R1 R3A

I think...

This is almost certainly trimmed from a perforated stamp.

I dont think so. How could border be so big if trimmed. All my stamps were collected from my great grandather the collection is very extensive and well documented by him. I also have baseball cards and tons of tobacco cards. Not much to do as a kid back then. Why would someone cut down a stamp that long ago?

First off, the margins are not big. The scan makes them look a bit bigger than they are. Only the bottom margin has any real size, and that could easily be the bottom sheet margin. Sheet margins were not always perforated, so not having any proves nothing. The color and impression are also wrong. While it is never a good idea to put a lot of stock in colors from a scan, this stamp is too dark and the impression does not look right for an imperf.
People were already altering stamps over well 100 years ago, for the same reason they have always done it: to try to make it worth more money when selling it to some unsuspecting collector. I have spent 40+ years studying revenues so this was not a snap decision on my part.

this will go to Bill Weiss with my 108 and 172

We will be curious to hear Bill's verdict - please keep us posted.

I would never buy it as a legitimate R3a. In my opinion, while the top and bottoms margins are such that it might possibly be an R3a, the left and right margins are too narrow for us to know for sure... therefore it should be considered as NOT being an R3a.

The margins fall into the area of "we have no way of knowing for certain", so it must be treated as not an R3a. The stamp needs to stand on its own merits, in other words have factors sufficient to preclude it being an altered R3b or R3c.

Also, as Bart mentions, the color (assuming the scan is accurate) is not what I would expect from an R3a. It is too red, indicative of a later printing. In fact, if it were fully perforated, I'd probably be checking the reverse for silk threads...

More than just margins come into play, as the quality control from that era was notoriously poor. Perf/margin freaks abound. See my discussion about an R3b here:

https://goscf.com/t/19117

I agree with the rev guys.. I think it is a trimmed stamp.


I am not a revenue expert, (but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night)

Did you pay the 2 cent tax on the room receipt?