500 Pesetas. January 28, 1907. PERIOD FORGERY. No series or serial number above 2,000,000. (Edifil 2023: 316). Rare. VF-. For years it was believed that all banknotes with serial numbers exceeding 2,000,000 were period forgeries, since the Bank of Spain indicated in its publications that only 2 million copies had been issued. However, despite careful study, at the time no difference could be found between forgeries and genuine ones, neither in the images nor in color discrepancies. While a period forgery is not made using intaglio printing, differentiation by relief is practically impossible, since in used banknotes the relief disappears, and furthermore, the intaglio printing on Bradbury banknotes is very weak and barely noticeable. This does not mean that all banknotes with serial numbers higher than 2,000,000 are period forgeries, nor that all those lower than 2,000,000 are original. However, the fact that the serial number is higher than 2,000,000 should compel us to examine it (according to data provided by experts, between 80-95% are period forgeries). The Edifil catalog itself, to "cover its bases," assigns exactly half the value to serial numbers lower than 2,000,000. As specialists in counterfeit period stamps, we are certain that there was some theft of the original printing plates or fraudulent use within the factory itself. The near-exactness of the original and the period forgery has led many collections to mistake the forgery for the original banknote, and sometimes the banknote seller, as has happened to us, has not noticed the irregularity. Edifil, with a very pragmatic approach to the matter and faced with the near impossibility of differentiating between them, opted for the Solomon-like decision of assigning half the value to the serial numbers above 2,000,000.
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