You have a very attractive copy of the Cincinnati L-2. These are known on many denominations including the 1,2, and 3 cent Louisiana Purchase commemoratives. The new Classics Catalog lists this at $7.50.
I thought it was an L-2, but what gave me doubt was the shape of the "O's". Note that in my example they are narrow oval whereas the example in the catalog show them as wide round. Also the letters are spaced much wider as opposed to the closer spaced letters in the catalog.
I would think that there would be a separate "L" listing for such a variation as there are for other multi-listing "L" cancels. Take Chicago for example (L-4 thru L-34) that show multi listings that I have a hard time distinguishing one from the other. I honestly think that the differences for this one are significant to be listed separately.
Different device = different PSS type. Somebody has decided, probably correctly, that minor differences in these came from stretching during application, but only one device existed. They are made of rubber and some warping can be expected. There might not be such a rational reason why all those different Chicago types are listed separately.
Thanks Chasa! Based on what you are saying, then the example from the catalog is the "stretched" version since each character would be stretching towards each other, thus very little space in between. Would you say that my example is one that's fairly new and haven't had the chance to warp with age?
With regards to the Chicago HS issues (L-6 thru L-35), I would love for someone to explain to me the differences of a majority of these! As Chasa mentioned, there may not be some rational reasoning for all these listings. Since these are hand stamps and assuming that they are rubber hand stamps, I'm sure the warping effect may be the reason for the large listing. Very confusing to say the least. Perhaps it time for the keepers of the book to review these and condense the lookalikes or at least note the difference below each illustration if there's insistence to keep them.
Here are Cincinnati L-2's from my postage due collection. They all seem to show oval O's - so perhaps the picture in the catalog is not a good representative example. I'll ask the catalog editors what they think about it. Many of the catalog pictures were taken from old cuts from catalogs years ago - and once in a while it is decided to 'upgrade' to more realistic pictures.
Our SCF reporters have made another impact on the precancel catalog! In the most recent set of catalog updates for Ohio precancels listed in the June 2011 issue of the Precancel Forum - the picture for Cincinnati L-2 has been updated/replaced/corrected. The 'official' picture now shows those oval O's. I recommend the Precancel Stamp Society to all collectors who like this stuff: http://www.precancels.org/
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Posted 04/30/2011 01:05 am
