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| Preview of Stamps Catalogue CD : VOLUME 1 |
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| Preview of Stamps Catalogue CD : VOLUME 1 |
Note: on my website many of the pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the cd's;
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The Spiro brothers made large numbers of forgeries from 1864 to about 1880. They had their own lithographic printing firm in Hamburg (Germany). Over the years about 500 different forgeries were made. These forgeries must be the most numerous of all forgeries and can be found in almost every old collection. They were normally printed in sheets of 25 as in the following example:
(A sheet of 25 Spiro cancelled Goldcoast forgeries, reduced sizes)
The stamps were never gummed, but can be found mostly cancelled. The typical 'Spiro cancels' are often the easiest way to recognize these forgeries. The perforation is often defective.
Just a few examples of Spiro forgeries (the list is much longer, I have only given here the stamps that I have seen):
| Antigua: | 1862, | Queen Victoria; | 1 p red and 6 p green (described in The Spud Papers XXXV) |
(Spiro forgeries)
(Left Spiro forgery, right genuine stamp)
| Bahamas: | 1859, | Queen Victoria 'Interinsular postage'; | 1 p |
| 1861 | Queen Victoria 'Bahamas postage'; | 4 p, 6 p | |
| 1862, | Queen Victoria 'Bahamas'; | 1 Sh |
| Brazil: | 1843, | Number; | 30 r, 60 r and 90 r (described in The Spud Papers LXI) |
| British Guiana: | 1860, | Sailing ship; | 1 c black , 2 c orange, 4 c blue, 8 c red, 12 c lilac, 28 c green (described in The Spud Papers XIV) |
| Cape of Good Hope: | 1853, | Triangular design; | 1 p red |
Colombia: 1865, Arms; 1 P red
Cuba: 1873, King; 12 1/2 c, 50 c and 1 P
Danish West Indies: 1874, value; 4 c blue and brown, 7 c lilac and yellow, 14 c lilac and green
(Left Spiro forgery, right genuine stamp)
| Dominica: | 1874, | Queen Victoria; | 1 p violet, 6 p green and 1 Sh lilac |
| Egypt: | 1867 | Sphinx and pyramid | All values |
| 1872 | Sphinx and pyramid | I've only seen 1 Pi and 2 Pi (probably all seven values exist) |
(left Spiro forgery, right genuine)
Goldcoast: 1875 issue; 1 p blue, 4 p lilac and 6 p orange
| Greece: | 1861, | Head of Hermes; | 1 l brown, 2 l brown, 5 l green, 10 l yellow, 20 l blue, 40 l red, 40 l purple, 80 l red |
| Finland: | 1850, | :Lion; | 4 k blue and 10 k red |
| Hawai: | 1853 | 5 c blue, 13 c red | |
| 1859 | All values and bogus value of 13 c | ||
| 1861 | 2 c red | ||
| 1878, | Various famous persons; | 1 c violet, 2 c red, 5 c blue, 6 c green, 12 c lilac, 18 c brown |
Hamburg, private issues (Boten issues), part 1 and part 2
(Spiro forgeries of the 'C.Hamer stamps)
This forgery of the 'C.Hamer' institute has only 30 quite large pearls around the central circle (should be 35) and no stop behind the word 'BOTEN' (there should be a stop). The dividing line of the 1/2 is more horizontal than in the genuine stamps. I have seen this forgery in the colours: black on grey, black on yellow (shades), black on lilac, black on violet, black on green and black on blue.
(Spiro forgery of the 'H.Scheerenbeck' castle issue)
In these Spiro forgeries, there are only 38 points in the central ellipse (should be 39). There are two very thick six-rayed stars at both side (should be eight-rayed). I have seen the following colours of these forgeries: black on yellow (shades), black on lilac (shades), black on green, black on blue, black on violet (shades) and black on grey.
(Spiro forgeries of the 'H.Scheerenbeck' number issue)
(Spiro forgeries of the W.Krantz messenger stamps, they also exist in bogus colours)
(Th. Lafrenz Spiro forgeries, the stars at both sides are much too larger, compared to the genuine stamps)
The 1 Sch and 2 Sch forgeries of W.Krantz sitting Queen stamps made by Spiro are different from each other in several aspects. In both values the Queen's head almost touches the label above it. In most cases the second 'A' of 'HAMONIA' has a downwards line at the left hand side. The head and neck of the Queen is much thicker than in the genuine stamps.
(Spiro forgeries of the 'Charles van Diemen' stamps)
The following forgeries and colour shades are known to me: 2 c brown, 2 c brown imperforate, 4 c greenish grey, 6 c grey , 8 c orange, 8 c brownish orange, 12 c blue, 12 c pale blue, 12 c brown, 16 c brownish yellow, 15 pale brownish yellow, 18c greyish lilac, 18 c grey, 18 c brownish lilac, 24 c green, 30 c vermillion, 30 c mauve, 30 c slate, 48 c rose, 48 c deep rose, 96 c olive grey and the surcharges 16 c on 18 c grey and 28 c on 30 c slate.
| Japan: | 1873, | ; | 1/2 s grey, 2 s yellow, 4 s red, 10 s green, 20 s blue, 30 s grey |
| 1851, | Birds; | 15 s lilac, 45 s red |
| Liberia: | 1860, | Sitting lady; | 12 c blue (perf), 24 c green (perf) and 6 c red (perf) (described in The Spud Papers II) |
| Mexico: | 1872, | Hidalgo | I have seen 50 c yellow, but probably the whole set exists |
| Modena: | 1859, | Tassa Gazette; | 10 c black |
| Netherlands: | 1864, | King William III; | 10 c red |
| Newfoundland: | 1857, | Triangle; | 3 p green |
| 1866, | Fish; | 2 c green | |
| 1866, | Seal; | 5 c brown | |
| 1866, | Prince of Wales; | 10 c black | |
| 1866, | Ship; | 13 c orange | |
| 1866, | Queen Victoria; | 24 c blue | |
| 1869, | Prince of Wales; | 1 c lilac | |
| 1870-73, | Queen Victoria; | 3 c red, 3 c blue, 6 c red |
| Nevis: | 1861, | Arms of the colony; | 1 p red, 1 Sh green |
| New Brunswick: | 1860, | Queen Victoria; | 2 c, 5 c and 10 c |
| 1860, | Prince of Wales; | 17 c | |
| 1860, | Ship | 12 1/2 c |
New Caledonia: 1850, Triquera issue; 10 c grey
| Nicaragua: | 1862, | Mountain view; | 2 c blue (perf) and 5 c black (perf) (described in the Spud Papers XIII) |
(Reduced sizes)
| Nova Scotia: | 1851, | Queen Victoria; | 1 p |
| 1851, | Arms; | 3 p, 6 p | |
| 1860, | Queen Victoria; | All values (6) |
(A full sheet of Spiro forgeries, reduced size)
| Orange Free State: | 1868, | Tree; | 1 p brown, 6 p red, 4 p greyish (instead of blue), and 1 Sh orange. |
| Parma: | 1852, | Arms; | 5 c black on yellow, 10 c black, 15 c red, 25 c black, 40 c black on blue |
San Tomas La Guaira: 1864, 1/2 r blue, 2 r orange
Saxony: 1850, 'Sachsendreier'; 3 p red (described in 'The Spud Papers XXX')
| Schleswig Holstein: | 1850, | Arms (with thread); | 1 Sh blue and 2 Sh red |
| Sicily: | 1859, | King; | 1/2 g orange, 1 g olive, 2 g blue, 5 g red, 10 g blue |
| Sierra Leone: | 1872, | Queen Victoria; | 1/2 p brown, 1 p red, 1 1/2 p lilac, 2 p lilac 3 p yellow, 4 p blue 1 Sh green |
| Spain: | 1850, | Queen Isabella; | 6 c, 5 r |
| 1861, | Queen Isabella; | 6 c |
| Straits Settlements: | 1868, | Queen Victoria; | 2 c brown, 4 c red, 6 c violet, 8 c orange, 12 c blue, 24 c green, 30 c lilac, 32 c red and 96 c grey |
| St Lucia: | 1860, | Queen Victoria; | I have seen forgeries in the colours: lilac, blue, black, green and red |
(Left Spiro forgery, right genuine stamp
| St Vincent: | 1861, | Queen Victoria; | 1 p black, 1 p red, 4 p orange, 6 p green, 1 Sh blue, 1 Sh grey |
Suez Canal: 1868, Ship; 1 c, 5, 20 c and 40 c (whole serie)
| Tuscany: | 1851, | Lion; | 1 q black, 1 c red, 2 c blue, 4 c green, 6 c blue |
| 1857, | Arms of Savoy; | 1 c lilac, 5 c green, 10 c brown, 20 c blue, 40 c red, 80 c red |
| Venezuela: | 1859, | Arms; | All values (3) |
| 1863, | Eagle; | 1/2 c, 1 c, 1/2 r, 1 r and 2 r | |
| 1865, | Arms in an octagonal frame; | All values (5) |
The forgeries of the 1863 issue of Venezuela are described in 'The Spud Paper XII'.
| Western Australia: | 1860, | :Swan; | 1 p black, 1 p red (perf), 2 p blue (perf), 6 p green and 6 p violet (described in The Spud Papers XXXVII) |
| Virgin Islands: | 1866, | Various images of St.Ursula; | 1 p green, 4 p brown, 6 p red, 1 Sh red and black (two types) |
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| Preview of Stamps Catalogue CD : VOLUME 1 |
