CLASSIC LATIN AMERICA | News, commentary and opinion on Central and South American philately

The Collector | Peter Bamert | Mexico

Mexico National Express Co — National Express cover from 1895 with wonderful handwritten ‘Mexico’

Peter Bamert is the editor of the ‘Postal Stationery of Mexico’, a comprehensive work that catalogues Mexico’s envelopes, postal cards, wrappers and more.

CLA How did you get interested in collecting postal stationery?

PB As a boy I began collecting stamps of the whole world. Then I started a topical collection about reptiles. One day I found a Mexican cover of the National Express with the Mexican coat-of-arms (an eagle with a snake).

From this moment I fell in love with Mexican postal stationery.

CLA What is the definition postal stationery?

PB The FIP commission defines postal stationery as “comprising postal matter which either bears an officially authorized pre-printed stamp or device or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related service has been prepaid”.

CLA What have been the main challenges in building your collection?

PB Starting a collection is easy. Most Mexican postal stationery envelopes, cards, etc. are readily available on the market. However, finding the more advanced missing items gets more difficult. Only patience and the tireless searching of dealer’s boxes, the internet and auctions helps to bring the collection forward.

Wells Fargo Mexico Cover — An 1872 Wells, Fargo cover from La Paz to San Francisco with special handling ‘express’ label

CLA Tell us about some of your favorite items.

PB Firstly, a 30 cents US Wells, Fargo and Co envelope (4^th Nesbitt issue) with the pre-printed sub-heading of “Paid over our Mexican Coast and California Express – $1.05”.

Jas Viosca, the agent for Wells Fargo at La Paz, sent this envelope on January 14th 1872. It went via the ship New Bern to Gaxiola & Andrade, General Commission Merchants, in San Francisco. The red express label with the manuscript “La Paz S.C. Mexico” denotes special handling by a Wells Fargo messenger.

Secondly, a cover of the National Express Company which was operating in the 1890’s along the Ferrocaril National RR route (see image at top). Nothing rare but with beautiful handwriting and a nice company frank.

CLA What inspired you to write a book?

PB When I started collecting the postal stationery of Mexico, the MEPSI catalogue was the best reference available. However, it did not list the express companies and other categories of postal stationery.

As time went by, more and more unlisted items appeared. Therefore, in about 1995, I decided to update the MEPSI and Higgins & Gage catalogues. It took me some twenty-three years to complete my oeuvre.

1895 Wells Fargo ‘Mulitas’ cover to Germany

CLA What information does your book contain?

PB This is primarily a catalogue of all Mexican postal stationery known, up until 2017. However, it is very detailed and contains many intricacies which makes it more of a handbook than a catalogue alone.

For example, it contains all express companies which are listed in detail.

CLA What advice do you have for a new collector considering starting a postal stationery collection?

PB Start with a basic collection of the area of interest. Then:

look out for literature (not just catalogues!)

join a club with people who share your field of interest (in Switzerland, for instance, the Schweizerischer Ganzsachensammler Verein or SGSSV)

start exhibiting early! This brings you new friends and much good advice

CLA Do you have other stamp collecting interests?

PB Yes, I collect postal stationery from other South American countries (Peru, Bolivia and El Salvador). As a Swiss, I also collect private postal stationery of Swiss banks.

Additionally, I collect postal history of the Trans-Siberian railroad during the czarist period (c. 1895 – 1919); an extremely interesting topic with many railroad related cancels and nice post cards.

‘Postal Stationery of Mexico’ is available for direct purchase from the United Postal Stationery Society website.

Forthcoming auctions and initiatives in the hobby

Granadine Confederation 1859 1 Peso Carmine Block of 15, to be auctioned by Siegel on 30th September (est. $3k-$4k) — Granadine Confederation 1859 1 Peso Carmine Block of 15, to be auctioned by Siegel on 30th September (est. $3000-$4000)

There have been a few notable initiatives in the wider stamp world in the past few weeks but let’s start with the auctions.

