Spot the Reperf

Matttodd1

Here's a gorgeous looking scott 165 30 cent large banknote. It includes a clean 2005 PF certificate, although PSE is indicating that it is reperfed at left. I actually sent it back to the PF for a second opinion, but haven't gotten results back yet. I have a hard time spotting "expert reperfs".

Scott 165 PSE Certificate

Matt

edueku

I wanted to bid on the below stamp in the recent Heritage auction but the right edge looks reperfed to me, everyone there swore it was fine, but it only has a PF cert, and the cert wasn't 5 years old so I couldn't return it with a differing opinion from PSE, so I didn't bid (plus I refuse to pay a 20% buyers premium)





E3

rolew1946

It does appear that both stamps are reperfed. Ken Lawrence passed on one way to check for reperfs and that is to use a photo editing program to cut the stamp in half, move the left side to the right side or the top to the bottom, line up the design and then look to see if the perfs line up properly. The peaks and valleys on both stamps appear to be out of alignment. The E3 is to small to tell for sure but the other appears to be a very well done reperf, just slightly out of alignment.

Now there is another possibility and that is that my 63 year old eyes are playing tricks on me.

Rolin

Matttodd1

Thanks Rolin. That's worth a try. I suppose that's a quick way to measure the gauge of the perfs on one side versus the other.

Here's the 165 with right and left sides side by side.



They do come out just a hair different by the time you get to the bottom (maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 hole). I guess that shows you that likely one side is reperfed, but you can't easily tell which it is (just one of the two). I'll have to try this more often.

Matt

edueku

The perfs o the E3 gauge fine so it was the alignment that still bothered me, I always stand with my head at the top of my monitor (for an online photo) and look down at angle to see if both rows look similarly straight or crooked. I look from the side to see horiz perfs, and odd technique for sure but it helps sometimes.

Rolin you should be able to enlarge the pic of the E3 at that link.

rolew1946

Ken Lawrence is loaded with good ways of looking at stamps and I have attempted to remember his methods so I can use them and pass them on. The same process can be used to check for fake coils. A real coil should have the straight edges line up perfectly and a cut down regular stamp will normally be just a bit off.

EDUEKU - when I clicked on the link it told me I would have to log in to see better detail. Just from what I could see, it appeared like the peaks and valleys, left and right, did not line up and that would make me suspicious.

Please understand that I do not believe I am any more experienced than anyone in this group but I am a second set of eyes that has been provided with some helpful hints on what to look for. Now other people have the knowledge and it should make identification a bit easier.

edueku

Yeah I forgot you had to log in there to enlarge.

Yes between all those guys on Richard's board you can find answers to nearly any philatelic question , if they don't snub your question as too unimportant. Ken and others have helped me many a time with philatelic problems/questions I have had.