PSE Cert

What's wrong with this cert?

Art

An expensive acquisition for a worthless stamp?

we must be browsing the same listings :-) I just saw this too. it's definitely not a Scott 24. I think it's a Scott 20.

Matt

I had that stamp on my watch list for several days. It is a Scott #20. All of the people out there that put the so-called experts on a pedestal should take note. This time the owner is the one that got shorted. Sometimes it is the buyer.

I had this on my watch list too. Just checked it again--item has been ended.

The middle looks different than the top and bottom. Are those just fold lines?

can someone post the ebay item #.....

Kevin,

151229410629

winston...thanks.

At 45 yrs old I have told myself I will by 60 be able to differentiate the way you guys can on this series. That leaves me 15 years and alot of questions and reading . I would normally start a new post but this item has ended and I am hoping these couple can be ID'd here . Thanks for the assistance. I apologise for the small image sizes.

nitrolures, posting larger scans of each stamp will help getting proper IDs. The top one is probably a #9 re-cut on top, maybe on bottom. Can't tell about the bottom stamp without a better scan.

unfortunatly these are cropped out of a group lot. Pretty wide range but everytime I see these in a group I wonder.

It is indeed a Scott number 20 and NOT a 24, as has been pointed out by several knowledgeable forum members. I spent $30.00 for this item. I didn't buy the stamp nor did I want the stamp, I wanted and bought the cert, the stamp just came with it. I wanted to insure that it's in my hand before I said too many things concerning PSE.

Now that it is in my hand, this is the 2nd time that I know of that PSE has made a grievous error in their pronouncement. This is just a blatant error on identification and the other was concerning a slabbed #293 my wife bought for me several years ago as an anniversary present. The 293 has several faults that weren't apparent thru the plastic. Both times PSE put their name on the line with their judgments. It is my intention to distribute this image to several forums and collectors as I can. Personally, I have no respect for anything having the PSE logo attached to them. I would suggest to all others to insure that a PSE cert in their passion have the item correctly described. I am sure that PSE has correctly identified many of their items, in my case its 33% correct. It's not that I won't purchase another item with a PSE cert it's that I will triple check their description and then check it again and I will never purchase a slabbed item from any company. Now, if PSE want to purchase this item back from me, it is for sale.

Art

In their defense, having to certify all of those Superb and Gem 3c and 4c stamps from the 1940s and 50s doesn't leave much time for them to focus on any one item...

Art,
I've always wondered why there is not a 'body' who monitors or at least tracks the records of those who provide this service. Other than word of mouth how does one understand the likelihood that a cert is accurate? How can a person determine if there is there a difference between the various services? Everyone makes mistakes, but how can a person tell if there is an on-going accuracy issue with one of them? Obviously the staff of examiners can make a big difference, and its possible that some get fired/hired across some of these companies. Is there a way to track this by a specific examiner?
don

Don,

As far as I know there is no record of which company provides the more accurate cert. That is left up to the individual and their own experience. Thru purchases and some that I have submitted myself, I suspect that I have a couple of hundred certs in my files, from Bill Weiss, PF, PSE, Duporto and PSAG. I wish they all would have more descriptions of defects, types and markings but the only company that I have had an issue with is PSE and I only have 6 from them.

I'm sure that everyone makes mistakes but not blatant errors of identity or significant omissions. And collectors need to hold them accountable. As a certifying company they should double check every cert that comes across their desk and if they don't catch the error or omission then that makes the cert worthless. I don't mind paying the $$ for a cert because I'm only submitting it for confirmation or for resale. But some collectors are just beginning to collect and don't know how to check some numbers, they just want that piece of paper and rely on the company to identify it correctly.

All of us should point out cert errors or those with significant omissions to the stamping community and hopefully, this will force
those companies to improve their standards. It must be embarassing?

OK, I'll get off my soapbox.

Art