Filling the Philatelic Holes!

Something most collectors face at one point or another in their passion for stamp collecting is those holes in their albums. Eventually you will get to a point in your collecting area where the items you are missing are very rare and expensive and you are left with holes in your albums. Here is one of my collecting areas (British Africa) that I have almost completed except for a few rare and quite expensive items.

As you can see, there are 4 stamps missing to complete this set. One is not expensive at all (Sc#61) , but I have yet to find a decent copy. The other three are Sc#58, 59 & 62c. One of my most fervent areas of interest is in errors. Sc#62c is one of those that I have been searching for, for many years.
As it happens, I recently saw one up for auction and it immediately perked up my interest: so much so, that I was prepared to pay handsomely for this rare piece.

Here is the stamp that I saw for sale. I was excited. I had 17 days before the stamp would be sold to the highest bidder.

As I waited, I asked for a larger, higher resolution scan, which is something I always do for items with a significant cost.
This is the scan of the high resolution image I received.

Upon close inspection, I quickly realized this was not what I was hoping for and something did not look right. If you look closely, there appears to be some separation of the perforations between the central and right stamp. (The error is the missing overprint/surcharge on the right most stamp). The key to this error is that you need an intact pair to prove the error. So, I asked for a scan of the back of the stamp. Here it is

Here is a more  detailed view of the perforations in question.

It is currently unclear to me whether this stamp is a FORGERY,  [has the right most stamp has been EXPERTLY added], or this is the original stamp that was partially separated and repaired / re-attached.

The perforation separations seem to match perfectly with the adjoining stamp and the hinge mark from the central stamp extends to the right stamp. I am undecided, but in either case, it is in my collection and at some point I may send it out for certification. Your opinions are welcome.

As I have stated before in this blog regarding forgeries: Always inspect stamps carefully, even if you are purchasing from reputable dealers and auction houses. You can still find yourself with forgeries. For now, this stamp will be housed in my collection . If it is a forgery, I am ok with that as I purchased it and paid accordingly. If it is authentic, all the better.
Is it for sale? Maybe. Make me an offer 🙂