEK, and it does not touch the outline of the ribbon 
 between the G and t of magt. The stops after z and afr are on the 
 same level. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on medium, white wove paper, ungummed, and 
 perforated 13. The shaft of the waggon is a full millimetre from 
 the side of the shield. Both the upper outlines of the waggon slope 
 considerably down to the right. There are fifteen vertical lines in 
 the part of the shield which contains the seated animal. The body 
 of the animal is much too rounded, and nearly all white ; and the 
 upper paw is some little distance from the outline of the anchor- 
 shield. The whole of the face of the animal is white, and there is a 
 very distinct dot in the centre of it. There are twenty-seven oblique 
 lines in the part of the shield containing the waggon, counting along 
 the top of the waggon. The thick line across the middle of the 
 shield is broken, as in the genuine ; but the left-hand end is some 
 distance from the side of the shield, and the right-hand end is still 
 further from the side. The bird has a large circular white patch for 
 a face, and a large dot in the very centre of it. The wing on the 
 right side of the stamp is further from the flag than the one on the 
 left. The first word of the motto is eendract, instead of eendragt, 
 and the last letter of the second word looks more like an x than a t. 
 The p of POSTZEGEL is some distance from the beginning of the label, 
 and the l is the same distance from the end of it. The upper spear- 
 head on the right side of the stamp is much wider than any of the 
 others. The bottom of the spear, ending in a ball, which passes 
 behind the word magt, ends above the i of republiek. The stop 
 after afr is a little higher than the one after the z. 
 
 Stamp for Amateurs. 
 
 Pemberton's Handbook says : " These stamps (the genuine) were 
 engraved in Mecklenburg, and large quantities of sheets were obtained 
 from the printer in the actual and fancy colours, and obliterated by a 
 circular postmark. Whether this was done illicitly, or with govern- 
 ment sanction, I do not know ; but, as these specimens, though from 
 the real dies, have never passed the post, they appear to me to possess 
 somewhat of the same value to a philatelist as a series of our current 
 English silver coinage, struck in tin, lead, brass, zinc, or other base 
 metal." 
 
 It will be understood from the foregoing that, when printed in the 
 proper colours, all the stamps of this set are very difficult to detect. 
 The one penny value, now under consideration, is printed on thin, 
 
506 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 rather shiny paper, and rouletted, with perfectly smooth gum ; or on 
 rather stouter paper, and unperforated, also with smooth gum. The 
 impression is heavier than that of the originals, and the body of the 
 animal often shows only one white patch. The upper paw of the 
 animal generally does touch the outline of the anchor-shield, and its 
 eye seems to be a little to the right of the centre of the white patch 
 on the face. The thick line across the middle of the shield goes all 
 the way unbroken. The greatest difference is in the face of the bird, 
 which has a shai^eless white patch on it, split into two on the right 
 side, and with the eye towards the left-hand end of it. In most of 
 my specimens, the point of the wing on the left side of the stamp 
 touches the flag, but the other wing is further off. The bottom of 
 the spear, ending in a ball, which passes behind the word magt, 
 seems to have been touched up. It has a distinct double outline, 
 instead of the single coloured line of the originals, and touches the 
 outline of the ribbon between the G and t of magt ; it also ends 
 above the i of republiek. 
 
 Same Issue. Sixpence, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper, engraving, &c., the same as in the one 
 penny. With the exception of the following 
 differences, the stamp is exactly like the one 
 penny genuine. The p of postzegel is rather 
 farther from the beginning of the containing- 
 label than the l is from the end of it. The 
 bottom of the spear, ending in a ball, which 
 passes behind the word magt, ends over the 
 space between li of republiek, rather nearer to 
 the I. 
 
 First Forgery, 
 
 Lithographed on medium, white wove paper ; perforated 13. This 
 is exactly the same as the forgery of the one penny, except that the 
 last letter of maakt is a distinct t in some copies. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 If this be a regular forgery, and not merely a variety of the 
 "stamps for amateurs" mentioned above, it is a most dangerous 
 counterfeit. It is apparently engraved, on dull, rough, thick paper, 
 ungummed, and unperforated. The colour is a very greenish-blue, 
 instead of the bright blue of the genuine. The top frame of the 
 stamp is three and a half millimetres high, instead of three milli- 
 metres ; and the bottom frame is also three and a half, instead of 
 three millimetres high. The P of postzegel is very close to the 
 beginning of the label, as in the genuine one penny value, and the L 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 507 
 
 is considerably farther from the end of the label. The stem of the 
 spear touches the outline of the ribbon under the space between the 
 GT of MAGT, and the ball at the end of it cannot be distinguished 
 from the ribbon. The bird has a large pear-shaped white patch for 
 a face, with a transverse dash in it for an eye ; and the wing on the 
 left side of the stamp touches the flag. The thick line across the 
 middle of the shield is not broken, and the right-hand end seems to 
 touch the outline of the shield. The points of the spears on the 
 right side are blunt, instead of being quite as sharp as the others. 
 The bottom end of the ribbon on the right side points inwards, 
 towards the l of republiek, instead of outwards, towards the bottom 
 right-hand corner of the stamp. There is no stop after the z in my 
 specimen ; but. the stamp is not very clearly printed there, so that it 
 is possible that the stop may show in better copies. With these 
 exceptions, the stamp is, line for line, the same as the genuine six- 
 pence. I think the easiest test is, that the p of postzegel is so 
 much too close to the beginning of the label in this counterfeit. 
 
 Stamp for Amateurs. 
 
 This is exactly the same as the one penny " stamp for amateurs " 
 above described, with the exception of the following. The thick 
 line across the centre of the shield can be traced all the way un- 
 broken, but it is rather thinner under the point of the anchor-shield. 
 The lower spear-shaft on the right side is double, instead of being 
 one single dark line ; and it touches the outline of the ribbon 
 between gt of magt, as in the one penny value in question. The 
 left-hand spear-shaft also touches the ribbon between dr of 
 EENDRAGT, and it also touches the shield itself, above the r of this 
 word, though it does not touch the shield or the ribbon in the 
 original sixpence. The easiest test for these fancy reprints, or what- 
 ever they are, is the shapeless, split white patch for the face of the 
 bird, instead of the white circle of the originals. 
 
 Same Issue, One Shilling, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper, engraving, &c., the same as in the genuine one penny. The 
 tests are exactly the same as for the genuine one penny, with the 
 exception of the following. The p of postzegel is half a millimetre 
 from the beginning of the label, and the l of that word is half a 
 millimetre from the end of it. The ball at the bottom of the spear 
 ends above the i of republiek. The right-hand end of the ribbon 
 goes within half a millimetre of the right bottom corner of the 
 frame, above the last e of republiek. The g of the left-hand 
 SHILLING is considerably nearer to the end of the label than the e of 
 een is to the beginning of it. The lowest spear-point on the right 
 side goes very close to the side of the frame. 
 
608 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on medium, white wove paper ; perforated 13. The 
 tests for this counterfeit are exactly the same as in the forged one 
 penny, except the following. The p of postzegel is one millimetre 
 from the beginning of the label, and the l of that word is one milli- 
 metre from the end of it. The ball of the spear ends above the end 
 of the I of REPUBLIEK, and the shaft goes against the lower outline 
 of the ribbon, between the gt of magt. The right-hand point of 
 the ribbon is almost two millimetres from the right-hand bottom 
 corner of the frame. The g of the left-hand shilling is further 
 from the end of the label than the e of een is from the beginning of 
 it. The lowest spear-point on the right side is more than half a 
 millimetre from the side of the frame. 
 
 Stamp for Amateurs. 
 
 The white patch for the face of the bird is even longer in this 
 stamp than in the similar one penny and sixpence, being something 
 like a pear, thick end to the left, with the small end deeply cleft or 
 split. Two vertical lines of the background can be seen in one of 
 the white patches on the animal. Both the lower spear-shafts are 
 distinctly double ; the right-hand one touches the outline of the 
 ribbon between the gt of magt, and the left-hand one touches 
 the outline of the ribbon between the dr of eendragt, and is also 
 continued to touch the outline of the shield, above the R of that 
 word. The bird's wing on the left side of the stamp touches the flag 
 in my copy. The lettering of een shilling on each side of the 
 stamp is more battered and thicker than in the originals. 
 
 Same Issue. Different Type. Three Pence, lilac, mauve. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper, &c., the same as in the genuine one penny. The bird is 
 quite different in this value, being like an eagle, with the tip of one 
 wing touching the leg, and the other pointing downwards. The p 
 and L of postzegel are some distance from the ends of the label. 
 Both spear-shafts are composed of double lines, and both touch the 
 lower outline of the ribbon, under the dr of eendragt and under 
 the GT of MAGT respectively. There are no dark dots or specks in 
 any of the letters or. numerals, and the 3 in the right top corner is 
 exactly the same as the corresponding numeral in the left top corner. 
 With these exceptions, this stamp is the same as the genuine one 
 penny value in everything. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on medium, white wove paper ; ungummed, and per- 
 forated 13. This value is found in various colours, I suppose to 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 509 
 
 emulate the vagaries of the "stamps for amateurs." I have it in 
 red-lilac, and also in the same colour as the genuine one penny. All 
 the tests are exactly the same as for the forged one penny. This 
 stamp is not at all likely to deceive, as the bird is the same inde- 
 scribable monster as in the said forgery of the one penny, instead 
 of being like an eagle. 
 
 Stamp for Amateurs. 
 
 This is exactly the same as the original in everything but the 
 following points, which, after all, are only due to want of care in 
 printing, and possibly to deterioration of the plate. The colour is a 
 very red-lilac. My originals, which came to me within a month or 
 so of their being issued, are in a cold, blue-lilac. There are dark 
 dots or specks in the following places : in the white line of the left- 
 hand frame, to the left of the i of drie ; in the d and e of this word ; 
 in the e of pence on the same side ; in the g and l of postzegel ; 
 several in the right-hand 3 ; in the d and e of the right-hand drie ; 
 in each of the letters of pence on the same side, there being three 
 in the last e of that word ; in the z ; and in nearly every letter of 
 REPUBLIEK, there being two very distinct ones in the u. The 3 in 
 the right-hand top corner is apparently battered, and is a good deal 
 thicker than its fellow. I ought to mention that, since writing this 
 description, I have seen nicely -printed specimens, with hardly any 
 trace of these white specks ; being, in fact, almost entirely undis- 
 tinguishable from the genuine. 
 
 Issue of 1870. Native Impression. One Penny, grey-black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Exactly the same as the genuine one penny, red, of the Mecklen- 
 burg set, except that it is printed on much stouter paper ; rather 
 heavy or smeared impression, in grey -black, instead of red. It exists 
 both unperforated and rouletted. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Exactly the same as the forged one penny, red, in design, paper, 
 perforation, and everything, except that it is in jet-black, instead of 
 red. 
 
 Stamp for Amateurs. 
 
 Engraved in jet-black, upon very thin, bluish- white wove paper, 
 gum cracked. All the other tests are exactly the same as for the 
 similar soi-disant reprint of the one penny, red. My own specimens 
 are all rouletted, but I believe it exists also unperforated. 
 
510 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Issue of 1876. Bird as on the Threepence. Sixpence, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 The same as the threepence, with the bird like an eagle ; but with 
 the value zes, instead of drie, and the corner-numerals changed to 
 6. I have seen no forgery of this type ; I think it only exists 
 rouletted. 
 
 Stamp for Amateurs. 
 
 This is exactly like the soi-disant reprint of the threepence, but 
 with the value and numerals changed. My specimens are all un- 
 perforated, but I suppose it exists rouletted as well. 
 
 Issue of 1877. Surcharged in black capitals, <*V.B. 
 Transvaal." Id., 3d., 6d., One Shilling. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 These are exactly the same as the genuine values of the German 
 impression, except that they are surcharged in black with v. r. 
 TRANSVAAL, in Capitals. The impression is very much smeared, and 
 the paper is much thicker. The impression and the surcharge are 
 both native print. The one penny is unperforated ; the threepence, 
 the sixpence, and the one shilling, exist both unperforated and 
 rouletted. The sixpence and the one shilling are found also with red 
 surcharge, and with red and black surcharge together, but these have 
 not been imitated. In the stamps now und^ consideration the point 
 of the V is exactly five millimetres from the centre of the thick 
 vertical stroke of the R ; the centre of the first stop is nearly two 
 and a half millimetres from the point of the v ; and the centre of 
 the stop after the r is a little more than three millimetres from the 
 centre of the thick vertical stroke of the r. The centre of the ver- 
 tical stroke of the t of transvaal is fifteen and a half millimetres 
 from the centre of the vertical stroke of the L ; and the stop after 
 the L is exactly seventeen millimetres from the centre of the vertical 
 stroke of the said T. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 These are merely the stamps for amateurs above described, with 
 the surcharge, V. R. transvaal, forged upon them. As these stamps 
 never went to the colony at all, they are simply forgeries in the 
 ordinary sense of the word. The tests for the design are exactly the 
 same as for the " stamps for amateurs " already dissected. The point 
 of the V is eight and a half millimetres from the centre of the verti- 
 cal stroke of the r ; the centre of the first stop is two millimetres 
 from the point of the v ; the centre of the stop after the r is more 
 than two and a half millimetres from the centre of the first stroke 
 of the R. The centre of the vertical stroke of the t of transvaal 
 is sixteen and a half millimetres from the centre of the vertical 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 511 
 
 stroke of the l, and the stop after the L is eighteen and a half milli- 
 metres from the vertical stroke of the T. The great distance apart 
 of tlie V. R. in these forgeries will be suflicient to condemn them at 
 a glance. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I have seen (but only just after the stamps came out) 
 the large thick circle, with potchefstroom, &c., in it ; being the 
 hand-stamp which was used to manufacture 
 the first issue of the envelopes. It was 
 something like the accompanying cut. The 
 most usual postmark, however, is a set of 
 three concentric circles, with a numeral in 
 the centre. Some of my specimens bear 
 simply a black smudge, and one is cancelled 
 with a name written across it. 
 
 Forged. The common forgeries are can- 
 celled with a set of five long parallel black 
 bars. The soi-disant reprints, with and 
 without the forged surcharge, are cancelled with an imitation of the 
 three concentric circles, with numeral in the centre ; but it appears 
 to be lithographed on to the stamps, instead of being struck with a 
 hand-stamp in the usual way. 
 
 Note. — I have not said much about the stamps which were printed 
 in the colony. They are frightfully smeared and blotched, but the 
 design, as far as it can be traced, is exactly the same as that of the 
 genuine German impression. I do not possess any forgeries of the 
 issues surcharged with transvaal in small letters. Such, however, 
 exist, printed on the design of the " stamps for amateurs " already 
 described. The genuine have no stop after transvaal, but the 
 forgeries have a stop. 
 
 TOLIMA. 
 
