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Strange stamp

STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
in Questions 0 LikesVote Down
Hello Everyone occasionally i come across a stamp that is difficult to identify, usually after hours on the net i find the identity of the stamp , this time i have a stamp in the Japanese pages of an old album that is strange to me and i cannot identify...it appears to be a French stamp with a Napoleon head but strangely the value appears as old Japanese SN , here is a photo of the stamp perhaps someone can help with the identity of it before i go crazy...Thanks Steve SuttonP1080471

Comments

  • 22 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • Phil Merrill_Phil Merrill_
    0 LikesVote Down
    What are those images in the upper corners? I have a suspicion this may be some trade stamp or cinderella.
  • John MaloneyJohn Maloney
    1 LikesVote Down
    Everything but the portrait with it's blue background is a Japanese 10 Sen stamp. The center of the stamp must have been carefully removed and the portrait from a French stamp attached. The dark blue background of the portrait does not match the blue in the corners. There appear to be 2 cancelations, dots on the portrait but not on the frame and smudge-looking marks toward the bottom.
    You cannot detect a seam?
  • Michael DuehrMMichael Duehr
    1 LikesVote Down
    The portrait doesn't line up with the scroll work in the center of the stamp and the areas around the portrait are not all rounded and some are more squarish.
  • STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
    0 LikesVote Down
    Hello phil i dont know what the images in the upper corners are but they are identical to the Japanese 10 Sen stamp ,
    Thanks ...Steve
  • Ron LenkeRon Lenke
    edited June 2021 3 LikesVote Down
    Looks like an early case of philatelic gene splicing. Perhaps from the French/Japanese clone-ial era
  • STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
    0 LikesVote Down
    Hello John all you have said is true, the only problem i have is that under a glass there are no joins or cuts visible front or back in fact it is seamless as you would expect in a normal stamp, even in our modern scanner times this would be very difficult to do front and back, the stamp has great age and i am certain this could not be done to this standard back in Victorian or Edwardian times.
    More important what would be the point of such a copy ...Thanks John...Steve
  • STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
    0 LikesVote Down
    Hello Michael Yes agreed on those points, i am not trying say this is a real stamp but just trying to work out why it exists and for what purpose as i think you will all agree it is a strange marriage, it would be nice to see if other similar stamps exist, it just seems to be an impossible subject for any monetary fiddling and such a brilliant job for no gain i can see....Steve
  • Troy DavisTTroy Davis
    1 LikesVote Down
    There's gotta be a French frame with a Japanese center somewhere?

    I've studied people's motivations, but all I got is "impress girlfriend."
  • John MaloneyJohn Maloney
    0 LikesVote Down
    Hi Steve. Whatever it is, it's a cool thing.
    It is clearly not a government issued postage stamp, so I can't explain the cancellation.
    I suspect it was made in the USA in the 1930's. Where did you get it? Can you show a scan of the back? Thanks for sharing this.
    As to motivation, "impress girlfriend" eventually gets replaced with "keep wife happy" but this could have been just perfecting a skill through practice.
    But, I am no expert, just an observer.
  • STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
    edited June 2021 1 LikesVote Down
    Hello Ron if anyone was going to do it the Japs would have done it ...but in plastic ....Steve
  • STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
    1 LikesVote Down
    Hello Troy there always has to be a woman behind it....but that would not have impressed my wife she is labelled in the lick it and post it column ...Steve
  • Troy DavisTTroy Davis
    0 LikesVote Down
    Does kinda make you think of a guy with a green visor hunched over a table in Casablanca forging papers...
  • STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
    1 LikesVote Down
    Hello John the stamp is in an old Lincoln album full of old stamps, here is a photo of the rear side , the stamp i would describe as a thin so you can see the front side showing through....it is a wonderful skill no doubt about that and to me has Japanese craftsman written all over it, just wish i knew why.....Steve
    P1080477
  • STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
    edited June 2021 2 LikesVote Down
    It does Troy but forged papers are one thing but all that work on a soppy little stamp is another...AHHH Thats one done 10,000 to go....Steve
  • George DeKornfeldGeorge DeKornfeld
    0 LikesVote Down
    Fantasy stamps such as these have been created going back to almost day one of the postage stamp. Articles on them show up fairly regularly in the philatelic literature. If memory serves, Wayne Youngblood (philatelic editor) actively collects these while also creating many on his own. It takes quite the steady hand with a scalpel to do these well, and they're made for no other reason than for schmidts & giggles (and to have collectors find them and think 'wth?').
  • Greg DollGGreg Doll
    0 LikesVote Down
    I think,,,,,WTH,,,,al the time,,,I think. :smiley:
  • Rene BravoRene Bravo
    1 LikesVote Down
    My suggestion is sign the back, pass it around a few times so others can sign it... Sotheby's may be interested
  • STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
    0 LikesVote Down
    Hello George its the first i have heard of this type of stuff, I am impressed if this has had scalpel work done on it as there are no joins at all it must have been copied and photoshopped which i do a bit myself and i can assure you this would not have been easy and the aging is superb if that is what has happened.
    I am going to read more about these stamps so thank you George for the pointers....Steve
  • STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
    edited June 2021 0 LikesVote Down
    Hello Greg i had to look up what WTH meant ....Steve
  • STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
    edited June 2021 0 LikesVote Down
    Thank you Rene...Steve
  • John MaloneyJohn Maloney
    1 LikesVote Down
    I agree with Emiliano Zapata, sign it. It can't hurt. Then, what it needs is a backstory and some provenance.
  • STEPHEN SUTTONSSTEPHEN SUTTON
    0 LikesVote Down
    I cant sign it John, i have never sold any of my stamps so i certainly wouldnt sign one, i will leave it in the Japanese section of the album with a small note outlining what has been said in this thread...Thanks everyone.... Steve
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