1920 Scott 9 30p buff & gray green "Peasant"
Quick HistoryBetween the River Neva-which flows through St. Petersburg (Petrograd)- and north to Finland, there was a short lived revolt against Bolshevist Russia between July 9, 1919 and December 5, 1920. This "Republic of North Ingria" (or North Ingermanland- (Swedish Name)) was declared January 23, 1920, and was supported by Ingrian Finns who wished the lands to be incorporated into Finland.
The am using "North Ingermanland" as the post topic, as that is the name used in the Scott catalogue.
Karelian Isthmus
The Russian-Finnish border (lower red line on map) was eventually resolved by the Treaty of Tartu on October 14, 1920 to be the same as the old border between the Grand Duchy of Finland and Imperial Russia. BTW, the upper red line on the map became the new border between Finland and Soviet Russia after the "Winter War" of 1939.
Map of North Ingermanland (North Ingria)
Note "Kirjasalo", the "Capital", close to the border
The North Ingrian Regiment soon was forced to retreat into Finland, and the southern Karelian isthmus lands became part of Soviet Russia.
If you wish to know more about this (mostly) forgotten historical episode, I recommend reading Michael Adkins excellent Dead Countries Stamps North Ingria post.
Well, as one would expect of any "country" that exists in a tenuous way,- they issue stamps!
( And the reality was the only area the Regiment controlled in Russia was Kirjasalo, and the "Kirjasalo Post Office" was actually located in an office room of the railroad station at Rautu, just across the Finnish border! ;-) (Update note: I had it as "Tautu", but the correct spelling is "Rautu". See Gerben's comments.)
1920 Scott 8 10p gray green & ultramarine "Arms"
Into the Deep BlueThe 2011 Scott Classic Specialized catalogue has, for North Ingermanland 1920, 14 descriptive numbers. Of those, nine stamps ( 64%) have a CV between $2-$3. The other five stamps range in CV from $9-$220+.
There are two issues: the March 21,1920 seven stamp "Arms" issue, and the August 2, 1920 seven stamp pictorial issue.
About the lithographed bi-color pictorial issue, -there is bad news and good news.
Forgeries abound.
But Varro Tytler's "Focus on Forgeries " (Copyright 2000 by Linn's Stamp News) discusses the most common forgery (there are two others) of the pictorial issue on seven full pages! I will try, then, to alert the collector to the genuine/forgery differences.
( I will not necessarily point out what Varro Tyler used for his genuine/forgery differences- but pick my own if I believe it is better for my particular stamps. ;-)
Of interest, these lithographed common forgeries appeared in the late 1950s, and were first offered to Finnish collectors by a dealer in Great Britain.
A closer look at the stamps and issues
100 Pennia = 1 Markka
1920 Scott 2 10p rose red "Arms"
The seven stamp "Arms" issue set was released March 21, 1920, and is illustrated here. Often, examples are not well centered. Unused are less expensive CV wise than used. Four lower denomination stamps are CV $2, while the remaining higher denominations are $20+-$200+.
1920 Scott 8 10p gray green & ultramarine "Arms"
Genuine & Forgery
The 10p gray green & ultramarine stamp of the pictorial issue has Finnish script for North Ingria. Pictured above is a genuine and the most common forgery. Note the greener color of the forgery, as well as the very white paper.
1920 Scott 8 10p gray green & ultramarine Forgery
Note the double lines
The easiest marker for the forgery stamp is a double line along the top of the top of the shield. This does not exist on the genuine stamp.
1920 Scott 9 30p buff & gray green "Peasant"
Genuine & Forgery
Shown above is the "Peasant" pictorial for the 30p denomination. The vignette in the forgery appears cruder, and the stamp is on white paper.
1920 Scott 9 30p buff & gray green Forgery
The red arrow shows the fourth and fifth horizontal lines from the top close together and prominent. Generally, the lines around the head are unevenly spaced. The shading lines around the head are evenly spaced in the genuine.
The marker for the frame on the forgery I found most easy to spot is the thin "K" line (black arrow). Compare to the genuine.
1920 Scott 10 50p ultramarine & red brown "Plowing"
Genuine & Forgery
Although both the genuine and forgery stamps are perf 11 1/2, the forgery's perfs are often rougher, as shown here. The paper is quite white on the forgery, more cream on the genuine.