If you are kept up to speed with auction email alerts or read the monthly philatelic press, then it won’t have escaped your attention that the late Leo Malz collections of Central and South America are coming to the market.

Kelleher have the sale primed for October 7^th.

‘Collections’ is truly the operative word here. Yes, there are a number of star pieces extracted from the larger lots, but the emphasis is very much on some substantial accumulations of harder-to-find material.

Haiti alone warrants 145 lots, some of significant size and depth with proofs and varieties to the fore.

Haiti 1904 Nord Alexis 20c orange tête-bêche pair. From the Leo Malz auction, estimate $750-$1000

Every one of the twenty Latin American republics is represented in some shape or form, bar Mexico. Given its wide scope, the sale will act as a good market bellwether.

Up at the more rarefied end, Siegel are auctioning the Gordon John collection of Uruguay and Colombia in their 29^th September sale.

It’s a very focused sale with only two issues represented: the 1859 first issue of Colombia and the 1859/60 Uruguay ‘suns’. Not much there for the bargain hunter but quality material with a number of high provenance rarities.

Uruguay 1860 60c Chocolate Brown. Heavily undercatalogued and modestly estimated by Siegel at $200-$300

Later in the year, expect to see yet another significant holding from the Bill Byerley Nicaragua collection come to market via HR Harmer. This is the third tranche of this huge collection and is expected to go to auction in December.

Virtual Stampex International

Kelleher and Siegel are just two of the exhibitors that have signed up to take part in what is being billed as the first virtual stamp show: Stampex International.

The APS also laid claim to launching the first virtual show with a successful series of events that ran from 17^th-22^nd August but the Stampex initiative takes it up another level.

By taking advantage of the vfairs interactive platform, the idea is to attempt to get as close to the real thing, without leaving home.

Without any travel or accommodation costs, the concept has been quickly embraced by the international philatelic trade.

Amongst 100+ exhibitors, notable stand holders include Cherrystone, Kohler, David Feldman, Spink, Corinphila, Stanley Gibbons…

Even eBay have a stand, which must indicate that the category has some level of importance within their wider business. Possibly to promote Stamp Market Index which is now getting heavily promoted on the eBay website.

Internationals always have an understandable home bias with only the better funded exhibitors tending to cross borders. It will be interesting to see whether this remains a COVID inspired one-off or whether it is the start of developing a truly global event platform for the hobby.

Stampex takes place from 1^st-3^rd October at www. stampex.vfairs.com.

The virtual auditorium. That's quite an audience for a stamp talk! — The virtual auditorium. That’s quite an audience for a philatelic talk!

For a sneak preview of the show in action, you can get a good idea by watching the recent interview with the Philatelic Trader’s Society on the new Conversations with Philatelists YouTube channel.

Conversations with Philatelists

Hosted by Charles Epting (HR Harmer) and Michael Cortese (Noble Spirit), this initiative has made quick progress with interviews under the belt from Gary Loew, Wayne Youngblood, Wade Saadi and Dana Guyer amongst others.

Be good to see how this develops.

Lastly, I cannot remember the number of articles I must have read over the years on ‘the state of the hobby’.

It’s been a staple topic of philatelic writers over the decades with forecasts from everything from complete obliteration through to a golden renaissance and all points in-between.

However, the best summary I have read in a long while comes from Colin Fraser in the September 2020 edition of Flash, the journal of the Federation Internationale de Philatelie.

Entitled ‘Can a pandemic finally change the world of philately?’, it deserves a wider audience than the circulation of Flash. You can download a copy below (page 27 onwards).

FIP Flash September 2020 Download

It’s a thought provoking read and I commend it to you.

The Numerals Issues of Brazil – Fakes, Forgeries and Counterfeits

Only one of these Bull’s Eyes is genuine…the example on the right

Most collectors of Latin America will be familiar with the early postage stamps of Brazil. Bull’s Eyes, Snake’s Eyes, Goat’s Eyes, Cat’s Eyes…collectively, the numeral issues of the Brazilian Empire.

