I Need Help On A Possible SC # 142. US Thanks

Hello, I need help with this stamp. I purchased two boxes of stamps from an older gentlemans estate.There were many nice finds in the boxes ! I found this stamp loose in the bottom of a box. After looking at It I realized I could see a grill on it. I checked it with my precision gauge and it seems to be an H grill.You can faintly see it on the front side around his face. I looked at it under magnification and didn't look like some of the fake grills i've seen online. [I wanted to get some feedback from some experts on what they think and if I should send this in to get expertized. I will also have some other stamps I will be posting on here that I am not familiar with from this same collection. This is my first time here. Thanks

Welcome to Stamp Collecting Forum!

Unfortunately, we would all need to see a much higher resolution scan in order to be able to evaluate that stamp for you. The image is just too small to see any of the important details.

I was able to get some better photos uploaded at 100kb. Still not the greatest but you can see the grill area. The grill looks better looking at it under light.

Stampfinder,

Welcome to the forum, you'll get a lot of information and help here, just ask. AS to the stamp, if unsure as to what it is you can always send it to Bill Wiese for identification, not certified, for $5.00. I believe he still provides that service. Then depending on the results it may be worthwhile to have him certify it for $25.00. Certification only make sense if the stamp is worth more than the cost of the services.

Art

There is some chance this is the real deal SC142. I agree, send it to Bill Weiss for a quick analysis. If he thinks its SC142 - then get a PFC. Having the PFC is going to be very valuable if you ever sell. Bill will tell you what it is if its not the SC142.

SF-- a stamp of this magnitude, if it is this magnitude, would never be recognized without a cert.

AND if you were to send it to Bill Weiss, do not send as an ID only-- you will need a certificate that the stamp has been identified by an expert. If you were to sell it, you will also then probably need an additional cert from the Philatelic Foundation-- and then it could be consigned to an auction house like Siegel.

142 is not just a rare stamp-- it is also very scarce. BIG difference there-- a US #1 is a rare stamp, but you can buy one any day you want on ebay. Try to find a 142....even at AmeriStamp in Atlanta next weekend....you probably won't-- that's the difference. You'll only find this stamp in auctions from the major auction houses.

The current auction at Kelleher does not have one. Regency has a current auction, I can't find the catalogue, but they did have one in their October 2011 auction, and did not in their November 2011 auction.

You can find all of the 142's that Siegel has ever sold by going to their "Power Search" function:

http://www.siegelauctions.com/lot_l...sionvars=yes

Hope it's a 142. That would be beyond cool.
Hope this helps-- Ray

A few comments:

- I believe this is authentic 142, with VG centering, and in poor condition.

- I agree it would be prudent to get this certified by Weiss. At $25, it would be a worthwhile investment.






- The condition of this stamp is so bad, that sending it to any other authentication service would be cost prohibitive. In the case of PF, the cert would cost as much or more than the resale value of this stamp. This stamp is not so rare that its condition can be ignored (an aside comment: Am I the only person to notice that it's dropped significantly in value since ebay came on the scene?). My opinion is that if this is authentic, it's a $200-$300 stamp at auction.




ebay has a certified copy right now. Consigning this stamp to Seigel or any other major auction house would be a mistake, imo. This would actually do better on ebay than any other venue (again, my opinion ... but one I strongly stand by)


- No one has commented about the faint possibility of this stamp being unused. If that were the case, it would be unique and a great philatelic rarity, and all bets are off.

Brian

Thanks for all your input ! Very helpful. I have contaced Bill Weiss and will be sending in to get expertized. I will post results of this when I get stamp back.

Good luck stampfinder, we are all here an will be waiting to hear about your "142". In the meantime can we see some of the other treasures that you were talking about in your first post. I would love to see them. and Welcome! - Jeff

I got my 142 back from Bill Weiss, he could not verify the grill, however stated there is a chance it could be an "I" grill, because it had characteristics of one, but was unwilling to state this as none are known on this value. He recommended sending it to another expertizing agency, so I will be sending it most likely to the APS to hopefully get a final opinion on what it is. The mystery continues...

I saw a 142, cancelled, without certificate sell on ebay a couple weeks ago. Sold for $498.00

Thanks for the update! I'm curious ... did he still charge you for the non-opinion?

Not my area by a long shot and I would suspect that if Bill wasn't comfortable confirming it had to be for a very good reason. The possibility that you have a 1 known of a certain stamp just went up in my opinion. I can understand that certifying this as less than it is because it likely isn't something would be wrong yet certifying as a 1 only would be sticking your neck out as well. Once you get back from APS you may need a safety deposit box or quickly up your insurance policy. I'll bet at APS there will be a bunch of eyes looking over others shoulders.

Didn't William Weiss used to be an expertizer for APS ? If he did not, could not or would not certify it then I doubt APS will. Remember that it's a small circle of expertizers out there and they all know each other very well and communicate with each other often. Perhaps you should consider sending it to PSE.

I based my last entry on an e-mail from Weiss, my stamp was still in transit. I have recieved the stamp and certificate with attached info. Certificate states It is a geniune 153, cleaned cancel, fake grill. The attachment with certificate says There are two pen strokes cleaned away at the top/back of the head in my opinion. It is a very interesting but difficult to analyze grill. After hard study, I have decided to state that it is a fake grill, however I am advising you to send it to another expertising service, as I beleive there is a small possibility it is a genuine "I" grill. I am unwilling to state it is genuine "I" grill because as far as I know, none have ever been declared genuine on a 24 cent value, but the grill does have some typical characteristics of an "I" grill, thus my recommendation to you.

Well that was interesting.. So do I send it to APS, PSE or PF.? I was thinking APS because I am a member and it might cost less.

If he couldn't determine 100% what the grill was, why would you say it is fake, why not say I do not have an opinion on the grill ?

I would love to hear some comments on this, before I decide what to do. Thanks

If you get a discount for being an APS member then I think it's the logical choice. At this point, what do you have to lose, a few bucks ? But if turns out to be a legitimate Grill then you've done well. Depending on the cost from APS, I'd roll the dice.

Several hundred dollars, I believe. But that's something you will have to decide; is it worth the gamble?

On one hand, if an authentic I-grill, you will have a unique stamp ... but it is still modified (cancellation removed) and in poor condition. The unique part would make it priceless. The other two factors will reduce that value to ... what extent, I do not know?

On the other hand, if Weiss is not willing to stake his reputation on this stamp, it's unlikely other expertisers will stake theirs on it.

Going back to the fake cancellation, if this was modified one way, what are the chances it was modified in another way? The possibility of a unique grill is highly dubious, imo.

Then again, who wouldn't want their name to be associated with one of the greatest philatelic finds of the 21st century?

Tough call. I'd be willing to spend someone else's $$ to have it expertised, but not my own. I'm simply not a gambler ...

Brian