Not #246...not #247...not #279...what Is It?

Happy Hump Day All! Start the ball rolling here this morning...

I am having problems ID'ing this stamp. It is a perf 12, but based on the color, I don't believe it's a #246 (ultramarine) or #247 ((blue). Since it does not have a watermark, I don't believe it's a #279.

I grabbed it out of a local stamps store's shoebox for face value because I though the cancel being red and blue may qualify it as a 'fancy cancel'.



Looking forward to any time you can spare!

---

CardinalBass
Avid collector since November, 2011 (after a 20 year break)

Hi Cardinal
The IR indicates this was used as a documentary stamp. It's an 1898 SC#R154. It should have a double line watermark, but sometimes these are hard to see.

The IR stands for Internal Revenue.

Actually, it's an R154 Revenue Stamp with the "I.R." overprint in red, which is an overprint on Scott #279. Interestingly a Scott #279 would have a catalog value of $0.50; the R154 has a catalog value of $0.35.

Well what do ya know...right there in the back of the 'ol Scott catalog. Never thought to look back there! Well - I guess I could start collecting revenue stamps, too. There's only 734 of them...

Some of them are really beautiful!

Cardinal Bass

So innocently put!

Those are just the "general" revenues stamps...

then there are countless minor varieties...
then there are OTHER revenue stamps (stock transfers, proprietary, playing cards, cigarette...)...
and those have countless minor varieties...
and there are a whole lot more that aren't even listed in Scott...

You know what they say -- all it takes is one.

How come I collect worldwide?

-- Oh look, there's a neat US stamp on the envelope, I'll collect the used US stamps on the mail we get...
-- Oh, you buy these at the post office? I'll go visit...
-- Wow, you can get these things without the ink smudges on them! I'll collect unused US stamps, too...
-- Hey, how come they've got numbers on the corners of the sheet? I'll collect US plate blocks, too...
-- What, there's a new stamp coming out, and I can get a cover with a special postmark on the day it comes out?! I'll collect FDC's, too...
-- What's this letter from overseas? How come it doesn't have a US stamp on it? What, other countries issue stamps, too? I'll collect foreign stamps as well...
-- Hey, this isn't a real stamp! It's what? A Cinderella? You mean it was made by Disney? Oh, OK, I get it now. It looks like a stamp, and that's good enough for me! Guess I'll collect those, too...

Well, we all know the results...