Scott & Jackson & Hermitage

Hi to all

The used version on the left looks like there is smoke coming out of the roof of the Hermitage.
Was there two versions, one with smoke and one without
Regards
Horamakhet

Well, if it's used, obviously someone is home.


- sorry couldn't resist. Someone with a Scott's US Specialized Catalogue may have an answer. But I do observe that the colours appear slightly different. The used appears to be a deeper colour. Perhaps there are two different 'types'

Hi jamesw

I love the tongue in cheek comments,
Regards
Horamakhet

Don't quit the day job just yet. The used stamp is damaged.

Hi smauggie

Apart from the missing ink, which makes the house look like smoke coming out of it, I can not see any damage.
I have looked at it with a 10X loop and can not see any damage?
Regards
Horamakhet

The stamp is Scott #786. The Scott Specialized Catalog of US Stamps makes no distinction as to any varieties of that issue. The stamp catalogs for minimum value of $0.20.

I just looked through my stockbook of #786's and find that there were some lighter and darker inked versions of the stamp that could give the illusion of "smoke coming out of the roof". Here are two close ups of my stamps for comparison:

If there is no physical damage then I would say it is a printing error. Look at the roof line and the trees in background. The anomaly cuts into the building and and on up into the skyline. Maybe it was a possible re-cut or some issue during the "take up" from die making process (which is a bit of a stretch for me to believe) or, more probable, just debris on the printing plate.