Ebay Find Curious 1 Cent Banknote Imperf??

Here is an imperforate 1 cent Franklin like a #134 but later ellipse cancellation and what appears to be a partial signature on the upper left hand side? Large die proof cut down maybe? Why the $9,999.99 price tag?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/IMPERF-OLD-...em3cc9d6e49b

It's a cut-down die or plate proof, cancelled by favor, worth $25 to $150 (at MOST) depending on variety. It is IMPOSSIBLE for it to be a bona-fide imperforate specimen of the regular (postage) issue, as the margins are far too wide. Pure ignorance.

I seriously doubt that it is a proof, the impression is far too worn and the paper does not appear to be a shaved card. It certainly is not India. It seems likely to be a straddle margin example that had very wide margins. A careful look at the margins appears to show that they were cut a little bit at a time, which is often a giveaway for a trimmed stamp. Might be worth a few pennies (and I do mean pennies) as a curiosity.

This is the same seller with this pretend "rarity".....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1932-Washin...em3cc9d04c52

Wow, that $1.4 million stamp takes the cake. It's just a color changeling.

HA! yeah I knew it wasn't legit but the paper looked right so thought it could have been a one off but the later ellipse cancellation gave it away as a possible favor cancel. I just wanted to to know about it from the pro's, Thank you.

Considering the distance between impressions (on the normal pane), and the exceedingly large margins on all four sides, it is hard to imagine that this is anything but a proof. I agree it is not India paper, but think I will stick with my original opinion. Also take into account the unfinished ornaments at top and bottom, or at least in the image, they appear that way.

They are not unfinished, they are worn away from plate use. Look at the portrait, you can barely see Franklin's features. You can clearly see how worn the plate is in the comparison scans with the group of other stamps the seller shows. There is no possibility that this is a proof or essay of any kind. Also margins always appear larger in a scan than they really are. And perforating was far from an exact science in those days, the occasional jumbo might easily occur, especially in a sheet margin example. This stamp might have been trimmed many decades ago, when an imperf was considered more interesting than a jumbo or a jumbo with a straight edge.

BTW, it's not a 134, it's most likely a 206.

If you go into the Philatelic Foundation site and search Scott 206, you will find several examples with jumbo margins that could create "imperfs".

http://pfsearch.org/pfsearch/pf_lkp...sionvars=yes

Not to mention that nobody would certify it as an imperf unless it was an attached pair. Purely a dreamer.

I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole but I would accept it if it were given to me though.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1932-Washin...em3cc9d04c52

You'd be amazed what types of rarities you can add to a collection; with the right amount of bleach and soak time