Postage Stamps of Italy

by Tony Clayton

Forgeries, Philatelic and Bogus Issues

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Philatelic Creations

Some stamps have been overprinted to celebrate an event. One method used was to overprint the inter-pane gutter. Another was to overprint common obsolete stamps.

1 lire stamp with gutter overprinted for a Stamp Fair in Rimini

2 lire stamp with gutter overprinted for a Stamp Fair in Venice

Obsolete RSI stamp overprinted for a Stamp Fair in Venice

Florence Welcomes The Allies An unofficial fabrication created by a local philatelist

Translates as 'Loan of Freedom' A propaganda issue from Viareggio that is said to have seen postal use.

Bogus Issues

A totally bogus overprint designed to fleece the collector

Another example

Forgeries

You have to be careful as forgeries of Italian area stamps are not uncommon, especially with scarcer stamps.
A good example is of the scarce 60c yellow brown of Eritrea that was issued 1929, which catalogues at several hundred euro in used condition. On the other hand the unoverprinted version catalogues at just 75 eurocents.

A totally bogus Colonia Eritrea overprint on what appears to be Sassone 124.

Comparison of the overprint with a genuine overprint (a) A granular overprint showing it was a photocopied overprint instead of typographed. A scattering of tiny black toner specks is another indicator (b) Many letter shapes wrong, round stop on i, joined characters. (c) Overprint length 1 mm greater than it should be.

Uncertain Issues

50c fiscal stamp overprinted 'Valid for Postage' I gather that it is a philatelic invention from the Genova area dating to about 1944.

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