President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org 28 Apr 2018 04:34:02pm
I'm attaching an image of a stamp that looks like Italy 23 (type II) or 23a (Type I). According to Scott the difference is:
Type I — First “C” in bottom line nearly closed.
Type II — “C” open. Line broken below “Q.”
The image looks like the "C" is open but the line below the "Q" appears to be solid.
When I did a search on HipStamp and Ebay, most of the images for 23a look like my stamp. I have doubts those are identified correctly. There was a used stamp on HipStamp where the "C" actually looks close to being closed. I'm attaching an image below.
The other option is that the stamp is a counterfeit of forgery. Early stamps of Italy have been known to have numerous dubious issues.
Does anyone have any expertise in this area? Any help would be appreciated.
It is an "official" forgery from Naples (as stated in the Serrane Guide, whatever "official" means) of the Die II. The genuine Die II would look similar to the Die I you have pictured, but the "C" would be open, and the line below the "Q" would be broken. (Note that there is a transfer flaw with Die II where the line below the "Q" is found complete.
Now you have me digging through my duplicates. I know there's another 23 in there somewhere, but my filing system has let me down. It's not in Italy Before 1900 where it ought to be, so where is it?