Packet trade was very popular in the heyday of stamp collecting. To fulfill such rapidly growing demand in the early part of the 20th century, many stamps were forged including very common as well as rare stamps. Just because a genuine stamp is inexpensive, does not mean that forgeries would not have been made. Below is one such example – the Fourth Air Post Issue (1922) Sc C18-C20, Mi 121-123.
Other examples of stamps fabricated for packet trade and widely distributed include Child Second Air Post Issue (Scott C55-C62, Michel 340-347) and Child Third Air Post Issue (Scott C63-C70, Michel 348-355).
The key identifying characteristics
- unwatermarked paper
- visible grease watermark patterns