Stephen Rose has spent nearly fifty years studying these issues and currently serves as the American Philatelic Society’s Expertiser for Brazilian stamps.

In this article, Stephen discusses the extent and prevalence of these forgeries in the market today, the challenges of identifying them and useful resources for the collector.

CLA How did you become a stamp collector?

SR When I was nine, one of my Christmas gifts was an H.E. Harris beginner’s album kit and a packet of 500 assorted world-wide stamps. I was fascinated by the designs, strange languages, and unusual locations. Where in the world was Ifni, Swaziland, Andorra….?

I spent hours using a globe and the Stamp Finder pamphlet included in the kit to puzzle out where each stamp was from. My favorite set was the three rhinoceros from French Equatorial Africa.

I was a dedicated collector until about age 16, when girls suddenly became a more important magnet for what little spending money I had. After that, my collections went into the attic.

During my mid-20’s, my mother sent me an ultimatum: I had two weeks to take the collection out of storage or it would go in the trash (she had already ditched the 1950s comic books and baseball cards, which were far more valuable than my schoolboy world-wide stamp collection). So, I rescued the album and cigar box of duplicates and, now having some discretionary income, switched over to focusing on a general U.S. collection.

After about a decade of this, plus marriage and kids, I realized that individual U.S. stamps were becoming too expensive vs. family needs. So, one weekend I went to the library and worked my way through the Scott catalogs, looking for a country with an interesting classic period that was also relatively cheap.

I eventually zeroed in on Brazil, the second nation to issue postage stamps. The Empire period looked especially promising, along with the airmails. That was 1972, and I have been a fan of Brazil ever since.

Inclinado facsimilies by Mercier, about 1910

CLA What originally got you interested in learning about the forgeries of the Brazilian Empire?

SR The answer is easy – self-protection. About 95% of Brazilian Empire forgeries occur in the first four issues, i.e. the numerals.

Early on, I made a few unwise purchases of this material that turned out to be forgeries and vowed to do what was necessary to be able to distinguish the good from the bad.

Overtime, I built up a private reference collection that eventually morphed into a specialized exhibit of Brazilian forgeries, which won a large vermeil medal at the 2013 international show in Rio de Janeiro.

After that, I sold the collection but kept scans of the 96-page exhibit (available for download below).

The prevalence of forgeries in the market today

CLA How extensively were the numeral issues forged?

SR All 21 of the numeral issues (1843-1861) have been extensively forged.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that most of the forgeries are easy to detect, except for the Sperati bullseyes (Scott #2-3) and the Fournier goat’s eyes (Scott 21-28).

The scarcity of early Brazilian issues encouraged the production of facsimiles, or imitation stamps, sold as such, with no intent to deceive. The roster of those who created Brazilian facsimiles reads like a who’s who of the first generation of philatelic imitators, including Oneglia, Patroni, Zechmeyer and the Spiro brothers.

These early facsimiles were relatively crude productions, but the following generation of forgers active during the early part of the 20^th Century, including Fournier, Mercier, and Sperati, created far more deceptive imitations.

This shift from the open facsimile trade of the 19^th Century to serious efforts to defraud collectors is emblematic of the transformation of philately into a hobby of substance.

CLA How prevalent are forgeries of the numeral issues in the market today?

SR Many of the forgeries are surprisingly scarce, far less numerous than the genuine items.

The truly abundant “album weeds” are the Spiro forgeries. The Spiro brothers were German printers and they mass-produced crude imitations of all four numeral issues in 5×5 sheet format.

Erasmus Oneglia of Italy also created quantities of bullseye facsimiles.

About 90% of bullseye forgeries floating around the market today come from these two sources. Both can easily be recognized by comparing with a catalog illustration of a genuine stamp but even so, some hopeful eBay sellers without much philatelic knowledge continue to list these crude imitations as genuine.

