The morning call., 1894-06-10

loI seiIlng TO collectors stamps Jul -
to be the rare split PROFESSIONALS OF New
Brunswick
Next in popularity with the phllateIlc
Swlndler are the suTcharges, or over,
printed stamps, such as the proglsiohai
Issue of the present Hawaiian UoVeThI
ment, which consisted OF the monaEcn!cai
stamps surcharged with the inscription,
provisional Govt. $685." IN ordinary type
temptation was given to the uniaWlui
Spectator by the few copies OF the IZ1cent
mauve that received the Overprlnt' Inese
are now worth IS 30, While the uhSur-
charged stamp is priced al out 81. me
surcharged stamps OF numerous Otner
count tries present the same opportunities
to the INSCRIPTIONS; but no matter now
cleVerly the counterfeltlng Is Gone ~
rarely, II ever, passes the Ordeal Oh
scrutiny by an expert. But the ordinary
collector can thoroughly protect hlmselI
by combining his transactions TO we'll
known, reliable dealers. of which there
are many now in every large city.
Sometimes the eounterieiting of the de-
sign OF stamp is so we'll done tnat IL can
be distinguished from the original only by
some difference in the pertoratIOn, Taper
or gum on the back of the stamp. In cases
where the design is particularly dangerous
the precautions taken by different Govern
ments for their own protection are also
valuable safeguards to the collector. Mucn
inventive genius has been expended in this
but to preclude the reuse OF stamps after
they had once done postal service. More
effort. il fact, seems 10 have been devoted
10 safeguarding stamps than TO performing
like office for bank notes and Govern
ment securities, as will be seen from the
following description of the many utter
estlng devices that have been or are still
employed in the manufacture OF stamps.
The very first postage stamp ever issued
the one-penny black OF Great Britain of
1S40-was protected from imitation by be-
ing printed on special paper, water
marked with a crown. Many countries
have since adopted this device, and every
stamp issued by Great Britain has been
printed on watermarked paper, and all of
her colonies nave closely folio wed her ex-
ample. The watermark. as is well known,
Is produced by an artificial thinning OF the
paper in places to conform TO desired
design. Thus TO counterfeit stamp
printed on watermarked paper 1t would be
necessary not alone to initiate the printed
design and color If the stamp, out the
paper would have to be specially made.
Another measure OF pTecautlon which
! was adopted quite early IN the history of
stamps, and was kept up for many years
/ 10 Eng land, was the use OF letters, placed in
corners of the stamp In such way that on
one sheet the same combination of letters
/ occurred but once. II then the stamp
| was cOunterfeited ana offered for sale in
large quantities the frequent repetition of
the same combination would draw atten-
ton TO the fraud.
The use Of numbers on stamps also
served the same purpose. They are found
! on some OF the stamps OF Uruguay. which
were printed IN sheets oil 1OO and num-
! bered in regular order. The same system
| was adopted with some of the Spanish
stamps, with the difference that they were
numbered On the back and in reflected
! UTint.
The first franked envelOpes-the now
! rare Mulready of England-were made Of
the sO-called Dickinson paper, which it
was thought would defy the art of the
! cOunterfeier, but such 1t was speedily
| found was not The case. Silk threads were
! introduced into this paper during its manu-
! facture. This process was so extensive
! that 1t was not Initiated, but the necessity
/ of manufacturing The paDer was evaded i'm
most clever manner. Grooves were cut
/ into the paper and silk threads pressed
/ into them. MANY an eXpeTt collector was
caught by them before the trick was dis
! covered. Bavaria, Wurtemburg and
| Switzerland also printed their stamps for
! some time on this kind of paper, but TO-
| day it is entirely abandoned.
! Enclosing has also been resored to TO
foil the counterfeiter. This consists in
printing some portion of The de3lgn of the
stamp in relief. Most of the old German
/ envelOpes, many issues OF Bavaria, the
! Stamps of Portugal aud her colonies
! showing the head Of the King, were printed
| in this manner. CounterfeIts can be de-
| tected by he poor workmanship Of the
| enclosing or by its entire absence.
Secret signs have frequently been placed
| on stamps by their engraveIs, and which
| for the most part usually escaped the no
| tice of the cOunterfeiter. The stamps of
| Lubbock, Oldenburg and many of the Swiss
locals were provided with them, and to-
| day many a counterfeit is still detected
| through their absence.
! A precautiOn intended less TO defeat the
! efforts of the cOunterieiter than to prevent
| the second use of stamps by the removal
| of the cancellation was to print them in
! soluble or fugitive cOlOrs. For this pur-
pose the paper is given an lsOlating coat,
which prevents the color from penetrating
| it, Almost all Russian stamps are printed
/ In this manner.
With the same purpose in view that led
| Russia TO print her stamps in soluble
colOrs, Peru and the United States made
use of the grill. This consists of a mum Der
! OF small indentures placed closely together.
! slightly breaking the tibers Of the paper
! and allowing the INK of tho ooliteration to
penetrate 1T, making its removal almost
| impossible
No establishment has ever taken such
| pains TO make cOunterfeiting difficult as
the Imperial printing office of Germany, at
Berlin. One measure was to print the
| stamp on the back of a thin, trans parent
material in a soluble color. Stamps so
| treated were the 10 and 80 sil0eTgr0scben
| of Prussia. In placing these stamps on
envelopes the side on which they were
printed were placed next the envelope,
ana any subsequent attempt to detach it
usually left a portion of the color on the
envelope, making the stamp valueless.
| But for some reason this method was un-
| satisfactory, and 1t was soon abandoned.
This establishment originated another
Ingenious idea which was uspQ for 0uita
a while on German stamps. An invisible
| network ct lines was printed on them
with sugar of lead. Their genuineness
could be readily deter mined by treating
them 10 a bath of sulphuric acid, which
would bring out the invisible black. At
present the German stamps have printed
on their face invisible designs, consisting
OF an heraldic eagle. q posthOfn and an i'm
p erial crown. A bath In any alkali causes
the design to Immediately appear, and if
the immersion is of short duration it can
| be made to show several times before 1t
entirely vanishes. Even long bath in
water will destroy The design so that the
| possibility OF Cleaning these stamps Tor
second service Is very small.
While in former years, before philatelic
journals were as plentiful and important
| as now, II was comparatively easy thing
for the expert counterfeiter 10 reap big
harvest and take his time about it-to-day
! his work is most precarlOus and dangerous.
so closely are stamps row studied and so
! promptly and wisely Is news pertaining TO
stamps now carried.