Traveling to stamp shows I was surprised to find fakes in the stock of reputable dealers.  When called to their attention the faulty stamps were immediately removed.  Nevertheless somebody had forged stamps for financial gain and they had slipped by the experts.

Part of the problem is that some fakes are relatively easy to make at first glance.  The real problem is of course that some people are dishonest.  If you are a faker...don't do it!  If you are a buyer caveat emptor!

This short article is about Scott 1895b Flag Over Supreme Court Bureau precancel coil plate 14.  The precancelled version of the stamp went to press in May 1984 and was issued later that year.  A first-class version (Scott 1895) also plate 14 was printed at the same time.

A PNC strip of 5 of 1895b has a Scott Catalogue value of $60

A PNC strip of 5 of 1895 has a Scott Catalogue value of $4.25

So if you shelled out the bucks for a nice precancelled PNC strip and you haven't verified authenticity, there's no time like the present.  The difference seems to be only the black lines, right?  There is one other main difference.  Checking the tagging will reveal if lines that have been drawn on an 1895 to make it look like an 1895b.

 A genuine 1895b will look like this under shortwave UV light.

A fake could look like this.

How else are they different?

The real 1895b is a Bureau precancel with 1.3 overprint lines that are exactly 10.4 mm apart.  You can measure the distance between the lines for accuracy.

Another option you have is to carefully inspect the perforation holes.  Drawn-in lines will pool ink into the paper around the sides of the holes and even through to the gum.  

Real 1895b stamps are perforated after the precancel bars are added.  An original shouldn't have ink in the paper surrounding the perf. holes or bleeding through to the back.

Real 1895b front & back.

Another authentic 1895b.

The fake below appears sound.

A closeup reveals pooling in the perforations.

You can also see bleeding through the paper from the back.

I have also see this on line pairs where someone has drawn in a fake joint line and the ink has bled in the perf. holes.

Looking at the holes is not an exact science so checking the tagging is really the best way to tell.  Still aren't sure about your strip and don't have a UV light?  You can always drag it down to your friendly neighborhood stamp dealer on your next trip.  (Check with the dealer first).

With a $50+ price differential, the truth is worth knowing.

Ready for the test?

Which of these strips is a fake?   It's tough to tell partly because the images that we can insert into these articles are downgraded to keep the file size small.

For a close-up and answer try this link.

Click here to test your powers of observation!

If the article helps, please vote yes.

Good Luck!

-TBR

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