E.f.o Help

Does anyone know what might have happened in the printing process that caused this blotchy ink?

Worn/damaged plate or over inking. not uncommon but that is rather severe. Maybe someone else is familiar with this type of thing? Really neat find!

I was thinking maybe combination of either over inking and possibly debris some how interfered as well??

Given the elliptical shape, it almost looks like a smudged fingerprint.

Tom,
That was my first impression when I found it.

I looped it and scanned it but I can't find any fingerprint ridges..you would think some sort of print would be left behind. Maybe an insect got smashed into the print?

Change of subject (hope you don't mind) : You(597596) posted a color indicator for a stamp(scott #219 ) from a book. What was the name of that book and where can I get one?

....

Thank you

Can you look at the back of the stamp? Ignore any part of the cancel that may have bled through. Is there a "spot" (maybe like an oily residue/stain) where the blotched ink would be?

khj,

I inspected the back with the naked eye and a 30x loop. The only thing noticeable would a faint bleed through of green ink, but I can't really I.D. anything that looks like an oily spot. What should I look for, maybe I'm missing something. What are you thinking might of happened?

Over the years, I've seen a very small handful of older stamps that had similar appearance on the front (you can notice stamp ink has almost "flowed" a little, even beyond the frame). When I turned them over, I noticed a small round/oval shaped paper discoloration -- almost like an oil stain/absorption. It looks a little like bleed-thru from some of the older German postmarks that used oily ink, except without the black color. It would also glow different under filtered UV light.

It looked like some liquid dripped on the stamp and interacted with the ink. I don't think I kept any examples, as I didn't want to risk whatever it was transferring to other stamps.

If you don't see any sort of oily stain on the back, then disregard my question. It would be something else. I'm thinking the plate may have gotten just a little gunked up in that spot -- just guessing.

I agree with Steve that it may be a fingerprint. With the large top margin this is almost certainly a top row stamp which would have a greater chance of getting fingerprints whem being removed from the press.

Just a thought - Could it have been caused by uneven roller pressure or even a slip? Almost looks like the ink is all being pushed . If it were plate damage you would think it would be well noted in scotts . Nice find even without explanation.