 Issue of 1871. 6 Centavos, brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on yellowish-white wove paper. The two inscrip- 
 tions round the central circle are separated from 
 each other by a coloured dot, surrounded by a 
 dark ring, to right and left of the central circle ; 
 i.e., before and after e. s. de tolima. The 
 curved line above the cin of cinco, and the 
 similar curved line above the ts of cents, do 
 not touch the outline of the central circle. The 
 ornament at the centre of the top of the stamp 
 is a long diamond. 
 
512 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 This is sold as a second type, and also as a reprint. The differences 
 show that it cannot possibly be a reprint, and it can hardly be a 
 second genuine type, or else we should have heard of it long ago. I 
 believe, therefore, that it is nothing else than a forgery, made, it is 
 said, by the present possessor of the original matrix of the genuine 
 type. It is lithographed, on paper very similar to that of the genuine. 
 The two inscriptions in the central circle are separated by stars, 
 instead of ringed dots. The curved lines, above ciN and ts respec- 
 tively, run into the outline of the central circle. The ornament at 
 the top of the stamp is a sort of cross, instead of a long diamond. 
 
 Postmarhs. 
 
 I have no cancelled copy of the genuine ; the forgery is also 
 imused. 
 
 TEmiDAD. 
 
 Red-brown, blue, olive-brown, greenish-black, neutral. 
 
 Issue of 1851. On bluish wove paper. 
 
 Issue of 1854 (1). On yellowish-white wove paper. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper as above, according to the date of 
 issue, rather thin. The shield is shaded all over, except just at the 
 rim ; and it bears traces of the Union Jack, which can be seen 
 without much difficulty. The collar of Britannia is composed of 
 three rows of shells, fastened in front with the head of one of the 
 cat tribe as a brooch. The ship is very nicely drawn and distinct ; 
 it shows ten sails, and there is a long white streamer from the mast- 
 head pointing towards Britannia. The sea is distinct, and two waves 
 can be seen. The large bale on which Britannia is sitting shows a 
 broad band tied round its very centre. The foot is very distinct, 
 with five toes, and it does not touch the bottom of the spear. There 
 is a thing like some sort of animal couching on the top of the helmet, 
 and a very distinct, five-pointed star below it. The background is 
 formed by engine-turned lines. There is a very marked white out- 
 line round the back of the hair. There are six or seven dark vertical 
 lines down the front of the chest, to represent folds. All four knuckles 
 can be seen on the hand which holds the spear. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very badly lithographed on stout, blue-faced, or very yellowish 
 wove paper. The shield shows far too much white along the rim. 
 There is no trace of the Union Jack upon it. The collar is a mere 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 513 
 
 blotch round the neck, with a few white spots on it ; and the brooch 
 is very badly done. The ship is very poor and indistinct ; it shows 
 only six or seven sails, and there is no white streamer from the top 
 of the mast. The sea is merely a white blotch, without waves. The 
 band on the bale on which Britannia is seated is tied high above the 
 centre. The foot is a blotch, and either touches or goes very close to 
 the bottom of the spear, and none of the toes can be seen. The top 
 of the helmet bears an indistinct white knob or ball, and there is no 
 star visible. The background is very poor ; in the imitations of the 
 first issue it is almost solid, with hardly any traces of lines, and in 
 the imitations of the white paper issue, though the lines show more, 
 they are only a very faint approximation to the fine engine-turning 
 of the genuine. There is no white outline round the hair, which 
 fades off into the background. There are only three dark lines 
 down the front of the chest to represent folds of the dress, and they 
 are far thicker and darker than in tlie genuine. The knuckles of 
 the hand which holds the spear are quite invisible. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An unoutlined oval, formed by four lines at the top 
 and bottom and two lines at the sides, enclosing a square frame 
 containing a numeral. 
 
 Forged. Either uncancelled, or with a set of parallel bars, enclos- 
 ing a very narrow oblong, with two short lines at each end of it. 
 
 Fourpence, violet, lilac, greenish-grey, slate-grey. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-clouce, on white wove paper ; unperforated 
 (1859); the same, perforated variously 15^, 14, 13, 12 (1863); the 
 same, perforated 13 and watermarked wdth crown 
 and CC (1864-66), &c. The name is at the top, 
 and the value indicated at the bottom ; otherwise 
 this stamp is very similar in tyjDe to tlie issues 
 just described. The lines in the background are, 
 however, set very much closer together. The 
 name-label is placed so very close to the top of 
 the stamp that only the very tops of some of the 
 white outlined crescents of the top border can be 
 seen above the said label, and there are twelve and a half of these 
 crescents across the top of the stamp. The bottom of the sjDear 
 conies over the space between the ur of four, but is rather nearer 
 to the u than to the R. The foot comes over the R. The ship shows, 
 as before, ten sails ; and it has a long streamer from the top of the 
 mast, pointing towards Britannia. There are six or seven fine vertical 
 lines down the front of the chest, to represent folds in the dress. 
 
 2 L 
 
514 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on hard, very white, rather stout wove paper ; im- 
 perforated. The background is a very weak imitation of the engine- 
 turning of the genuine. The name-label is placed so low down that 
 a good portion of the central crescents of the upper border can be 
 seen above it. There are only eleven and a half of these crescents 
 across the top of the stamp. The bottom of the spear comes over 
 the centre of the r of four. The foot of Britannia comes over the 
 space between four and pence. The ship has about seven sails, and 
 there is the merest apology for a streamer at the mast-head. There 
 are no vertical lines of shading down the front of the chest, though 
 there are plenty of oblique ones. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A single circle, with name and date ; also a double circle 
 for part of the way round, the rest of the circle being completed by 
 the word trinidad, and with date in the centre ; also the same 
 cancellation as in the older issue, but I think this latter is rare. I 
 have only one specimen of this issue so cancelled. 
 
 There are, no doubt, other forgeries of Trinidad, but I have only 
 seen the ones here described. 
 
 TUEKEY. 
 Issue of 1863. 20 Paras, yellow. 
 
 There are really two issues of the 1863 stamps — one on 
 extremely thin, or pelure paper; the other on very much 
 thicker, ordinary wove paper. There is a full set on the pelure 
 paper, and I believe there is also a full set of the issue on thick 
 paper, but I have never seen the 2 piastres on the thick paper. 
 To avoid unnecessary repetition, it will be understood that all 
 the stamps of this issue are on pelure^ and also on moderately 
 stout, face-coloured wove paper. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in black, on face-coloured paper, as above. The proper 
 position of this stamp, as of all the others of this issue, is with the 
 hollow part of the crescent uppermost, and the two almost horizontal 
 lines which stick out from the side of the central monogram pointing 
 to the right. The centre of the monogram is quite solid. The outer 
 point of the ornament in the right upper corner of the stamp is 
 more than a millimetre distant from the said corner. This orna- 
 ment is joined to the similar one in the left upper corner by a semi- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 515 
 
 circular line, round part uppermost, which touches the thin inner 
 line of the top of the stamp. Each of these two ornaments contains 
 in its centre a very round-looking black oval, with a light, shapeless 
 dot in its centre. The right oval is rounder and larger than the 
 other ; but both are very nearly as broad as they are long. Both 
 points of the crescent are of the same height ; the left-hand one 
 being level with the very centre of the egg-shaped part which pro- 
 jects from the left side of the monogram. The Arabic figure 2 at 
 the bottom of the stamp is like a 7, with the head pointing to the 
 right instead of to the left ; it gets thinner towards the bottom, and 
 stands on, and is joined to, a sort of black lump or mound at the 
 bottom of the containing-oval. The diamond-shaped dot after the 
 2 (which stands for the cypher) is placed high up in the oval, not 
 far below the top part of the figure. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Nicely printed on very thin jpelure paper, not such a dead-looking 
 yellow as that of the genuine. The forgers have made the mistake 
 of gumming the face of the stamp and postmarking the back ; so 
 that, if the stamp were placed in the position intended by the 
 makers, the two long, almost horizontal lines projecting from the 
 side of the monogram would point to the left. (In describing the 
 stamp, it will be understood that I speak of it as it ought to be 
 placed, not as the forgers intended.) The ornament in the right 
 upper corner comes within half a millimetre of the corner of the 
 stamp. The centre of the monogram has a large light space in it, 
 which contains a black dot. The semicircular line at the middle of 
 the top of the stamp, joining the two corner ornaments together, 
 does not touch the thin inner outline of the top of the stamp, 
 though it goes very close to it. The centres of the two upper corner- 
 ornaments are long ovals, twice as long as they are broad, and 
 almost exactly the same size and shape. The left-hand point of the 
 crescent is decidedly higher than the other, and it comes up almost 
 to the very top of the egg-shaped piece which projects from the left 
 side of the monogram. The Arabic figure 2, at the bottom of the 
 stamp, gets thicker towards the bottom, and there is no black lump 
 in the containing-oval for it to stand on. The diamond-shaped dot 
 after the figure is placed low down in the oval, below the centre of 
 it, and opposite to the centre of the figure. With the above excep- 
 tions, this forgery is remarkably deceptive ; and specimens of this, 
 and of the other values, may be found in the collections of almost 
 all our youthful friends. 
 
 Same Issue. 1 Piastre, black on slate, or violet-slate. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving and paper as in the 20 paras. The outer point of the 
 ornament in the left top corner touches the thin inner outline of the 
 
516 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 stamp. The bottom of the crescent touches the point of the orna- 
 ment immediately above the figure 1, and also the stem of the leaf- 
 ornament to the left of it ; but it does not touch the stem of the 
 similar leaf-ornament to the right of it. The centre of the monogram 
 is solid. There is a very distinct dot above the oval containing the 
 figure 1, and exactly above the top of the 1 ; the said 1 is rather 
 rounded at the top. The bottom outline of the crescent is shaded by 
 very short vertical lines ; these lines are not very distinct, and only 
 show below the central writing in the crescent, the rest of the outline 
 being solid to both points of the crescent. I have foimd this stamp 
 difficult to describe, owing to the floriated nature of the design ; but 
 I hope the above tests will be sufficient. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Paper the same as in the forged 20 paras, but of a bluish neutral 
 tint. The stamp is gummed on the face, and postmarked on the 
 back, as in the above-named counterfeit. The outer point of the 
 ornament in the left top corner does not touch the said corner. The 
 bottom of the crescent touches the point of the ornament imme- 
 diately above the figure 1, and the stem of the leaf-ornament to the 
 left of it ; it also almost touches the stem of the similar leaf-ornament 
 to the right of it. The centre of the monogram contains a light- 
 coloured space, with a dot in the middle. The dot above the figure 1 
 is not at all distinct, being partially merged into the shading above 
 the oval, which is much more pronounced than in the genuine. This 
 said figure 1 is cut off very obliquely at the top. The bottom outline 
 of the crescent is shaded by very distinct and prominent vertical 
 lines, which can be traced almost to the very points of the crescent. 
 The prominent dot above the 1, and the indistinct shading to the 
 bottom of the crescent, will be found the best criterions of the 
 genuine. 
 
 Same Issue. 2 Piastres, black on blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving and paper as in the genuine 20 paras. The right point 
 of the crescent is higher than the left. The centre of the monogram 
 is solid. The bottom outline of the crescent in all my specimens 
 appears to be almost entirely solid. The top-stroke of the figure 2 
 is very concave, or hollowed in its outHne. The upper point of the 
 leaf, below the left side of the crescent, is as far from the side of the 
 frame as the upper part of the similar leaf, below the right side of 
 the crescent, is from the right side of the frame. There are twenty- 
 two pearls or balls outside the top of the frame, counting the corner 
 ones ; twenty-one at the bottom of the frame, counting the corner 
 ones ; twenty-nine down the right side, counting the corner ones 
 again ; and twenty-eight down the left side, also counting the corner 
 ones. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 517 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Paper, &c., the same as in the forged 20 paras. The right point of 
 the crescent is very much lower than the left. The centre of the 
 monogram has a light-coloured space in it, containing a black dot. 
 The bottom outline of the crescent is shaded with vertical lines, like 
 those of the forged 1 piastre, but not so clear, and merged into one 
 solid line towards the ends of the crescent. The top-stroke of the 
 figure 2 is very nearly straight. The upper point of the leaf below 
 the left side of the crescent touches the side of the frame, but the 
 similar point of the leaf to the right of the crescent is a good 
 distance from the right side of the frame. There are twenty-four 
 pearls outside the top of the stamp ; twenty-four at the bottom ; 
 thirty-one down the right side ; and thirty-one down the left side, 
 counting the corner ones in each case. The colour of the genuine is 
 a pale, dull, Prussian-blue ; that of the counterfeits is green, a bluish- 
 green certainly, but decidedly green. 
 
 Same Issue. 5 Piastres, gooseberry-red. 
 
 The catalogues vary considerably as to the colour of this 
 stamp. One calls it "crimson," another ''carmine," another 
 "groseille," &c. The latter is, I think, the true name for it, 
 which I have taken the liberty of translating "gooseberry-red." 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper and engraving as in the genuine 20 jDaras. The centre of 
 the monogram is quite solid. The crescent is equally sharp at both 
 points, and both of these points are more than half a millimetre 
 from the ornaments in the upper corners. The 
 leaf-ornament at the bottom of the stamp does not 
 go into the left bottom corner at all ; and the semi- 
 circular line at the middle of the bottom of the 
 stamp, below the figure of value, almost touches 
 the thin inner outline of the bottom of the frame. 
 The outline of the 5 (which, by the way, is a 
 transverse o) is nearly as thick at the sides as at 
 the top and bottom. The vertical lines of shading & > ^^SS 
 in the bottom outline of the crescent can be traced as far as the 
 writing in the crescent extends. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Printing and paper the same as in the forged 20 paras. The colour 
 varies, sometimes being of a very pale and washed-out magenta 
 shade, and sometimes being almost a burnt-sienna colour. The stamp 
 is gummed on the face, and postmarked on the back. The centre of 
 the monogram is light, and contains a black dot. The right side of 
 
518 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 the crescent is very much sharper than the left, and its extreme apex 
 touches the ornament above it. The left point of the crescent also 
 almost touches the similar ornament above it. The leaf-ornament at 
 the bottom of the stamp goes quite into the left bottom corner, and 
 touches it. The semicircular line at the middle of the bottom of the 
 stamp is almost half a millimetre distant from the thin outline of 
 the bottom of the frame. The outline of the transverse o, or 5, is 
 very thin at the sides, and very thick at the top and bottom. The 
 vertical lines of shading in the bottom outline of the crescent are so 
 very close together that they generally run into one solid line. 
 
 Note. — The paper, in both genuine and forged, is not strictly 
 what is called " coloured paper," but is white paper, with a coloured 
 wash on the face of it. This is very easy to see in the thick paper 
 series of the genuine ; but the thin paper is so transparent that the 
 colour shows through, making it look like really coloured paper. 
 
 PostTYiarks. 
 
 Genuine. All my specimens are unused, so I cannot say what is 
 the normal postmark. 
 
