Queen Isabella II
1855
5-Cuartos – Cabeza Grande (Large Head)
Gooding #6F1 Jean de Sperati Forgery. Photo-Lithographed forgery closely
resembling the first variety. Stamp color is bright red, dull red or dull
pink. The paper is a little harder and somewhat thinner than the genuine. On the
inner frame line at top there is a dot above the 'S' of 'CORREOS'. The frame
lines above the '1' in '1854' are joined by a diagonal colored stroke. Small
colored dot between the frame lines above the '4' in '1854'. No period or
Stop after the date '55'. Diagonal stroke of color in the right frame line
5mm from the top and this frame line is largely retouched in the negative.
Bottom serif of 'F' in 'FRANCO' is curved. Die proofs exist in black and in
color as well as unused and used reproductions. Some copies are known with a
'Sperati Reproduction' handstamp in purple on the back. Gooding #6F2 The 'O' in 'CORREOS' is broken at the top left corner. The 'E'
in 'CORREOS' is broken at the base line. The 'S' in 'CORREOS' is tall and
slender with very small loop on top. Gooding #6F3 Oswald Shröder Forgery. Lithographed in Gooding #6F4 Coarse imitation and easily identifiable. The First 'R' in
'CORREOS' has thin downward stroke. Second 'R' is broken at the bottom of the
downward stroke. Bottom loop in the first '5' in '55' is broken. Broken frame
line below first '5' in '55'. The 'R' in 'FRANCO' has thin downward stroke
and is broken at the bottom. The right serif of the 'N' is broken on the right
upright. Top curve in 'C' is broken. Frame line is broken on the right side
of the value tablet. Horizontal line at the top of the right spandrel is
missing. Circles of pearls are very crude, resembling parallel dashes. Gooding #6F5 The 'C' in 'CORREOS' is broad with a wide loop at the bottom and
the second 'R' has a small head and the right downward leg is to the right of
the head. There is a wide space between the 'E' and 'O'. The horizontal line
of '5' in '1854' ends in a dot, giving the appearance of it slanting
downward. The top horizontal line in the second '5' in '55' is wavy and the
bottom loop touches the frame line. Lettering in 'FRANCO' is thin. Gooding #6F6 Jean de Sperati Forgery. Photo-Lithographed forgery closely
resembling the second variety. Stamp color is bright red. The paper is a
little harder and somewhat thinner than the genuine. There are several major
flaws in 'CORREOS'. The bottom serif of 'C' is curved. There is a break in the
first 'O' at Gooding #6F7 The bottom part of the 'C' in 'CORREOS' consists of a straight
line with no curve. The top horizontal line in '5' of '1854' is thin. The top
of the '4' is thick. Serifs in '55' do not incline upward and are away from
the upper line. The left vertical line in 'N' of 'FRANCO' is bent at the top.
The bottom curve of the 'C' in 'FRANCO' is very thin, ending with in a large
dot. The second horizontal line in the lower right spandrel is short and does
not touch the right frame line. Largest
Known Multiple: Used Horizontal Pair (Nigel Gooding collection). Gooding #6F8 The 'C' in 'CORREOS' is rounded and almost closed. The '4' of
'1854' is small, with the vertical line somewhat curved. The 'Y' is taller
compared to the numerals either side. The numbers '55' are small and the
serifs do not incline upward and are away from the upper line. The 'N' in
'FRANCO' is broken at the top left corner. The horizontal serif at the top of
the '5' is wavy. (Refer to Gooding
#6F17 for additional forgery with same die) Gooding #6F9 A crude forgery and easily identifiable. All letters and
numerals are embossed. Circle of pearls are generally joined, appearing as a
continuous chain instead of individual circles. Gooding #6F10 The 'C' of 'CORREOS' is away from the left margin and the bottom
stroke of the second 'R' touches the 'E'. Horizontal staff in second '5' in
'55' has a short vertical line on the right side. Top left corner of the 'R'
in 'FRANCO' is broken. The 's' in 'Cs' is not very curved at appears as a
'5'. Largest Known Multiple: Unused
Block of 4 (Nigel Gooding collection). Gooding #6F11 The 'C' of 'CORREOS' is away from the left
margin and there is a larger than normal gap between the 'O'. The '4' of '1854'
is narrow and the horizontal line does not extend past the vertical stroke.
The right vertical line in 'N' of 'FRANCO' is thin and it ends in a blob at
the top. Gooding #6F12 A rather crude forgery in orange. All the
letters and numbers are large and of even size. None of the horizontal lines
touch the outer circle or the vertical borders. The pearls are non-existent
and are replaced with double lined dashes. Known used with circle of dots
cancellation. Gooding #6F13 The ‘E’ in ‘CORREOS’ is malformed, with thick
vertical line and virtually no centre line. The ‘5’ in ‘1854’ has a very
short top horizontal line. The circle of pearls is not consistent, with quite
a few pearls omitted providing gaps between pearls. The diagonal line in ‘N’
of ‘FRANCO’ is very thick. The top horizontal line of ‘5’ ends in a blob and
touches the line above it. The ‘C’ in ‘Cs’ is tall and touches the lines
above and below. Gooding #6F14 Very crude and easily identifiable forgery
printed in pale red (Imperforate and Perforated) and dark green (Perforated).
Circle of pearls appears as double lined dashes. None of the lines in the
spandrels touch the inner circle or outer frame lines. Perforated stamps are most
probably roulette). All with bogus cancellations. Gooding #6F15 A dangerous forgery. The ‘C’ in ‘CORREOS’ is taller
than the other letters. The ‘O’ in ‘FRANCO’ is very rounded compared to a
more oblong shape in the genuine stamps. The solid circle is not broken by
the labels at the top and bottom. There are too many horizontal lines in each
corner around the circle of pearls. Known used with bogus Parilla cancel. Gooding #6F16 A very dangerous forgery that closely resembles the second
variety. The circle of pearls on the top right corner are formed of dashes.
The coronets are blotchy. Printed in dark red on hard card stock. Known used
with bogus large circle of dots cancellation. Gooding #6F17 A crude forgery issued in blue-grey (instead of vermilion) and
with a value of 10-Cuartos (instead of 5-Cuartos on the issued stamp). The
circle of pearls is formed of a solid line on either side of the Queen’s
bust. The ‘Y’ is larger than the ‘1854’ and ‘55’. Known used with bogus
Circular Date Cancellation. (Refer to
Gooding #6F8 for additional forgery with same die) Gooding #6F18 A dangerous forgery in vermillion/salmon. The stamp measures
19½mm x 22mm and most closely resembles the fourth variety of this issue.
There are only 8 lines on upper left of the spandrel compared to 9 in the
normal issue; and only 8 on the lower left of the spandrel compared to 10 in
the normal issue. The top of ‘5’ in ‘1854’ ends in large dot and almost
touches to top frame line. There is
virtually no space between the ‘Y’ and ‘1854’ and ‘55’. |
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