Detecting the forgeries

CLA What are the key challenges in detecting forgeries of the numeral issues?

SR All genuine numeral stamps were engraved using a lathe-turned design with precise geometry. The engraving process has two useful features – intricacy of detail and raised ink lines.

Most forgeries of the numerals were lithographed, which resulted in less detailed images with no ink ridges.

Fournier Goats Eye counterfeit on the left with a genuine example on the right — Fournier Goat’s Eye counterfeit on the left with a genuine example on the right

CLA Can the forgeries be generally identified by design alone? Or is an appreciation of printing method, paper and cancellations also necessary?

SR Identification of Spiro imitations is easy enough through comparison of design alone. Other forgeries usually require examination of design plus paper and cancellations.

It is interesting that most numeral forgeries sport particular cancels developed by the forger. Similarly, some have inappropriately thick paper.

My exhibit of Brazilian forgeries provides an integrated compendium of design, paper, cancel, and identifying flaws for each forgery known to me.

CLA Do intermediate or worn impressions increase the complexity of detecting forged items?

SR In most cases, no. Copper plates used to print the bullseye issue (Scott 1-3) tended to wear rapidly but even worn impressions have sufficient detail to allow identification of genuine stamps.

A bit trickier are the small numerals, which often have murky impressions as well as pronounced double entries on genuine stamps. In fact, double entry of the design is usually an indicator of authenticity, since the lithographic process for the forgeries is not conducive to double entries.

Mercier Goat's Eye facsimiles above, compared with the genuine stamps below — Mercier Goat’s Eye facsimiles above, compared with the genuine stamps below

CLA What are the best sources of information to help the collector?

SR Historically, Earee’s Album Weeds first alerted the collecting world to the prevalence of facsimiles and forgeries. But the lack of illustrations makes this work of limited utility.

The Serrane Guide is excellent but limited in scope, covering only the major forgeries.

The best handbook for Brazililan forgeries is Marcelo Studart’s 1995 Falsificacoes e Fraudacoes na Filatelia Brasileira. This is not currently in print but may be available on the secondary market.

For English-speaking collectors, my 96-page exhibit titled “Brazil – Early Forgeries, Facsimiles & Postal Counterfeits” is the most complete study of these items yet produced.

CLA Tell us about some of the favourite items in your collection.

SR The world’s most skilled philatelic forger was Jean Sperati, who created incredibly precise forgeries of the 60r and 90r bullseyes using sophisticated techniques. Pages 5-8 of my exhibit examine these two forgeries in great detail including proofs, secrets of Sperati’s deceptions and illustrations of all known cancels on his bullseye masterpieces.

These forgeries are very scarce in their own right and worth about as much as a genuine bullseye.

Signed Sperati proof of the 60 reis Bull’s Eye

CLA What advice would you give a collector who is looking to start a collection of the Brazilian Empire issues?

SR The Empire covers far more than just the early numeral stamps. I was particularly fond of the Dom Pedro series printed by the American Bank Note Company between 1865-1878.

These stamps have an abundance of varieties, fancy cancels, and interesting postal history – and only one easily detected forgery of a single stamp in the series!

This Dom Pedro era is analogous to the US banknote period – beautiful stamps, great cancels, and a medley of both pre-UPU and UPU uses.

CLA Do you have any other stamp collecting interests?

SR My main collection now is a six-frame exhibit of the 2c stamp of the U.S. 1869 series. This exhibit has been posted to the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society website.

I also have a one-frame exhibit of the U.S. orange special delivery stamp of 1893. These exhibits have been part of my qualification process as a philatelic judge for U.S. shows.

I write occasional articles for philatelic journals and also serve as the A.P.S. expertizer for Brazil.

Stephen Rose’s full exhibit, “Brazil – Early Forgeries, Facsimilies & Postal Counterfeits”, can be downloaded below.

Download

For further information on the expertization of Brazilian stamps, contact the Brazil Philatelic Association.

