The Stamp Collectors Corner

In continuation from Friday…

The stamp image showcased above is the United States Confederate 10 cent rose.  This is one of his best stampforgeries ever done by Sperati.  The most prominent difference between the original and the fake is the fact that the “T” and “E” of “TEN” are joined at the top in the forgery and are distinctly separated in the original. The other prominent mark in the forgery is the presence of a white dot just to the right of the “E” of “POSTAGE” at the top. There is no white dot in the original. Other than those two issues, the forgery is almost indistinguishable from the original postage stamp.

In 1953, The British Philatelic Association wanted to put an end to Sperati’s forgeries once and for all.  This actually was a good thing for Sperati because new anti-forgery laws were hitting the books that were sure to make him finally land in jail.  In an unbelievable move, they made a deal with Sperati in which they bought all of his forgeries and printing blocks.  Only then did anyone truly know the scope of Sperati’s work, which was quite extensive.  They reportedly paid between $15,000 and $40,000 to convince him to stop.

In his lifetime, Jean de Sperati forged 566 stamps from over 100 countries. Many times, he even signed his work in pencil on the back of the stamp.  Jean de Sperati died in 1957, still forging postage stamps “just for fun”, even though he promised that he would never again.  Sperati always justified his creations as “reproductions” and not forgeries.  If you are looking for a Sperati postage stamp, you might have to wait until they surface at high powered auction houses such as Sotheby’s, or hope for one from an unknowing relative.  What a great find they would be!