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Caution:
The 5¢ flat plate perf 10 coil stamp, Scott 447, is an unlikely candidate for
unused fakes, although fakes do exist. Pay particular attention to stamps with
a guide-line at top or bottom. These are often trimmed copies of the normal
sheet stamp, Scott 428, with the guideline along a natural straight-edge and the
opposing side trimmed. The incentive for fakery is much greater here, since
straight-edge stamps are not as desirable as their fully perforated counterparts.
The addition of a guide-line to a pair is often seen, since guide-line pairs are so
valuable. On the other hand, if the (vertical) guide-line passes the "foil"
test, the coil pair is almost certainly authentic, since there is no single-line watermarked
imperforate stamp from which to create these fakes.
It is quite likely that the used stamp could be a trimmed fake of the sheet stamp, Scott 428. These will
not measure up however. The flat plate coil should measure close to 25.0mm from edge to edge.
This is not a hard and fast rule, but coils that measure less than the desired measurements should be carefully scrutinized.
There is a high likelihood that anything more than a millimeter off is a trimmed copy of the sheet stamp.
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