Genuine

Gray issued 4 February 1875 with Syllabics (2 – ro), (3 – ha) and (4 – ni) only

Scott #40 and Sakura #41 on foreign paper

Size 19 1/2 mm x 22 1/2 mm

The 1/2 sen gray with syllabics has eight plates.  The two plates for Syllabic (2-ro) were the old plates used for the 1/2 sen brown foreign paper.  Three new plates for both syllabic (3-ha) and (4-ni) were engraved.  Any gray stamp with syllabic (1-i) is a forgery.

Reminder:  Only 16 petals or florets in the genuine Kiku Crest (Chrysanthemum Crest).  There is no known forgery in gray with the Ki-Hansen error which occurs only on Plate 4, Positions 23 of the genuine 1/2 sen brown with crossed branches.

Syllabic (4-ni)

Differences Between Genuine and Forged

Known classic forgeries are of ro and ha .  All with i are forgeries.  There are no classic forgeries of ni .  However, more modern “reproductions” of ni exist.  Used copies with this syllabic are very rare and genuine stamps with forged cancels exist.

Genuine: The paulownia branches pass in front of the top leaf. Forgeries:  These branches stop of the edge of the top leaf and appear to pass behind.

Wada 1/2 Sen Forgeries Plates 15 & 16

Plate 15: As said before, the forgers did whatever suited them at the time.  Then often changed the same plate in different ways to make a different stamp or to change from sankō to mozō, or remove the sankō or mozō altogether.  Wada’s Plate 15 is a great example of the possible changes that could be made.  See all the changes Wada made to Plate 15 here.

Plate 16:  Only used for the 1/2 values with syllabics.  The same plate was used to forge both the February 1874 issue in brown and the 1875 issue in gray.   Different positions on the same plate had different syllabics.  The whole plate was printed in both colors and all are “unsigned.”  The positions with their syllabics are listed below:

• • • Postions 1 & 5:  syllabic (3-ha)  (Note:  No genuine in brown with this syllabic.)
    • Positions 2 – 4:  syllabic (1-i)
    • Positions 6 – 8:  syllabic   (2-ro)

“Signed” Forgeries

Since the forgers only had to change the color of the printing ink slightly, it is possible that any of the forgeries done in the 1/2 brown shade with syllabic can also be found in the gray shade. Maeda forgeries are known only in the brown shade at this time.

The shades of gray vary greatly.  It is often difficult to tell whether the shade is gray or brown without a side by side comparison. The stamp will show the shade differences better than the images here on the web.

Mihon: Type 1

Chrysanthemum Crest has 15 petals

Probably Type 2 and Type 3 Mihon exist in the gray color as well as the brown, but there are no images available at this time.

“Unsigned” Forgeries

All of the Wada forgeries with syllabics occur in both the gray and brown shades.  See the individual differences in the section of Wada unsigned forgeries in brown.

Note:

• • There are no genuine 1/2 sen gray with syllabic i ,  All with this syllabic in gray are forgeries.
  • Most forgeries are of ro and ha.  The only known forgery of syllabic ni  ニ  is the poorly printed ABC  Kurabu (Club) forgery  shown below .

Wada unsigned forgeries in the brown and gray shades were from the same plates.  See Wada unsigned forgeries in brown for the characteristics of syllabic ro .

Spiro: syllabic (2 -ro), 17 petals in Chrysanthemum Crest

 ABC Kurabu (ABC Club) - 1950's-1960's

For more information about the ABC Kurabu Forgeries click here.

Note: Numbers in parenthesis and bold are the catalog numbers found on reverse of the forgeries.  State 4 forgeries did not have any numbers on the reverse. It is believed that State 4 forgeries exist for all different values.  But only a few State 4 examples were available for examination.  When State 4 was available for examination, the design type is recorded.

ABC (Kurabu) Club Forgery syllabic ニ  (ni-4)  – Design 118

States 1, 2, 3, & 5 (No. 34).

Characteristics of Design 118:

1. 1. 1. Crest has large filled-in circle at center.

Reproductions