What Do You Think? Switzerland 92

I'm looking at this example of Switzerland Scott 92:



I am concerned about it being reperf'd along the top. Some of the perf tops seem cut rather than torn.

And can anyone make sense of the manuscript cancel in the center of the inked cancel?

Anyone with any thoughts?

Thanks.
-Larry

I can share your concern about some of the perfs looking cut, but I'm expert to tell you if it's a reperf job or not.

As for the manuscript cancel, I can tell you that foreign stamp cancels of that period used to show the month in roman numerals, so in your case, it looks as if its 10 VIII 89. So IMO, it's August 10, 1889 (although I may be wrong about the day as it's hard to read the first number based on the scan.) Anyway, the year fits, as the stamp was issued in 1888.

I assume you've confirmed that it is definitely a perf 9.5, as there are other perf varieties of that same stamp that are significantly lower in catalog value.