Saturday 7 November 2020

Some Fournier forgeries

Francois Fournier (1846-1917) made some good North Borneo forgeries. But with a trained eye they can be spotted. There is a good case for collecting these facsimiles besides curiosity. 



These 2 were based on the 1883 high values. The most obvious discrepancy is the tone paper. The designs are quite hard texture and the lion bears no resemblance to the real animal. Invariably, they will also have the forged Sandakan cancel 23 JUN 1886. I do not think I have seen this cancel on genuine North Borneo stamps because doing so would invalidate his claim that he was only making facsimiles.




This is the forgery of the 1894 $1 dollar stamp again with the same 1886 cancel but this time making sure not to reveal the year which would make it an impossible combination. The design and the paper is a lot better. One would be fooled on casual examination. Again look at the lion in the shield. It has a straight tail and resembles a dog rather than a lion. The second example is a proof print with "faux" chop for false.

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