Extracted from “Australasian Stamps” (November 1998) and written by Varro E. Tyler whose Focus on Forgeries is available as a 158 page illustrated book here.
Because of the relatively low catalogue value of this attractive set of stamps, collectors are astonished to learn that they were issued in very minute quantities. Even the most common of them, the 5-centime denomination, was limited to just 23,214 copies. Their low catalogue values are a result of the enormous quantities of forgeries and a small number of authentic but unofficial reprints created after the Belgian postal administration relocated from Antwerp to Ste. Adresse following the German invasion to 1914. Today’s catalogue values reflect the abundance of the bogus stamps rather than the scarcity of the originals, and the copies found in general dealers’ stocks and non-specialist collections – are almost all forgeries.
Forgeries: All the different forged denominations were prepared from a single design on the original 5c lithographic stone, and all show the same distinctive feature – the missing tail on the “Q” of “BELGIQUE”. This letter resembles an “O”. Perforated and imperforate copies exist on paper of many different colours, with and without forged cancels.
Genuine: There is a distinct tail cut into the “Q” of “BELGIQUE”. All values are printed on a smooth white paper, but the paper of the 20c value shows a light lilac-rose toning on its face. Unofficial reprints have the same design features as the genuine stamps but are printed on very white, rough and porous paper. The 20c reprint lacks the distinctive toning of the original. These reprints are not commonly seen.
Greetings,
Concerning the forgery of the de Mérode stamps , there are actually two sorts of forgery’s : the first type which is the easiest and is represented here, namely the closed Q in BELGIQUE, but also a second type with open Q , recconisable by the printing features . See my site postzegelsdemerode.be.
Damen Guido