In March 2022, the new catalog of the perfins of Belgium was presented.
At that presentation, the expectation was already expressed that many new additions would be reported soon. Nothing is less true. The site contains the complete list of errata, the list of changed periods and the list of more than 1000 new additions.
In addition, an additional category has emerged. There have been 3 reports of perfins in ‘Bagages Reisgoed zegels’, which is also a kind of tax stamp.
CR 7 perfin nr 6 MIB perfin nr 16
UPL 3 perfins nrs 6 en 12
It has also emerged that the perfin JPB 1 is actually two different perfins. With the perfin JPB 1 it is stated that there are also stamps with some larger holes; that appears to come from a different perforator.
The 1st image shows the JPB 1 included in the catalog. The user is John P. Best & Co., Agents Maritimes, Ghent.
In the 2nd image it is immediately noticeable that the 1st hole of the J and the middle hole of the B are clearly larger in diameter. But there are more differences: the J of the 1st is much straighter than that of the 2nd, the legs diverge upwards. At the B of the 2nd, the top and bottom points of the straight line are clearly further to the left. The lower arch is also wider.
This 2nd perforator, which we will call JPB 5 in the future, was probably also used by John P. Best, but that has not yet been demonstrated, no postal item has yet been found.
Based on the reported stamps, we can also indicate in which stamps the 2 different JPBs occur:
Shortly after the Belgian catalog came out, a collector gave me five stamps with unknown perfins.
There was a correspondence in which it became clear that all stamps came from one circular booklet and that according to the author they should all be forgeries.
Below are the images and my opinion.
EA
this perfin looks real to me. I therefore want to include it so that this perfin appears in the next edition of the catalogue. The name will be: EA with 10. 12. holes.
D&C
also this perfin seems real to me. I’ll also include this one. The name will be: D&C with 13 8 10 holes.
E
this perfin looks real to me. However, I do not dare to include this one because it is perforated very close to the edge. I think there’s a good chance it’s incomplete. It is also unclear whether it is an M or an E.
EF
I don’t trust this perforation. The irregularity and size of the holes and the way they are “pricked” gives me the certainty that this one is fake.
H
for this perforation the same applies as for the perforation EF. Also false.
BCPCy
A few weeks ago I came across this tax stamp. It is a new perfin and I have no doubts about the authenticity. I also include this perfin under the name BCPCy with resp. 12 9. 9 8 4 holes. Perhaps the C will turn out to be a Q or a G later if we can ever figure out the user. I’ll stick with a C for now.
I do find the dot between the C and the P a bit strange. It’s a bit too high to be a real dot between the letters, but it’s clearly a punch that matches the rest.
FD 4
This perfin was also presented to me. It is clearly a real perfin and it is not yet in our catalog. Some research and inquiries yielded the result. This perfin is the existing French perfin FD36.
The user is Florimond Desprezen the place is Capelle-en-Pévèle. This place is only 20 kilometers from Froidmont in Belgium.
In the French catalog of our member Dedecker it is stated that this perfin is known from 1920. Inquiries with him yielded the information that the perfin was used from the first months of 1914 but was not used during the 1st world war. The stamp of 2-4-1914 on the Belgian stamp fits into that story.
We will therefore also include this perfin in the Belgian catalog under the name FD 4 with 12. 17 holes, a height of 8.25 mm.
You see, the collecting area of the Belgian perfins is clearly in flux.
Of course I would like to hear from you if one of these perfins is also in your collection.
Nico van der Lee
Co-author of the Catalog of the perfins of Belgium, 1st edition, March 2022
The article above was published in Perfinpost nr 141, September 2022.