SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD - Cuba or Spain? - A complete set of the Spiro brothers forgeries of the 1855 Official stamps - EDIFIL Cuba 6R-9R or Scott Spain O5-O8?
An uncancelled, ungummed set of the forgeries of the 1855 official stamps. These are known as the Spiro brothers forgeries, made in Hamburg, Germany, between 1864 and 1880. All the information available identifies them as forgeries of the Spanish stamps of 1855 but we have been wondering if these were perhaps intended to be forgeries of the much more rare and pricier Cuban reprints of 1860. (For that reason we have a set included in our own Cuba collection). The observation tower in the lower right quadrant of the coat of arms has a closer resemblance to that of the Cuban reprints than to the original Spanish stamps. These also lack (or are very small) the period after the expression of the weight as the Cuban reprints do. The colored paper used is a perfect match to the original stamps, from both Spain and Cuba. These are all ungummed as the Spiro forgeries always are. A very, very hard to find set. Loose values can be found from time to time but a complete set like this one is VERY RARE. LAST ONE IN STOCK.