Old Koban: 1 Sen Black or Maroon
Genuine
Black: issued 17 May 1876 – Scott #56 and Sakura #62
Maroon: Issued 11 October 1879 – Scott #68 and Sakura #63
While the genuine stamps were issued years apart, the forgers chose to use the same plate and die and merely change the color. Spiro made only the black stamp. Maeda used one plate to print in the two colors. Wada’s Plate 15 lithographed is printed in both colors. Wada’s Plate 1 is found in both colors with different states as follows:
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- State I. Original state: fine engraving with sankō. (Both colors).
- State 2. Later state: With sankō, major and rather crude retouching, principally to the inner value circle and oval band. (Both colors)
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Genuine: Unused
Genuine: Unused
Genuine & Forgeries with and without Sankō
1 Sen Black
Maeda
Lithographed
Sankō on either side above stars in oval band.
Spiro
Lithographed
No sankō.
Wada: Plate 1, State 1
Engraved
Sankō on either side of paulownia leaves. Printed cancel
Wada: Plate 1, State 2
Engraved
Like state 1, but with heavy retouching. with sankō
Wada: Plate 15
Lithographed
No sankō. Plate from a single die, but with slight differences. Plate size not known.
1 Sen Maroon (Lake-Brown)
Maeda
Lithographed
Sankō on either side above stars in oval band.
Wada: Plate 1, State 1
Engraved
Sankō on either side of paulownia leaves. Printed cancel
Wada: Plate 1, State 2
Engraved
Like state 1, major retouching, with sankō
Wada: Plate 15
Lithographed
No sankō. Plate from a single die, but with slight differences. Plate size not known.
The Printed Cancels For Each Wada Plate
Note: Since the printed cancels are the same for each color. The lighter color was chosen to make the printed cancel clearer.
Wada: Plate 1
Fine Engraving
State 1: sankō with six different vignettes and all with printed cancels.
Wada: Plate 15
Lithographed
No sankō – the stamps and cancel were produced by multiple copying of a die and slight differences are found among individual copies. Types 1,3,& 4 printed cancels are similar but have slight differences. Both colors were produced with the same printed cancel.