Kansas and Nebraska overprints

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This is Jim Bryden's Book

Part I: Stamp Collecting

Part II: Photos, History, Genealogy

Part III: Denver & Driving

Jim Bryden's Book
Part I: Stamp Collecting

1:::Stamp Tags is a free program to help you print framed boxes for identifying stamps

2 :::Stamp Tags screen shots

3 :::Download Stamp Tags free

4 :::History: Stamp Collecting in the 20th Century

5 :::Great Britain Machin heads, Phosphor Bands, etc.

6 :::Machin Head List

7 :::About Precancels

8 :::Precancels: San Francisco Breaks

9 :::Kans & Nebr Overprints

10 :::Revenue Stamps of Mexico

a Timeline of Human Transportation and Communications

US kans. & nebr. fake overprints

Detecting fake overprints, the Kansas and Nebraska overprints of 1929. (Scott 658-679)

I have never been an expert at detecting fakes. I have never been an expert on the Kansas and Nebraska overprints. I did, for many years, collect the precancels of Kansas and Nebraska. They are neighboring states to my home in Colorado, perhaps that is why I collected their precancels.

You see many of the kans & nebr stamps precancelled, even though postmasters were directed to not precancel the overprinted stamps. But on the other hand, precancels at the time were at their height. Certain members of the Kansas Precancel Club would precancel any piece of paper that came their way; there were postmasters and other people in authority who did much to promote the hobby. No one has ever admitted to having the precancelling devices available to themselves, but you certainly tend to wonder! Printing presses at the time were everywhere, every town had a newspaper. Both Kansas and Nebraska are filled with small towns with well-educated populations. The reason for the overprinted stamps was because of outlaws running around (Cole Younger, Pretty Boy Floyd, etc.). I don't know if any of the fake overprints were actually done in Kansas or Nebraska, in fact they may all be modern overprints.

To fake the overprints, you would need metal type, and metal ink. If you study precancels, you will find how common such things are, how nicely you can make a really nice overprint. So here are some clues to detecting the fakes:

1.

The Scott catalog (and just about every other catalog) says that on mint stamps, there will be 1 horizontal gum breaker ridge (or occasionally 2 ridges very widely spaced) . These breaker ridges are known as Type II. Type II breaker ridges also have 14 vertical ridges, on top of the horizontal ridges. Previous and later examples of breaker ridges had about 5 or 2 (closer) horizontal ridges. The most common examples of these stamps without overprint generally all have Type II breaker ridges. This is actually perhaps a better method of detecting regummed stamps.

2.

The kans. and nebr. overprints were seldom perfect. They were put on the stamps after the sheets were gummed and perforated. The sheets of stamps may have been curling and hard to manage. There are many books and articles running around that will compare the exact size, the running of the inks, and the empty ink spaces. Perfectly good or perfectly bad are both good clues of a fake.

3.

Used stamps often have the overprint applied on top of the cancellation. It is sometimes easy to see this, but since the overprint and the cancel are both black, it can be a very unreliable method. If there is a precancel, compare the inks; if the precancel and the overprint use the same ink, there is a good clue to a fake.

4.

Get a recent certificate from a reputable firm. There are fakes even on the cheapest varieties! The experts know the difference, but their opinions may change as time goes on.

5.

Assume that anything you see up for auction may be a fake. I believe that genuine overprints are worth several times the current catalog values. You will notice that on E-Bay these guys very seldom go for anywhere near catalog value, unless they have a certificate. If you can see both sides of a stamp, close-ups, you can make a good decision. Even a good fake might be worth a couple bucks.

6.

If there is a plate number, compare it to the ones actually used.

These look to have good breaker ridges.

Right plate number, but isn't the black printing too similar? Is the cancel below or above the overprint?

A Stamp Tag is a text box used to identify stamps and collectibles. home Blog EMail EBay
This is Jim Bryden's Book	Part I: Stamp Collecting	Part II: Photos, History, Genealogy	Part III: Denver & Driving

1.	The Scott catalog (and just about every other catalog) says that on mint stamps, there will be 1 horizontal gum breaker ridge (or occasionally 2 ridges very widely spaced) . These breaker ridges are known as Type II. Type II breaker ridges also have 14 vertical ridges, on top of the horizontal ridges. Previous and later examples of breaker ridges had about 5 or 2 (closer) horizontal ridges. The most common examples of these stamps without overprint generally all have Type II breaker ridges. This is actually perhaps a better method of detecting regummed stamps.
2.	The kans. and nebr. overprints were seldom perfect. They were put on the stamps after the sheets were gummed and perforated. The sheets of stamps may have been curling and hard to manage. There are many books and articles running around that will compare the exact size, the running of the inks, and the empty ink spaces. Perfectly good or perfectly bad are both good clues of a fake.
3.	Used stamps often have the overprint applied on top of the cancellation. It is sometimes easy to see this, but since the overprint and the cancel are both black, it can be a very unreliable method. If there is a precancel, compare the inks; if the precancel and the overprint use the same ink, there is a good clue to a fake.
4.	Get a recent certificate from a reputable firm. There are fakes even on the cheapest varieties! The experts know the difference, but their opinions may change as time goes on.
5.	Assume that anything you see up for auction may be a fake. I believe that genuine overprints are worth several times the current catalog values. You will notice that on E-Bay these guys very seldom go for anywhere near catalog value, unless they have a certificate. If you can see both sides of a stamp, close-ups, you can make a good decision. Even a good fake might be worth a couple bucks.
6.	If there is a plate number, compare it to the ones actually used.