Lot 94 Germany SC#C4(MI#211) 40pf Lively Red Orange 1922-1923 Airmail Issue, With August 15, 1922 Leipzig CDS, A F/VF Postally Used Single, Click on Listing to See ALL Pictures, Estimated Value $5.00-10.00 USD

A F/VF Postally Used example of the 40pf lively red orange from the 1922-1923 Airmail Issue, with August 15, 1922 Leipzig CDS. No BPP gurantee, but see my explanation of why I believe the cancel to be good. Michel Catalogue Value is €32. Our estimate of the value based on the condition is $5.00-10.00.

Both Michel and Scott state that certification by competent authorities is a must for used stamps of the inflation period from 1919 to the end of 1923. Generally, with few exceptions, the rentenmark issues from 1924 onwards are less common in mint condition, so authenticating cancellations is less of an issue. One problem that arises with this stance though is the number of stamps cataloguing less than 20 Euro that would simply not be worth sending to the BPP for certification. Fortunately, you can eliminate about 90% of the junk fakes in any German lot, by just following a few simplet tests, as we have done here: (1) any stamp with gum is automatically CTO at best, and can be eliminated. (2) most German cancellations from this period are relatively heavy, and bleed somewhat into the fibres of the paper, leaving a tiny oily shadow around the cancel. They tend to be greyish black in appearance or brownish black, and the letters are usually struck clearly. Therefore, any cancellation that does not bleed into the paper, that is jet-black and crisp, that is very light, or that has unclear letters, but a clear ring is most likely either CTO or fake. (3) Most CDS cancellations will have a date and time line in the centre that will give the date in DD/MM/YY format, followed by the time, and ending with either an "N" or a "V". Any cancel that lacks this suffix after the time is likely fake. (4) Machine cancels, while they could be genuine, are too easily faked, and therefore cannot be authenticated, unless on cover. After applying these tests, what you have left is most likely genuine, BUT there is a slight chance that it could be a post issue, backdated cancel using the correct ink. This is where BPP expertization comes in, as the experts will have access to lists of specific towns and dates which are known to have been faked, and will have their own tests. But, it is a matter of personal preference as to whether you wish to incur the time and the expense to expertize items under 20 Euro that have passed all the aforementioned tests. If you simply accept them as genuine, you will likely be fine in 95% of cases, and can simply move on with bigger and more important issues, facing you as a collector.