How Would You Describe This Stamp?

I want to sell this stamp. It appears to be original gum, but on the back is a smudge. It doesn't look thin, but more like someone tried to clean it up in some way. It shows up on the front like a dark area. How would you describe that fault?

A used stamp, cleaned cancel (red?), with a filled thin and regummed? I hate to sound like that and hope I am wrong but if I saw these images and without stamp in hand this is what I would probably think. Hopefully this stamp isn't from NY Stamp.
Don

Here's a view with light behind it. The blotch looks more solid here. Less like a cancel and more like a hinge shaped mark.

Bought as part of collection - no one trying to cheat me - I want to try to sell it and be as correct as I can but I'm still not sure what I'm seeing. The blotch isn't gum - it's dry. Almost like someone took a finger and tried to erase the hinge mark - I don't know.

I'm leaning towards it being a bad attempt to fill in a thin, and maybe a tiny tear at the lower right as well. Your comment about cleaned cancel has me wondering though. Argh.

Thanks for showing your stamp with its flaws - Since I am not a US specialist, you already got your answer. But this is the way we learn........ Good luck ! (in a meaningful way)

Looks like filled thins (the large spot as well as one at the lower left as seen from the reverse). If you dip the stamp in watermark fluid and these spots show up lighter than the rest of the stamp, they are filled thins.

When I see this I generally think filled thins (as Dudley pointed out). Only caveat is that I have personally removed hinged stamps from old albums with poor technique and piece of old page adheres to back of stamp. Obviously this stamp has been previously hinged as seen from remnant at top. I don't believe that is what you are seeing here. Looks to me like a large thin or even tear in the middle that was extensively repaired and then thin filled. I can see the faint remnants of what could be a cleaned red cancel on Washington's forehead as Don pointed out..

note the repaired horizontal tear lower right

Thus obvious now that likely tear or huge thin in midsection, repaired.

red cancel shows up better on Washington's forehead

Don,

Are those lines going slanted vertical the cancel that was lightened?

Cool

These are 'retro reveal' rendering which basically splits the color channels so the contrasting marks are the detected color areas. I was not expecting this kind of red cancel but perhaps someone with more cancel knowledge will weight in. To my eye this appears to be a pen cancel...but then red does not make sense to me. Plus, people usually try to remove black cancels from black stamps. So the retro reveal might only be adding to the mystery rather than helping!
Don

Wow! That really shows up the cancel - phenomenal. I need that tool.

It is an online tool and is free http://retroreveal.org/
Don

http://retroreveal.org/

I wonder if we can use this tool on EBay stamp images. It would certainly save a lot of heartaches. Does anybody know? Don?

Jack Kelley

Hi Jack,
Yes it could, the tool can be used on any image.
Don