PERSIA Forgeries and reprints of the 1868 issue, part 1

Currency: 1 Toman = 10 Kran = 200 Chahi (or Shahi), after 1881: 1 Kran = 100 Centimes

Return To Catalogue - Persia 1868 issue, forgeries, part 2 - Persia (Iran) 1868 issue

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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More information about stamps from Persia, forgeries etc. can be found on: http://www.persi.com/fakes/fakes/fake.html, http://fuchs-online.com/iran/lions-03.htm or http://www.iranphilatelic.org/scams.htm. Also the book of Friedrich Schuller 'Die Persische Post und de Postwerthzeichen von Persien und Buchara' has much information.

Official reprints of 1877:


Reprinted for stamp collectors. They were never postally used. The 2 ch blue and 8 ch green were still available and were not reprinted, source: http://fuchs-online.com/iran/lions-09.htm. Note the large scratch on the most right 4 ch stamp (the first strip of three stamps probably did not have the damaged cliche in it; I've seen other strips of three stamps with a white space where this cliche used to be).

Other non official 'Reprints' exist:

Paris reprint?
Boital reprints. I've seen minisheets of 10 of such reprints (2 rows of 5 stamps). I've also seen them with perforation. Note the large scratch in the design under the lion in the 4 ch values. The 1 ch value has two dots at both left and right sides of the ornament below the lion; also it has a white circle around the value in each corner. The 2 ch has a damaged bottom left corner. If my information is correct, Mr.Boital, who was General Postmaster of Persia, brought the printing plates of the first stamps to Paris in 1886(?) and ordered reprints of all four values. Usually they are printed on very white paper. They are listed as 'Neudrucke' (reprints) in the book of Friedrich Schuller.


Minisheet of Boital reprints.


Forgeries made by the same forger?


Page of the book of Friedrich Schuller 'Die Persische Post und de Postwerthzeichen von Persien und Buchara' showing several forgeries.


Mottes-Sauerland forgery? In the book of Friedrich Schuller 'Die Persische Post und de Postwerthzeichen von Persien und Buchara' a similar forgery is shown on Plate II, image 2 (2 ch blue), image 10 (1 T red on yellow and black) and image 11 (5 ch violet).


This might be the forgery shown in Friedrich Muller's book on Plate II, image 4 as Mottes forgery.


This might also be image 10 of Friedrich Mulller's book?

Note the irregular circle of pearls.
These 4 K blue forgeries might be the forgery type shown in Muller's book on Plate II, image 9. Note that the circle of pearls is not truely circular (especially in the lower left part). The circle does not touch the left frameline.

Might be a forgery Might be a forgery
Two 2 ch stamps, one in blue and the other in black, not corresponding to any genuine type. The lion has a totally white body (genuine stamps have a star-like structure at this location). This is the type described in Muller's book, Plate II, image 21. The values 1 ch black, 4 ch red and 8 ch green are also shown in his book.


Forgeries of the 1 ch black stamp, also with pink and purple cancels. The ornaments on top are too far from the central circle. Is this the forgery described in the book of Friedrich Schuller 'Die Persische Post und de Postwerthzeichen von Persien und Buchara'? In this book it is shown on Plate II as image 16. Note that the last stamps have a different '1'.


Forgery with the two dots missing which should have been in the upper central part (where the two curly ornaments meet).

 

Forgeries, examples:

 

Stamp offered as genuine on a prestigious Internet auction.
Forgeries, all made by the same forger?


Same forgeries pasted on a piece of a letter.


I've been told that these are reprints of the 8 ch, I have no further information. Note that the '8' is very much defrormed and does not resemble any of the 4 genuine types and it also does not resemble the Boital 8 ch reprints. I've seen them uncancelled or with "TEHERAN" or "HAMADAN" cancels.


Perforated 4 ch forgeries in red and green. The lion appears to have a long beard. Note that the Arabic 4's in the corners are different from the genuine stamps.

 

The book 'Lions of Iran' by Mr. Mehrdad Sadri seems to be quite useful in determining forgeries of these stamps. This book also gives descriptions of essays etc. (I have not read this book myself).

 

For Persia 1868 issue, forgeries, part 2, click here.


Copyright by Evert Klaseboer