Odd Perf Count On 2cent Washington?

OK I was pouring through a pile of Washingtons this morning and found this little devil. It's been giving me a headache so I thought I'd just ask the experts as it were. It's perf count is 10½ X 10. I know about shrinkage but it measures exactly so? It has a single line watermark a very nice and distinct P a little off center and I believe it may be up side down too. The vignette measures 19½mm X 22.½mm. Any clue as to what this may be?

Reperforated, probably on all four sides.

Here is the reverse also just in case you need it.

Possibly could be an attempt to fake a 539 from a 454. Your scan looks like it may be a Type-II (Cancel is obscuring some of the characteristics). Top perfs. look to be running down hill right to left and the bottom perfs. seem to be running level. Also appears to be a joint line on the left side showing through the perf. tips. Probably a 454 re-perf'ed at top and bottom in an attempt to make a Type-II 11x10 539. 454 is a S/L watermarked stamp and 539 is unwatermarked, if you are going to try a fake a 539 its unlikely you would use a 491 (Type-II unwatermarked 10-vert. stamp) to make a 539 because 491 has a pretty good catalogue value on its own. Checkout the information given on the 1847USA sight regarding W/F compound perfs. faking. Can't be a 425 as noted on back if it is a rotary press stamp (19-1/2 x 22-22-1/2). There are no imperforated Type II or III rotary stamps that could have been used to fake a 539 so, only a coil could be used to do that. That's what it looks like to me---perhaps other with more expertise may have other thoughts on this.

I'd say reperforated in an attempt to pass it off as something else? There should be paper fibres on the perfs, shouldn't there? (or perhaps it was just cut with scissors)

It looks like a Type I rotary (Scott 453) fraudulently perfed top and bottom.

What do you think they practiced on before they worked on a $5.00 Columbian, let alone a 90¢ Lincoln of 1869!

well at least I know I'm not completely crazy yet! Thank you, mystery solved. (I'm tossing this in the bin)

You might consider donating it to the APS or another expertising service as a reference copy?

Don't toss it, keep it for reference. Collectors should always keep fakes that they come across as a learning tool.

Look at the left frame line; at the top, it points to the "center" of a perf hole. Now look at the bottom. This is not always foolproof, but it's a good sign of reperfing.

If by that you mean that at the bottom it is not pointing to the center of a perf hole, it is not supposed to. Actually if two opposite rows of perfs line up exactly, THAT is a bad sign. The perforating wheels rotated independently and the combination of friction, the sharpness of the pins and the exact angle of the paper feed would throw them off a bit. Look at a group of good scans from an auction or ebay and see how the perfs usually run.

I am sorry to say that everybody at the local club must have been wrong about this, five years ago? An item in the mini-auction led to a heated discussion. I'll take your word for it.