 Forged. A set of square black dots. I have some scores of speci- 
 mens before me ; but all the postmarked ones have the cancellation 
 struck on the back of the stamp, as stated above. 
 
 Same Issue, for Unpaid Letters. 20 Paras, 1, 2, 5 Piastres, 
 all in brown and red -brown. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 These are the same as the corresponding values just described, but 
 are all printed in shades of red-brown. They were used, I believe, 
 for unpaid letters. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Same as the corresponding forged values just described, but printed 
 in various shades of brown and reddish-brown. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. I do not possess any postmarked copies of the genuine. 
 Forged. Postmarked with the set of square black dots, as before, 
 and struck on the back of the stamp. 
 
 Issue of 1865. 10, 20 Paras ; 1, 2, 5, 25 Piastres. 
 Issue of 1869. 10, 20 Paras ; 1, 2, 5, 25 Piastres. 
 Issue of January, 1871. 10, 20 Paras ; 1, 2, 6, 26 Piastres. 
 
 I take these issues together, as the design is the same, as far 
 as the tests are concerned. There are two types of the 1865 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 519 
 
 issue — one with, and the other without, rays round the star. 
 This issue is nicely engraved in epargne, on moderately stout, 
 rather hard, white wove paper; perforated 12^. The 1869 
 issue is not so well printed, on rather thinner paper, and per- 
 forated 13^. The 1871 issue is frightfully executed, the design 
 in many cases being almost undecipherable, and variously per- 
 forated 9, 10, &c., the perforation being irregular and badly 
 done. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne. Paper and perforation as 
 above described, according to the date of issue. 
 The oval ring round the crescent and star contains 
 forty-eight pearls. In the first two of the above- 
 named issues the pearls are large and close 
 together. In the 1871 issue they are often very 
 small, and far apart, but the number is the same 
 in each issue. The outside of the frame of the 
 stamp consists of two thin lines — a white one 
 inside, and a coloured one outside. These two lines are exactly the 
 same thickness, or rather thinness. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Very nicely lithographed, on paper almost the same as that of the 
 1869 issue, and perforated 13. There are only forty-three pearls 
 round the crescent and star ; some of them are oval, and some round. 
 The frame of the stamp consists of two lines — a white one inside, 
 and a coloured one outside — as in the genuine ; but the coloured line 
 is a great deal thicker than the white one. Except for these difter- 
 ences, the forgeries are very like the genuine, and are dangerous. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 The stamps of this set are very inferior to those already described. 
 I do not know whether all the values and colours of the issues above 
 mentioned exist in this type, but I have several varieties, and expect 
 that counterfeits of all have been made. Lithographed, generally in 
 very bright colours, on thick, very white wove paper ; unperforated. 
 There are only forty-two pearls in the oval ; they are almost half a 
 millimetre from the edge of the arabesque oval outside them, instead 
 of very nearly touching it, and there is no white line separating the 
 pearls from the solid oval inside them. In the genuine there is a 
 white line, running all round the oval, between the pearls and the 
 crescent and star. The outline of the star is very thick, and its two 
 lower points are stumpy and rather blunt. In the genuine these 
 lower two points are sharp, and rather long. 
 
550 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Same Issues, Unpaid. 10, 20 Paras, 1, 2, 5, 25 Piastres. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Exactly the same as the issues for the public of the same years, 
 but all printed in shades of brown and bistre. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Exactly the same as the first forgeries of the issues above-men- 
 tioned, but printed in various shades of yellow-brown. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Exactly the same as the second forgeries of the issues above- 
 mentioned, but printed in various shades of red-brown. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 ■ Genuine. Three concentric rectangles, containing Turkish letter- 
 ing in the centre ; also a large double circle, containing Turkish 
 lettering both in the centre and between the circles. 
 
 First Forgery. Three concentric rectangles, as in the genuine, but 
 without the Turkish lettering. 
 
 Second Forgery. A large double circle, with European lettering in 
 the centre and blotches between the circles. 
 
 Issue of January, 1876. |, 4, 1^, 2, 6 Piastres. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne; paper as in the 1865 
 issue ; perforated 13|. The coloured part of 
 the design is exactly as in the 1865 issue, but 
 the Turkish black surcharge is very heavy, and 
 forms an almost unbroken oval. The values, as 
 given above, are printed in ordinary numerals 
 and letters. There are forty-eight pearls round 
 the crescent and star, and the white and coloured 
 outlines of the stamp are of equal thinness. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Nicely lithographed on thick, soft, very white wove paper ; per- 
 forated 13. There are, as in the last sets of counterfeits, only forty- 
 three pearls round the crescent and star, and the coloured line round 
 the stamp is considerably thicker than the white one inside it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Very various cancellations. Among my own specimens 
 I have a small circle, almost filled with Turkish characters ; also a 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 521 
 
 large double circle, with Turkish in the centre, and European letter- 
 ing between the circles ; also an undecipherable shape in red ; also 
 two concentric ovals, very close together, with an oblong rectangle in 
 the centre, containing European lettering, and the rest of the space 
 filled in by bars, parallel with the long sides of the rectangle ; also 
 two concentric octagons, rather close together, with Turkish lettering 
 in the centre. The last three are generally struck in greenish-blue. 
 
 Forged. Two concentric ovals, filled in with bars, as in the 
 genuine, but without the central rectangle, the two lines nearest 
 the centre being merely set farther apart than the rest ; struck in 
 blue. 
 
 Issue of April, 1876. 10 Parae, 1 Piastre. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Exactly like the January issue of the same year, with the same 
 paper, same perforation, &c. ; but without the surcharged value in 
 European letters and figures. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 I have not seen any forgery of this set, but the stamps could easily 
 be prepared by simply omitting the European letters and figures 
 from the forgeries last described. The number of pearls and the 
 outlines will, as before, distinguish any forgeries from the genuine. 
 
 PostmarJcs. 
 
 Genuine. I have seen no postmarked copies with any cancellation 
 besides the two concentric octagons, struck in blue, described above. 
 It is, however, probable that the two concentric ovals will be found 
 on the stamps of this issue also. 
 
 Issue of September, 1876. 5 Piastres. 
 
 All the stamps of this issue are exactly the same in design, 
 with the exception of the value, and therefore the following 
 description, leaving out the points connected with the value, 
 will serve for all the genuine. As yet I have only seen the 
 forgery of the 5 piastres. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Partly engraved (and partly lithographed?) in two colours, on 
 decidedly thin, white wove paper ; perforated ISj. The groundwork, 
 behind the engraved design, is of a pale blue, with Turkish char- 
 acters upon it in white. The curved head of the 5 points up towards 
 the ornament above piastres, and the right-hand end of the said 
 ornament points upwards towards the m of ottoman. None of the 
 letters of the word piastres touch each other, and the last s of that 
 
522 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 word leans over considerably to the right. Two of the lines of the 
 design meet in a point exactly over the middle 
 of the second o of ottoman ; and the corres- 
 ponding lines on the other side of the stamp 
 meet almost over the colon after emp. The 
 easiest test is in the round ornaments in the 
 crescent. The largest of these on each side con- 
 sists of two concentric circles ; the second on 
 each side is a circle, with a dot in the centre 
 of it ; the third on each side is a simple circle ; 
 and the fourth on each side is a dark dot, which . 
 does not touch the outline of the crescent on either side. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in two colours, on tolerably thick white wove paper, 
 very much thicker than the genuine, and perforated 12i, rather 
 badly. The groundwork behind the design is a very pale green, the 
 white letters and figures being very faint indeed. The head of the 
 5 is almost straight, and points directly backwards. The right-hand 
 end of the curly ornament above piastres points towards the a of 
 OTTOMAN. The letters ia of piastres touch each other at the bottom, 
 and the last s is perfectly upright. The point where the two lines 
 of the design meet on the right-hand side of the stamp is above the 
 second t of ottoman ; and the corresponding point on the left-hand 
 side of the stamp extends almost far enough to be over the first o of 
 ottoman. The circular ornaments in the crescents are as follows, 
 both sides corresponding. The largest one is a circle, with a coloured 
 dot in the centre, and a very tiny white dot in the centre of that ; 
 the second is a very badly-shaped circle, with a dot in the centre ; 
 the third is a circle ; the fourth is a dot, but it touches the outline 
 of the crescent. This is not at all a bad forgery, and, as far as I 
 remember, it appeared very soon after the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The two concentric ovals mentioned above, with a rect- 
 angle in the centre, and the rest of the oval filled in with lines 
 parallel to the long side of the rectangle. 
 
 Forged. An imitation of the genuine, but without the central 
 rectangle ; the two central lines being merely placed rather farther 
 apart than the rest. 
 
 Issue of December, 1865. Locals for Constantinople. 
 6, 20, 40 Paras. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved on stone (?), in black, on moderately stout, coloured 
 wove paper; unperforated, and perforated 14. Each of the top 
 
HOW TO DETECT FOKGED STAMPS. 
 
 523 
 
 comers of the stamp bears tlie value in Turkish figures. On the 5 
 paras it is a sort of o ; on the 20 paras it is like a 7, with the head 
 turned the wrong way, and a dot after it ; and on 
 the 40 it is like a ^ turned on its side, with a 
 dot after it. The background of the central circle 
 which contains the star and crescent is composed 
 of very fine vertical lines of shading, placed very 
 evenly, and not at all blotched together. The P of I 
 POSTE and the e of locale are exactly equidistant 
 from their respective ends of the label. The cen- 
 tral rectangle measures thirteen millimetres across, 
 between the two inner vertical lines of the frame. There are thirty- 
 nine oblique lines above the central circle, the two outer ones being 
 very short ; and the same number below the central circle, the two 
 outer ones being also very short. The ring which surrounds the 
 central circle has sixty-four short black lines across it ; i.e., bridging 
 the two concentric circles which form the ring. The whole is very 
 clearly engraved, and not blotched anywhere. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on coloured wove paper, decidedly thinner 
 than that of the genuine. All my specimens are unperforated. The 
 great mistake in these forgeries, which will lead to the immediate 
 detection of the 20 and 40 paras, is that all the values bear the 
 Turkish value 5 {i.e., a sort of o) in the upper corners. In the 
 genuine this figure is, of course, only found on the 5 paras value. 
 The background of the central circle, which contains the crescent 
 and star, lias the vertical lines of shading irregularly placed, some 
 very close together, and some farther apart, and some quite blotched. 
 The E of LOCALE is distinctly nearer to the end of the label than the 
 P of POSTE is. The central rectangle measures twelve millimetres 
 across, between the inner vertical sides. There are only thirty-two 
 oblique lines above the central circle, and the same number below 
 it. There are only fifty-six short lines drawn across the thickness 
 of the ring which surrounds the central circle. The appearance of 
 the whole stamp is " smudgy." 
 
 PostTnarhs. 
 
 Genuine. I have seen no cancelled copies of the perforated stamps. 
 My specimens of the unperforated set are obliterated with a set of 
 fine round dots, with a Turkish word in the centre. 
 
 Forged. A set of very large round dots ; also a curious lattice- 
 work, which I never saw on the stamps of any country. 
 
ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 TUEK'S ISLANDS. 
 
 Issue of 1867. Id., 6d., Is. ; no watermark ; perforated 11|. 
 Issue of 1873. Id., 6d. ; star watermark; perforated 11^. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on stout, yellowisli-white wove paper, 
 with or without watermark, according to the date of issue, backed 
 with very yellowish-gum. The mouth is open ; the lips parted, with 
 a pleasant expression ; the chin is rounded. The ornaments on the 
 top of the coronet are four crosses pattee and three ^ve-lobed leaves. 
 
 are perfectly distinct. The front cross projects into the white oval 
 ring round the central medallion, but it does not touch the outer 
 line of the said white oval ring. There are two very distinct dark 
 dots formed in the engine-turning — one in front of the forehead, 
 where the hair joins the coronet, and the other a little above it, in 
 front of the coronet. The ear is large, but very faint. The lettering 
 on the two labels is so tall that it reaches very nearly to the top and 
 bottom of the labels. The engine-turning is very finely done. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on very white paper, soft, thin, and without 
 watermark ; perforated 13. The gum, when there is any, is quite 
 white. The mouth is pursed up, as though the queen were whistling, 
 and the expression is sour. The point of the chin is sharp. The 
 crosses pattee on the top of the coronet are very indistinct, so that it 
 is almost impossible to tell what they are meant for ; and the first of 
 the flowers is a trefoil, instead of having five lobes like the rest. 
 The front cross ^^a^i^e projects so far into the white oval ring round 
 the central medallion that it touches the outer line of it. The two 
 dots, in front of the coronet and top of the face, are absent. The ear 
 is exceedingly small, almost invisible ; in fact, the only part which 
 shows is the very bottom tip of it. In the genuine, quite haK of the 
 ear can be seen. The lettering on the two labels is much too short, 
 so that a good space of colour show^s in the labels, above and below 
 the lettering. The imitation engine-turning is very poor and coarse. 
 
 Genuine. I have no cancelled copy at present by me ; but, as far 
 as I remember, the obliteration is the usual unoutlined oval, formed 
 by parallel straight lines top and bottom, with curved lines at the 
 sides, enclosing the letters T. I. 
 
 Forged. An imitation of the above, but with curved lines each 
 side, filling up the central space ; also a rectangle of round dots. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Both the crosses and the leaves 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Postmarks. • 
 
HOW TO DETECT FOKGED STAMPS. 
 
 525 
 
 TUSCANY. 
 
 Issue of 1849. 1 Quattrino ; 1, 2 Soldi ; 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 60 
 Crazie ; blue wove paper, watermarked with, crown, &c., 
 on the entire sheet. 
 
