BELGIAN CONGO

Congo Belge - Belgisch Congo - Belgisch Kongo

Return To Catalogue - Belgian Congo 1894-1908 - Belgian Congo 1909-1920 and miscellaneous - Ruanda-Urundi

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1886 King Leopold of Belgium facing the left

  5 c green
  10 c red
  25 c blue
  50 c green
  5 F lilac

Overprinted 'COLIS POSTAUX' (for parcels)

Genuine 'COLIS POSTAUX' overprint, reduced size

  '3.50 Fr' on 5 F lilac

These stamps are perforated 15 and designed by H.Hendrick, the engraving was done by A.Doms of the stamp factory (Zegelfabriek) in Mechelen. The stamps were printed by the 'Atelier du Timbre' in Malines (source: http://www.congostamps.com/independentstatecongo/1IndependentState1886.htm).

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

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

Postcard in the same design:

15 c lilac, I have also seen 15 c blue

For the specialist: the genuine stamps are always perforated 15.

Fraudulent private reprints exist of the centimes values (Lenoir reprints). They also exist imperforate (genuine imperforate stamps do not exist). These reprints exist with forged cancels. I've seen sheets of 10 (2x5) of the 5 c, 25 c and 50 c values. The 10 c Lenoir reprint should also exist. Apparently Lenoir got the plates during the First World War. He printed his reprints in sheetlets of 10 stamps. He did not make any reprints of the 5 F stamp.

Forgery.

Forgeries exist of the 5 Fr (2 Fournier forgeries and a forgery made by a unknown forger). They are easy to detect, especially by the shades and the details of the hair (source http://users.skynet.be/chst/falsification.htm). One forgery (Fournier?) can be distinghuished by the appearance of two small dots behind the 'F' of 'FRANC'. Another Fournier forgery has, in my opinion, the '5' too small. I suspect the next stamps to be such Fournier forgeries:

Fournier forgeries with the '5's too small. I've also seen it with a "BOMA 3 OCTO 8-11 1886" cancel as shown below. I've also seen this forgery pasted on a piece of paper (with the "BANANA 2 MARS 8M 1888" cancel). Note that the "C" of "CONGO" is too open.

Fournier forgeries, different type. Third image shows an unfinished forgery as can be found in the Fournier Album.

The second forgery above has a cancel 'BANANA 2 MARS 8 M 1886' and the third 'BOMA 3 OCTO 8-M 1886', as illustrated in the 'Fournier album of philatelic forgeries':

Forged Fournier cancels, reduced sizes

Forgeries taken from a Fournier Album.

(A forgery with a strange beard and the lettering different)

(Looks like a Senf forgery, but I'm not quite sure)

Imperforate stamp, most likely the first forgery of the Billig book, with a longer right bottom leg of the 'R' of 'FRANCS'.

I've been told that this is a Geneva forgery, I have no further information (it might be the same forgery as the one shown above). Note the white dot below the 'N' of 'CONGO'.

Other forgery

Highly dubious items.

Website with more information on the parcel stamps: http://www.congostamps.com/independentstatecongo/3MailParcelStamps.htm.

1887 King Leopold II facing the right

(Reduced size)

  5 c green
  10 c red
  25 c blue
  50 c brown
  50 c grey
  5 F violet
  5 F grey
  10 F orange
  25 F grey (not issued?)
  50 F grey (not issued?)

Overprinted 'COLIS POSTAUX' (parcel stamps)
 

(Genuine?)

  '3.50 Fr' on 5 F violet
  '3.50 Fr' (in a rectangle, overprint black or blue) on 5 F violet
  '3.50 Fr' (in a rectangle) on 5 F grey

For the specialist: the genuine stamps are always perforated 15.

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

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

5 F stamp with 'SPECIMEN' overprint.

Forgeries:

(Forgeries, wrong perforations)

Besides the perforation, which is different from the genuine stamps, all the above stamps are cancelled with: 'MATADI 28 JUIL 7 M 1887' in a single circle.

This forgery of the 5 F has the word 'FRANCS' much smaller and the 'C' of this word is almost closed at the right hand side. I've also seen this forgery in the color grey. This might be a Fournier forgery. Next to it two unfinished Fournier forgeries of the Fournier Album.

Fournier forgeries of the 10 F stamp:

I suspect the above stamps to be Fournier forgeries. The first one has a cancel 'BANANA 2 MARS 8 M 1886' (only partly visible here), just as illustrated in the 'Fournier album of philatelic forgeries'. Fournier offered the 5 Fr violet and the 5 Fr grey for 1 Swiss Franc each, and the 10 Fr orange for 2 Swiss Francs (in his 1914 pricelist). All these forgeries were offered as '1st choice'. Other cancels used by Fournier are: 'BOMA 3 OCTO 8-M 1886' (second stamps shown above?) and 'BOMA 11 AOUT 7-S 1886'. I think these cancels were also used on the 5 F forgeries of the previous issue. The 'COLIS POSTAUX' issues were also forged by him (5 values offered for 10 Swiss Francs in his 1914 pricelist). In this 10 F Fournier forgery, the '1's have a too small upper left part when compared to a genuine stamp.

Forged Fournier 'COLIS POSTAUX' overprints as they can be found in 'The Fournier Album of Philatelic Forgeries'.

Unfinished Fournier forgery as shown in the Fournier Album. According to the Serrane guide, the left upper part of the '1' is too short and the 'S' of 'FRANCS' is different from a genuine stamp.

Other forgeries:

Jean de Sperati also has made forgeries of the 10 F stamp, they are quite blur and can be recognized by the cancels (the date is always the same): "BANANA 3 SEPT 6 - S 1892", "BOMA 13 MARS 7 - M 1893" or "MATADI 20 OCTO 11 - M 1893".

Sperati forgery of the 10 F value.

Sperati 10 F forged 'proof' and two Sperati forged cancels.

Lenoir reprints:

Imperforate Lenoir reprints of the 5 F values

Fraudulent private reprints exist (so-called Lenoir reprints) for all values, except the 5, 10 and 25 c. These reprints exist with forged cancels (source: http://users.skynet.be/chst/falsification.htm). The 50 c was only reprinted in the color grey, the 5 F in grey and violet, the 10 F in orange and the 25 F and 50 F both in grey. According to http://www.congoposte.be/falsification.htm, the reprints differ in the ribbon of the King.

Website with more information on the parcel stamps: http://www.congostamps.com/independentstatecongo/3MailParcelStamps.htm.

For issues of Belgian Congo from 1894 to 1920 click here.

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