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Caution
The 2¢ perf 12x10 and 10x12 are candidates for fakery, since they are relatively easy
to manufacture from the imperforate srock, Scott 409, or by reperforating two sides of the regular
perf 10 stamp. However, they are so rare that a fake would hardly escape detection. The 2¢
single-line watermarked perf 10x12 is in fact the rarest U.S. stamp, with only one copy known.
There is perhaps less debate over this stamp than the other unique U.S. stamp, the 24¢ Continental,
which is assumed to be a Continental by virtue of its ribbing. As far as your editor knows, there is no
dispute over the 2¢ perf 10x12. Compare this uniqueness with the 1¢ Z-Grill of which two copies are
known, one of which was recently traded for the invert Jenny plate block which sold in a recent Siegel auction
for nearly $3 million with buyer's premium.
*The 2¢ perf 12x10 stamp illustrated is from "The Chesapeake Collection of U.S. 1914 Compound
Perforations", June
12, 2004, Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 877. This is an important reference auction
catalog and includes many of the ultra-rare 1914 compound perforated stamps, as well as an illustrated census of each.
*The 2¢ perf 10x12 stamp illustrated is from the
Siegel Census Data.
Note that the 1914 compound perforations are now considered regular production stamps, albeit exceptionally rare,
and not error stamps. One can only guess how much the perf 10x12 two cent stamp will bring once it is fully realized
that no U.S. collection can be considered complete without its presence.
* The type II rotary perf 11x10 is from "The Vineyard Collection of Outstanding United States Stamps",
October
8, 2004, Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Sale 883.
This stamp is also exceptionally rare in used condition, of which only 8 copies and a block of four are known.
The toughest fakes are manufactured from the type II coils by adding fake gauge 11 perforations to the
top and bottom, although the unwatermarked type II coil is a rare stamp in its own right and does
not make a good candidate for such tomfoolery. The watermarked type II coil was of course
printed on single-line watermarked paper, but a coil with a very weak watermark may avoid
detection. It is also possible to manufacture a fake from the type III perf 11x10 stamp by removing an extra line
in the ribbons (see type II or type III ). Other fakes are
possible, none very likely to fool anyone with a perf gauge and a watermark tray. It is probably worth noting that
some fakes were made by adding perforations to the perf 10 type II coil stamp, the 487, but since this was a
vertical coil, the resulting stamp is perforated 10x11, a stamp which simply does not exist! If you should run
across a two cent stamp perforated 10x11, that is 10 at top and bottom and 11 at the sides, you can rest assured
the stamp is a fake. It is probably needless to say the type II rotary perf 11x10 should not be bought or sold
without certification.
The type III perf 11x10 may be faked, but the only type III rotary stamp that can be used to manufacture it
is the type III coil stamp. If perforations are added to the top and bottom edges, the stamp will be too small
and at best will make a poor copy, worth less than the stamp from which it was made. If the stamp is perforated
11x10, is rotary (and almost certainly type III), you can rest assured it is genuine.
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