 Issue of 1856. 1 Quattrino ; 1, 2 Soldi; 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 Crazie ; 
 white wove paper, watermarked with waved crossed lines, 
 forming ellipses, and the words "Poste Toscano" on the 
 entire sheet. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on blue or white wove paper, with varying 
 watermark, according to the date of issue. The paper is extremely 
 rough, particularly at the back. The hen's paw, at the top of the 
 shield, shows four claws, or rather toes, very dis- 
 tinctly. The spike at the top of the crown is under 
 the beginning of the t of postale, and very rarely 
 shows itself to be a cross. The white line of the 
 Hon's tail does not run up his back, but stops short, 
 far below the level of the last letter of toscano. 
 The mane on the back of the lion, where it ends, 
 has its profile above the shoulder cut off almost 
 square. The face is tolerably like that of a Hon. The shield is a 
 sort of pear-shape, but the upper portion of the outHne is cut into 
 flat faces, instead of being rounded. The circlet at the base of the 
 crown shows three white dots or pearls. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This is the poorest attempt at imitation which I have seen for a 
 long time. It is very badly lithographed on thin, smooth, hard, 
 white wove paper, with a bluish wash over the face of it, and no 
 watermark. The lion's paw, at the top of the shield, has only one 
 cleft in it, as though there were no more than two toes. Only one of 
 the other paws is visible on the ground, instead of two, and that one 
 has no toes ; whereas in the genuine there are two paws on the 
 ground, both showing four toes very distinctly. The crown almost 
 touches the outline of the frame above it, and there is no spike on 
 the top of it. There are only two lines of shading across the back 
 and loins of the lion, though the genuine stamps show a number of 
 hues. The lion's mane does not appear to be raised above the profile 
 of his back, but slopes gradually into it. The face is much more 
 hke that of a pig than of a lion. The top of the shield is rounded 
 in the outUne, without the flat faces of the genuine. The crown is 
 sadly blotched, so that the pearls at the base of it are invisible. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 The stamps of this set are infinitely better done than the set just 
 described, and there are few points of difference in the design which 
 
526 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS; OR, 
 
 can be pointed out without the aid of an illustration. Lithographed 
 on thin, smooth, white or bluish-white wove paper ; un watermarked. 
 The lion's paw, at the top of the shield, is badly done, so that the 
 toes cannot be seen with clearness ; but there appear to be only two, 
 instead of four. There is a distinct white cross at the top of the 
 crown, and it comes exactly under the very centre of the t of 
 POSTALE. The white line of the lion's tail rims up his back, and can 
 be traced almost up to the level of the a of toscano. The profile of 
 the mane is rounded off into the profile of the back. The face 
 rather resembles that of a monkey. The circlet at the base of the 
 crown sometimes shows five oblong dashes, and sometimes the five 
 are blotched into one white line. I think the reader had better rely 
 upon the paper and watermark as the safest test for this forgery, as the 
 design is so well imitated. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A small circle, with the letters p.d. and date ; also a 
 similar circle, with name and date ; also a transverse oval, with 
 rounded ends, containing lettering ; also a set of parallel lines ; also 
 the letters p.d., without any frame, a little more than a quarter of an 
 inch high. 
 
 Forged. The letters p.d., much larger than the genuine, being 
 nearly half an inch high ; also a large outlined oval, containing five 
 thick parallel bars ; also a set of thin parallel lines ; also a set of 
 diamond-shaped dots ; also a set of small round dots. 
 
 Issue of 1859. Provisional. 1, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80 c, 3 Lire. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Poorly engraved (?) in epargne, on thick, rather hard, very 
 yellowish-white wove paper ; watermarked with crossed curved 
 lines, forming ellipses, the same as the 1856 issue. The cross on the 
 top of the crown is tolerably distinct, and it comes under the begin- 
 ning of the T of POSTALE. The circlet at the base 
 of the crown shows five white pearls, very small. 
 The top corners of the shield are cut off quite 
 square, not being splayed out at all. The collar or 
 chain of the Golden Fleece, which surrounds the 
 sliield, touches its top corners. This collar is ex- 
 tremely indistinct, and, in many copies, cannot be 
 made out at all. The Golden Fleece hanging from 
 it does not in the least resemble an animal, and it 
 does not touch the bottom of the mantle. The f of franco and the 
 last o of BOLLO are equidistant from their respective ends of the 
 containing-label. The c of franco is exactly like a g. There are 
 five dark vertical lines in each compartment of the shield. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, very smooth, white or bluish-white wove 
 paper ; no watermark. The crown has either a large white lump, or 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 527 
 
 an indistinct white blotch on the top of it, instead of the cross, and 
 it comes under the end of the t of postale. The circlet at the base 
 of the crown shows three white pearls, or blotches ; the central pearl 
 is larger than the others. The top corners of the shield have splayed- 
 out points. The collar of the Golden Fleece is very white and 
 prominent, and it does not touch the shield anywhere. The Golden 
 Fleece below the shield is like a skeleton dog, with two legs touching 
 the bottom of the mantle. The p of franco is very much nearer to 
 its end of the containing-label than the last o of bollo to the other 
 end of the label. The c of franco has its tail made rather like its 
 head, but it does not resemble a g. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 In some respects this is much better than the last. Lithographed 
 on moderately stout, white wove paper, not quite so smooth as the 
 first forgery, but a great deal smoother than the very rough paper of 
 the genuine. A sort of lozenge-work of lines, half an inch apart, 
 has been impressed on the back of the paper, so that at first sight it 
 appears to be watermarked. These lines are of course impressed 
 without colour, and they are straight. The genuine watermark, 
 which is in the substance of the paper, is formed by curved lines, 
 making long ellipses or j)ointed ovals, and each line at its most 
 distant part is not more than a quarter of an inch from its neigh- 
 bours. The cross on the top of the crown comes under the end of 
 the T of POSTALE. The circlet at the base of the crown has no 
 pearls in it. The collar of the Golden Fleece is very poorly done. 
 It consists of a chain of white rings, not touching each other, and 
 very close to the shield all the way round. The Golden Fleece 
 itself appears to be a sort of "true lover's knot," which projects 
 below the bottom of the mantle ; the genuine being a sort of long 
 bolster, tied in the middle, with the ends drooping down. The c of 
 FRANCO is an ordinary capital c, without any knob to the tail. Both 
 of the right-hand compartments of the shield contain six vertical 
 dark lines ; the left-hand compartments have five lines like the 
 genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. The small circle, already described, containing name 
 and date ; also the letters p.d., in capitals rather more than a quarter 
 of an inch high. 
 
 Forged, p.d., in capitals quite half an inch high ; also the oval, 
 containing five thick parallel bars ; also a set of lines without frame ; 
 also a set of rather large round dots. 
 
 Note. — The 2 soldi and 60 crazie of the first issue have been re- 
 printed on the proper paper, and some of them have been post- 
 marked, so that it is impossible to tell them from originals. I rather 
 fancy that the 3 lire of this provisional set has also been reprinted, 
 but I am by no means sure, never having seen a copy. 
 
528 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 TWO SICILIES. 
 Issue of 1858. For Naples. ^ Grano. 
 
 Ge7iuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, and generally very badly printed, on very 
 rough-faced, yellowish-white wove paper, watermarked with a Jleur- 
 de-lys in the sheet. The colour is generally called "lake," but it 
 reminds one very much of red blotting-paper. There does not 
 appear to be any fraction-line to the ^. The g is nicely shaped. The 
 three division - lines of the shield meet accurately in the centre 
 without a blotch, and the middle line, if prolonged downwards, 
 would cut exactly centrally through the micldle fleur-de-lys. This 
 same line, if prolonged upwards, would pass centrally through the 
 o of POSTA. All the letters — except, of course, the large G — are 
 exactly the same height, and none of them are joined together 
 anywhere. In good specimens the ink stands out well from the 
 surface of the paper. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, in pink and brownish-pink, on smooth, very white 
 wove paper, very much thinner than that of the genuine ; unwater- 
 marked. There is a well-marked fraction-line to the |. The G is 
 ugly, having its lower portion protruding too far. There is a blotch 
 where the three division-lines meet in the centre of the circular 
 shield. If the middle line were prolonged upwards it would cut 
 through the right side of the o of posta ; and if it were prolonged 
 downwards it would pass a little to the right of the centre of the 
 middle fleur-de-lys. The vertical stem of the p of posta is too long, 
 and reaches below the level of the other letters ; the foot-stroke to it 
 is also considerably too thick. The o of napoletana is not level 
 either with the top or bottom of the p and l on each side of it ; and, 
 in some specimens of the counterfeits, the first a of this word touches 
 the N and the p, the l touches the E, and the lla of della all touch 
 each other. This, however, is not the case with all the forgeries. 
 Being lithographed, the ink does not stand out from the surface of 
 the paper. 
 
 Same Issue. 20 Grana. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce ; paper and watermark the same as in the 
 \ grano above described. The diamond containing the inscription 
 touches the outer frame of the stamp with all its four points. The 
 vertical lines of shading in the centre of the diamond are exceedingly 
 fine and close together, so that seven or eight of them can be counted 
 to the left of the horse's tail. The inner outline of the diamond, 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 529 
 
 above the inverted word bollo, if prolonged to the left, would cut 
 through the centre of the d of della. The same line, if prolonged 
 downwards to the right, would pass a long way clear of the last a of 
 NAPOLETANA. The fine inner outline of the diamond under ta napo, 
 if prolonged, would pass respectively between the os of posta and 
 through the middle of the L of napoletana. The lines of shading 
 behind the ornamental fiews-de-hjs in the comers of the stamp are 
 fine and vertical. There are many other differences between the 
 genuine and forged, but the above tests will be found amply sufficient 
 for the detection of the forgery now to be described. The genuine 
 stamp, like all the others of the set, is printed in a peculiar red, on 
 yellowish-white or tinted wove paper. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 This, in the form in which I possess it, is a miserable failure, being 
 badly lithographed in black ink, upon a dull yellowish-pink paper ; 
 unwatermarked. The left-hand point of the inscribed diamond does 
 not touch the outer line of the stamp, and the top point is cut off 
 square. The vertical lines of shading in the centre of the diamond 
 are coarse, so that there are only three of them to the left of the 
 horse's tail. The inner outline of the diamond, above the inverted 
 word BOLLO, if prolonged to the right, would pass through the thick 
 stroke of the e of della ; and, if prolonged to the left, it would cut 
 through the foot-stroke of the last a of napoletana. The fine inner 
 outline of the diamond under ta napo, if prolonged, would pass 
 respectively through the tail of the s of posta and towards the end 
 of the L of NAPOLETANA. The shading behind the Jleurs-de-lys in 
 the corners of the stamp is coarse, and horizontal instead of vertical. 
 
 Issue of September, 1860. Provisional. | Tornese, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Exactly the same as the red | grano described 
 above, but printed in Prussian blue, and with the 
 large g partially erased and altered to a large t. 
 The blotch caused by the tongue of the g can still 
 be seen very plainly after the T. Watermark, a 
 fleur-de-lys, as before. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on moderately stout, smooth, white wove paper ; no 
 watermark. There is an oblique line in the circle before the p of 
 POSTA. The large G has been altered to a large t, as in the genuine ; 
 but the blotch of the tongue of the g has been turned by the artist 
 into a very distinct e. The other tests are the same as for the 
 forged ^ grano already described. 
 
 2 M 
 
530 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Issue of October, 1860. Provisional. ^ Tornese, blue. 
 
 Ge7iuine. 
 
 Paper and watermark as before. For this stamp the plate of the 
 ^ tornese just described was taken, the arms scraped out from the 
 central circle, and the white cross of Savoy substituted, with a back- 
 ground of vertical lines. The scraping out has 
 not been perfectly accomplished, so that many 
 lines of the old design can be seen, especially in 
 the white cross. The circle and the corners of 
 the stamp remain unaltered, so that the large T, 
 with the blotch close to it, is exactly the same as 
 in the first provisional of 1860. The outline of 
 the cross in its left-hand upper corner has been 
 carried too far, and passes up, in a straight vertical line, to the left 
 of the P of POSTA, quite to the top of the stamp. The vertical 
 lines forming the groundwork between the arms of the cross in the 
 central circle afford a ready means of telling the genuine. In the 
 left-hand top corner there are ten of these vertical lines, with some 
 signs of an eleventh ; in the right-hand top corner there are twelve, 
 the outside one being a mere dot, and the fourth from the left being 
 apparently double ; in the left-hand bottom corner of the cross there 
 are twelve vertical lines, some of them being irregularly drawn ; and 
 in the right-hand bottom corner there are fifteen, one of them being 
 as fine as a hair, and several very irregularly drawn. It will be 
 imderstood that these lines of which I speak are not in the corners 
 of the frame, but inside the circle, between the arms of the 
 white cross. The upper outline of the right arm of the cross, if 
 prolonged, would cut through the p of napoletana ; and the 
 lower outline of this same arm, if prolonged, would cut through 
 the middle of the e of napoletana. The ink stands up high from 
 the surface of the paper. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, smooth, yellowish-white wove paper; 
 no watermark. No trace of any half-efiaced design can be seen on 
 the stamp. The large t has no blotch after it. The outline of the 
 left side of the top arm of the cross does not go beyond the boundary 
 of the central circle. The vertical lines in between the arms of the 
 cross are as follows : Twelve each side above the arms of the cross, 
 and the same numl^er each side below the arms, most of them being 
 regularly drawn, and all of the same thickness. The upper 
 outline of the right arm of the cross, if prolonged, would pass 
 between the P and o of napoletana ; and the lower outline of this 
 same arm, if prolonged, would pass through the foot of the t of 
 napoletana. This word, in the forgery before me, is spelt napoli- 
 TANA. The ink is quite liat on the surface of the paper. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 53i 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithogi'aphed on medium, very white wove paper, quite smooth ; 
 no watermark. There are a few lines here and there to imitate the 
 imperfect erasure of the old design. The easiest test for this forgery- 
 is in the large t, which is a sort of monogram of the letters t and g, 
 both of which can be made out. None of the outlines of the cross 
 trespass beyond the boundary of the circle, and the vertical lines of 
 shading between the arms of the cross are as follows : Ten in the 
 left top corner, ten in the right top corner, ten in the left bottom 
 comer, and ten in the right bottom corner ; all of them are wavy, 
 and there are some traces of very fine lines between them. The lines 
 are not wavy in the genuine, though some of them are crooked. The 
 ink does not stand out at all from the surface of the paper. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Nicely lithographed, on smooth, white wove paper, rather thin. 
 The large t has no indication of a blotch of colour touching it, and 
 there are no signs of any old design showing behind the lines or in 
 the cross. No part of the outline of the cross trespasses beyond the 
 boundary of the circle. There are fifteen vertical lines in the circle 
 above the left arm of the cross, fourteen above the right arm of it, 
 fifteen below the left arm, and fifteen below the right arm. In each 
 case I have counted the outline of the cross itself for one line, as 
 before. The outlines of the cross in this forgery are very thick, and 
 the lines very fine and thin, and regularly drawn. In the genuine, 
 however, as also in the first and second forgeries, the lines are all as 
 thick as the outlines of the cross, and somewhat irregular and coarse. 
 The upper outline of the right arm of the cross, if prolonged, 
 would just pass clear of the P of napoletana. The outer line of 
 the circle is tlie same thickness all the way round ; but, in the genuine, 
 it is considerably thicker round the right side of tlie circle than round 
 the left side of it. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. 1 have never seen any other cancellation than a long, 
 transverse rectangle, containing annullato in large ordinary capitals. 
 Forged. A close imitation of the genuine. 
 
 Note. — Each value of the genuine has a ve7-y tiny letter at the 
 base of the stamp, in or under the part bearing the value, as follows : 
 G on the ^ gr., and also on each type of the ^ t. ; a reversed R on the 
 1 g. ; an A on the 2 g. ; an s on the 5 g. ; an l on the 10 g. ; an n on 
 the 20 g., and a c on the 50 g. I only possess one specimen each of 
 the blue stamps, and have taken it for granted tliat all the blue 
 stamps with the arms are from one single type, and that all tlie blue 
 stamps with a cross are also from a single type. Concerning the 
 1858 set, Pemberton's Handbook says, " Some large numl)er of 
 counterfeits was made during their currency, and may sometimes be 
 found (naturally) with genuine obliterations." 
 
