Line Pair Finds Of The Day

ILS,

The $60 CV for a Scott 723 joint line pair is for an unused copy. My 2011 Scott Specialized shows the used CV as $5. Still a nice find.

Steve

I stated that I though? Thank you for the information tomiseksj!

Found this mint joint line pair mixed in with a bunch of used Prexies. A bit faded but still a great find.

I_L_S: Also note that your second line pair (3c Prexie) is not an #824 but an #842, valued as a used line pair at only 35 cents.

I'm WELL aware of the cat vs.RW prices and look at the date of that post. I gave these away along time ago as a gift to a friend along witha few covers he won from me. thank you though.

Don't be discouraged, Jeff. For some people the value of a stamp will ultimately always be measured in dollars. But despite all that, those pairs put my mind on a different path. Despite the appearances in the catalog, I wonder which is easier to find, a mnh line pair of any of these stamps, or a good used one. The catalog value reflects collecting fashion, which is to prefer a stamp design unobstructed by a cancellation. It has its place. Something less tangible, such as the romance of usage, gives rise to an appreciation of something more intrinsically rare, I think, but less in demand. There are times in collecting when it is best to move beyond the catalog, even at the risk of leaving convention, and those who prefer it, behind.

It is the cancellation on the 6c that connects for me the most, for it is the same blank double oval that was used by a clerk at a PO window who favor cancelled some stamps he once gave me for a reason I no longer recall. Those stamps were mint never hinged, and cancelled just as you see the Garfields here. It's a good personal memory.

I actually don't care one bit about catalog prices as they can be farcical at best sometimes, I just collect because it makes me happy and I love history so it is a perfect hobby for me. Thank you for the encouragement essayk I really appreciate it!

Essay_k and ILoveStamps. I couldn't agree more!! I bet if I put my collection up against other I would be considered the bottom feeder in catalog value, but I have fun and try to get every known cancel type in what I collect and in the nicest form. To me its like looking at good pieces of history and one day who know people will look at my collection and think of it as an art piece to.

I think those Garfields are perfect in ever aspect of how I collect. They are well centered and show very nice circle cancels. What more besides a SON(and thats open to personal preference) could you ask for on a used stamp.

I feel( and this is just my humble opinion) used collectors and cover collectors are collecting to preserve the postal history of how the service worked and delivered its packages verses the Mint collectors preserve the beautiful ART pieces these stamps truly are. We bot are needed and I feel just as important. So collect for the love not the money. Just remember collectors fancies change over time so what could be worthless today may be that rare item that everyone wants one day.

The very thing I was trying to say in another post about MNH versus used stamps.

Here's a Scott #384 Schermack type III with control pattern 149. Very rare in it's own right with only like 10 recorded copies. I trust the other 9 are found with common machine wavy line cancels. This Detroit circular cancel makes this a one of a kind piece.

kcaramat - What a nice STAMP! See and thats why I collect used!!
Detroit is not to far from me so I find that Extra cool. I live just down the road in Ann Arbor. Home of the University of Michigan.

kcaramat are you positive your Schermack type III "cut outs" are legit? The ones on the right looks a bit dodgy to me. Now I am bu NO MEANS any sort of expert but it's still a beauty!

kcaramat,
Although not as nice as yours and a different pattern, I was not aware they were all that rare; here is the one I have...
Don

Don

I recently completed an extensive survey on Schermacks with Control Perforations. A total of 3500 were reported. The results were published in a series of six articles in The United States Specialist between Feb and July of this year.

The purpose of the survey was to record data by Scott number to get a better understanding of the timeline of usage by pattern. This Census was by far the largest ever reported and a lot was learned, including a few new discoveries.

Your stamp is pattern 37 from the Babson Brothers in Chicago. They were a large mail order house. Assuming your stamp is a #344, there were 39 of those reported. If it is a single line watermark #384 it is a bit scarcer, as only 14 of those were reported.

My stamp is pattern 149 of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company. They sailed a fleet of passenger ships on the Great Lakes.

We are kind of hijacking this thread. I am sorry.

If someone would like to open a new thread on this subject, I'd be happy to share some of the things that were learned.