(Reprints)
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.
David Cohn was a stamp forger from Berlin in the late 19th century. He reprinted the stamps of the Roman States and was also involved in the 3 gr Hannover reprinted stamps:
(Reprints)
These reprints are printed quite badly on thicker paper than the originals and can be recognized in this way. They were made by the printer C.Gerste in Hanover and sold by David Cohn in 1891(?). Note the very thick line under the eye of the king. If they are perforated, the rouletted perforation is different from the genuine stamps (13 1/2 instead of 16). The 'Berliner Philatelisten-Klub' bought the printing materials used by Cohn in 1895 and donated them to the 'Reichpostmuseum' (source: http://www.berliner-philatelisten-klub-1888.de/hist.htm). Since the dies were defaced and subsequently repaired to make these reprints, some of the defacing lines can still be seen in the hair of the King (left next to the ear). These reprints must have been printed by millions, since they are still quite common today.
Defacing line which was not repaired going down in the three hair
lines to the left of the ear of the King.
In the Philatelic Record Vol.2 1880 on Pages
107-108, the following text can be found:
CONCERNING SOME DUBIOUS TRANSVAALS, In our June number we
felt it our duty to warn our readers against large quantities of
these stamps, which were then, and still are, being offered to
collectors, but which we suspected of being something less than
authentic. Our warning has entailed upon us a crushing
correspondence with some few who are interested in upholding the
character of the stamps, and with a great many who distrust them
as much as we do. It is unfortunate, but none the less true, that
the mere fact of these labels coming from Germany is, of itself,
sufficient to arouse suspicion. Some few unprincipled scamps,
chiefly, as we believe, boys, are still to be found selling
counterfeits in this country ; but they procure their wares,
almost without exception, from Germany. The Germans are a clever
and scientific race, but they too often turn their knowledge to
fraudulent account, as in the science of adulteration, in which
they reign supreme. Erom the earliest days of stamp collecting,
Hamburg, Dresden, and Vienna have vied one with the other in the
manufacture of forgeries, which rank from the vilest and weakest
of imitations to works of the highest ingenuity and finish. The
recent scandal in Dresden excited far less remark than a lesser
one would have done in any other than a German capital.
Philatelists did not express much wonder either that the
president of a German society should have been convicted of both
preparing and selling forged stamps, or that he should have
retained his position so long after his character had been
exposed, by the philatelic press of this country at any rate. A
correspondent has sent us a circular and a letter from Herr
David Cohn, of Berlin, who, together with Herr
Heim, of Vienna seems to be the chief distributor of these
soi-disant Transvaals. Before reviewing them, we may here
recapitulate the charges which we made in June against the stamps
in question. Whilst condemning the postmarks and surcharges as
forged, we said nothing more cruel against the stamps themselves
than that we believed them to be reprints. It is only justice
towards Herr Cohn to say that
we are not aware that he has sold any of the stamps with the
forged "v.r." surcharge, nor does he include them in
his price list. These, and some of the other stamps to which we
alluded in June as being offered, used and unused, as curious
varieties, came from the other source. To the postmarks, which we
ventured to condemn, Herr Cohn
alludes in his circular as follows : " These stamps,
obliterated for the use of collectors, are just the same as the
unobliterated, but have the advantage of being cheaper. The
obliterating stamp (three circles with a number in the centre) is
exactly like the real one, and these obliterated specimens are
preferable to those which have passed through the post, inasmuch
as they are far cleaner and more pleasing to the eye." And
now we turn to Herr Cohn's letter, expressing surprise that his
Transvaals have not found that favour in this country which he
considers is their due. His chief argument in support of them
appears to be that they are as good as any which have previously
been sold by dealers, and have not been obtained from the
Transvaal direct. He declares that when English and other dealers
applied to Mr. Jeppe, the postmaster of the territory, for
stamps, he referred them to Herr Otto, the engraver at Gutzow (or
some such place), in Mecklenbourg, for their supplies, and, in
corroboration of this, he sends copies of letters from English
dealers ordering not only the stamps of the normal colours, but
errors besides. One distinguished amateur asks for the 3d. value,
printed in blue, rose, or any colour except lilac—£5 worth
of each colour. Another dealer requests that £20 worth may be
printed in various colours, and sent to him at once. The
originals of all these letters Herr Cohn
offers to show to any who may doubt that the stamps which he is
now offering are inferior to those which have been obtained from
Mecklenbourg in times past. All this curious information, whilst
it throws a somewhat ghastly light upon the past traffic in
Transvaal stamps, says nothing in favour of the fresh supplies
which are being offered. Herr Cohn
certainty urges that the plates having been sent to Pretoria, it
is not easy to reprint from them in Germany. To this we would
reply that such tilings as transfers are not unknown, or that a
large supply may have been printed off before the plates were
sent away, and kept back for a convenient season to float. In
either case the stamps have not been printed for use as postage
stamps, and have never been through the hands of the Transvaal
post-office authorities. The sale of unobliterated stamps such as
these might strengthen the argument of those who only collect
used stamps (on the plea that these at least have fulfilled their
purpose, and paid postage) were it not shown, on the other hand,
with what ready benevolence this fad is humoured by the
fictitious obliteration of as many varieties as can be desired
with a stamp exactly like the real one, plus several other
advantages.
Reprints of Transvaal as those marketed by David Cohn (and
others).
Note: the townname 'Gutzow' should have been 'Güstrow' in the above text. Also, V.E.Tyler in his book 'Philatelic Forgers, their lives and works' attributes the stamp dealer Julius Goldner as the main outlet for the reprints of Transvaal.