?32 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 Issue of 1861. For Naples and Sicily. ^ Tornese, ^, 1, 2, 5, 
 10, 20, 60 Grano. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne (]), centre embossed, on rather tMn, white 
 wove paper. The two vertical lines to the right of franco, and the 
 two similar vertical Hnes to the left of bollo, do not go down to the 
 bottom of the stamp, but end above the white dots 
 which run along the bottom of the frame. There 
 are twenty-four of these white dots along the top 
 of the stamp, twenty-four along the bottom, thirty 
 down the left-hand side, and twenty-eight down 
 the right-hand side. The white lines forming the 
 little crosses in the corners of the stamp are rather 
 more than a quarter of a millimetre thick. I do not 
 speak of the length of the arms of the crosses, but simply of the 
 thickness of the white lines forming them. The inscription up 
 the left side is franco ; and the three words, franco, poste, and 
 bollo, have the letters composing them so tall that they almost 
 touch the boundaries of the containing-labels with their heads and 
 feet. The embossed head is the usual portrait of the late king of 
 Italy, with the rounded nose. 
 
 Forged, 
 
 Not particularly well done. Lithographed on medium, common, 
 white wove paper. The two vertical lines to the right of franco 
 run down to the level of the bottoms of the white dots along the 
 base of the stamp ; but the two similar lines to the left of bollo 
 ajDpear only to reach the tops of tlie said white dots, as in the 
 genuine. There are twenty of these dots along the tojD of the stamp, 
 twenty-four along the bottom, twenty-six down the left side, and 
 twenty-four down the right side. The thickness of the white lines 
 which form the crosses in the corners of the stamp is about three- 
 quarters of a millimetre. The inscription up the left side of the 
 frame is franco, instead of franco. The letters of the words 
 franco, poste, and bollo are not tall enough to stretch across the 
 width of the containing-labels, but leave a good space between the 
 outlines of the frames and the tops and bottoms of the letters. The 
 embossed head is more like that of the late emperor of the French 
 than of the king of Italy, having quite a sharp nose, with a straight 
 outline. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A single circle, with the name following the curve of 
 the circle, and date in the middle ; also a double circle, with name 
 in between the circles, a curved line each^ side of, tlie name, and 
 date, «&c., in the centre. 
 
 Forged. A large circle, containing lettering. 
 
 Note. — I believe the unused copies on smooth, shiny paper, now 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 533 
 
 so common, are reprints. All my used copies are on dull, unsurfaced 
 paper. The stamps of this issue are also found with the head in- 
 verted. I have seen the full set with the inverted head ; but the 
 Handbook says that the ^ tornese and the 5 grani are the only ones 
 with the inverted head which have been found postmarked. 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 Issue of 1867. 90 Cents, dark blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on rather stout, white wove paper. The 
 white portions of the face of the stamp generally show a very faint 
 tinge of blue, owing to the imperfect wiping of the plate. The gum 
 is of a very yellow, or brownish-yellow colour. The backgroimd to 
 the portrait is formed by exceedingly fine lines, ^ 
 placed very close together. No part of the face > 
 is absolutely white, but there is a triangular space \ 
 above the eyebrow which has very few dots upon ^ 
 it, so that it looks almost white. The dark part of 
 the breast of the uniform has some oblique white 
 lines upon it. There are seven of these white 
 lines on the right breast, over the ine of ninety ; i i"™'^^^^"""^ 
 and eight on the left breast, the eighth passing < j tflKFIft^iaaJHf 
 behind the button. The cravat is shaded nearly ' ™— 
 all over, though the shading is lighter in some parts than others. 
 The letters ta of postage are joined together at the bottom. The t 
 of cents is an ordinary capital t. There are two large and distinct 
 button-holes each side of the coat, where the corners are turned 
 back. There is a large, shapeless button on the breast, just over the 
 first half of the e of cents. There is a large round stop after each 
 of the letters u.s. The top-stroke of the u almost touches the end of 
 the containing-label. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on very white, rather thin, wove j)aper, in very dark 
 indigo blue ; perforated 12^. The white portions of the face of the 
 stamp do not show any trace of colour on them. There is no gum 
 on the backs of any of my specimens. The background to the 
 portrait is of perfectly solid colour, without any lines. The ridge of 
 the nose, the front of the upper lip, and the triangular space above 
 the eyebrow are absolutely white, without any lines of shading upon 
 them at all. There are eiglit white lines upon the breast of the 
 uniform, above the ine of ninety, and eight as far as the button 
 over the ent of cents. The large cravat is perfectly white in the 
 centre, being only shaded at the sides. The letters ta of postage 
 are not joined at the bottom. The t of cents is absurdly formed, 
 with the left-hand limb hanging down very much lower than the 
 
534 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 other. The four button-holes are tolerably clear in this counterfeit ; 
 but the lower one, over the Y of ninety, is placed a long way from 
 the edge. There is a small, almost white button over the E of cents ; 
 the centre of the button coming over the very beginning of the E, 
 instead of over the centre of the thick vertical stroke of that letter. 
 The stops after the letters U.S. are small, and generally shapeless. 
 The top-stroke of the u is a long way from the end of the label. 
 
 Second Forgery, 
 
 Lithographed, in a dull Prussian-blue, on moderately stout wove 
 paper, the lace of which is covered with a wash of blue colour. The 
 gum is of a pale yellow. The background to the portrait is formed by 
 rather coarse and irregular horizontal lines. The face is quite bare 
 of shading in the following places : above the eye to the hair, below 
 the eye, the ridge of the nose, and part of the chin. There seem to be 
 nine white lines on the breast of the uniform, above the ine of 
 NINETY, and seven on the other side, above the NTS of cents. The 
 greater part of the cravat is altogether unshaded. The letters ta of 
 postage almost touch each other at the bottom, but not quite. The 
 left limb of the t of cents is a very little longer than the other. 
 There is only one button-hole each side of the coat. The button 
 over the e of cents is even larger than in the genuine, and comes 
 above the whole width of that letter. The stops after U.S. are too 
 small. The top-stroke of the u is a long way from the end of the 
 containing-label. The fork of the Y begins too high up ; in the 
 genuine and in the first forgery it begins in the centre of the letter. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A pen-stroke ; also a very large single circle, with name 
 and date in large capitals. 
 
 First Forgery. A lithographed imitation of the pen-stroke. 
 
 Second Forgery. An oval gridiron, containing a number of parallel 
 bars. 
 
 Issue of 1876. Centennial Envelopes. 3 Cents, 
 vermilion, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Embossed on white laid paper ; water- 
 marked with the letters pod us, in mono- 
 gram, two varieties. The u of u. s. 
 touches the inner boundary with its top- 
 stroke on the left-hand side. The bridle 
 is very distinct. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Embossed on white wove paper ; no 
 watermark. The top-stroke of the u of 
 u. s. touches the outer line of the boun- 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 535 
 
 dary, as well as the inner one. The bridle is not visible. The 
 lower points of the ribbon which contains postage touch the inner 
 boundary-line on both sides, though they do not touch in the genuine. 
 The vertical stroke of the T in this word is carried too far, and shows 
 above the cross-stroke. The steam from the engine appears to be in 
 eight distinct puffs, which cannot be counted in the genuine. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A set of five very thick parallel bars ; also an upright 
 oval of nine bars, with a large numeral in the centre. 
 
 Forged. Thick bars, arranged in a circle instead of a rectangle ; 
 also a large cross imttee, with a broad line opposite to each face of 
 the cross. 
 
 Eep'ints hy the United States Post-office Deimrtment. 
 
 I extract the following from the American Journal of Phila- 
 tely, not possessing any of these reprints myself : 
 
 Issue of 1847. 5 Cents. 
 
 '* The stamps of this issue now offered for sale are evidently 
 from new dies; and, as I prefer to call things by their right 
 names, I shall in the following descriptions designate them as 
 * forgeries.' The forgeries are considerably shorter and wider 
 than the genuine, the difference in length especially being so 
 great as to be apparent at a glance. Another striking feature is 
 that all the foliage and other ornamental work is brought out 
 much more prominently and boldly in the forgeries than in the 
 genuine. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 " The figure 5 on the left-hand side is about the same distance from 
 the bottom as the 5 on the right side is. The hair on the right side 
 of the head {i.e., on the left side of the stamp) 
 is compact, with no stray locks. The mouth is 
 a veritable "meat-trap," apparently elongated 
 into the left cheek by some fault of the engraver. 
 The right eye shows a good deal more white 
 beneath the pupil than the left one. The top 
 line which defines the shirt-front reaches the 
 oval frame almost opposite to the top of the 
 figure 5. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 " The 5 on the left side is further from the bottom than the right- 
 hand one. The hair on the right side of the head {i.e., on the left 
 
536 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 side of the stamp) is rather straggling, and one lock in particular, 
 about on a line with the eyes, is distinctly separate from the rest of 
 the hair, so that daylight can be seen between. The left side of the 
 mouth stops abruptly with a dot ; and there is another dot, distinctly 
 separate from the first, which gives the appearance of two moles or 
 dimples. The right eye is in proportion to the left. The top line 
 of the shirt-front reaches the oval frame almost opposite to the centre 
 of the top of the F of five. 
 
 Same Issue. 10 Cents. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 " One of the curls near the end of the hair, on the 
 left side of the face, forms a very minute white 
 circle with a black centre. The cravat reaches to 
 the edge of the oval, with no line to finish the 
 cravat above the inside black line surrounding the 
 oval. The lips are very thick. The right side of 
 the collar is so heavily shaded as to be barely dis- 
 tinguishable. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 " The circle is absent. There is a small line finishing the cravat, 
 just above the inside black line surrounding the oval. The lips are 
 not particularly thick. The right side of the collar is shaded by 
 several lines, but it is plainly distinguishable from the coat. 
 
 " In all the rest of the stamps the original dies were found and used, 
 so that the differences are naturally very slight, though it is said that 
 new plates of some of the 1857 issue were made from the original 
 matrices. The reprints may be detected by the paper, perforation, 
 printing, and gum. 
 
 Issue of 1851. 
 
 "The stamps from 1851 to 1856 were imperforated, and have 
 not been reprinted. 
 
 Issue of 1857. 1, 3, 6, 10, 
 12, 24, 30, 90 Cents. 
 
 Genuine, 
 
 " Perforated 15, on tinted paper; 
 gum decidedly brownish. The 
 1, 5, 10, and 12 cents are in dark 
 colours ; the 3 cents is in red to 
 red-brown. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 537 
 
 Reprints, 
 
 " Perforated 12, on white paper. The reprints of this issue, like the 
 forgeries of 1847, are not gummed at all. The 1, 5, 10, and 12 cents 
 are all too light, and the 24 cents is too dark. The 3 cents is of a 
 sort of red-orange. 
 
 Eagle "Carrier" Stamp. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 " Unperforated ; paper tinted ; gum l^rownish ; colour, a dull blue, 
 Re2)rint 
 
 " Perforated 12, on white paper ; gummed with plain white gum 
 arable, which cracks when the stamp is bent. The colour is a clear 
 dark blue. 
 
 Issue of 1861-65. 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 12, 15, 24, 30, 90 Cents. 
 
 Geyiuijie. 
 
 " These stamps were issued in 
 two ways — first with a smooth 
 surface and afterwards with a 
 gridiron pattern (grille) embossed 
 in the centre of each stamp, for 
 the purpose of making it more 
 difficult to remove the cancel- 
 lation. The gum is generally 
 brownish, especially on the stamps without the grille. 
 
 Reprints. 
 
 " The reprints have no grille, and approach so closely to the originals 
 that collectors should be cautious in accepting any specimen. The 
 gum is the same as on the reprint of the eagle * Carrier/ and cracks 
 if the stamp be bent. The 3 cents and the 30 cents are too dark. 
 Anyone possessing a proof set of the stamps of this issue cannot be 
 deceived with the reprints for a moment, as the said reprints are in 
 exactly the same shades. 
 
 Issue of 1869. Same 
 Values. 
 
 Genuine. 
 " All copies of this issue 
 bear the grille. The gum 
 varies from decidedly brown- 
 ish to nearlv white. 
 
 " There is no grille 
 eagle ' Carrier.' 
 
 Reprints, 
 
 The gum is the same as that of the reprinted 
 
538 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 Issue of 1870. 1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 12, 15, 24, 30, 90 Cents. 
 
 Genuine. 
 "The glim varies from 
 decidedly browaiish to al- 
 most white. 
 
 Rq)7'ints. 
 "(If I may call them so, 
 before the originals are 
 obsolete.) These are not 
 gummed at all. 
 
 Issue of 1865. 
 
 Newspaper Stamps. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 5, 10, 26 Cents. 
 
 " Hardly so clear as 
 the reprints, with the 
 design not standing 
 out very prominently. 
 
 Reprints. 
 " These are almost im- 
 possible to detect from 
 the originals. If any- 
 thing, they have been 
 too carefully worked, 
 and the design stands 
 out too clearly, especi- 
 ally in the 10 cents." 
 
 Issue of 1857. En- 
 velopes. 3 c, red; 
 6 c, red; 10 c, 
 green. Small oval. 
 
 Genidne. 
 
 Engraved in < 
 and embossed on ob- 
 liquely - laid buff or 
 white paper, tolerably 
 thick, and water- 
 marked with the letters 
 p o D, u. s. in two lines, 
 many times repeated 
 over the envelope. 
 The oval, measuring 
 where the outside col- 
 our begins, is twenty 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 539 
 
 millimetres wide, and twenty-four and a half millimetres high. The 
 two stars have long" sharp points, and one point of each star touches 
 the inner white oval ring. Both stars are some 
 distance from the outer white oval ring. There is, 
 apparently, a small brooch on the shoulder to hold 
 the drapery, and from this brooch to the space 
 between and above the letters po of postage there 
 are four folds of the drapery, of almost equal width, 
 the top one being the longest. The upper eyelid 
 is not prominent, and the eye does not stick out. 
 The line of the mouth, if prolonged to the right, 
 would pass through the middle of the right-hand star. The chin is 
 small and pointed. The outline of the front of the throat, opposite 
 the u, is two millimetres in length. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 These seem to be three different types, but they are very nearly alike. 
 Engraved in epargne (electro-plate cliches probably), and embossed on 
 thin, shiny, very smooth, and very white wove paper, and also on 
 thin, not very smooth, buff wove paper ; both without watermark. 
 The oval measures twenty-one and a half millimetres wide, and 
 twenty-six millimetres high in the six cents value, but is a trifle 
 smaller in the other values. The points of the two stars are short 
 and blunt, having a stumpy appearance. Neither star touches the 
 white inner oval, but the left-hand star in the ten cents value 
 almost touches the white outer oval. There is no brooch on the 
 shoulder, and the four folds are not equal, the two inner ones being 
 very much shorter than the outer ones. The upper eyelid is much 
 too prominent, and the eye sticks out like a small embossed point. 
 The line of the mouth in the six cents value, if prolonged to the 
 right, would cut through the top of the star, and in the ten cents 
 it would pass midway between the star and the e of postage. The 
 cliin is too round. The outline of the front of the throat, opposite 
 the u, is only one and a half millimetres long in the six cents, but 
 rather longer in the other values. The expression of the face in 
 these forgeries is very different from that of the genuine. In the 
 genuine it is the face of a rather stern, soldier-like man ; but in 
 these forgeries, if a few feathers were stuck into the hair, it would 
 make a most excellent Eed Indian. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A very large circle, with name following the curve of 
 the circle, and date in the centre, without the year. 
 
