Notes on the Papal States 1867 and 1868 issues

Be advised that the forgeries ("private reprints") of the 1867 and 1868 issues are extremely common and clearly overwhelm the numbers of genuine stamps existing even today.

So you know that pairs of horizontal frame lines should be continuous on genuine stamps. But outer framelines of panes are continuous on both genuine and fake. So unless you have horizontal framelines showing at top and bottom on your stamp, it is not a clear point of identification. There would be a small margin outside that outer frameline, but this could be easily removed. Conversely, without both vertical sets of frame lines visible, there is no guarantee that your stamp is a forgery. Note how few stamps being offered today show frame lines all around, although to be sure, genuine used stamps are seldom found that way.

Keep in mind that the forgeries were made from old plates and so have many broken elements, (badly) repaired spots and repaired frame lines. Aside from bumps, old plates were defaced so uncolored lines across parts of the design show a plate re-used by the forgers. While genuine can apparently be printed from slightly worn plates, combine intact designs with existing frame lines, to judge if a stamp is genuine.

For the perfed issue of 1868, the perf gauge must be 13¼. That means that you must have a gauge that can show that exactly. And there are a few forgeries that measure 13¼ or very close to that. Stamp sizes often won't show enough frameline detail so use an intact design to confirm genuineness.

Don't forget forged cancels. That genuine glazed paper (assumed to be the same or nearly the same for the forgeries) was not good at taking a cancel. You'll see plenty of genuine covers with the cancel badly smudged on where it is on the stamp but cleanly struck on the envelope.

Life is not necessarily easy.

 File:Pap S 5c imperf pr forged.jpg|A forged pair. The left stamp shows the typical forgery characteristics of damage and badly repaired parts that print in black. The right stamp could pass as genuine with only a few small design breaks and if the framelines were trimmed off. Note the frame line repair at lower right. File:Pap S forged 2c imperf.jpg|Continuous horizontal frame lines at the bottom but not at the top; so this is a forgery. Note the damage on the right and the scratches that indicate this was printed from a plate defaced after use. File:Pap S forged 10c imperf.jpg|Continuous horizontal frame lines and enough margin at top to be from the top sheet/pane margin. But the horizontal line at bottom is not continuous. So this is a forgery. Yet, the main design is very intact. 

[[Category:P]]