The Collector | Eric Stovner | Mexico

The 10 pesos top value of Mexico's Mail Transportation issue — The 10 pesos top value of Mexico’s Mail Transportation issue, also known as the Mulitas

Eric Stovner is a collector of Mexico, specialising in the ‘Mulitas’ issue of 1895-99.

CLA How did you first begin to collect stamps?

ES My grandmother and great-grandmother gave me stamps when I was very young. My mom encouraged me early on, obtained covers for me and I found opportunities to meet with other collectors.

CLA What got you interested in collecting Mexico?

ES I was inspired by reading Dale Pulver’s monthly column on collecting Mexico that ran in Linn’s Stamp News. After purchasing a starter collection, I joined MEPSI (Mexico Elmhurst Philatelic Society International) and was fortunate to attend Chapter One meetings and learn from mentors.

CLA Why is Mexico an interesting area to collect?

ES Mexico stamps are steeped in history. The early stamps were overprinted with postal district names, in order to deter the theft of stamps transported from the printing office to the districts. Cancels on these and subsequent issues have been thoroughly researched and published; I enjoy collecting the town cancels.

Mexico has older and modern rarities, many of which are at reasonable cost. And the MEPSI meetings in Mexico are fantastic!

Complete set of the basic 'Mulitas' issue, showing estimated numbers sold — Complete set of the basic ‘Mulitas’ issue, showing estimated numbers sold

CLA What are your key areas of interest?

ES The Mulitas issue of 1895-1899. Also known as the Mail Transportation issue, the mulitas are the little mules that are illustrated on some of the stamps. I also collect used Mexico and slogan cancel covers.

CLA What have been the main challenges in building your collection?

ES Time. Exhibiting helped force me to learn even more. Another challenge is locating research for specifics on certain mailing rates other than first class and the exact dates when changes occurred.

CLA Tell us about some of your favourite items in the collection.

ES I have a Wells Fargo Express envelope which was carried about eighty miles between small mountain towns in 1897 via stagecoach. The cover states “Urgente – Cerveza y hielo!” (“Urgent – beer and ice!”), directly indicating an important (!) reason that the express services were used.

I also have an Hidalgo Express envelope sent on the first day of use on April 2nd 1895.

Lastly, one of my favourites is a three centavos postal card sent in 1896 to a Colin Gordon at Horny Old Lodge in West Malvern England. It has an interesting message from a tourist describing a lion skin being sent by the day’s parcel post, along with a small tarantula…and “apologies for the small size, but it was hard to catch”…!

“Urgent – beer and ice!” 1897 Wells Fargo stagecoach cover — “Urgent – beer and ice!”. A 1897 Wells Fargo stagecoach cover

CLA If you could add one item to your collection, what would it be?

ES Mexico Scott 278A, five peso with RM Eagle watermark. Why? It’s considered the essential item to have if exhibiting the Mulitas. Difficult to obtain and was last seen at auction in 1999. There are only eight copies known, one with a questionable watermark due to differing expert opinions.

CLA Do you have other (stamp) collecting interests?

ES Yes, worldwide classic (1840-1940) used and I am also interested in forgeries.

CLA What advice do you have for a new collector considering starting a Mexico collection?

ES Join MEPSI and, if possible, attend their meetings and presentations. Get mentorship from experienced Mexico collectors. Get Nick Follansbee’s Catalog. Read Dale Pulver’s book, “Introduction to the Stamps of Mexico”. Enjoy!

You can find out more about collecting Mexican stamps by joining MEPSI at www.mepsi.org

Do you have a collection of Latin America that you would like to share with readers? Drop me a mail at nick@classiclatinamerica.com with your details.

Original ABNC steel plates come to market

So you’ve acquired a nice selection of plate proofs and a few die proofs to enhance your collection. Now how about an original steel plate as the cherry on the cake?

Over one thousand of the American Bank Note Company original, engraved printing plates have recently come to market, offering an unusual opportunity to own the unique plate from which your chosen stamp originated.