Genuine (red arrow); Forgery (green arrow)
On the 50p ultramarine & gray, there is, on the upper right frame, two curly branches with two sharp projections pointing up between the branches. On the left projection, there are some dots and dashes on the genuine (red arrow), while none (green arrow) on the forgery. The left projection is rounder in the genuine, much more pointed on the forgery.
1920 Scott 11 80p claret & slate "Milking"
Genuine & Forgery
For the 80p claret & slate, the vignette in the forgery appears cruder, and the stamp is on very white paper.
Milk can (black arrow) visible on genuine
Beads, and "0" in "80", on forgery (green arrows)
The differences I found include: a visible "milk can" in the genuine, and thinner bead shapes and a thicker center of the "0" in "80" in the forgery (green arrows).
80p Forgery: Examine the Slate colored thin horizontal lines
Uppermost line extends farther to the right than the second line
One other clue is visible on my second 80p forgery copy in my collection: The top horizontal line extends to the right. This does not occur with the genuine specimens.
1920 Scott 12 1m red & slate "Planting"
Forgery
I only have forgeries for the 1m and 5m stamps.. But, I plan to point out a "marker" on the forgery, so you will know if that is what you have (likely in general collections).
Remember, the forgeries are on very white paper.
Remember, the forgeries are on very white paper.
Scott 12 1m red & slate Forgery
White space between the sixth and seventh line (black arrow)
Smudge of color in ball (red arrow)
The genuine, in contrast, has somewhat indistinct horizontal lines that are all uniformly spaced. The genuine has a colored line in the ball that is attached to the ribbon above.
1920 Scott 13 5m dark violet & dull rose
"Ruins of Church"
Forgery
Note the very white paper and the crude perforations here on this 5m dark violet & dull rose.
The third full bead from the top is flattened on the left side in the forgery
Subtle differences are all we sometimes are left with. ;-) The third full bead is not flat on the left in the genuine (red arrow).
"Peasants playing Zithers"
Genuine & Forgery
Note the CV for the pictorial set ranges from $3-$9. The 10m brown & violet forgery (right) again shows the white paper, and the rough perforations.
1920 Scott 14 10m brown & violet
"Peasants playing Zithers"
Forgery
A dot in the oval gives this away as a forgery- usually (See note)The genuine has two separate curved lines in the oval, but no dot above the curved lines.
Note: There is a possibility that some genuines have the dot-(see comment note by rw)
A zither? This string instrument has taken a back seat to the guitar in modern times. It had a resurgence after a zither was used on the musical score of the 1949 film noir , The Third Man.
But back to Genuine vs Forgery...a closer look....
But back to Genuine vs Forgery...a closer look....
1920 Scott 14 10m brown & violet
Genuine Close-up
* The white oval under the left side of the "O" has two separate curved lines.
* The white bar to the left of the lower right corner "M" has a notch in the upper end.
Now compare to the Forgery...
1920 Scott 14 10m brown & violet
Forgery Close-up
* The white oval under the left side of the "O" has a dot above two touching curved lines.
Note: There is a possibility that some genuines have the dot-(see comment note by rw)
Note: There is a possibility that some genuines have the dot-(see comment note by rw)
* The white bar to the left of the lower right corner "M" has no notch in the upper end.
Deep Blue
North Ingermanland 1920 issue in Deep Blue
Deep Blue (Steiner) has one page for the stamps of North Ingermanland. One will need to print out a second copy for the forgeries that will inevitably accumulate, or use a quadrilled page.
1920 Scott 10 50p ultramarine & red brown "Plowing"
Big BlueBig Blue '69, on two lines of one page- sharing the page with Northern Nigeria- has 9 spaces for North Ingermanland. The page is located between North Borneo and Northern Rhodesia.
Coverage is 64%. The CV of the stamps not in BB vary from $9-$220+.
North Ingermanland in Big Blue
Included in BB is one "expensive stamp", the 1m red & slate @ CV $20+.Of course, many collections have counterfeits- mine certainly does. ;-) One will need to actively seek out genuine copies.
Checklist
1920
1,2,3,4,
8,9,10,11,12,
End
Comments
A) Expensive stamps ($10 threshold):
1920 Scott 12 1m red & slate ($20+)
1920 Scott 11 80p claret & slate "Milking"
Out of the BlueI suspect only stamp collectors- and perhaps some readers of Finnish history- are aware of North Ingria or North Ingermanland.
The forgeries- as long as one is aware they are forgeries- adds some spice to the collection.
Note: Maps appear to be in the public domain.
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