Sunday 18 August 2019

QL Forgeries

A number of Brisbane QL forgeries are known. These usually occur on high value Chalon, Large Chalon or revenue stamps. At least four different types have been seen by me 

  • QL forgery type A. QL with thin letters and about 28 thin solid rays, no stops between or after letters and solid rays. The letters are similar to Brisbane QL type 2 but there are fewer rays than with the genuine obliterator and the rays are solid, not broken into 4 segments and are also thicker than the genuine type 2. The rays are similar to QL duplex type 3, but the genuine duplex has 34 rays
  • QL forgery type B. Two thick letter subtypes: B1 QL with thick letters and 33 thick solid rays, no stops between or after letters and solid rays and B2 35 solid rays. Easily distinguished from genuine Brisbane obliterator examples which, apart from type 2 with thin letters, has a stop after the letter Q. The rays appear similar to QL obliterator type 6 but the tail of the Q is slanted instead of at right angles and there is no full stop after the letter Q
  • QL forgery type C. QL with medium thickness letters and 28 thick solid rays, no stops between or after letters and solid rays. Easily distinguished from genuine Brisbane obliterator examples which, apart from type 2 with thin letters, has a stop after the letter Q. The rays appear similar to QL obliterator type 6 but the tail of the Q is inverted instead of at right angles and there is no full stop after the letter Q
  • QL forgery type D. QL with thinnish letters and around 28-30 thick solid rays, no stops between or after letters, tail of the Q at a right angle and solid rays. Easily distinguished from genuine Brisbane obliterator examples which, apart from type 2 with thin letters, has a stop after the letter Q. The rays appear similar to QL obliterator type 6 but there is no full stop after the letter Q
  • QL forgery type E. QL with thin letters and 32 thin solid rays, no stops between or after letters and solid rays. The letters are similar to Brisbane QL type 2 but there are fewer rays than with the genuine obliterator and the rays while similar to QL duplex type 2 differ in being solid, not broken into 4 segments and are also slightly thicker than the genuine type 2
  • QL forgery type F. OL with thinnish letters and around 42 thinnish solid rays, no stops between or after letters and solid rays. The letters are the giveaway as the Q has no tail, resembling an O and the rays while similar to QL duplex type 3 differ in being solid, not broken into 4 segments and are also slightly thinner than the genuine type 3
All forgery types are easily distinguished from genuine QL obliterators because the letters are based on type 2 (no full stop after Q, broken rays) and the rays are based on type 6 (full stop after Q, solid rays). Therefore any combination of the letter QL without a full stop between the letters combined with solid rays is fake



 QL forgery type A. Seen in the Queensland stamp Collecting facebook Group


QL forgery type B. 33 rays. Seen in Phoenix Auction no 59



QL forgery type B2. 35 rays. Seen on Ebay




QL forgery type B1. 33 rays. Seen on Ebay


QL forgery type C. Seen in Phoenix Auction no 59


QL forgery type D. Seen in Abacus auction no 237


QL forgery type D. Seen in Abacus auction no 237


QL forgery type D. Seen in Abacus auction no 237


 QL forgery type E. Seen on Ebay, ex Mossgreen auctions



QL forgery type F. Seen on Ebay ex Mossgreen


QL forgery type F. Seen on Ebay ex Mossgreen


QL forgery type F. Seen on Ebay ex Mossgreen



QL forgery type F. From my collection

Tuesday 13 August 2019

5 GPO QL Obliterator

Brisbane GPO Obliterator Page


Type 5 'Q.L' (stop after Q, no stop after L), 7 mm high within nine horizontal bars, 3 below, 3 above and the 3 in the middle on either side of the Q. L letters. 

This is the scarcest of the Brisbane GPO obliterators used on Chalon stamps and is rated 2R. Only a handful of covers are known and these are rated 4R. The dates on the covers range from 16 August 1877 to 24 April 1883. Examples seen on Sidefaces are rated 3R on stamp and 4R on cover. To date, only two examples have been seen on a 1st Sideface, and two also on a 2nd Sideface.

This obliterator is similar to the Barred Numeral type 2a obliterator used on Queensland stamps. Incomplete examples can be confused with the 2a numeral 201 Rockhampton obliterator, but the numeral 0 has no tail and the numeral 1 has no protruding foot 

Brisbane QL obliterator type 5

Chalon

Brisbane QL Obliterator type 5 rated 2R

More examples of the Brisbane QL Obliterator type 5 rated 2R


Brisbane QL Obliterator type 5 rated 4R. Dated 16 August 1877. Seen on Ebay

1st Sideface

Brisbane QL Obliterator type 5 on a 1st Sideface issue rated 3R


Brisbane QL Obliterator type 5 on a 1st Sideface issue rated 3R

2nd Sideface

Brisbane QL Obliterator type 5 on a 2nd Sideface issue rated 3R. Dated 23 April 1883. From the collection of Dave Elsmore


Brisbane QL Obliterator type 5 on a 2nd Sideface issue rated 4R. Dated 24 April 1883. From the collection of Dave Elsmore