Albania: Stamps

classicalstamps

Hi CS,
I have another (I suspect) 10 forgeries ?    if you want them. (scans)
Albania
1945
Convocation of the national Assembly.  (Looks like I have purchased a page of counterfeits)

My observations:
Genuine : Typography    Counterfeit : Lithography

Genuine :  Typography  Perf 11½,  Overprint leaves depressions in paper,  slightly yellower shinier clear gum.
Counterfeit: Lithography  Perf 11 (Instances of very rough perforations)  ,  Overprint no depression, dull clear gum.

Let us know if you want scans of the suspect 10 counterfeit values.

classicalstamps

ALL the above page are counterfeits.
I was suspect, but didn't have a "genuine" to compare.
After all these years, I seem to still have a problem  with ID  of Typography v Lithography.
I found a genuine Opt Typography now,  and the difference is immediate, like chalk and cheese.

I'll take scans at 600dpi for you, and email.

Genuine TYPOGRAPHY   (The mottled effect of the ink, whitish areas amongst the ink from the pressure of the die)

Counterfeit LITHOGRAPHY  (smooth image throughout)

1921
Insurgent issues "Mirdites Republic"
Takse (Postage Due)
25 QUINT opt

3 lower issues evidence dark brown gum.



1941
Liberation committee, exile in Italy.
Kastrioti, Churchill and F D Roosevelt

Full issues available on the Witt Cinderella collection.  (scroll left hand side down to Albania Page 1)
www.cinderellas.info/wittcoll/collection.htm

Some Flotsam and Jetsam from the Albania Files,  
that may be of interest.
working on Albania as I owe Classical Stamps some Forgery scans.
Images of some go before on this thread.

Littleton Stamp Company, New Hampshire

Thank you very much. Had not seen that before.

A very nice and desirable Albania set.
Also one of the higher CV's, although they will sell for considerably less.



Their CV's naturally brings out the forgers. Several prolific ones in this case.
Which is why you find so many of the 25q for sale - 95%+ fakes.

Overprints can be very difficult to analyze unless you have the stamps on hand and the equipment to do so.

A little homework for you. Here is a signed original

  

Compare it with yours
The shape of the heads and tongues
The feathers especially the tail
The toes - note the claw on the first one
The letters, shape (especially the S), serifs, joined letters, spacing, inclination (the D is generally inclined on the forgery).

If you have an ultraviolet light, it will tell you a lot
Check the backside to see if the ink came through.
Under magnification, the edges of the inking, the size of the letters.


The 1q
Note
1. the intense blue color
2. You can see on the edges where the ink is squeezed out

Thanks for adding the additional photo of the 1-qintar stamp, @falshung .  Here are higher resolution images of the two key stamps in the set:  Scott #120 1-qintar and #124 25-qintar




So, based on the criteria cited in your post, my opinion is that the 1-qintar overprint appears genuine, but the 25-qintar looks counterfeit.  On the 25-qintar stamp, the overprint feathers, toes, and claws are indistinct compared to yours and compared to the rest of mine, and I think that the serif on the "S" is also indistinct or missing, and the "D" does appear to be at a slight angle compared to the other copies.

The other three stamps in my set appear very similar to the 1-qintar overprint, so I think that all are genuine with the exception of the 25-qintar, which is, of course, the highest CV stamp and the key to the set.

Please let me know what you think of my opinion.  If you agree with me, I will return these stamps back to the dealer from whom they were purchased for a refund.

Thanks for the further response, and sorry if the higher resolution scans were not helpful.  Here is a new post of all of the stamps individually at 600dpi, without any mark-up by me.  As near as I can tell, if the end of the tail needs to be curved to the left, the only stamps in my set that show that are the 10-qintar (like yours) and the 25-qintar, but that stamp has all sorts of other problems.

So, perhaps the only truly genuine stamp in my set is the 10-qintar.  Well, I will call the dealer tomorrow to report our findings.  Thanks again for your help!

Many thanks to Jon (blaamand) for inspiring me to finish what I started on this old thread.

In the end, it was quite clear that most of the overprints in the set that I purchased were 99%+ certain to be forgeries.  So, I returned the stamps back to the dealer for a full refund.  That was the good part of the story, although of course, I was disappointed not to have the stamps.

The "less-good" part of the story is what happened after that.  A couple of months after I had returned the stamps, I was browsing through the same dealer's online store, and I saw the set I returned being offered again at the same price I paid for it.  So, in the crusading spirit of Londonbus1, I contacted the dealer and pointed this out.

They claimed that this occurred in error, and quickly withdrew the set from sale.  The fact that this happened, however, caused me some concern.  So, I asked the dealer what their normal procedure was for situations when the genuineness of one of their offerings was called into question.  I was further disappointed, as I never received an answer to this question.

Since that time, I have stopped purchasing material from this dealer, as my impression is that while they offer a full money-back guarantee, they do not even take the time to investigate their own offerings for forgeries, even when prompted by a customer.  I have not identified the dealer by name, as I am not sure if that is acceptable on TSF, but I will respond to any PM requesting that info, unless Steve (tomiseksj) tells me that it is OK to post it, in which case I will update this thread.

Anyway, thanks to you, Jon, for reminding me to finish the story of my experience with these stamps.  I hope that you will have better luck than I did in finding genuine overprints of these interesting stamps.

That "kind of" sounds like a dealer I have dealt with. I order stamps, they send me other varieties of said stamp, not the one I ordered. They are relatively quick to fix the mix-up though, so I have continued with them. But it happens more often than I'd like!

I believe this to be Albania, but I cannot find in Scott.  Found it last night in a pile of stamps at the stamp club. Cost me

a nickel!!

I have found several of these non-overprinted Skanderbeg Coat of Arms stamps listed on eBay, but none with a designation number so I'm wondering if these are forgeries or rarely found. Thoughts?