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Tuesday 1 May 2012

New presentation Pack

The  last post on the Questa forgeries was well received, I had several emails with more information,  judging by the data received and firm evidence I relent and admit they are definitely counterfeit.

Not only were the stamps counterfeit,but also the booklet covers. As forgeries go, compared to the previous 24p these are said to be produced to a high standard, even down to the perforations. The elliptical perfs however tend to be a bit rough and slope slightly to the right.

The booklet covers did not have the sealing glue spot as someone pointed out. They were 2mm wider than the genuine booklets 50mm compared to 48mm, they were also printed on a thinner inferior card. The inner page is shiny rather than matt on genuine copies.

Many thanks go to Douglas Myall, who sent me a three page pdf document extracted form his complete  Machin Handbook CD. These three pages describe every aspect of these stamps and covers (of which there are to many to reproduce here) they also mention other Machin forgeries.

I keep promising my self to purchase his handbook in CD form, maybe I will treat my self on my birthday.

I have just taken delivery of the Machin Jubilee definitives / new rate Machin definitives presentation pack. It looks to me as if the 87p, £1.28p and £1.90p definitives were printed and cut from rolls as did certain other values offered in presentation packs in the past. If they are printed in rolls will they have a different direction of print to the counter sheet stamps? 

Here is a scan what do you think? 

5 comments:

Brummie Bill said...

Wow! You can't run a Machin blog without getting a copy of The Complete Deegam Machin Handbook!

The sub-title says "Known worldwide as THE MACHIN ENCYCLOPAEDIA Everything there is to know about the Machin definitives, and more ..."

This is an invaluable reference for everything Machin! 110% recommend for anybody. Only slightly more expensive than a Stanley Gibbons Concise so no excuse not to get one. You also don't have to update every year because regular updates are available.

Machin Man said...

Bill

I have a copy of the Handbook in paper form. I get my updates via Deegam reports.

I just feel it is time to get the CD, so what better birthday present to my self.

I will still be able to read my hand book in bed, and play with it on my computer. Best of both worlds eh?

Adrian said...

That's how I do it too! I got the CD in 2010 I think, but still play around with my paper edition. First of all I usually do stamps in the living room where I don't have a computer and besides I like the actual feel of the handbook, and I still find it easier to browse through the book than to navigate through the virtual version. But that's just me being too lazy to properly read the manual. But if there would still be a paper version, I would always opt for that one.

Anonymous said...

I agree totally with just about everything Adrian and Bill wrote.
I also, despite having the disc for easy reference as long as I have my PC handy, try to keep the paper version up to reasonable date, at least the value lists, the info on panes and other articles of interest.
That means as soon as the Sacred "Updates" arrive, I print two copies. The first goes into a sequential binder by date so that I can look back for items of interest that I know were covered over the years.

The second allows me to carefully trim out items of interest from the Updates that can then be inserted into the paper volumes. That way the paper books can be refered to at my stamp desk or a few times while lying in a hospital bed awaiting the results of the latest herculean efforts to keep my systems running.

If I were able to use a laptop easily I might skip that but laptops just get me more upset than are worth the effort.

Charlie
Lecanto

Anonymous said...

I'm with Charlie and Adrian in liking to have physical books, but I've made the decision to move on when I can. I have limited storage space that is always overflowing, so eliminating books like the Deegam and the Scott Catalogues gives me more space for other things. And while browsing a book is pleasurable and often fruitful, the search facility on a computer can often save a lot of time.

I have one of the small MacBook Air portables that easily follows me around to wherever I am working on stamps. I have my inventory lists on it so that I can easily update them while I am working. I also put the Deegam Handbook on my Nook e-reader, which I can easily take to stamp shows or club meetings.

I suspect that in a year or so, I will replace both of these devices with an iPad. Not only is the iPad growing into a very capable device, but there are starting to be a lot of electronic editions that are iPad only. The Scott Catalogues are a case in point – computers are out, tablets are in.

--Larry