DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS:

-In the forgery, the "quinas" in the inner shield (five inside each escutcheon) are rectangular while in the genuine stamp they are made round by the thinning of the lines above and below each quina;

-In the forgery, the tusks of the elephant on the right side touch two consecutive lines, while on the genuine stamp the tusks almost always touch the same horizontal line;

-In the forgery, the vertical lines at the left side of the stamp are unevenly spaced (the two first lines are nearby, while the third and fourth lines are farther apart than any of the others.

Note: I followed D.Davies in naming the forgery after a Mr.Cross who identified it as a possible new die. The cleverly remarked distinguishing characteristics are those pointed by him in "Forgeries of Portugal and Colonies".

CARACTERISTICAS DISTINTIVAS:

-As quinas são rectangulares no falso, mas circulares no autêntico;

-As presas do elefante à direita terminam quase sempre sobre a mesma linha no autêntico, mas sobre linhas consecutivas no falso;

-As distâncias entre as linhas verticais do lado esquerdo do selo são quase idênticas, enquanto que no falso duas das linhas estão muito mais próximas entre si do que as outras.

Nota: o nome do falso é o atribuido por D.Davies em honra do coleccionador que o identificou e as caracteristicas distintivas que escolhi são também indicadas por ele no livro "Forgeries of Portugal and Colonies".

ORIGIN: Unknown, possibly European. The forgery must have been originally made after 1902 because it is perforated 111/2. It comprises the 1904, 1907 and 1911 issues of the stamp and in the last one uses exclusively the European version of the overprint "REPUBLICA". Davies reports that strips of 8 have been found, when the original stamps were printed in panes of 7X4!!

The Cross forgery is usually found cancelled.

Bibliography:

Davies, D.J. "Forgeries of Portugal and Colonies".