... Bulgarian forgeries ...
1881

Mi 10 / Sc 10

Forgery

Original

From the second Bulgarian issue with values in Stotinki and Leva, "classic" forgeries of the 3 st (Mi 6/Sc 6) and 5 st (Mi 7 /Sc 7) are not known - although modern forgeries may exist. The forgeries of the remaining issues (Mi 8-11/Sc 8-11) have mostly the same characteristics as the 1879 issues:

  1. Line perforation
  2. Deformed triangle under the cyrillic letter "W"
  3. Uneven or deformed star
  4. Often missing background colour by the lion's hind leg
  5. Flat underside of head of "T" in "CENT." (25 ct)
  6. Narrow head of "G" in "BULGARSKA"
  7. Colour deviations
Forgery
Original

Mi 11 / Sc 11


Forgery

Original

Usually, an easy way to identify these forgeries is by comparing the letters, which have deviations in both form, symmetry and placement. On Mi 11 it is particularly easy to see the displacement of "STOTIN." compared to the value "30" in the lower right corner.... Note also the missing colour by the lion's hind leg.
 
Forgery
Original


1882

With exeption of the error 5 st rose (Mi 15F/Sc 13a) forgeries of the series Mi 12-20 (Sc 12-18, 23-24) are not known. Forgeries of the 5 st rose have basically the same characteristics as described above. Forgeries of Mi 16 and 18 (Sc 14, 16), however, might exist as base for forgeries of the surcharged series Mi 21-24/Sc 19-22.

Sources:

  • Billig's grosses Handbuch der Faelschungen, Part 34, Vienna, 1937
  • F. Serrane: The Serrane Guide, APS 1998