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.

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.

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.





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