 Forged. All the forgeries which I have seen were imcancelled. 
 
 I consider these rather deceptive forgeries. The embossing is a 
 good deal higher and clearer than that of the genuine stamps, which 
 have it rounder and less sharp. 
 
540 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 VENEZUELA. 
 Issue of 1859. i (Medio), 1 (Un), 2 (Dos) Reales. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved on medium yellowish-white, on thin white, on thin 
 slightly tinted, and on bleute wove paper. The upper and lower 
 inscriptions are very well done in the earlier specimens, and moderately 
 well done in later ones. The first o and the e of correo are the same 
 height as the other letters, without any white patches above them. 
 The word libertad is venj nearly as far from the top outline of the 
 containing-lahel as it is from the bottom outline of it ; 
 and the l and the D are both half a millimetre from 
 their respective ends of the label. The central 
 division-line of the part of the shield above the horse 
 is no thicker than the rest of the thin vertical lines 
 behind the wheat-sheaf in the left-hand compartment 
 of it. The legs of the horse are nicely done, and thin ; 
 and there is no particularly-marked object below him 
 in the shield. The general background of the stamp is composed of 
 tolerably thick vertical lines, which in some copies are crossed by 
 very fine horizontal lines. The head of the horse does not touch 
 the curved outline of the compartment in which he is placed. The J 
 groundwork of the said compartment is formed by fine horizontal I 
 lines. a 
 
 Forged. I 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, very white wove paper. All the 9 
 inscriptions are very poorly done, and ragged-looking. There is a ^ 
 white spot over and touching the first o of correo, and another, and 
 larger one, over and touching the e of that word, so that these two 
 letters are taller than the others. The word libertad is much too A 
 high up in the containing-label, so that there is a much wider space I 
 below than above it in the label. The D is very close to the end of I 
 the label, almost touching it ; but the L is more than half a milli- | 
 metre from the beginning of it, and there are two little lines of 
 shading before the L which do not exist in the genuine. The central 
 division-line of the part of the shield above the horse is very much 
 thicker than the rest of the vertical lines in the compartment which 
 contains the wheat-sheaf. The legs of the horse are extremely thick 
 and clumsy ; and there is a dark thing, like an a on its side, in the 
 shield below him. The general background of the stamp is com- 
 posed of rather coarse, crossed, vertical and horizontal lines, the 1 
 horizontal ones quite as thick as the vertical ones. The head of the M 
 horse distinctly trespasses across the outline of the compartment™ 
 which contains him. This compartment has only a very few lines ^ 
 upon it, instead of being shaded all over, so that it looks almost ^ 
 white. M 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 541 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A very large thick numeral ; also a small solid black 
 star ; also a large double circle, the outer line much thicker than the 
 inner one, with correos and name between the circles, and date in 
 the centre ; also some undecipherable blotches. 
 
 Forged. A set of diamond-shaped dots ; also the large double 
 circle, but with both Knes of equal thickness. 
 
 Issue of 1861. I (Cuarto) Centavo, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved on medium, white wove paper. The upper lettering is 
 thick ; and the c of CORREO is very near the side of the stamp, and 
 almost touching the top pearl. The stop after Venezuela is placed 
 betiveen the outer and inner outline of the stamp. The shield does 
 not touch the ribbon below it. The horse is on a ground of fine 
 horizontal lines. The ends of the ribbon and bow touch the pearls. 
 There are seventeen pearls down the left side, counting the bottom 
 one ; seventeen down the right side, counting the bottom one ; and 
 nineteen along the bottom, counting the two end ones. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 This I have not seen. Mr. Atlee says that the upper inscription 
 is in thin letters, with the c at some distance from the side of the 
 stamp and from the top pearl. The left side of the ribbon touches 
 the side of the bottom of the shield. The horse is upon a ground 
 of lines which are far apart, and is of an extraordinary shape. The 
 ends of the ribbon and bow touch the pearls. I do not know how 
 many pearls there are in the forgery. The stop after Venezuela, 
 between the two outlines, is sure to be absent. 
 
 Same Issue. | (Medio) Centavo, brown-lilac. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper, &c., as in the genuine cuarto centavo. The e of correo 
 has a well-marked central tongue. There is, as before, a stoj) after 
 VENEZUELA, between the two outlines of the side of the stamp. The 
 central division-line of the upper part of the shield is no thicker 
 than the rest of the fine vertical lines behind the wheat-sheaf. The 
 horse is on a ground of horizontal lines, very close together ; so that 
 six can be counted above his tail. There is a large dot to the i of 
 MEDIO. There are sixteen pearls down the left side, the forks of the 
 ribbon showing plainly in front of the centres of the second and third 
 pearls from the bottom ; eighteen pearls down the right side, the 
 forks of the ribbon coming between the second and third, and 
 partially hiding the fourth from the bottom respectively ; and 
 eighteen pearls along the bottom, counting the two end ones. The 
 letters of libertad are equidistant from the top and bottom outlines 
 of the containing label. 
 
542 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Printed in a sort of grey, on moderately stout, white wove paper. 
 There is hardly any central tongue to the e of correo. There is no 
 stop after Venezuela. The central division-line of the upper part 
 of the shield is decidedly thicker than the rest of the fine lines 
 behind the wheat-sheaf. The shading behind the horse is composed 
 of lines placed far apart, so that only four can be counted above his 
 tail. The dot to the i of medio is very small. There are only fifteen 
 pearls down the left side ; a space being left for the fork of the ribbon 
 between the second and third from the bottom. There are only fifteen 
 pearls down the right side also ; a space being left to allow the fork 
 of the ribbon to come between the second and third from the bottom. 
 There are eighteen pearls at the bottom, counting both the end ones. 
 The letters of libertad are very close to the bottom outline of the 
 containing label, and the t and a are very much smaller than the 
 rest of the letters. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. A large double circle, with correos between the circles, 
 and date in the centre. 
 
 Forged. An imitation of the genuine ; also an oval gridiron, con- 
 taining six parallel bars ; also a hexagonal gridiron, containing a 
 number of parallel bars. 
 
 Issue of 1863. | (Medio) Real, yellow, orange. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 There are two tj^pes of this stamp. Lithographed on moderately 
 stout, white or yellowish-white wove paper. Type I. has forty-nine 
 pearls round the central circle, and Type II. has fifty-two pearls. In 
 the description I take those points common to both types, unless 
 otherwise specified. The chief and easiest test for the 
 genuine is that there is a dark dot in the centre of 
 the pearl which is immediately over the head of the 
 bird. This is probably the artist's own sign, like 
 the stop between the lines after Venezuela in the 
 issue last described. The f and n of federacion 
 are l^oth at equal distances from their respective 
 ends of the label, though in the first type they are 
 both much nearer than in the second. The inscrip- 
 tion in the scroll is venezolana. The central star and the one to 
 the right of it are both on the same level. None of the stars touch 
 each other, and each one is a trifle more than a millimetre across, 
 from point to point, in its broadest part. There is a stop after real. 
 The things in the claws of the bird appear to be a very large-headed 
 arrow and a swor-d, but it is difficult to make out what the latter is 
 intended for. The vertical lines behind the circle and stars are very 
 fine, and close together, but the inferior printing often leaves them 
 almost white. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 543 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on thinnish, soft, white wove paper. There are only 
 forty -three pearls round the central circle, with a good space between 
 each. There is no dark dot in the centre of the pearl above the bird's 
 head. The n of federacion is very much nearer to the end of the 
 label than the F is to the beginning of it. The inscription in the 
 scroll is VENEZULANA ; and this u instead of o is an easy test. 
 Several of the stars touch each other ; they are much larger than in 
 the genuine, measuring over two millimetres, from point to point, 
 across the broadest part. The bird appears to have a sword, instead 
 of an arrow, in the claw over the ven of venezulana, and nothing 
 in the other claw. The vertical lines of shading behind the circle 
 and stars are coarse and far apart, and too darkly printed. The ends 
 of the lower scroll, which ought to point to the lower corners of the 
 stamp, point respectively to the M and l of medio real. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This is much more like the genuine. Lithographed on moderately 
 stout, very white wove paper. There are only forty-eight pearls 
 round the central circle, and they are of all sorts of shapes. There 
 is no dot in the centre of the pearl over the head of the bird. The 
 F of FEDERACION is further from the beginning of the label than 
 the N is from the end of it. The central star is considerably higher 
 than the one to the right of it. Tlie bird has a thunderbolt in one 
 claw and a long-stemmed cross in the other. The vertical lines 
 behind the stars and circle are too dark, coarse, and prominent. 
 
 Same Issue. 1 (Un) Real, blue. 
 
 Ge7iui7ie. 
 
 Engraved (?) on moderately stout, white wove paper. There are 
 fifty-two pearls round the central circle ; and the pearl about the 
 middle of the left side of the circle has a dark vertical stroke in it, 
 which is an easy test for the genuine. The f of federacion is a 
 very little nearer to the beginning of the containing label than the N 
 is to the end of it. The inscription in the scroll is venezolana. 
 The central star and the one to the left of it are almost on the same 
 level ; this said star, to the left of the central one, is under the 
 second e of federacion, and is sensibly nearer to the second star 
 than to tlie middle one. None of the stars touch each other, and 
 they are the same size as in the genuine medio real above described. 
 I cannot make out what the thing is which the bird holds in the 
 claw above tlie ven of venezolana ; but there are two white lines 
 sticking out from the said thing, which go right to the white ring 
 inside the pearled circle. There is a space of two and a half milli- 
 metres between the u of UN and the beginning of the containing 
 label ; and there is a space of one and a half millimetres between 
 
544 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 the stop after real and the end of the said label. The inscription 
 UN REAL is on a solid ground, without any white blotches on it. The 
 letters of this inscription are tall, and reach very nearly from top to 
 bottom of the containing label. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 I have not seen this counterfeit, but, from Mr. Atlee's description 
 of it, it appears to be exactly the same as the first forgery of the 
 MEDIO REAL, with the large stars, forty-three pearls in the circle, and 
 the ribbon inscribed venezulana, instead of venezolana. I believe 
 that all the values exist in this type of forgery. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on very white, moderately stout wove paper. There 
 are only forty-nine pearls round the central circle, and they are of 
 all sorts of shapes and sizes ; one or two of them are double. There 
 is no coloured vertical stroke across the pearl in the middle of the 
 left side of the circle. The f of federacion is a good deal farther 
 from the beginning of the containing label than the N is from the 
 end of it. The inscription in the ribbon is right, but the letters are 
 too small and indistinct. The central star is higher than the one to 
 the left of it. The third star from the left is exactly the same dis- 
 tance from those on each side of it, and comes under the end of the 
 D of FEDERACION. The two wliite lines — very blotched in tliis 
 forgery — which stick out from the thing in the bird's claw, over the 
 VEN of VENEZOLANA, do uot nearly reach the wliite circle inside the 
 pearls. The u of UN is less than a millimetre from the beginning of 
 the containing label, and the stop after real is hardly one milli- 
 metre from the end of the label. The letters of this inscription — 
 UN REAL — are stumpy and fat, and the groimd behind them has a 
 number of white blotches on it. There is a good space between the 
 letters and the outlines of the label above and below them. 
 
 Same Issue. 2 (Dos) Keales, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved (?) on thinnish, white wove paper. There are fifty- three 
 pearls round the central circle ; they are large and roimd, and almost 
 all the same size. The pearl just below the middle of the left side 
 of the circle has a dark vertical stroke through it, which is the 
 simplest test of the genuine. The f and N of federacion are about 
 the same distance from their respective ends of the containing label. 
 The inscription in the scroll is venezolana. The central star almost 
 touches the frame above it. The first star on the left side is under 
 the space between the letters pe of federacion ; and the third star 
 from the left is under the space between the letters de of that word, 
 but rather nearer to the e. The right-hand star is a great deal nearer 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 545 
 
 to the frame than the left-hand one is. The s of DOS is like a z 
 turned the wrong way, and the s of reales is much the same shape. 
 The thing which the bird holds in the claw above the ven of vene- 
 ZOLANA has two white lines sticking out from it, which run to the 
 edge of the white circle, inside the pearls. There is a stop after 
 REALES. The letters of the bottom inscription are tall, as before, 
 and extend almost from top to bottom of the containing-label. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 I have not seen this counterfeit ; but, from Mr. Atlee's description 
 of it, it appears to be the same type as the first forgery of the medio 
 REAL ; with the large stars, forty-three pearls in the central circle, 
 and the ribbon inscribed venezdlana. 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on moderately stout, very white wove paper. There 
 are only fifty pearls round the central circle ; they are of all shapes 
 and sizes ; and some of them appear to be twin or double. The pearl 
 in the middle of the left side of the circle has no dark vertical line 
 across it. The n of federacion is very close to the end of the 
 label, but the f is a good distance from the beginning of it. The 
 word VENEZOLANA is properly spelt ; but the letters are too small, 
 and too near the bottom outline of the ril)ljon. The central star is a 
 long way below the outline of the frame above it. The first star on the 
 left is under the f, and the second star is under the first e of federa- 
 cion. The tliird star from the left is under the space between the 
 DE, but nearer to the d. The letters of dos reales are very thick 
 and clumsy ; and the s of reales leans over to the right, and is 
 blotched. The bird has an arrow and two white rods in the claw 
 over the ven of venezolana ; and the two white rods are a long way 
 from the white circle inside the pearls. There is no stop after reales. 
 The letters of the bottom inscription are too short, and do not reach 
 from top to bottom of the containing-label. 
 
 Third Forgery. 
 
 Lithographed on moderately stout, very white wove paper. There 
 are only forty-nine pearls round the central circle, and some of them 
 are t^vins. The pearl in the centre of the left side of the circle has 
 no vertical dark line drawn across it. The f of federacion is a 
 good deal further from the beginning of the containing-label than 
 the N is from the end of it. The inscription in the ribbon is 
 correctly spelt venezolana ; but the letters are too small, and too 
 near the bottom outline of the ribbon. The first star on the left side 
 is under the f of federacion, and the second star is under the first 
 E. The central star is a long way from the outline of the frame 
 above it ; and it is under the Ijeginning of the R, instead of under the 
 
 . 2 N 
 
546 ALBUM WEEDS ; OR, 
 
 end of it. The right-hand star is not much nearer to the side of the 
 frame than the left-hand one is. The bottom inscription is very 
 nearly the same as in the second forgery, and there is no stop after 
 REALES. The thing which the bird holds in the claw over the ven 
 of venezolana is exactly the same as in the second forgery. There 
 is a good space between the letters of the bottom inscription and the 
 outline of the frame below them. The s of reales leans over to 
 the right. 
 
