Question About Scott 501/502 Washington

Finally got the Washington/Franklin bug. Picked up a few collections recently and am tackling the identification process to see if I can add or upgrade any of my current ones. The one on the left I identified as 501 and the one on the right has the same perf 11 which should also make it a 501. The color is really throwing me off though. I don't have any tin foil to check for offset but I think I can feel it with my fingernail. Any help?

thanks

Left one looks like offset Type IV. Right is hard to tell from the image but portrait oval looks Type II. A high resolution scan of toga rope and inner portrait oval would tell.

Just visually checking can be done. The offset is a little smaller frame than the flat plate or rotary. Also there isn't any color(ink) on the back of the offset or rotary stamps. The right stamp has a weak toga line, weak shading in the toga button, and is a type I. The left stamp has a strong toga line and shading. Also it appears the "P" & "O" are connected. That is indicative of the type IV offset. Compare the frame height and width of the two stamps. If the type I is larger then the left stamp is a offset type IV.

Thanks for the tips guys.

The one on the right was in the spot for 501 in an album I had bought. I was always under the impression that the offset stamps had duller colors so I never considered the one on the left to be offset.

Lots to learn - thanks

The purple 3 cent offset are pretty common and easy to spot. The 3 cent stamps in general are a good place to start in the Washington/Franklins. When you start on the 2 cents have a large glass of water and a bottle of aspirin. I made the mistake of drinking rum. After a while I poured the rum out and hit myself over the head with bottle. It took a good year to finally feel comfortable knowing which 2 stamp was which. The easiest way I found is separate by perfs. Then separate the offset(get some cheap thin foil). Then separate the flat plate from the rotary. I had thousands and maybe more that were all mixed.

LOL

That's how I've been sorting so far, by perfs, then watermarks. Still haven't made a rotary/flat plate gauge. Maybe I'll do that tonight. I'll try to grab some tinfoil at lunch today too.

An easy way to "feel" if the stamp is offset is to lightly drag the tip of your stamp tongs across the face of the stamp. The offset will be smooth and the tip will easily glide across the surface. If you can feel the ink ridges it is not offset.

The best device I found was this Sonic Imagery Labs Precision US Specialty Gauge. Some of the differences will be .5 mm or less. There are others and I don't sell them but they will define the measurement differences to help you from making mistakes.