Admiral Byrd's Antarctic Expedition

I know this isn't the Topical Forum, but here are a few stamps from my U.S. collection celebrating the Admiral Byrd Expedition.

However, one of the images is different from the others -- as you scroll down, see if you can identify the one that doesn't belong...

To start the pictures, here's the basic commemorative, Scott 733:




And here's the Souvenir Sheet, Scott 735:



I didn't scan the backside, but all these are MNH. And a normal person might stop there, but not me. I wanted to get the others, such as the Vertical and Horizontal Line Pairs of Scott 753:





Did you notice in the horizontal line pair you can see another line at the bottom? I suppose that means this pair must have been in the center of the block. Not really a big deal I guess, but nice to see.

The time frame for these stamps is late in the classic era, about 1935. As I'm sure you know, Postmaster Farley was about to stir up some trouble. So, while I was at it, I decided I'd better grab the gutter pairs, Scott 768 and 768a:





And here's one final image from my Admiral Byrd collection:



Yep. That last one is the one that doesn't belong! A big gaping hole where the 753 should be. The rare and elusive 753, with a catalog value of about 50 cents

Seriously, don't you hate it when you can't acquire a simple, low-value stamp. You know they're plentiful, but you just never seem to be at the right place at the right time (with fifty cents in your pocket?)

I've seen the problem mentioned before on SCF and I bet there are others here with better stories (and scans) than mine about those elusive, but common, stamps.

KirkS

Kirk,

That was superb. Great scans and a great collection...with a twist at the end.

Loved it.

And yes, it has happened to me too.

Great stuff

Londonbus1

I agree with LB, love your little presentation.
Wish we had more of same on the forum.

Kirk,

You can get a VF MH single with guide line showing on Stamps2Go from "Paul" for $.40 plus $1 shipping -- you can use it as a place holder until you come across an MNH copy. There are other singles listed on that site but Paul's is the only one showing the guide line.

Steve

Well, seems to me that you need a block of 4 with the horizontal and
vertical line making a cross between all 4 stamps...

Oh, and since that verical line pair has a line at the bottom, you need
a vertical line pair without the line...

So now you have 3 holes! LOL!

Gee Thanks, Ratio!

And come to think of it, I don't have any of them used or on cover ....

Happy Thanksgiving!
Glad I could help!

Got any plate blocks?

Very nice! A great example of the collector bug! A wonderful example of varieties among the same stamp image.

Kirk how do you tell the difference between the 733 @ 11 perfs and a 753 @ 11 perfs,do you go by color,paper or printing and if printing what difference do you look for,I don't know if I've asked this question before

Nugget,

Scott #'s 752 - 765 were issues without gum.

Harry:

I think my poor scanning abilities contribute to the confusion. My first scan (the 733) seems darker than it really is; I think I scanned it at a higher resolution than the others. If you look at both, side-by-side, the 733 is a little darker, perhaps because of the gum, but it isn't nearly as dark as the scan implies. In fact, the scan looks almost as if the top portion of the stamp is dirty or oxidized.

Anyway, as barstoll said, the real answer is checking the gum.

KirkS

What through me was the color,the #753 is MH(as it shows signs that it was hinged) NG perf 11,It does show the color a bit darker than the #733 but not much darker only by a small degree that's why I had to ask,so when I looked at Kirk's #733 and it was darker than my #753 again I had to ask.

The 733 and 753 were both printed from the same plates. The 733 was cut on the guidelines to produce 4 panes of 50. The 753 was issued in sheets of 200 with an additional vertical and horizontal row of perforations on the guidelines. The only way to differentiate is the presence of the guideline on the perforated edge on the 56 stamps affected. The other 144 stamps are indistinguishable from the 733 with gum removed.

I wish I knew you when I sold this, I think you may have liked it. Please note the addressee.....

Does not the note in Scott say that the Farley issues are not distinguishable unless in gutter pairs. Or some combination showing the gutters or crossed guidelines?

It would seem to me that the presence or absence of gum, while very suggestive of the identity, can't be used with absolute certainty, since the original stamps may have been soaked and thus lost their gum. I have seen offered for sale used singles of the Farley's. I don't think that they are identifiable used in any circumstance, other than a signed affidavit from the period that the used stamp on cover came from a Farley printing.

Also, the notation is made that the Post Office offered to gum any sheets sent in by collectors, and some were so gummed.

Excellent feedback rohumpy.

I guess I'm going to have to pull out my Scott Specialized and re-read the notes.

Jubilee -- that's a nice cover. I wonder if John Byrd was related to the Admiral. I know his family had a long line of "Richard Evelyn" in every generation. Either way, it's nice with the gutter.

KirkS