Certified genuine 1 k black stamps
Return To Catalogue - Bavaria 1849 issue - Other German States - Germany
Note: on my website many of the
pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the cd's;
contact me if you want to purchase them: evert@klaseboer.com.
Currency: 60 Kreuzer = 1 Gulden, after 1875 100 Pfennig = 1 Mark
Certified genuine 1 k black stamps
The rare 1 k black has been the target of most forgers (more than 20 different kinds of forgeries exist), but the 12 k and 18 k values were also forged.
Examples:
This forgery has a white circle around the '1', the genuine stamp
does not have this.
Three forgeries, presumably made by the same forger.
This forgery has the background behind the small '1's in the
corners different from the genuine stamps. It is listed as
forgery VII by the German Philatelic Society.
Two forgeries, possibly made by the same forger. Note the short
right leg of the second 'R' of 'KREUZER'. I presume this is
forgery Type VIII or Type I of the German Philatelic Society.
The background pattern behind the large '1' in the center is too
coarse. The black frame around 'FRANCO' is tilting downwards at
the right (behind the 'O'), instead of being vertical. This
forgery is also described as forgery Type XX by the German
Philatelic Society.
(I have also seen this forgery uncancelled)
Some forgeries have the top of the large '1' too close to the label with 'BAYERN'; the ornaments between the '1' and this label have completely or partly disappeared:
Example of a forgery with the large '1' too close to the label
with 'BAYERN'. The letters 'ERN' of BAYERN' are placed closer to
each other than in the genuine stamps. This forgery is also
described as forgery Type IV by the German Philatelic Society.
I presume this is forgery V indentified as such by the by the
German Philatelic Society. The 'central part of the "E"
of "EIN" is too short. In some of the forgeries of this
type that I have seen, there is a black vertical line in the
white space above the left part of the 'R' of 'FRANCO'. The
vertical part of the 'R' of 'FRANCO' has a break in the middle.
I've also seen this forgery cancelled with a pattern of black
parallel lines.
A forgery with all 'E's too narrow.
Cut from a Mencke Huber postcard. See also
here for more information.
I suspect the following stamps to be Fournier forgeries:
In my opinion the letters are all too small in these Fournier(?)
forgeries.
Forged Fournier cancels taken from a Fournier Album, reduced
sizes
Fournier offered 6 values (among them the above 1 kr black) for 6 Swiss Francs in his 1914 Pricelist. Another 1 kr was offered as 'choix extra' for 5 Swiss Francs. I presume the above stamps must be the cheaper version. I've seen the 'extra choice' with one of the above 'PASSAU' cancels.
A rather deceptive 'reprint'
Forgery with the '1's in the corners too small; also the
background pattern behind the large '1' is different from a
genuine stamp.
The forger Peter Winter also made forgeries of the 1 k stamp, examples:
Peter Winter forgeries, type I: 'E' of 'BAYERN' has a dent in the
vertical white part, there is a white scratch in the frameline to
the right of the 'U' of 'KREUZER'.
Peter Winter forgeries, type II: white upwards pointing flaw at
the right hand bottom side of the 'E' of 'BAYERN'. I've seen a
whole sheet of uncancelled forgeries of this type (30 stamps, 6
rows of 5).
This particular Peter Winter forgery has an upward pointing white
flaw at the bottom right hand side of the 'E' of 'BAYERN'.
(Peter Winter forgeries, reduced sizes)
Tete-beche with 'Zwischensteg' or empty space between the two
stamps (type I forgeries)
I have seen these Peter Winter forgeries with printed normally and with blurred print (see picture above). I have seen them often with the '107' wheel-cancel. I've also seen some Winter forgeries of the 1 k black value with a wheel-cancel '49'. These forgeries were made in the 1980's, they don't look very 'old'. Often, they have the word 'Replik' written at the backside.
Forgeries on cover:
(Reduced size)
A similar letter with four 18 kr forgeries and the same cancel 'DEGGENDORF 23 5' and numeral cancel '49' can be found at Bill Claghorn's website: http://members.tripod.com/claghorn1p/Bavaria/Front1.htm. Everything seems to be forged, even the letter itself. This is probably a product of Peter Winter as well. I've also seen a forged letter (probably Peter Winter as well) with two 1k black stamps and the cancel 'PASSAU 18/9 5 A BAHNHOF'.
(This forgery has an extra outer outline, it also seems to have
written 'replik' on the backside)
Probably a Peter Winter forged envelope with three 1 k black
stamps
Another Peter Winter product with a 'K.BAYER FELDPOST' cancel
Sperati made three different forgeries of the 1 k stamp (Reproduction 'A', 'B' and 'C'). He also made tete-beche forgeries of Reproduction 'C'.
Sperati's reproduction 'A'
Sperati 'Reproduction A'
Front and backside of a Sperati forgery 'Reproduction A'; there
is a white line between 'Y' and 'E' of 'BAYERN'. I've also seen
Reproduction 'A' with a 'PASSAU 20 8 2 F (BAHNHOF)' circular
cancel and '382' and '297' millwheel cancels.
Sperati forgery 'Reproduction B', note the 'C' of 'FRANCO' which
has a blotch at the right bottom side. The zoom-in shows this
clearly. I've also seen it with a '175' and '313' cancel.
Sperati's reproduction 'C' with a '102' numeral cancel. I've also
seen it with a '226' numeral cancel.
Front and backside of Sperati's reproduction 'C'; in
'Reproduction C', there is a small white line connecting the top
of the 'B' of 'BAYERN' with the white line above it (see also the
zoom-in). Reproduction 'C' also exists in grey-black.
Tete-beche 'Reproduction C' (image obtained from a Sotheby
auction)
A page from the book of the British Philatelic Association,
showing the cancels Sperati used on his forgeries. Besides
several millwheel cancels, he also forged some other cancels. I
have seen the cancel 'ERLANGEN 10 1' on an envelope with French Ceres Sperati forgeries, which was
also illustrated on the Robson Lowe auction catalogue of Sperati
forgeries (1972).
Front page of an auction catalogue of Robson Lowe with Sperati
forgeries (1972), with an envelope with two French 1 F Ceres
stamps, send to Bavaria. It bears three 'ORLEANS 2 JANV 1849
(23)' forged cancels. The cancel 'ERLANGEN 10 1' is also forged.
'Reprint' made in 1920, together with genuine stamps and the last Bavaria stamp on a postcard:
Zoom-in of the reprint and another reprint, note that the
background pattern behind the large '1' is different from a
genuine stamp.
Faksimile 1991:
('Faksimile 1991' tete beche stamps, reduced sizes)
In 1987 a minisheet was issued to commemorate the birthday of Peter Haseney, the designer of the first stamp of Bavaria. It has the 1 k black, 3 k blue and 6 k brown facsimiles printed on it. The text at the bottom of each stamp is 'Facsimile'(?). The text on the minisheet is '175. Geburtstag von Peter Haseney, dem Schopfer der ersten deutschen Briefmarke'. The minisheet was printed by Gehringer.
"Reprints" with inscription "BUCHDRUCK-REPLIKAT
DER BUNDESDRUCKEREI" at the back.
For issues of Bavaria in the period 1867 to 1876 click here.