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Preview of Stamps Catalogue: VOLUME 2

SPAIN QUEEN ISABELLA, 1865 Issue

Return To Catalogue - Spain 1860-1864 Queen Isabella - Queen Isabella, 1850-1859 - Spain overview

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For issues of Spain with the image of Queen Isabella issued from 1860 to 1864 click here.

1865 Queen Isabella facing the left, inscription "CORREOS", lion and tower on top

  2 c red
  4 c blue
  12 c blue and red
  19 c brown and red
  1 r green
  2 r orange
  2 r lilac

Perforated (1865)  

  2 c red
  4 c blue
  12 c blue and red
  19 c brown and red
  1 r green
  2 r orange
  2 r lilac

For the specialist, these stamps have perforation 14.

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Mass cancellations were applied after the stamps became invalid (three horizontal bars) and were sold to a dealer, example:

There exist stamps with inverted center part of the 12 c, example:

Genuine, image reproduced with permission from: http://www.sandafayre.com

The 4 c imperforate is quite rare, in contrast to the 4 c perforate, which is very common. Be aware of cut-off perforations of the perforated stamps:

(An 'imperforate' stamp probably with the perforation cut off)

Postal forgeries

Postal forgery of the 12 c value, note the strange shape of the "S" of "CS". The tail of the lion is too thick. Next to it a postal forgery of the 1 Rs stamp, also with a too thick tail. Possibly these forgeries were made by the same forger.

Postal forgery of the 2 r value

Postal forgeries exist of the values 12 c, 1 r and 2 r apparently made by the same forger. They were used in Barcelona and Madrid.

Philatelic forgeries

According to the Serrane guide, none of the forgeries, Barcelona (Segui), Geneva (Fournier) or Florence, have copied the hairlines that exists in the value tablets of the original stamps. This remark is according to me also valid for the Peter Winter forgeries, but not for the Sperati forgeries.

Examples:

The cancel on the first forgery and the first 2 blocks is "GRANOLLERS 14 AGO 65 BARCELONA"; I've also seen a 2 c red forgery with the same cancel.

Bogus issue: a 12 c forgery with inverted colours! Other bogus stamps that I've seen are 4 c blue and red centre (imperforate) and 12 c brown and red inverted centre (imperforate)

Forgery with the "C" of "CORREOS" almost touching the value lable to the left. When perforated, the perforation is wrong. Also, it often is cancelled with a very clear "4" numeral cancel. This forgery might be of Italian origin. Since I don't know the name (Oneglia??), I've indicated him as 'Forger A'. Misprints exist with inverted or missing centers.

Two dangerous forgeries of the 19 c and 12 c values

Fournier forgeries:

Images taken from a Fournier Album.

Fournier forgeries.

In the 19 c forgeries, the nose of the Queen appears to be too pointed when compared to a genuine stamp

The above Fournier forgeries have the cancel 'SALAS DE LOS INFANTES BURGOS 7 FEB 65' (first three images, the word 'SALAS' looks more like 'CALAC') or 'CAMPILLOS 8 OCT 66 MALAGA' as they can be found in 'The Fournier Album of Philatelic Forgeries'.

Forged Fournier cancels, reduced sizes. The 'CAMPILLOS' and '1' cancel were also used on these forgeries.

Peter Winter forgeries:

12 c and 19 c with inverted center: Peter Winter forgeries.

19 c Peter Winter forgery, with wrong colours

Most likely another Winter product on part of a letter.

Segui (Barcelona) forgeries:

(Segui forgeries of the 19 c, 1 r and 2 r stamps)

Segui made forgeries of the 12 c, the 19 c, 1 r and 2 r lilac and the 2 r orange stamp.

Sperati forgeries:

(Front and backside of a Sperati forgery)

(Front and backside of a perforated Sperati forgery)

Frame 'B', Head 'B'

Head 'A' Sperati blackprint

The above forgeries were produced by Jean de Sperati. They first appeared in 1942. The paper and cancel are genuine in these forgeries! Sperati used low-valued stamps of this issue and removed the design chemically, leaving the cancel intact. The new design of the 19 c was then printed on this bleached out stamp. These forgeries are not very common and quite expensive. They were so good that he even fooled experts. This particular copy has been handstamped 'Sperati Reproduction' in violet ink by the British Philatelic Association and numbered '152', the number of the BPA Sperati book in which it was included for reference.
Sperati made two different reproductions of the frame (Frame 'A' and 'B') and two of the head (Head 'A' and 'B'). Frame 'A' is rather deceptive. Frame 'B' has two white spots between the 'ES' of 'ESPANA'. Head 'A' has a colored spot on the top right hand side, just outside the ellipse. Head 'B' is rather deceptive.

(Front and backside of a 1 R Sperati forgery)

Distinguishing characteristics of the 1 Rl Sperati forgery

The above images are Sperati forgeries of the 1 R stamp. There are several white spots in the Sperati forgeries, especially in the lower right hand side of the 'E' of 'ESPANA' and to the top left and right of the 'S' of this word. There are also some white spots in front of the 'C' of 'CORREOS' and in the lower part of the 'O' of this word a white smudge can be found. Sperati forged both the perforated and imperforate stamps.

Sperati forgeries of the 4 c imperforate stamp. There are two white spots above the first 'A' of 'ESPANA'. Also, the background shading is broken just below to the left of the chin of the Queen.

Sperati also made forgeries of the 12 Cs with inverted frame (sorry, no image available yet).

For issues of Spain from 1866 to 1870 with the image of Queen Isabella click here.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer