Capped Two On US # 220

As I have nothing to actually look at, when I was going through a small assortment of this number, I pulled what might be the Scott listed plate defect. Would someone who has seen this flaw please let me know if I am on the right track or not.

First Scan = what I am taking as the normal stamp.



Second Scan is the stamp which may have the cap on the left "2" along with a blow-up of the corner.






Third Scan shows the stamp containing a Cap on both "2's" along with a blow-up of the area in the stamp.







I hope someone can tell from these whether or not I am looking for the correct thing.

You got it!

Nailed it!

Thank you for the confirmation.

It is a real bonus in this community when you are operating blind to have someone around that can pinpoint exactly what you are looking for. Things like this can be quite difficult when there is no guide photo or sample copy to refer to.

Anybody know the story behind the capped 2s?

Robert

These are relief breaks on Relief B, in two parts Break A = cap on left 2, Break B = cap on both twos, as identified years ago by Frank Stanton.


A recent book by Richard Morris, The Two Cent Stamp of the Small Bank Note Issue of 1890, (2003) discusses these relief breaks and others at some length, and he responds to the earlier work on the subject by Frank Stanton

I totally agree with that. Back in the 60s I looked for "Broken Hats" for ages without knowing what I was looking for. Once I met someone who had one and I saw it, picking one out was as easy as Pi. Having the internet and maybe a nice forum like this would have sped up the process immensely.

I still don't know what I am looking at. What is a cap 2? I can't see a difference from either stamp? What am I looking for?

right above the numeral 2 there is a slight "cap". Could be either the left side only or both 2s

Recently I finally had the opportunity to sort through well over 4000 Scott #220 that I've had sitting in a closet since the late 1970s. I found a fair number of #220A (cap on left) and #220C (cap on both) as shown below. I found only one 'cap on right'. My understanding is that the 'cap on right' is not a true plate issue but rather just an inking issue. Yet I see that a few have been certified as true cap on right and one was recently offered on ebay for $25k. The 1939 Scott catalog also listed this as a legitimate variety.

Given the obviously poor condition of the stamp I found, and the dubious nature of the 'cap' itself, I simply mounted it in my album and moved on.

Thank you for that post, 51studebaker. Very helpful! I have never seen a very clear or convincing example of the "cap on right two" variety, and this helps me understand why. That there were inking issues with the printing of that last stamp is clear enough from the errant slashes of color on the LEFT two (near its top). If the cap on the right two were like the others, the line of curvature you see printed between the cap and the numeral should not be there.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the relief break forms of a "cap" is the slight deformation of the upper curve of the numeral at the cap which is not separated from the rest of the numeral. That is not surprising considering that bits of metal had crumbled off the relief on the transfer roll, resulting in a cliché on the plate that was not fully cut as designed. But the cap on the right two is not shaped like the others and has a line of color that separates it from the rest of the numeral. It's a different animal.