Benjamin Franklin 1c Stamp Measurement Inquiry.

This US stamp measures 19.25 x 22.75 mm. As I'm unfamiliar with U.S. stamps, could it possibly be one that was printed on waste paper?


Apology, the stamp on the Right is the one with the above measurements after 're-check'.

The perf on this stamp should be 11X10.5. It is the rotary press Scott 632 issued June 10, 1927. This stamp was in production until 1938 and this is a mid production printing with its distinct yellow green shade. Early printings were a much darker green and the last printings were light yellow green.

The coil waste stamps (also rotary press0 are
Scott 578 perf 10X11 19.75X22.25 Green
Scott 594 perf 11 19.75X22.25 Green

The sheet waste was Scott 593 596 perf 11 19.25X22.5 Green (Thanks Rohumpy)

Russ, thank you for you prompt informative reply. Much appreciated.

Russ, this was the 'Article' that sparked my interest and provoked me into checking what I had laying around.

Careful finches, you'll start a stamp-ede. Everyone will be rushing to measure their Benjamins.
Hmm, could be taken the wrong way?

That news article posted above is a bit curious. Not sure where it originated, but there was never a 1 cent Franklin stamp printed in red as shown in the illustration of that article. Furthermore, the last paragraph describes the name of the finder of the rarity as residing in "Ninghampton" New York, for which there is no such place. I suspect the article contains typographical errors and the city name was supposed to be "Binghamton, NY" (A "B" instead of an "N" and no "p" in the name).

Wf1, the above article was published by 'Seven Seas Stamps, Pty Ltd' Dubbo, Australia. in a book called "The Stamp Detective" with a front inscription saying,'How to set up a Philatelic Laboratory and solve Philatelic Mysteries'.

It appears the only two colors available for printing back then was Red and Black. Illustrations, diagrams and perf gauge within are in black/red.

Wt1, one of the illustrations in 'The Stamp Detective' shown here to assist with Inverted.

Great cartoon! Isn't it funny how you can almost date these drawings by the way the cartoon was drawn. I suspect that "inverted" cartoon was probably late 1950's or early 1960's.

Wt1, yes a friend and I were just discussing the same thing before you mentioned it. (Cartoon)

Additional point.
Some terminology associated with stamps such as 'Inverted' appear confusing to new collectors when words like Reversed and Upside down have their rightful place in stamp description.

Eg; Aust' KGV, is the watermark Inverted or is the obverse upside down? What should a collector take reference from, the first thing applied when manufacturing paper for a stamp - the watermark ?

Russ, don't you mean 596 and not 593 for the sheet waste?

Rohumpy, I was suffering from fat fingers. Thanks for catching that. Original post edited.

For some reason Scott 596 is one of those stamps which have caught my fancy. Who knows if one has passed through their hands. I know that I don't check for it. Perhaps I should.

Of the three, 594, 595 and 596, the 595 is the only one even remotely possible for me to own. I have a purported 595, but I have serious doubts. I need to make the template from the coil stamp and compare.