 I have not seen any forgeries of the centavos values of this 
 series. 
 
 PostmarJcs. 
 
 Genuine. The only cancellation which I have seen is the word 
 CORREOS, between two concentric circles, with date in the centre. 
 
 Forged. An imitation of the genuine ; also a set of thin parallel 
 bars, of varying length, forming an oval. 
 
 VICTOEIA. 
 Issue of 1850-54. One Penny. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed on moderately thick, very yellowish-white, coarsely- 
 made wove paper ; unperforated, or rouletted. The background to 
 the portrait is a moire pattern of fine lines, not separated into groups 
 or bands. There is a strip of similar moire down each side of the 
 stamp, separated from the rest of the background by a very faint 
 vertical line. There is no outline to the sides of the stamp, except 
 the moir^ pattern itself ; so that the side-outlines are wavy and 
 irregular. There is a small star-like flower in each of the top 
 corners, but each of the bottom corners bears a letter. I have only 
 three specimens of this value in my collection, and each bears the 
 same letters, E. w. The v and a of Victoria are at equal distances 
 from their respective ends of the containing-label. The distance 
 between the words one penny is not much more than one milli- 
 metre. The veil hanging down from the queen's head is nearly all 
 dark, being only light towards the two edges. The colour of the 
 stamp varies very much, from brown-red to pink, and rose-vermilion. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed in a sort of chalky, dull, dark pink, on thinnish, 
 pretty good, white wove paper, the face of which has been coloured 
 with a yellowish wash to make it look old. I have only seen it un- 
 perforated. The background to the portrait is a plaid pattern, con- 
 sisting of sets of three coloured lines, crossing each other obliquely, 
 with white spaces between the sets of lines. This is a very easy test 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 547 
 
 for this counterfeit, which has evidently been copied from the 
 genuine three pence. There is a strip of a sort of moire pattern 
 down each side of the stamp, by way of frame, quite different from 
 the pattern of the background. Each strip is separated from the 
 rest of the stamp by a decided, dark vertical line ; and there is a 
 vertical line to each side of the stamp, instead of the irregular 
 wavy edge of the genuine. The top corners have the star-like flower, 
 as in the genuine ; but there is a similar star, instead of a letter, in 
 each of the bottom corners. The a of victoria is very close to the 
 star at the end of the label, but the v is a long way from the similar 
 star at the beginning of the label. The words one penny are more 
 than two millimetres apart. The veil is, as nearly as possible, all 
 white ; there being only a few fine lines of shading behind the 
 shoulders. This forgery is generally very clearly printed ; but the 
 genuine stamps are almost invariably very faint, or very smudged. 
 
 Same Issue. Twopence, lilac, grey, grey-brown, 
 cinnamon. 
 
 There are three types of this value — 1, fine background, and 
 fine side-frames ; 2, coarse background, and fine side-frames ; 
 3, coarse background, and coarse side-frames. The forgery is an 
 imitation of Type 2, with the coarse background and fine side- 
 frames. I describe, therefore, from the genuine Type 2. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed, paper as before. The tests are the same as for the 
 genuine one penny, except as follows : the background is composed 
 of a sort of plaid pattern, of wavy oblique lines, in sets of three, 
 crossing each other, with white spaces between the sets of lines. 
 The words two pence are in thin letters, and the letters of two are 
 as far apart as the letters of pence. The w of two is pointed at the 
 l:)ottom. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper, &c., the same as in the forged one penny. 
 The tests are exactly the same as for the forgery of the one penny, 
 except as follows : the letters of two pence are fat block capitals, 
 and those of two are much closer together than those of pence. The 
 w of two is cut off square at the bottom. The straight lines at the 
 sides; and the sort of x, or star-like flower, in the bottom corners, 
 instead of letters, affords a ready means of detecting this forgery, as 
 well as the forgery of the one penny. 
 
 Same Issue. Threepence, blue. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed ; paper as before ; unperforated, rouletted, and also 
 
548 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 perforated 12. The tests are the same as for the genuine one penny ; 
 
 except that the groundwork is composed of a sort 
 of plaid pattern of crossed wavy lines in sets, with 
 white spaces between the sets. Most of the sets in 
 this value consist of four lines, instead of three ; 
 but some of the sets contain only three lines. The 
 words THREE PENCE are in thin block capitals. 
 The last e of pence is very close to the little 
 square in the right bottom corner, containing a 
 letter ; but the t of three is further from the 
 corresponding lettered square in the left bottom corner. The veil is 
 not so heavily shaded in this value. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 This I do not now possess ; but, as far as I remember, it is simply 
 a copy of the forged two pence above described, with the value 
 altered. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An oval ring, containing a number of thick radiating 
 lines, with two thin lines joining respectively their tops and bottoms 
 together ; and with a large v, surmounted by a numeral, in the centre : 
 also an unoutlined circle, formed by three thick straight lines top 
 and bottom, and three curved lines each side, with a numeral in the 
 centre : also a very peculiar postmark, which I have never seen 
 except in my own collection; something like a boy's first attempt to 
 draw a butterfly, struck in blue. 
 
 Forged. My forgeries are all uncancelled. 
 
 Issue of 1852. Twopence, brown, grey, grey-black, 
 red-lilac. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 There are fifty types of this stamp, so I can only take a very few 
 salient points. Engraved in taille-douce, also a 
 lithographic copy of the engraving, on very yel- 
 lowish wove paper. All my copies are on very 
 thick paper, but I think I have seen thin paper 
 also. The stamp exists both unperforated and 
 rouletted. Above the two steps there is a distinct 
 footstool, though part of the footstool is hidden by 
 the bottom of the dress on the right side of the 
 stamp. The dress is tolerably high up in the neck ; 
 the top being very distinct, and curving up to the 
 tops of the shoulders. There is a scarf crossing 
 obliquely from the shoulder to the waist, and this scarf is dark. The 
 background to the throne, &c., appears to be of engine-turning, most 
 of the lines being fine. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 549 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, white wove paper, the face of which is covered 
 with a dirty yellowish wash to give age ; imperforated. There is no 
 sign of a footstool ; the dress coming near the edge of the top step, 
 and being quite parallel with it. The forger has niissed the top out- 
 line of the dress, round the neck and shoulders, and has taken the 
 scarf to be the outline ; so that he has made the queen appear to have 
 the half of the bust entirely unclothed, from the shoulder to the 
 waist, obliquely across. The scarf is represented by two dark lines, 
 with a white space between them. The background is of large 
 coarse lozenges, with a dark blotch in the centre of each lozenge. 
 Few stamps vary so much in shade as the genuine ; the forgeries are 
 invariably in a yellow-brown tint, very like one shade of the genuine. 
 
 Post7)iarTcs. 
 
 Genuine. I have only seen the oval ring ; with radiating lines, and 
 V, and numeral in it, as before described. 
 
 Forged. My specimens of the forgery are uncancelled. 
 
 First Issue of 1868. Five Shillings, blue on yellow. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on yellow wove paper ; 
 perforated 13, and watermarked with V and 
 crown. The neck of the Queen is shaded all 
 over. There is a neat coil of plaits at the back 
 of the head. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on primrose-yellow wove paper ; 
 no watermark ; perforated 13, in very small 
 holes, very far apart. A large portion of the 
 neck is unshaded. The hair at the back of the head is gathered into 
 a loose, shapeless lump. The whole stamp is usually much blurred 
 in the impression. 
 
 Second Issue of 1868. Five Shillings, blue and red, on white. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on white wove paper ; perforated 12, and 
 watermarked with V and crown. The tests are exactly the same as 
 for the genuine five shillings above described ; except that the name, 
 value, and crown are printed in red, and the rest in blue. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on white wove paper ; no watermark ; perforated 
 12 or 12^, but so badly that it is almost impossible to gauge it. The 
 tests are exactly the same as for the forged five shillings above 
 described, except that it is printed in blue and red. 
 
550 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. Three thick straight lines top and bottom, curved lines 
 at the sides, victoria in the centre, in straight line. 
 
 Forged. Three concentric circles, with numeral in the centre ; 
 also an outlined transverse oval, containing thin bars across it, with 
 numeral in the centre ; also an illegible blotch. 
 
 VIEGm ISLANDS. 
 Issue of 1867. One Penny, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on moderately stout, yellowish-white wove 
 paper ; perforated 12 and also 15. The horizontal lines of shading 
 in the central oval are fine and close together, so that six occupy the 
 space of one millimetre. These lines are not at all 
 blotched together, except just at the bottom of the 
 oval, beside the foot of the figure. The width or 
 height of the upper label is just one and three- 
 quarter millimetres ; and the letters in this label are 
 one millimetre high. The width or height of the 
 lower label is two millimetres ; the letters in it being 
 one millimetre high : thus the lower letters are not 
 nearly so high as the label containing them. The right arm of the 
 Virgin is very thin, and the thumb is not particularly long. The 
 lily-stem in her left hand is tolerably distinct, the bottom part of 
 the stem not extending more than a quarter of a millimetre below 
 the hand. The cords which suspend the lamps are faint, and not to 
 be seen at the first glance. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on poor, thin, very white paper ; perforated 13. The 
 horizontal lines of shading in the central oval are coarse and blotched ; 
 and four nearly occupy the space of one millimetre. The upper label 
 is one and a half millimetres, and the letters in this label are slightly 
 more than one millimetre high. The lower label is one and three- 
 quarter millimetres high, and the lettering in this label is about one 
 and a quarter millimetres high ; so that there is very little space 
 between the letters and the top and bottom of the label. The right 
 arm of the Virgin is quite as thick as the left, with a very abnor- 
 mally long thumb. The lily-stem in her left hand is hardly to be 
 seen, though the flowers are pretty plain. The bottom part of the 
 stem of the lilies extends for a full millimetre below the hand. The 
 cords from which the lamps are suspended are dark, thick, and 
 much too prominent. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 551 
 
 Same Issue, Sixpence, carmine, rose. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Paper, engraving, and perforation the same as in the genuine one 
 penny. The groundwork of the central rectangle is composed ot 
 very fine, but perfectly distinct wavy lines. There 
 are thirteen fine transverse lines behind virgin 
 ISLANDS, and the same number behind sixpence. 
 Only one of the lamps touches the frame of the 
 stamp on the right-hatid side. The glory round the 
 head of the Virgin is some little distance from the 
 frame above it. The foot only just touches the 
 bottom frame. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed on moderately stout, bluish- white wove paper; 
 perforated 13. The groundwork of the central rectangle appears 
 almost white ; as the wavy lines are so indistinct, and so lightly 
 coloured. There are only eleven fine transverse lines behind virgin 
 ISLANDS, and twelve behind sixpence. The lamps are much darker 
 and more prominent than in the genuine, and three of those on the 
 right-hand side touch the frame to the right of them. The glory 
 round the head of the Virgin touches the frame above the head. The 
 foot touches, and even cuts through, the bottom frame. 
 
 Second Issue of 1867. Fourpence, maroon, brown. 
 
 Engraved in 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 epargne, on thick, tinted wove paper ; perforated 15. 
 
 and joined toj 
 below the wor^ 
 have not been 
 
 There are fourteen very indistinct dots above the 
 words FOUR PENCE, and the same number below. 
 There are two still more indistinct dots between 
 the two words, looking like a colon. The stars 
 above the head are nicely drawn, and do not run 
 into each other ; the face is perfectly distinct, 
 with a nice expression, and the neck is almost 
 all white. The ornaments in the bottom corners 
 are exactly alike in size, shape, and design. The 
 pattern of the ground, outside the central circle, 
 is composed of heraldic roses, very finely done, 
 ^ether into a sort of network. The dots above and 
 is VIRGIN ISLANDS are so extremely indistinct that I 
 able to count them with any certainty. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on medium, tinted wove paper; perforated 12. 
 There are fifteen very distinct white dots above the words four 
 PENCE, and the same number below them. The two dots between 
 the words are equally distinct. The stars above the head are too 
 
552 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 large, and generally run into each other, more or less. The face is 
 very poorly done ; there seems to be no chin at all, and the neck is 
 almost all dark. The ornament in the left bottom comer is of a 
 slightly different design from the one in the right bottom corner, and 
 is smaller. The pattern of the ground, outside the central circle, is 
 composed of large white dots, with a dark dot in the centre of each ; 
 and each of the said large dots is surrounded by eight smaller and 
 more oblong white dots. There are twenty-two very distinct white 
 dots above the words virgin islands, and the same number below 
 them. 
 
 Same Issues. One Shilling, red and black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving, paper, perforation, &c., as before ; but printed in two 
 colours. The stamp exists with and without a broad red border round 
 it. Both are found with the 15 perforation, but I believe the one 
 with the red border does not exist with the 12 perforation. The i of 
 islands leans over considerably to the left ; and, if it were prolonged 
 downwards, it would pass right through the face 
 of the figure. The a of this word has its cross- 
 bar so very low down that it looks almost like a 
 triangle. The glory round the figure is very 
 slight, and would hardly be noticed at a glance : 
 it consists of white lines, radiating from the 
 body — some above the head, some above the 
 shoulders; but the principal part proceeding 
 from the sides of the body, about level with 
 the points of the long sleeves. There is a white 
 line, enclosed by two black ones, going perpen- 
 dicularly down the front of the bodice. If this line were prolonged 
 downwards, it would pass almost exactly through the centre point or 
 peak of the bodice at the waist. The pattern of the red groundwork 
 can be seen between the black lines of the figure, except in the centre 
 of the body. The G of virgin is the same shape as the g of 
 shilling. 
 
 First Forgery. 
 
 This has the broad red band round the stamp. Lithographed, on 
 thick, white wove paper ; perforated 13. The i of islands is very 
 nearly upright ; and, if prolonged downwards, it would pass through 
 the neck, but not the face, of the figure. The a of this word is 
 merely an ordinary a. There are no radiating lines of glory round 
 the figure, but merely a white space running all the way round, 
 between the figure and the red background. The white line, between 
 two black ones, which goes down the front of the bodice, would, if 
 prolonged downwards, pass far to the right of the white peak at the 
 bottom of the bodice. No portion of the red background shows 
 between the black lines of the figure anywhere. The g of virgin 
 is of a different shape from that of shilling. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 553 
 
 Second Forgery. 
 
