Stamp Shows, Meh(?!), A Short Rant With Acquisition

Folks, I responded to this one in 2012, and as I look at the OP, I still think that it's a reperfed #9......just sayin'....

Ray

I find that you see more variety on E-bay. When I go t o a show and ask dealers to show me their Israel back of the book material, I get a lot of blank stares. Maybe someone has a postage due set or airmails. I even went to a dealer that supposedly specialized in Israel, only to be told there is no back of the book. I told him he must not have the right book. On e-bay, I can see specialized items like different printing dates on items, revenues, cancels, etc. You just don't see it at shows.

At the moment there 903,520 listings on ebay just for US stamps. There are an additional 88,395 listings for Middle Eastern Stamps. I can't imagine a show that will have that many stamps in it. On the onter hand, I bet there are a lot of cool stamps at the shows that are never seen on ebay.

The perfs do not like right. Looks like it's been reperfed.

I don't think so.

If it's okay by Winston, I'm okay. But, can you tell us why you think it is OK?

The stamp does have a valid shot at being a #23, assuming that the perfs are good. The impression on this stamp is quite late, and would mostly agree with potentially being a perforated 1857 plate 1L stamp - aka #23.

I have seen quite a few perforated plate 1L stamps, with fairly early impressions, from say, 1852 or 1853, clearly. So were these #9's that grew perforations over time, or were there some left-over sheets that were perforated in 1857? Probably the former, but, if the perfs are too well done, then an expert committee would likely have to deem it genuine. This is similar to the comment about regumming of US classics on another thread. If they do too good a job, then it usually becomes accepted as ok until or unless it can be proven bad.

Ray.mac,

Always go with your gut, your first impression!. Perfs are absolutely crazy on this stamp. Nothing lines up, shapes are strange. At first I thought just reperf on one or two sides, now I think it's a Scott 9 growing perfs even though txstamp thinks may be ok.

rg

To clarify my opinion - I'm not commenting on the perfs. They are interesting, and might be ok - and might not be. I'm not sure.

I'm rendering an opinion on the appearance and impression of the stamp, in that it is mostly consistent with being from 1857, which lines up with the perforated plate 1L stamps - #23's. It could be a #9 from 1857 as well.

I think this stamp should have caused a barf-o-rama not a debate about the perfs.

Regarding the perforations... This stamp should be evaluated like any other. Set your prejudices aside caused by the look of the stamp and objectively evaluate the facts. The stamp has the correct impression, in that it is a late impression, the perf holes are the right size and they are not too round or too clean. The rows of perfs are basically straight with the exception of the right side which may have had some work done to it. The top and bottom rows are skewed but parallel. All of this points to this stamp being a genuine #23. There is also some evidence of a subjective nature that lends support to the stamp being genuine. Why on earth would somebody add perforations to a stamp well inside of the margins? They wouldn't. This stamp is a typical example of scissors-separated stamp seen so often on the early perforated stamps. Case closed.

Like Citizen Kane and his sled, all I really wanted was a half-dime:



I got this a few weeks ago as a Christmas present to myself. Has anybody ever seen "Repo Man"? Weird film. There's this fun bit where this guy talks about synchronicity, about how something might occur to you out of the blue, like plate, or shrimp, or plate of shrimp, and next thing you know there's a plate of shrimp (a later scene in a restaurant features a sign saying "special today, plate of shrimp"). So I'm finally getting my half-dime, and then a short time later, an email appears in my inbox that this thread had been appended! I guess that's something.

So where have I been? Life has overtaken and prevented me from pursuing a hobby for a few years. A huge year long project at work in 2012-13 was successful, and so I was rewarded with a huge multi-year project which is about to conclude. And then the original project will need upgrading. And my children got older, too, needing more time. And then we sent my son to a private boarding school because he needs to sing. And, poof!, just like that any disposable income I might have had for hobbies disappeared. The good news is I haven't had to sell any of my collection. Yet.

Glad to see this community is still around and active. Chances are I'll remain a phantom for a while yet, but maybe someday I can jump back in.

And for what it's worth, I stick by my previous assertion that the perts are genuine. And, c'mon, Sinclair, it isn't that ugly.