Taking Measurements

Are you looking for the rare U.S. Scott # 613 stamp?

i have 8 of these stamps and a couple are measuring different.
yes,, I am dreaming a huge dream.

Can you scan them all on here showing both their fronts and backs?

yes, I can scan them and post the pics...
I did not see your question before I had a brain melt and
put them away... I am actually dreaming about stamps.
and ready to let someone else have this mess.

The upper scale appears to be millimeters as well, with lines halfway between the shorter length .5mm lines of the bottom scale. If I am right the upper scale would be for measuring quarter millimeters: .25mm and .75mm.

I measured a franklin stamp the same way , and was told that I measured it wrong ..
So I am confused.

Gracie1125,

There are a number of good threads on the board about the elusive SC 613 and distinguishing flat plate from rotary printing.

Here is the most recent on the board: https://goscf.com/t/26945&SearchTerms=613

A search on this site will find more good threads.

For a more general reference, here is a link to one of my "go-to" sites. 1847USA.
http://www.1847usa.com/washfrank/pr...gmethods.htm br /

Maybe these will be of some help!
Dan

I am going to stick out my neck and say you do not have the coveted 613 rotary press stamp in the image you measured at the beginning of this post. If you were to slide your gauge downward the lines of equal length at the top of it will measure 22.25mm. I am not an expert on this stamp but it is easy to see that no matter how anyone places the gauge on this stamp, it will not measure 22.5mm which is needed for a 613. Looking at your photo, the right side of the left most line of the gauge is as far as you can go before have a white space between it and the design of the stamp. At this position the 22mm line covers the right (top) outer line of the design. Sliding your gauge downward a bit will show that the upper scale will read 22.25mm, a flat plate dimension.

I think the original poster (Gracie) was asking if the position of the gage on the stamp was correct to measure the height of the printed area. In fact, I think that the position of the gage is WRONG and should be moved over to the right, about 1/4 to 1/2 mm. I believe that you want the large, ZERO position to be directly on top of the first feature on the left side of the stamp, where the image begins ... not just to the left of where the image begins. Therefore, your stamp is a little shy of 22 mm.

placing the gauge directly on top is a possible positioning. Upon further consideration, I believe that the lines of Gracie's gauge are relatively wide and a better reading would result for the outer edge of the design to be exactly in the center of the line printed on the gauge. The position Gracie currently has yields a reading of 22mm. In other words read the gauge using the left side of both lines of the gauge or the center of both lines or the right side of both will yield the same measurement in all three cases. Using opposite sides of the lines of the gauge will not provide an accurate measurement.

gracie, save some aggravation and get yourself one of these precision u.s. specialty multi-gauge. will run about 16 bucks or so but will help you with many items you may have questions on.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Precision-U...250958941129

The image below is a the way to find out flat or rotary print. Simply place the frame inside the left corner brackets and you'll know quickly.

There is also the PHIL-A-METER gauge which costs around $3.50-$4.00 each by G&K Hobby Supplies which is Subway Stamps.

I use a Scott Multigauge which has very thin lines on the mm measurements. But eaglebub7 has an even better gauge with ability to check for rotary press measurements. I never saw that one before eaglebub7, thanks. The Phil-A-METER gauge appears to have very thick mm measurement lines.
Gracie, I would agree with eaglebub7's suggestion that a Precision US Specialty Multi Gauge would make your collecting less complicated and more enjoyable.