And many of these plates are from Latin America.

Most of the plates date from the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century and contain many engraved images that will be familiar to Latin America collectors.

Frames, vignettes, intermediate and experimental plates are all represented, along with the finished engravings for both post and revenue stamps.

The original archive was purchased in 2005 and it appears there have been some subsequent small sales since but this holding represents the bulk of the collection.

Additionally, there are plates from a few of the other countries where ABNC made sales, together with a number of US fiscals and cinderellas.

Interestingly, there are also a number of Seebeck issues amongst the collection of plates, with the printing work being undertaken by the Hamilton Bank Note Company.

Every one of the twenty republics is included in the sale; there wasn’t a single country in Latin America that ABNC had not got onto its order books in some form or other.

The collection is being marketed by numismatic dealers David Lawrence and you can view or make purchases through their website at www.davidlawrence.com. There is also an auction planned later this month for a few of the plates but most are being sold at $1500 a piece.

Quite how best to display (mount?!) your new treasure? That, I’m not too sure.

A few more images below to whet the appetite…

Latin American Philately Zooms Forward

The COVID crisis is challenging the status quo in so many aspects of our lives: some for better, some for worse, many unknown.

Stamp collecting, though, has received an unprecedented boost and has been firmly propelled into the digital age (apologies, it now appears compulsory to use the word ‘unprecedented’ at least once in every article these days…).

As for Latin American philately…well, it has been given an extraordinary fillip recently with the introduction of the recently established Mi Oficina (My Office) Philatelic Society.

Every evening, a group of collectors, congregate around their screens to listen to a series of presentations on a diverse range of philatelic subjects.

All without charge, all hosted on Zoom and all of an exceptionally high standard.

Perhaps similar to the sort of presentations you might expect to hear at the Collector’s Club or the Royal Philatelic…except these are happening every night.

And it’s very popular, with over seventy participants attending a typical presentation.

Over 100 presentations to enjoy

Around forty presentations have already been given, including subjects such as Ecuadorian forgeries, early Chilean fiscals, Peru’s 1862 One Dinero, Honduran philately, the Escuditos of Uruguay, Mexican Postal districts…and much, much more.

A further sixty plus future presentations have been booked every night until mid-August with a number of dates booked out up until October. An incredible achievement by the organisers, Alfonso Molina and Henry Marquez, now with the backing of the Inter-Americana Philatelic Federation.

Whatever your interest in Latin American philately, you are sure to find something here that you will not want to miss.

Online forums have been with us for a number of years now but it seems philately is finally embracing the tools that allow collectors to talk, share and discuss without the constraints of a physical presence. This, in turn, increases our international ‘connectedness’ and gives greater exposure to the hobby.

Mi Oficina Philatelic Society You Tube — A selection of previous presentations, available to view on YouTube

Guidance for non-Spanish speakers

A couple of important points to bear in mind:

Firstly, the majority of the presentations are in Spanish only. Not all, but most.

Secondly, depending on where you are in the world, the live sessions may not be timed conveniently for you. All presentations commence at -5 GMT.

However, the presentations are all available on YouTube to be watched at your leisure and can be accessed via the Mi Oficina homepage.

And, if you want to follow along in English (or any other language), the YouTube subtitle feature does a reasonable job of translating the narrative.

Step 1. Choose the presentation you want to watch.

Step 2. Switch on subtitles. This is the first icon at the bottom left of the screen

Step 3. Change language to English or your preferred language. Click on the Settings icon, and navigate to Subtitles and then to Auto Translate where you can pick the language of your choice.

As I mentioned, there is a packed programme of presentations over the next few months with new topics being added on a frequent basis. You can view the full list here or by visiting the FIAF website.

The list of future presentations is in Spanish but viewing the links via Google Chrome will enable an easy translation.

If you’d like to know more or are interested in sharing your own knowledge, you can contact the organisers directly at mioficinaphilatelicsociety@gmail.com.

The Collector | Peter Bamert | Mexico