I just finished adding a new page dealing with the Chassepot Issue of Paris. You can find this when navigation the menu on top of the site. It is a subpage of “stamp issues”.
As special treat, I have added scans of the famous Book of Proofs. One of the big rarities of the Armenian philately.
Enjoy!
Catalog prices for Armenian stamps generally are a problem. Some stamps are missing, some are overpriced, some underpriced and some stamps listed simply don’t exist.
Part of the problem is that each of the publishers of stamp catalogs had another source. Stanley Gibbons worked with Tchilinghirian, Michel with Zakiyan while Scott and Yvert et Tellier had apparently no expert (or work of an expert) to work with. Scott even shows a lot of forged stamps as picture additions to its listing…
Let me give you an example.
Here is a very interesting excerpt from the book of Zakiyan and Saltikoff:
I tried to translate this (please write me, if you can proved a better translation!) as follows:
With the official documentary evidence, will do our best to clear stamp catalog Armenia from such speculative “varieties”, to only those types that have been released officially.
As already mentioned, after the establishment of Soviet power in Armenia, in the stock of the Erivan postal telegraph office remained around 1.9 million unsold stamps, which in value terms, accounted for 80% of the print run of the third edition (including a small number with overprints of the fourth edition). The five survived inventories, composed on various occasions in 1921, show that the total number of these stamps ranged as follows:
| 7 February | 1.910.492 pieces |
| 1 July | 1.860.380 pieces |
| 19 July | 1.865.968 pieces |
| 20 July | 1.865.380 pieces |
| 27 October | 1.892.853 pieces |
Between 7 February and July 1, the number of the remaining stamps was reduced through the sale to the population. Later the stock was gradually replenished by shipments of small amounts from other postal establishments in Armenia. Three out of the five inventories of stamps listed both, the original and overprinted values, which allows us to determine the relation between the denominations used for the over printed stamps of the third issue. Here is an inventory of the unsold and remaining stamps belonging to the stock of the Erivan postal telegraph office, compiled on the 20 July 1921:
| 1r./1k. | 522.243 pieces | 10r. /50k. | 181.781 pieces | |
| 3r./Зk. | 273.046 pieces | 25r./70k. | 744 pieces | |
| 5r./k. | 175.351 pieces | 50r./1r. | 1.294.845 pieces | |
| 5r./5k. | 86.156 pieces | 100r./Зr.50k. | 27.334 pieces | |
| 5r./10k. | 163.105 pieces | 100r./5р. | 26 pieces | |
| 5r./15k. | 110.173 pieces | 100r./7r. | 91 pieces | |
| 5r./20k. | 189.616 pieces | 100r./10r. | 2.579 pieces | |
| 10r./25k. | 3.205 pieces | 4 коп. | 88 pieces | |
| 10r./35k. | 35 pieces |
Lets have a look at the 10 ruble on 35 kopek overprint.
What we can see is, that on the 20 July 1921 only 35 pieces are left in the Erivan post office stock. When you open your Michel catalog, this stamps (#66) has a catalog value of 750 Euro as mint hinged. One of the highest values of the complete issue. My guess is – actually Mr. Patemans guess before me: Michel read this as print run figure. Because the number is small, this should be an extremely rare stamp.
Great, I am rich. Look at what I have got.
A part of a sheet with genuine 10 ruble overprints. That are already 25 stamps. Out of 35 possible. Michel is 18.750 Euro. Is this correct? Never! Actually, this a quite common stamp. As Mr. Pateman writes, you can buy genuine stamps with this overprint from him for 10 Euro.
However, don’t get me wrong. Michel is a very good catalog. Its just that you have to know a bit more than the catalog.
Addendum: This can be (and already has been) used be sellers to create a collection (or lot at an auction) with an incredible high catalog value.
Currently on eBay USA offered by a seller from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Not a single genuine overprint on both lots. Most prominent giveaway are the rounded corners of the frames. Quite easy to spot, once you know, how the real ones look like.
This is on ebay and from a seller named diletant2002 who is located in Israel. So far every overprinted stamp I have seen offered by him was forged.
Have a look at the cancel. Two things spring to mind: the date is in a completely different ink and style and the impression of cancel itself looks wrong. Just like being made with a printer. All lines (outer and inner circle) have the same proportions (thickness). That is not so with the genuine cancel. Besides, the cancel on this stamp is from the pre-soviet time. I don’t think they used Zsar cancels in 1929.
The seller writes:
“Since I do not collect or know much about such items, I cannot guarantee that these item are genuine so low starting and sold as is. No refund!!!”
I guess thats kind of fair.
Two lots currently on Delcampe offered by a seller from Hungary. There is not a single genuine overprint on both lots. Also, please meet the fantasy cancel – again.
These stamps are currently on ebay.de offered by a seller from hungary. One short glance is enough to see – crude forgeries.
The sticking point is the bogus cancellation. The rectangle and the star are the most common of several bogus cancels described by Ceresa, Tchilinghirian and Zakyian.
This is one of the common forgeries of the framed Z overprint. While Ceresa distinguishes between several subclasses, for basic checking its enough to know: every thing that looks like this is fake.
The whole Z inside the frame tilts to the left under corner. Easy to spot.
Right now on ebay. That just looks so very wrong.
There are 3 types of forgeries.
Crude forgeries.
Just like the example above. Once you have seen the genuine thing, you will never be fooled by this. Still a problem with rare overprints/items or at the beginning, when you have not yet a large collection.
Typical forgeries.
That are forgeries that can be classified by a certain attribute. There are a couple of forgeries in the framed and unframed “Z” section that belong to this type. The “Z”s on the example above are an example.
Dangerous forgeries.
Some forgeries are very well executed. Ink and shape is very similar to the genuine ones. The good news here is: you have already left 80% of the fake stamps on the market behind you. The bad news is: you will need a lot of comparison material and literature now.
I will show some of the typical forgeries in the next weeks. That should help along.
When searching for some other thing I stumbled upon this multiple. Something was wrong. I had to look several times but then I spotted it. The first k60k hand stamps was applied upside down. This is quite rare for this type of overprint. Its much more common within the later framed and unframed Z overprints.
Enjoy!
This item just sold for about $100. From the weak print its already apparent, that this is not from the original printing, but from the reprints. Also, tete-beches are not possible within the original printing, since one design was used over a whole stone. I have multiples from the originals as well as complete sheets of the reprints. For the reprints several designs were mixed and put together on a single stone. Multiples are quite rare, and very rare when from the reprints. This is the first I have seen so far – besides the sheets in my collection.
Conclusion: This is certainly a very interesting and rare item. Still, its a reprint. Not even the originals were used without overprints. While I like this, others might say it does not belong into a stamp collection.
EDIT: I got a mail suggesting to compare this item with the sheets. When doing so it seems unlikely that is is a gutter piece. The space between the two pairs is to small and there seems to be a border at the left side just after two stamps. Perhaps Essayan (the printer) arranged the designs differently or tested what arrangements were possible. We do not know at this point. Only one thing seems to be clear: this is a very rare item.