 This has only a red line round the stamp ; at any rate, I have no 
 copies with the broad red band. Lithographed on stout, very white 
 wove paper ; badly perforated 12^. The i and a of islands are the 
 same as in the first forgery. The glory round the figure is very 
 much too prominent, and is equally strong all the way round, except 
 at the top of the head. The line down the front of the bodice is 
 exactly the same as in the first forgery. No part of the pattern of 
 the red background can be seen between the black lines of the 
 figure anywhere. The G of virgin is not quite the same shape 
 as the G of shilling. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. None of my genuine specimens are cancelled. 
 Forged. A rectangle of small oblong dots ; also a similar rectangle 
 of large square dots ; also a circle, with lettering. 
 
 WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 
 Issue of 1860. One Penny, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thin, greyish- white wove paper, water- 
 marked with a swan ; unperf orated ; also rouletted (1861). The w of 
 WESTERN is cut off Square at the bottom. There 
 is a mark in the background, just before the p of 
 POSTAGE, which looks like a w placed sidewise, 
 with the commencement of another w ; and, after 
 the E of POSTAGE, there is a mark like the masonic 
 square and compass emblem, also placed sidewise. 
 The first and last letters of Australia are both 
 
 ^POSTACEi 
 
 5 
 
 PONEPENN»Yf€ 
 
 very close to the outer border. The background 
 behind the swan is composed of fine, white engine-turned lines, cut 
 out of a dark ground. The o of one is considerably nearer to the 
 left side of the containing -label than the outer arm of the Y of 
 PENNY is to the right-hand end of it. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on very white, and also on neutral-tinted paper, 
 very thin and poor ; unperforated. The colour of the impression is 
 a much deeper black than that of the genuine. The w of western 
 has both bottom ends sharply pointed. The word postage is on a 
 solid label, without any white marks upon it. The first and last 
 letters of Australia are at some little distance from the border, but 
 the first is nearer than the last. The background, behind the swan, 
 is composed of black dots and scratches on a white ground. There 
 is no watermark. The o of one is the same distance from the begin- 
 ning of the label as the arm of the y is from the end of it. 
 
554 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Same Issue. 2d., vermilion; 6d., green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on very thin, yellowish- white wove paper, 
 watermarked with a swan ; imperforated. The w of western has 
 its bottom points cut off square, as before. The N of this word 
 almost touches the border of the label. All the lettering is of equal 
 thickness. The background, behind the swan, is composed of engine- 
 turned white lines, cut out of a coloured ground. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, very hard, white wove paper ; un- 
 perforated ; no watermark. The w of western is sharply pointed 
 at the bottom. The n of this word is at some little distance from 
 the end of the containing label. The lettering of the word postage 
 is decidedly thicker than the rest. The background, behind the swan, 
 is composed of coloured dots and scratches, on a white ground. 
 
 Issues of 1861-63. Id., pale red, brick-red, carmine. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on moderately stout, white wove paper ; 
 watermarked with a swan, and perforated variously ; also (1863) 
 without watermark, and perforated 12|. The tests for the genuine 
 are exactly the same as for the one penny, black. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on thin, very white wove paper ; no watermark ; un- 
 perforated. The tests are exactly the same as for the forged one 
 penny, black. 
 
 Same Issues. 2d., blue; 4d., vermilion, carmine; 6d., 
 violet. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on moderately stout, white wove paper ; 
 watermarked with a swan, and variously perforated; also (1863) 
 without watermark, and perforated 12^. The tests are exactly the 
 same as for the genuine 2d. and 6d. of 1860. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on poor, rather thin, very white wove paper; no 
 watermark ; unperforated, or badly perforated some uncountable 
 gauge. The tests are exactly the same as for the forgeries of the 2d. 
 and 6d. of the 1860 issue. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 555 
 
 Same Issues, One Shilling, green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in tciille-douce, on moderately stont, white wove paper ; 
 watermarked with a swan, and perforated variously ; also (1864) 
 without watermark, and perforated 12^. All the four labels are 
 solid, without any white lines behind the lettering. The w of 
 WESTERN has its bottom points cut off square ; but the first point is 
 not quite so square as the second. All the lettering is very regular, 
 and clearly and sharply cut. The first and last a of Australia are 
 very close to the ends of the label, almost touching them. The back- 
 ground, behind the swan, is composed of fine engine-turned white 
 lines, cut out of a coloured ground. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Poorly lithographed, on hard, rather thin, white wove paper ; no 
 watermark ; unperforated. There are several white patches and 
 blotches in each of the four labels, especially between the P and o of 
 POSTAGE. The w of western is rather like the genuine in this 
 counterfeit ; but all the lettering is very poorly done, the shapes of 
 the letters bad, and their thickness varies. The first a of Australia 
 does not anything like touch the beginning of the label, and the last 
 A is even further off the end of it. The background, behind the swan, 
 is composed of coloured dots and scratches, on a white ground. This 
 said background, in this forgery, is very poorly done ; in the genuine 
 Is. it is particularly fine in all my copies. 
 
 Issue of 1865. Id., bistre. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on thinnish, white wove paper ; perfor- 
 ated 12^, and watermarked with a swan (rare), and also with Crown 
 and CC. The tests for the genuine are exactly the same as for the 
 one penny, black. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on rather thin, hard, white wove paper ; no water- 
 mark ; unperforated. The tests for this are exactly the same as for 
 the forged one penny, black. 
 
 Same Issue. 2d., yellow, orange; 4d., rose, carmine; 
 6d., lilac. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on moderately thick, white wove paper ; 
 perforated 12^, and watermarked with a Crown and CC. The tests 
 for these stamps are exactly the same as for the genuine 2d. and 
 6d. of the 1861 issue. 
 
556 
 
 ALBUM weeds; OR, 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithograplied on thin, poor, yellowish- white and very white paper ; 
 no watermark ; perforated 11 1. The tests for these forgeries are 
 exactly the same as for the forged 2d. and 6d. of the 1861 issue. 
 
 Same Issue. Is., green. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in taille-douce, on moderately stout, white wove paper ; 
 watermarked with a Crown and CC, and perforated 12^. The tests 
 for this stamp are exactly the same as for the genuine Is. of the 
 1862-64 issues. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed on hard, rather thin, white wove paper ; no water- 
 mark ; unperforated. The tests for this stamp are exactly the same 
 as for the forgery of the Is. of 1862-64. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 Genuine. An unoutlined oval of thin, parallel lines, with a circle 
 in the centre, and a large figure in the circle ; also an oval, with four 
 lines at the top and bottom, and two curved lines each side, enclosing 
 numeral, or letter and numeral ; also a double circle, with lettering 
 between the circles and in the centre. 
 
 Forged. Four concentric circles, with a blank centre ; also a good 
 copy of the oval of parallel lines, with circle and numeral in the 
 centre. 
 
 The colours of the genuine and forged are very dilferent ; I repro- 
 duce them here, so that the reader may see for himseK : 
 
 1860. Id., genuine, soft greyish-black ; forgery, deep black. 2d., 
 genuine, vermilion ; forged, bright orange, reddish-orange. 6d., 
 genuine, Prussian green ; forged, chalky apple-green. 1865. Id., 
 genuine, brown-bistre ; forged, yellow-bistre. 2d., genuine, rich 
 orange-yellow ; forged, vermilion, bright orange. 4d., genuine, rich 
 carmine, rose ; forged, dull rose-pink ; 6d., genuine, pale lilac to 
 purple ; forged, bright, very deep mauve. Is., genuine, rich, dark, 
 yellowish-green ; forged, dull, dirty Prussian green. 
 
 WUKTEMBUKG. 
 Issue of 1851. 1 Kreuzer, black on buff. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraved in epargne, on coloured wove paper. The stamp is 
 twenty-two millimetres wide, and twenty-three millimetres high. 
 The inscription up the left side is deutsch-oestr. postverein., 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 557 
 
 with a slanting, double hyphen between the first two words, in the 
 German fashion. The inscription down the left side is vertrag v. 
 6. APRIL 1850. The letters of wurttemberg are small, and equi- 
 distant from the top and bottom outlines of the containing-label ; 
 and the stop after the word is as far from the G as it is from the end 
 of the label. The F of freimarke has a tongue sticking out of the 
 middle of its right side ; and the k of that word is the usual small 
 German k, which resembles our small " t," with an extra curved 
 stroke to its head. This is difficult to explain, but will be instantly- 
 understood on seeing the letter in any German book. There is a 
 little branch, with two bunches of grapes and three tendrils, to the 
 left of the word freimarke, and another similar branch to the right 
 of that word, but pointing the other way. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Lithographed, on thinnish, dark buff paper. The stamp is twenty- 
 three and three-quarter millimetres wide, and twenty-four and a half 
 millimetres liigh. The inscription up the left side is deutsch, 
 oestr. postverery., with a stop, instead of the double hyphen, 
 between the first two words. The inscription down the right side is 
 VERTRAG o. 6. APRIL 1850 ; with a very tiny stop after the o and the 
 6, and none at all after the 1850. The letters of wurttemberg are 
 too large, and considerably nearer to the iDottom than to the top of 
 the containing-label ; and the stop after the word is much nearer to 
 the G than to the end of the label. The F of freimarke has no 
 tongue sticking out of the right side, so that it looks like a German 
 J rather than the German f. The K of this word is a hybrid between 
 a t and an I, but it is certainly not the German small k. The little 
 branches to right and left of this word bear two curly tendrils and 
 three curved ones on each, but no bunches of grapes. 
 
 Same Issue. 18 Kreuzer, black on violet. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Engraving and paper the same as in the 
 1 kreuzer just described. The tests are exactly 
 the same as for the genuine 1 kreuzer, except 
 that the bunches of grapes are not so easy to 
 make out. The side-stroke of the 1 of 18 is very 
 thin, and has a very decidedly concave shape. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Tests the same as for the forged 1 kreuzer, except that the o after 
 VERTRAG has a large piece broken out of it to the left of the top. 
 The oblique side-stroke to the 1 of 18 is very thick, and without 
 any curve in it. 
 
558 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS j OR, 
 
 Postmarks, 
 
 Genuine. Ten concentric circles, very close together, with name 
 and date, &c., inside the inner circle ; also a single circle, similarly 
 inscribed ; also two concentric circles, with name between the 
 circles, and date in the centre. These are struck both in ])lack and 
 in blue. 
 
 Forged. My counterfeits are all uncancelled. 
 
 Note. — I have seen no forgeries of the other values of this set ; 
 but, to aid in their detection should they exist, I ought to say that, 
 though the middle varies for each value, the frames, inscriptions, and 
 vine-branches are the same for all the values, as nearly as possible ; 
 so that the tests given above will be sufficient for any other forgeries. 
 
 This issue has been reprinted, with some of the dies touched up. 
 I do not possess any of these " touched-up " or re-made reprints, but 
 should be inclined to call them by a harsher name. 
 
 I have seen no forgeries of the later issues. 
 
 THE END. 
 
HOW TO DETECT FORGED STAMPS. 
 
 559 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 COEDOBA. 
 
 The forgeries now to be described have deceived some of our 
 first dealers and amateurs. They hail from Saxony, and I 
 understand that they are the production of Mr. Senf. 
 
 5 Centavos, blue ; 1860. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 Lithographed, in various shades of more or less 
 pale, chalky blue, on moderately stout, rough laid 
 paper, and also on plain wove paper ; the latter 
 being rare ; indeed, I have not yet seen them on 
 wove, though I know that they exist. The letters 
 of CORDOBA are thick, almost as thick as those of 
 GEN, but smaller. One type of the 5c. has a stop 
 after cen. The background, behind the top of the 
 castle, is filled with horizontal lines of shadmg in 
 short dashes, the shading on the left being darker than that on the 
 right. The white platform upon which the three little turrets 
 stand is shaded with short vertical lines almost the whole way 
 across. The central oval is surrounded by a sort of chain-pattern, 
 with square, white links, each link having a dark line through it ; 
 but one of the links, above and after the N of cen, is smaller than 
 the rest, and has no coloured line through it. The head of the 5 
 almost touches the chain-pattern in lightly-printed copies, and in 
 heavily-printed ones it does touch it. The upper three pearls on the 
 left-hand side of the stamp are shaded alike, each of them bearing a 
 single, thick curved line, like a sort of crescent standing on its end ; 
 all the other pearls on the left-hand side have two similar lines, 
 joined at the bottom, making a sort of curved v. The upper two 
 pearls on the right-hand side have a sort of crescent, with a peak in 
 the middle of the hollow part, as well as at each end ; all the other 
 pearls on the right-hand side have the curved v. The door of the 
 castle is very darkly shaded, being almost the darkest part of the 
 stamp. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Very much better done than the genuine. Typographed, in 
 greenisli-\>\uQ, on smooth wove paper, very hard. The letters of 
 CORDOBA are thinner than those of cen, and much clearer than in 
 
560 
 
 ALBUM WEEDS. 
 
 the genuine. There is never any stop after cen. The background, 
 iDehind the top of the castle, has hardly the faintest trace of the 
 horizontal lines of shading. The white platform at the top of the 
 castle, on which the three little turrets stand, has only one vertical 
 line of shading, and the commencement of two or three others ; all 
 the rest of the platform being quite white. The square white links 
 of the chain-pattern are all alike ; the one above the end of the N of 
 cen being just like all the others, and having the coloured line 
 through it. The head of the 5 is at a good distance from the chain- 
 pattern. The whole of the pearls on the left-hand side are shaded 
 alike, with the curved v. All the pearls on the right-hand side also 
 bear the curved v, except the lowest two, which have a u instead. 
 The door of the castle is lightly shaded ; but it has a dark outline. 
 
 10 Centavos, black. 
 
 Genuine. 
 
 I have not been able to obtain any specimens of the genuine 10c. 
 for inspection ; but I believe that it varies slightly in type from the 
 genuine 5c., and is lithographed on laid paper, and sometimes on 
 wove, as before. 
 
 Forged. 
 
 Typographed, like the forged 5c., on the same smooth, hard wove 
 paper. The colour is very different from that of the genuine ; being 
 a sort of greyish-brown, instead of black. The groundwork, behind 
 the top of the castle, shows the horizontal lines of shading, like the 
 genuine 5c. With this exception, this forgery is exactly the same as 
 the forged 5c. described above, being evidently transferred from the 
 same original design. 
 
 Bogus Stamjps. 
 
 These are the 15c., violet ; 25c., orange ; 50c., green ; and 1 peso, 
 rose-carmine. It will be seen that I have included the 15c. here as 
 a bogus value ; but, though it has been catalogued for a long time, 
 nobody has ever seen it, so T think it probable that it was never 
 issued. 
 
 All the values above-mentioned are exactly like the forged 5c. in 
 every particular, except that some of them show more of the hori- 
 zontal lines of shading behind the top of the castle. As none of 
 these values are to be found in the genuine set, I need say no more 
 about them. 
 
 Postmarks. 
 
 I have never seen a postmarked copy of the genuine, though a 
 great many specimens have passed through my hands lately. The 
 forgeries, also, are uncancelled ; the bogus stamps ditto. 
 
 London: Stanley, Gibbons, Co., S, Oower Street. W.C. 
 
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