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| Preview of Stamps Catalogue: VOLUME 1 |
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| Preview of Stamps Catalogue: VOLUME 1 |
Return To Catalogue - Gabon 1886-1909 - Gabon 1910 onwards and miscellaneous - France
Note: on my website many of the
pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the catalogue;
contact me if you want to purchase it.
15 c black on pink 25 c black on green
There are 10 different types. These provisional stamps were printed due to a lack of stamps on 18 May 1889 (see http://www.colfra.org/spip.php?article220). I've never seen any pairs. Apparently these stamps also exist with missing control overprint.
Value of the stamps |
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vc = very common c = common * = not so common ** = uncommon |
*** = very uncommon R = rare RR = very rare RRR = extremely rare |
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| Value | Unused | Used | Remarks |
| 15 c | RRR | RRR | Only 1000 stamps issued |
| 25 c | RRR | RRR | Only 1500 stamps issued |
Types:
Type 1?
Type 2? Note the typical bottom left corner.
Same type (type 3?); break in upper left corner and break in
slanting line above "iq".
Type 4? Upper slanting line starts to the right of the
"R" of "Republique".
Possibly type 5, note the bottom right corner. There is a tiny
break in the line above the last "e" of
"Republique".
Type 6? Note upper right corner and the lower diagonal line which
stops much too early.
Type 7 with hole in the upper frameline. Also note the bottom
frameline. The letters "PO" appear to have been printed
higher.
Probably type 8 with a hole in the line above "u" of
"Repub" and a hole to the left of the "F" in
this line. The upper right corner has a small extension. Note
that the upper diagonal line points almost to the right hand
bottom corner.
Same type? Could this be Type 9? However, it does not seem to
correspond to the description in the Serrane guide.
Appears to be the same type (type 10?); extension at the bottom
left, "b" of "Gabon" badly printed, upper
slanting line mostly missing etc.
In the genuine "GAB" overprint, the upper left hand side of the "A" is always badly done.
Fournier has made forgeries of these stamps, I have seen these forgeries only with the cancel "LIBREVILLE 20 MAI 89" or "LIBREVILLE 13 NOV 92 GABON-CONGO" as in the next stamps:
(Probably Fournier forgeries)
Fournier offers these 'vignettes' both for 1 Swiss Franc in his 1914 pricelist (as first choice forgeries). The "-" between "Gabon" and "Congo" is too short in these forgeries. Also, in some forgeries, the "5" has a short upper right loop (though not in all his forgeries, he seems to have made several types). The dots in the lower part of the overprint (below "GAB") are less thick than the ones above it in the Fournier forgeries. The letters are always printed nicely (in the genuine stamps the printing is often defective). The Serrane guide says that Fournier forgeries are about 10 times more common than genuine stamps.
(Forged cancels and forged overprints taken from a Fournier Album
of Philatelic Forgeries, reduced sizes)
Forged Fournier sheets (6 stamps each) as can be found in 'The
Fournier Album of Philatelic Forgeries' (reduced sizes). The 6
stamps are slightly different in type.
Type from the bottom left, it looks like the left hand side of
the "2" has been erased (there is still a small line
visible).
Fournier forgeries even exist on forged letters! The cancel
"LIBREVILLE 20 MAI 89 GABON" also appears to have been
applied to the (genuine?) postcard.
A mystery stamp (probably a forgery) 15 c brown with black value
inscription and "GAB" overprint. The letters are
clearly different from the genuine stamps. It looks like the
"GAB" and "15" were printed together, since
they are always in the same position with respect to each other.
Another forgery with different lettering; for example the
"S" of "POSTES" or the first "a" of
"Française"
Slightly more deceptive forgery, the accent over the first
"e" of "Republique" is different.
Very different lettering, see for example "çaise",
most likely a forgery.
25 c forgery with a dot behind the "25".
