Genuine: Both of the leafs, in the triangular area in the lowest point of the shield, are connected to the stem of the pomegranate. Forgery: Early Spiro forgery the pomegranate is completely missing. “The Spiro Brothers forgeries of this series were first described in “Spud Paper XV” in 1872, but they were subsequently modified to correct an obvious fault — the triangular area in the lowest point of the shield was originally completely empty. Modified designs, which added the appropriate pomegranate to this area, are extremely numerous and probably account for the relatively low catalog value of these classic stamps, even after nearly 150 years.” ~by Varro E. Tyler, Linn’s Stamp News, 2001.

A is the genuine stamp