596...what's The Big Deal

I wrote that subject line with sarcasm, of course. We all know they are a big deal. I enjoy reading threads started by someone that is absolutely positive that they found one, only to be shot down...usually because they simply don't know how to use a perforation gauge.

What's I'd like to discuss here is...what's so special about this stamp? Can someone share with us the particulars about the perforations (I think it's 11 all sides), and the waste paper used to create them? How many of them are there actually out there? Is it a small number and they are all accounted for? Do we even know how many? Am I mistaken, or don't they all have a Kansas City precancel on them? I'd like us to take a moment here to maybe educate those who are less knowledgeable about this rare stamp.

Here is an article on this stamp written by Ken Lawrence who is a very knowledgeable philatelic researcher and writer:
http://www.linns.com/news/us-stamps...or-596.html#

U.S. Scott # 596 has the rotary press stamp design size of Scott # 581 and has the 11 x 11 flat plate perforations of Scott # 552.

Take the Washington-Franklins as a whole and see how things changed with them over the years. It's one big experiment, all about the PO trying different things to improve their stamps. Sometimes they failed, sometimes they succeeded. With things like coil waste, it was also more "waste not, want not" unlike nowadays where unsold stamps get destroyed fairly quickly.

Not all 596s have the Kansas City precancel on them. Some have standard cancellations for the period.

My theory is different and cynical: that somewhere in the dark web there are instructions, to people who enjoy being trolls, about how to formulate posts of this type, complete with images and sample language. This is why they inevitably come from new users with no post history, poor grasp of standard English and the same errors. And why I never reply to them. There are simply too many of these posts to be coincidental.

Jogil...Thanks for the link. I'll give the story a read over...despite my feelings on Mr. Lawrence.

cjpalermo1964...It is interesting how many of those kinds of post come from people who are new posters, and claim to have no philatelic knowledge, and yet know a numbers of terms that the ordinary newbie wouldn't know. I usually read them to get a laugh. My whole point of posting this in the first place was to learn a bit about this stamp and why it's such an apparent 'holy grail' to collectors, whether they are experienced, newbies, or trolls.

My opinion is that a significant number of these posts come from 'treasure hunters'. People who are not really hobbyists (yet) but have come across some stamps, look in a catalog or online for the highest value stamp it could possibly be, then make plans for quitting their jobs and retiring. And frankly it doesn't help when there are plenty of posts which describe finding a rare stamp without any disclaimer that communicates the prerequisite years of experience and searching that were actually invested.

The same human influence is at work for a lot posts where the hobbyist believes they have an 'error' stamp that will make them rich. We have hundreds of flyspecking posts which might lead an uniformed person to think that their stamp is rare or highly unusual.

Lastly, work is always being done behind the scenes to limit trolls and other posters with a non-community agenda.
Don

I enjoyed the article.