Lets discuss the “Specimen” overprints. Well described and documented are the basic, not italic, overprints in the lower values of 1 to 15 rubles. New is the overprint on the higher values and the additional types – italic, serifed and diagonally printed. Neither Tchilinghirian nor Zakiyan or Ceresa describe these types. The overprints on the higher values seem to have appeared in the united states. I tend to agree Ceresa (from whom I know how he thinks about this stuff) and others, that think those overprints are highly doubtful (or clearly fake). We have no evidence that supports the genuineness of these overprints. The only point that speaks for the overprints on the higher values is, that it makes sense to provide examples of all nominations for the UPU archives, not only a subset. Think about how easy it is to produce those overprints…
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