A Question About 3c Stamp From 1872.

This is not from my collection, but I would like to know is it rare to find this type of stamp imperf. and used on the cover? Cover is from 1872.

There is a note in my 2003 Scott's saying "The imperf. 3c can be found in the Scott U.S. Specialized Catalogue Die and Plate Proofs section." Someone with a Specialized catalogue may be able to look it up for you. But I'm wondering, considering how closely it's trimmed if someone didn't just trim the perfs off before using. Can't imagine why they would, but it's just a thought.

Hello James!

I agree, it is a good thought, and probably the only possibility... because it so closely trimmed.

Thanks again for a good advice!

Btw. I have a US specialized, but there is no any additional explanation, only values. And I am not sure that there is any for a proof used on the cover??

I strongly doubt that anyone would trim the perfs off in order to place the stamp on a cover!

Surely, if the stamp was sold to you in perforated condition you wouldn't alter that for any reason. Why would you?

I think the postal clerk who sold the stamp simply cut the stamp from a page of imperfs.

I have read that postal clerks would sometimes cut perforated stamps from a sheet using scissors if the perforations were not working well for that particular sheet.

However, the margins on you scan look pretty straight and uniform as if someone took the time to trim the margins with a razor and a straight edge rather than quickly snipping a stamp with a pair of scissors and then handing it to a customer.

I'm no where near an expert in this field so its just a thought!

Hi filipo-
2 problems I would suggest:

1. The stamp isn't tied to the cover with the Circular Date Stamp-- it could be that someone trimmed a stamp after removing the original, and reattached to the cover.
2. size of the margins.

To get this certified as an imperf, it would have a better chance if the stamp was tied to the cover, but it's not.

I would think that #1 is the most logical story as to what has happened with the cover.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas, Ray

It's true that it's not tied to the cover; but when it comes to the issue of the margins, as any collector of European stamps (e.g., Belgium, German States) knows, imperfs come in all shapes and sizes. It's a matter that came down to the whims of the person wielding the scissors at the time.

A thought I'd add: since some imperf stamps have very wide margins, it stands to reason that the stamp NEXT to it in the sheet will have very narrow ones. This wouldn't seem to be suspicious at all.

Which is exactly why most need them in pairs to certify. The one on cover here would never pass the sniff test as the margins are way too tight.

Hi! Thanks for all replies!

But, my initial question was... how scarce would be a stamp of this type and issue imperf? Because they are not listed in Scott specialized, does it means that they don't exist at all? Or they can exist sporadically, but don't have any specific value?

Btw. here is Croatia is already past midnight, soooo...

Happy Christmas, filipo!

I think imperf stamps (when the stamp was not regularly issued as such) are often very valuable indeed, but collectors will only shell out big money for the pairs, when proof of imperf status is irrefutable.

Since such pairs are extremely rare, this means that 99% of genuinely imperf stamps are dismissed as rubbish.

Look very closely at the bust of George Washington. Does it look exactly right to you? Also, it doesn't look tied to the cover proper. Would it also have a circular date stamp and a cork? look at the florettes (for lack of a better word) in the upper right compared to the one in the upper left. It just don't look right to me? I could be completely off base but it looks off somehow? Good luck and most of all HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Actually, now that I think of it, the stamp appears to have a fancy cancel on it. It's indistinct, as if an effort has been made to render it less noticeable. But it is unmistakably there! Since the cancel does not extend from the stamp to the cover, this is very obviously a fake cover. That doesn't resolve the imperf question, but it makes it much more likely that it's a fake imperf.

filipo,

The quality of the scan makes it difficult to tell but when magnified there appear to be indications of perforations on the right side of the stamp.



There was an imperf essay made of Scott 147 (Scott 147-E13d, imperf, green, underprinting olive gray) and it had a 2011 catalog value of $325.

To answer the second part of your question, I think finding an essay legitimately used on cover would be rare; however, I have no expertise with essays and will defer to others with specific knowledge.

I'm no expert but I believe that essays were just that essays and not used as legitimate postage. I have never seen an example but then again I have never looked either so I'd be very curious to know about that as well?

I've ran across the same issue with the canadian stamp below. I'm of the same mind that an imperf sheet is at the mercy of the scissors but without the companion for a pair it leaves doubt.