FURTHER INFORMATION RELATED TO PARTS 1 AND 2 OF ‘KLC AND CHERNIVTSI OVERPRINTS’ PART B: SEPARATING THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF
by
Mark Stelmacovich
Read part A of the article here and part C here.
Introduction - Biography
So who is this resident of the United Kingdom that is supplying us with detailed studies from his portfolio of Ukrainian provisionals? His name is Andrew Baines. He is of English background. He worked for a travel company based near London that was intending to expand into Ukraine, offering package tours. He spent about eighteen months travelling between the UK and Ukraine, but after doing research into such a prospect, the travel company decided to scrap the idea as it was not considered to be a viable proposition at the time, mainly because of the bureaucracy. However during this time, Baines was introduced to Ukrainian philately by a few English speaking locals. Already being a collector of stamps and postal history of Turkey, specializing in the ‘Duloz’ issues, he added this Ukrainian genre to his interests, one that had waned for a while until being reawakened when he saw our website ‘powerpoint’ presentation on provisionals late last year.
Baines acquired his provisionals by way of contacts that he had made in Ukraine, as well as through successful bids on auction lots in the European realm. He is extremely strong in Chernivtsi, and has significant material as relates to other oblasts. He estimates that about 90% of his provisionals holdings were obtained during his stay in Ukraine, and finds it unfortunate that he has lost touch with all but a few of his Ukrainian contacts who have already sold most of their collections of provisionals as the hardship of life takes its toll.
The scanned figures included in this article, ‘Part A’, and future related articles are of material that Baines has acquired over time, much of which he has studied and developed into documented research, and other such assets where those that were acquired through auction houses witness their origin remaining anonymous due to the policy of privacy.
Printer ‘Make-Ready Sheets’
Part A showed and described a make-ready sheet, which is in fact but one of several such examples.There are a few more to show.
Figure 1 shows the front and back of an example that was last used for a 10Krb-denominated overprint, to examine the print set-up of ‘essays’ for Lviv and Chernivtsi postal authorities. Interestingly, there is telltale evidence of earlier use, more specifically that this sheet had already been used for both the 0.45Krb Kyiv Trident overprints as well as for National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) material. The sheet measures 203-by-271mm, and a dark-blue colour (referred to as pantone scale ‘PMS 315’[1]) was completed on uncoated newsprint-like creamcoloured 85gsm (85 grams per square metre) paper.
Figure 2 is the same as Figure 1, except that this example shows the impact of ‘catch-up’ ink which occurs when the print plate accumulates ink in non-image areas. The print industry knows this as ‘scumming’!
Figure 3 shows what would amount to ninety 1Krb singles-stamps of various ‘crest’ designs and one central 10Krb block-of-four-crest-stamp, with six stamps being used for various ‘labels’. This ‘Hetmanate Insignia of Ukraine’ pattern is best known as the full-sheet overprint that was completed for the souvenir sheets that both Kyiv and Chernivtsi released during the last half 1992. The sheet measures 203-by-271mm, and black ink (‘PMS black’) was completed on unseasoned (ie: ‘green’) 80gms paper.
As an essay that was shown to Lviv and Chernivtsi postal authorities, Figure 4 shows the 5Krb complete- sheet overprint pattern for one of Chernivtsi’s three values of its first provisionals set, Chernivtsi 1 numbers 5 (solid shield) and 6 (hollow shield, only in positions 12, 19, 82, and 89). The sheet measures 203-by-271mm, and reflex-blue ink (‘PMS reflexblue’) was completed on uncoated newsprint-like cream-coloured 85gsm paper. This sheet has ‘gripper’ marks at the head, and formatting (selvage at the right) for registration and colour balance prior to any production run.
Figure 5 is similar to Figure 3, except that this is a far ‘cleaner’ example since this make-ready was only used once.
This pattern is found on over ten examples of sheets, as listed in both the English language version([2] of Lobko’s provisionals as well as his Russian language version [4]. (See ‘end notes and sources’ for a listing.[3] [5])
Figure 6 has already been shown in Part A. Details for this 10Krb blocks-of-four singles ‘Hetmanate Insignia of Ukraine’ pattern are that it is 203-by- 272mm, with reflex-blue ink (‘PMS reflex-blue’) completed on uncoated newsprint-like cream-coloured 85gsm paper. This pattern is found on ten examples of sheets. (See ‘end notes and sources’ for a listing. [3] [5]
Figure 7 was completed in a lopsided manner. This essay format was shown to the Lviv postal authority. Ninety-six single stamp images are accompanied by a block-of-four-label at the centre and selvage at the top and right, themed Ukrainian regions with the Belz Voivode crest. The sheet measures 203-by- 272mm, reflex-blue ink (‘PMS reflex-blue’) completed on rough uncoated brown 100gms paper.
