At A Loss On Yet Another 2 Cent Washington...

I think I'm losing my marbles.

Someone please tell me why I cannot get this measured right and identified....

It absolutely measures 11.5 and not 11 at the top and 10.5 down the side....and none on the right and bottom. ....It looks used in such a way that it was like that when affixed to the cover (and the cancel ink settled into the imperf edge.)

I included a pic of me trying to measure it at 11 and 11.5.

Your thoughts? TyTyTyTy!!

Rotary Press Perforations from that day was not an exact science and it is not unusual to find some fluctuation in the exact perforation measurements. Checkout this previous link for a similar question that was raised sometime ago:

https://goscf.com/t/28068

The main cause was due to the paper water content, just prior to printing and uneven paper shrinkage after printing, as the paper dried

Ah, I understand....What do you mean stamp collecting is not an exact science!?!? You mean I'm going to have to get really, really, smart and savvy like you guys are? Just to go through these stamps with some kind of confidence! Ugh!

Thank you both so much!

Just takes some t-i-m-e and not being afraid to ask questions.

We have all , as one time in our collecting background, asked the exact same questions you are asking now; it takes time to learn. And at some point you may want to graduate from a "stamp collector" to a "postal historian."


Hal

Paper shrinkage doesn't make it wider. It is the perforating mechanism that was off. Yours was probably from a booklet(bottom right stamp). When you see two imperf edges meet it will either be a booklet or the corner stamp off a larger sheet on the preceding issues. That is one of many oddities in stamp collecting. On some issues compound perfs are worth a lot of money and others they ignore. But it is good you are checking them all. How else will you learn the in and outs to the secrets of philately.

Can I ask another dumb question? Am I using the perforation gauge correctly? I read through the post suggested by wt1 and I think I'm using it wrong. When measuring do the little black dots go between, or under, the perfs. Thank You Again (gosh I feel dumb

Excessive water in the paper causes warping of the paper.

While "science" of mechanical perforations is one thing, the "science" of printing is another. The effect of water content-in-paper, web tensions- starts and stops, plate roll pressures, press speeds, winding speeds, room temperature at time of printing and humidity, where and how print paper is cured/stored and more have a greater effect on the perforations.
1847BILL after you have done the railroad carloads -- the millions of pounds in paper of web printing I have -- when you have personally seen the effect of moisture content in water -- post-press --then you will have some authority on the subject.

I check it both ways. Either way should give you the same result. If you want extremely accurate measurements, it is suggested that the lined perforation gauge, such as in this example, will give much more accurate readings, especially for issues where you're looking at fractions of perforation variations such as 11 vs. 11.25, etc.:

http://www.amosadvantage.com/scotto...art_no=LIN01

A lot depends on your collecting interests and how accurate you want to be (or need to be) in order to identify stamps in your collection.

Perforation gauges in one form or another have been around for quite awhile. If you want to take a look at an "antique" check this out, said to be given to President Franklin D. Roosevelt by a 15 year old stamp collector:

http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/deli...t_gauge.html

One question from me...from everyone's impressions, does this look like a booklet pane lower corner, or the lower corner of a stamp sheet?


-IBFS

With the wide margin and no sign of a cut line, I'd say it's from a booklet pane.

Hal- You were also a printer? I apprenticed on a 5 color color king webb press and royal zenith heat set . I remeber those rolls and rolls and rolls . Hydraulic line on forklift (with special attachment for paper rols) let go and I dropped one from about 4ft up- when it hit the floor it split like a tree getting hit by lightning. Have to say the tensions, humidity and incredible speeds have great variances in the end products. If anyone has a chance to visit a newspaper press room (they often do tours) its a worthwhile trip and you'd be amazed.

That's a booklet stamp you may have a bit of trouble locating it because I don't think singles have their own designation.

Also - https://goscf.com/t/18606&whichpage=1

Now I have to ask another dumb question. Does an edge of a stamp sheet necessarily have to show a cut line?

If you look at my National Parks Issues there are (painfully) three perforated stamps with straight edges. Two have a line and one doesn't...

https://goscf.com/t/30541#30541


-IBFS