Brazil : 01b Early issues - Dom Pedro II

It could have been a good champagne, and maybe it also is, but as far as I know, is Dom Pedro II the last emperor of Brazil.

I showed the first set of stamps depicting the emperor already. In this second part, the stamps of 1866 are repeated, but slightly modified.
In 1876, the first set was re-issued, but without perforation.
Or at least a very particular type of perforation which is called rouletting.

Rouletting done by cutting partially through the paper but not punching any of it out. To explain how it's done simply imagine a pizza cutter. The cutter actually scores the crust, making it easier to separate each piece. Different forms of rouletting exist. Most have French names. Examples include; "perce en lignes," meaning cut in lines; "percé en arc" and "percé en scie," meaning pierced in an arc or saw tooth; and "percé serpentin," or cut in tiny, wavy (snake-like) lines.

In general the french word is used. (If you don't speak french, at least you can use some french vocabulary while collecting). Percé en ligne [pair-say ya:n lean ya].

The 1876 issue had 7 different stamps, but one of them (the 100rs) came in two variations.

First the regular ones :
Issued ware : 10, 20, 50, 80, 100, 200 and 500 reis

These are exactly the same designs as the 1866 series (even the same plates were used)...
Except the 1876 set is more rare...
Forgeries can be found. The teeth of the 1866 stamp were sometimes cut off to make them look like the percé -version of 1876. As there haven't been unperforated (cut) stamps of this set, it's easy to find the modified versions.

top of BR 66 (scott)

top of BR 59 (scott) - teeth cut off

top of BR 59 (scott) with 'added' teeth

Don't be misled by the design at the bottom of this stamp. It's not an imperforated stamp, but a perforated one, slightly decentered. The top of the stamp below shows at the bottom of t his stamp. Teeth were cut off, to make it look like a rouletted one, or as an attempt to make it look like an imperforated stamp.

outline of BR 59 (scott) - teeth cut off

a real BR 59 (scott) and the cut version on top

Variations of the 100 reis

Unlike the 1866 version, this time, there are only 2 types.
The first type (incomplete frame) is appreciated 15 times more then the type 2 (complete frame).

Theme : Zodiac signs 07

This time, I'll show some bogus coins.
Well they look pretty real, but they are fake. It's not like a fantasy coin, I guess the coins were minted to mislead collectors.

Let's have a look.

A very nice coin indeed, from Uganda.
And what's the currency in Uganda?
Shillings indeed, not lings-shil...

A quick look in the catalogue shows that there are no such coins.
Only Shilling-coins.
No misprint, no 'valuable' print error...
Just fake coins.

I got them from a very thrustworthy swapper, and I didn't notice the error right away.

So, if buying coins from eBay, or private coin sellers... always check the catalogues!
The chance of finding an very rare coin is still possible. But most of the time, such obvious misprints are there to cheat collectors. And for those who don't have a catalogue, just 'google' first, or ask me :-)

Oh, why I put this in 'theme : zodiac'...
of course the coins have a front side too...
They show the sings of the chinese zodiac signs :

monkey - ox - goat - horse - dragon - dog - tiger - snake - rooster - rabbit - rat and pig