Late Reprints / Unauthorized KLC and Chernivtsi Overprint Sheets
In addition to issued overprinted revalues for the three KLC sets, the six Chernivtsi sets, and their many released sheets of ‘souvenir’ status (many that saw uncommon use as inflation took its toll), there appeared some overprinted revalued sheets that were, to say the least, highly questionable during the early 1990s. To this, the following statement. “Further unauthorized printings or so-called reprints made in similar or different colours to the original issues appear to have been produced. In the author’s opinion [Baines], these could not have been made from the original machine printing plates, as these would have been unusable, but from new printing plates using the original multi-positive films. By comparing the original printing to these latter
unauthorized printings, the differences are very noticeable, not only in the colours but also by the different plate characteristics. …” This statement was included on one of the many photocopies that Baines forwarded to me on 7 February 2017. In relation to the matter of bogus material, Baines also forwarded studies that he completed himself. These studies examine some of the KLC overprint inscription selvage and Tridentshield- and-revalue imagery, with the intent of determining fakes from those that are real. The results are as follows.
Forgeries of the Kyiv Trident Overprints; Examining Marginal Overprint Inscriptions I: 35k Characteristics All measurements are taken from the first letter excluding the serif and to the curve of the numeral ‘2’.
The genuine inscription measures 68¼mm in length. Further, there are other characteristics common to the genuine. For example the type face (completed through offset printing) is on the thin side, and some sheets have a slight ‘doubling’ (ghost print) at the top of the wording.
Three forgeries are compared. The first shows that both loops in the numerals ‘99’ do not join the rest of the body. The second is shorter, and appears to have been printed via letterpress because the font contours feature a thicker heavier appearance characteristic of this printing technique as compared to other methods. The third is too long, and uses two different font types, the date being heavier in appearance compared to the text.
II: 30Krb Characteristics The genuine inscription measures 68mm in length. As with the 35k, other characteristics common to the genuine includes type face being on the thin side, and some sheets that show a slight doubling at the top of the wording. In this case, we see six forgeries compared to that which is authentic. In all cases, the forgeries display marginal overprint inscriptions thicker than the genuine. Like the first 35k example, the first shows that both loops in the numerals ‘99’ do not join the rest of the body. The next four are too long, and the last is not only too short, but (like the last 35k example) uses two different font types, the date being heavier in appearance compared to the text.
Forgeries of the Kyiv Trident Overprints; Examining the Trident-Shield-and-Revalue Imagery
Details of the given overprinting on stamps are very closely examined and measured through Figure 10. The most important ‘take-aways’ appear to be the following. In the case of the two Trident types as demonstrated by the 35k revalue (hollow is ‘type 1’, solid is ‘type 2’), they both measure wider than the genuine examples by 0.25mm. To those revalues with the widest shields, as demonstrated by the 30Krb revalue (KLC ‘type 3’), the white-out Trident image of the forgery is beginning to ‘fill in’ with ink such that it is thinner, and the revalue ‘00’ numbers are almost meeting.
Conclusion
While the make-ready sheets may not look like much, the same can be said about some of the genre stamps. There probably isn’t a single collector who wouldn’t mind having one or two examples of these sheets in their collection.
Further to the statement quoted earlier, “It can be said that these issues were shortlived and lacked proper quality control. The genuine Trident overprints are hard to find in sheet form. Since 1993, many forgeries, or, at best, reprints made from new plates have appeared, touted as the original printings, available to the unsuspecting collector.” It is without question that early on, along with genuine assets, collectors acquired bogus material ‘just in case’. After all, who could be sure one way or the other. Today of course, with over twenty years of experience and study such as reflected by the information in this article, we ‘know better’.
This year marks the 25th anniversary for the initiation of Ukraine’s provisionals. Look forward
to ‘Part C’ of this ‘further information’ series of articles.
End Notes and Sources:
1. While it is understood that the average reader will not be able to make use of PMS, it is nevertheless noted for the record;
2. Lobko, Hryhoriy P. The Provisional Postage Stamps of Ukraine 1992-1995, Second Edition [in English]
252+ pages, translated by Andrew Martyniuk, published by ‘Ukrainian Philatelic Resources’, 2000,
3. Pages, and Lobko Numbers: a- 209: Kyiv 127/128/129; b- 215: Lviv 35/36/37; c- 222: Chernivtsi 11; d- 67: Kyiv∙6 #53; e- 163: Chernivtsi∙2 #7; f- 218: Lviv 38/39/40; g- 222/225: Chernivtsi 12/13; and h- 163: Chernivtsi∙2 #8;
4. Lobko, Hryhoriy P. Провизорные Выпуски Украины 1992-1999 гг., [The Provisional Postage Stamps of Ukraine, 1992-1999], Third Edition [in Russian], by 480+ pages, 2007, publisher ‘KYT’ of Kyiv (2007),Note: The third edition is an update of the second, and thus there are differences in listings from the earlier version.
5. Pages, and Lobko Numbers: a- 391: Kyiv 139/140/141/142; b- 406: Lviv 37/38/39/40; c- 414: Chernivtsi 11; d- 136: Kyiv∙6 #53; e- 312: Chernivtsi∙2 #7: f- 409: Lviv 38/39/40; g- 416: Chernivtsi 12; and h- 312/314: Chernivtsi∙2 # Read part A of the article here and part C here.