German (Reich) hyperinflation era postage stamps – fake vs. genuine postmarks

Postally used stamps of German hyperinflation era are said to be minefield of fake cancellations. Each and every stamp catalogue provides a slightly different wording, but the baseline is same: catalog values (from August 1916/early 1919 to end of 1923) apply only for INFLA-signed/certified copies, anything else should be treated equal to mint stamps value. Thus it is somewhat excruciating that many sellers, buyers and collectors do not pay any importance to provided guiding, but always get stuck with the *what if…* scenario. Lately I filled a somewhat major void in my philatelic knowledge and acquired two reference books from INFLA-Berlin, the body that is in charge of certification/signing of German hyperinflation era stamps. The first was “Gebrauchte Inflationsmarken – echt oder falsch?, an 80 page essentials guide from stamp expertisers on how to identify real usage from fake. The other book was “Falschstempel der Inflation 1919-1923“, an 80 page […]