There's the answer. Don't feed the trolls. I have Keith on ignore.

The rampant lion--unfortunately not too clear in the photo--does look like the early ones used by the Govt proof house, which didn't exist until 1920. Lee Kennett says there was a private proof house in Brescia as early as 1910 "and probably for many years before", so that may be the answer . . . although all the rampant lion examples I can find are surmounted by a crown. And I suppose the PF under a crown could be a predecessor of PSF, which has been an Italian proofmark since the very beginning.

Last edited by L. Brown; 04/27/17 05:00 PM.