Part 3 of a series of reports highlighting the fake reperforations of the now famous "Buonocore Reperforations" that flooded the market on eBay from mid 2001 to May 2002.

Be sure to read the other reports concerning the "Buonocore Reperforations" 508c and the altered RW5.

The next stamp we expose as fake is part of the Washington / Franklin regular issue of May 1921. It was unwatermarked and perforated 11 on a common perforation gauge. It was produced by the ROTARY PRESS printing method, and popped out of the presses in panes of 170 subjects. It is commonly called the "coil waste" printings.

The Scott 546 issue is rarely faked, with the best fakes made from Scott 540. Used fake Scott 546's are also made from the horizontal coil (Scott 492), but are not very common. They fail to be convincing because of the design dimensions of this issue will not measure correctly (The fake will be a little to short).

New Rev5.1 Design, November 2007
Buy the Sonic Imagery Labs Specialty Perforation & Grill Multi -Gauge

Download Instruction Sheet for the Sonic Imagery Labs Specialty Perforation & Grill Multi -Gauge

Download a MAIL ORDER form for the Sonic Imagery Labs Specialty Perforation & Grill Multi -Gauge

A Gallery of Bogus Stuff Part 1
A Gallery of Bogus Stuff Part 2
A Gallery of Bogus Stuff Part 3
A Gallery of Bogus Stuff Part 4
A Gallery of Bogus Stuff Part 5

Credits, Inspiration and Links of Interest
Bibliography of Research Material I Use for this Site
Download the Schermack Type III Go-NoGo Gauge

On inspection of the image to the left, we can see that the vertical perforations do not look like the horizontal perforations. The right edge of the stamp has what might of been a straight edge, or the perfs where cut off and the fake perfs added.

Specifications of a genuine Scott 546:

Color: Carmine-Rose to Deep Carmine Rose
Perforation:
11 x 11 on a common gauge
11-72 x 11-72 using a "Specialist Gauge"
10.94 x 10.94 using a "Linns or Instanta" gauge
No Watermark
Engraving Design Type: TYPE III
Design Size: 19.5 to 20 mm wide by 22.0 to 22.4 mm

Facts in Evidence, Our Stamp to the Left.
Fact 1. Our suspect is Scott Design A140 Engraving Type III (See Blue Arrows).

Here we can see that the top and bottom edge does indeed gauge out correctly to a 11-72 "specialist" gauge.

Facts in Evidence, Our Stamp to the Left.
Fact 1. Our suspect is Scott Design A140 Engraving Type III
Fact 2. The top and bottom perforations are genuine perforation 11

The left and right vertical edges DO NOT gauge out correctly. Both the hole to hole spacing and the perf hole size is completely incorrect.

Facts in Evidence, Our Stamp to the Left.
Fact 1. Our suspect is Scott Design A140 Engraving Type III
Fact 2. The top and bottom perforations are genuine perforation 11
Fact 3. The left and right sides have been altered.

Take a close look at this image. It has the trademark characteristic of the now famous "Buonocore Reperforations" that flooded the market during the late summer of 2001 and early spring of 2002. Compare these perforations with the other "Buonocore Reperforations" shown on the fake RW5, 508c.

The blue arrows are pointing to the little divots in the perforations holes edge. This is the "finger print" or shared characteristic of all of the now famous "Buonocore Reperforations".

Conclusion:
Since it is farly obvious that this is not a genuine 546, lets use the scientific method to try and figure out what this stamp really was before it was brutally altered by the faker / alterer / forger.

Facts in Evidence.
Fact 1. Our suspect is Scott Design A140 Engraving Type III
Fact 2. The top and bottom perforations are genuine perforation 11
Fact 3. The left and right sides have been altered.
Fact 4. The design height is 22.25mm

Facts in Evidence.
Fact 1. Our suspect is Scott Design A140 Engraving Type III
Fact 2. The top and bottom perforations are genuine perforation 11
Fact 3. The left and right sides have been altered.
Fact 4. The design height is 22.25mm
Fact 5. The design width is 19.7mm

Facts in Evidence.
Fact 1. Our suspect is Scott Design A140 Engraving Type III
Fact 2. The top and bottom perforations are genuine perforation 11
Fact 3. The left and right sides have been altered.
Fact 4. The design height is 22.25mm
Fact 5. The design width is 19.7mm
Fact 6. The stamp shows no sign of watermark, but has a nasty thin.

So what is it really? Facts 4 and 5 confirm that it is indeed a rotary press issue. Since the design measures 22.25 tall, and it has been reperfed only on 2 sides, then it was NOT made from a Scott 492. It can only be a Scott 540.

The Experts Book, A Practical Guide to the Authentication of United States Stamps, Washington/Franklin Issues 1908-1923, by Paul Schmid, 1990 has a few points to make about the 546 issue as well. I will quote him. "Fakes from Sc. 540 will often appear very narrow. The spacing between vertical rows of perforations should be 20.5mm or greater." He goes on to say. "The perforations should exhibit a consistent roughness. This will appear at the top or the bottom of the holes of the vertical perforations and at the left or right of the horizontal perforations. They should appear as if seperated by tearing, and not clipped."