Denmark .

Denmark 1851. (Scott #1)

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Genuine

Forgery

Genuine

Typographed, on stout, decidedly yellowish-white wove paper; backed with thick, yellow gum; watermarked with a crown. This watermark is particularly distinct, and can very often be traced even on the face of the stamp as it lies on the table.
There is a net-work pattern, in pale brown, over the face of the whole stamp; but in some copies this is so faint as to be hardly visible. This same pattern will be found on the 4 R.B.S., brown, which is common enough in all collections; and this will be a guide to those who do not possess a genuine specimen of the 2 R.B.S.
The front of the tail of the 2 is very sharp, and points obliquely towards the top hook of the G Of RIGSBANK. The back end of the tail of the 2 curls upwards, and almost inwards, towards the rounded shoulder of the figure. The letters of the central inscription are all slightly sunken into the paper, as is also the numeral above them. There are very well-marked cross-strokes to the top and bottom of the R Of RIGSBANK. The I is a little taller than the R. The top of the G comes well forward, and is level with the bottom of it. The s is nearer to the G than to the B. The A is very much squeezed up, ie., the sides do not spread out much. The upper oblique tail of the K is quite as large as the lower one. The s of SKILLING is almost exactly under the R Of RIGSBANK, and is of the same width. The two tail-strokes of the K meet at the centre of the letter. The bottoms of the letters KILLIN all touch each other. The cross strokes of the i are large. The G is smaller than the N, and is at some distance from it. There is a stop after SKILLING, which just touches the border of the circle round it. There is a hyphen after the word RIGSBANK, which does not touch either the K oi- the-outline of the circle. The coloured line, immediately round the centre of the stamp, is very thin just under the crown, but broader all the rest of the way, and broadest on the right-hand side. The lower part of the crown, ie., the part from which the arches spring, is divided into three compartments; the middle compartment has one largish dot in the centre of it; each of the others contains three small dots. There are only two dots on the central arch ; the dots on the other arches cannot be counted, as they generally run together more or less in the printing. The cross on the top of the crown is not at all distinct; the upright stroke of the said cross slants over a little to the left; the cross-stroke is thinner than the upright-stroke. There is a large white hyphen, with squarely-cut ends, after the word POST. The little piece of dark background, behind the cross on the top of the crown, is of a more or less circular shape; but it is not at all prominent, and would hardly be noticed unless expressly looked for. There are four places, between the arches of the crown, where the dark background of the circular label shows through. These dark places are irregular in form; the two outside ones are very small, and the two inner ones are large. All four are of a sort of three-cornered shape. Outside the circle, containing the words FRIMERKE, etc., there is a white line, running just outside the rim of the circle; but only extending from about level with the I of FRIMERKE, round the top of the circle, to about level with the 0 of POST. The floral work, outside this circle, is all in one unbroken piece; and every one of the crescent-shaped portions of the scroll-work touches the outer border of the stamp. These last two tests ought to be particularly noticed. The scroll-work forms a sort of rough fleur-de-lys in each of the corners. The central coil of the post-horn is very large, quite dwarfing the mouthpiece and the bell; indeed, this coil is so large that it reaches almost to the rim of the bell. There is a row or ring of small dots all round this coil, about twenty-five in number, but so small as to be uncountable without a microscope. The hyphen after the word POST is level with the bottom of the T. There is a large white stop after KGL, very close to the L. The watermark is like that on all the small square Danish stamps; it is evidently made in the usual way, i.e., during the manufacture of the paper itself

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Forgery

First Forgery.

Lithographed, on transversely-laid paper, very thin and soft, sometimes very white, but more generally of a dirty, yellowish-brown tinge. I believe these latter are soaked in coffee, to give them the appearance of being very old. There is no watermark, neither is there any net-work pattern over the face of the stamp. The front of the tail of the 2 is blunt, as though broken off. The back end of the tail curls upwards, but not inwards. None of the lettering is sunken. The cross-strokes at the top and bottom of the R of RIGSBANK are not at all prominent. The I is the same height as the R. The top part of the G does not come forward enough, and so it is not level with the bottom part. The s is almost equidistant between the G and the B. The A is not squeezed up, and the sides spread out well. The lower tail of the K is considerably larger and longer than the upper one. The S of SKILLING is not centrally under the R of RIGSBANK, but is too much to the right, and it is very much larger than the R. The two tail-strokes of the K of SKILLING meet a good deal above the centre of the letter. The bottoms of the letters KI touch each other, but not the others. The letters LL are far apart. The next i is not near the last L, and its cross-strokes are very small, and indistinct. The G is rather taller than the N, and tolerably close to it. The foot of the K touches the border. There is no stop after SKILLING, but there is a small hyphen after RIGSBANK. The coloured line, immediately round the centre of the stamp, is of one uniform thickness all the way round. The lower part of the crown, from which the arches spring, is not divided into compartments at all, but contains a straight row of eight dots, all of the same size and shape. There are four dots on the central arch, very small, but quite distinct. The cross on the top of the crown is small, but very distinct; and its cross-bar is thicker than the upright stroke. There is no hyphen after POST. The little piece of dark background, behind the cross, on the top of the crown, is of an oblong shape, and very dark, standing out prominently from the lighter portion of the stamp. The four places in the arches of the crown, where the dark background shows through, are all large ovals of equal size. Outside the circle which contains FRIMERKE, etc., there is no white rim, except just for a very little way at the very top. The floral work, outside the circle, is broken up into separate, crescent-shaped ornaments; and very few of them touch the outer line of the boundary. There is no fleur-de-lys in any of the corners. The central coil of the post-born is quite small ' and it does not encroach at all upon the bell or the mouthpiece. It is shaded with a few short transverse strokes, very different from 'he clear, coloured dots in the genuine, which are perfectly round. There is a very small, white spot after KGI,, and it is equidistant from the L and from the P of POST.

Bibliography

The Work of Jean De Sperati by the British Philatelic Association 1955

Album Weeds by Rev. R. B. Earee

The Serrane Guide by Fernand Serrane

The Forged Stamps of all Countries by J. Dorn

Compiled by Bill Claghorn (Nov 23, 2000)