Hi guys..I was trying to get Scott numbers for my American stamps, but got confused..Thing like "grill", etc..Can anyone help with the year and Scott number...Thanks.
With that bright color and the clean perf teeth and holes, I am more inclined to think its a #178, which looks the same as 183 but is on hard paper. To be sure we would need to see an image of the reverse where the light passes through the stamp.
We're looking for a mottled appearance due to the weave (aka "mesh") of the paper, but to see it the light must come THROUGH the stamp, which generally can't be done in a scanner. The subdued tone of the second image shows a rather fibrous/grainy paper, so with that I am more inclined to lean toward what the others are saying. But transillumination will nail it down. Here's why:
A #178 is on a thin, hard gelatin-sized wove paper that is quite bright when clean and shows little of its mesh. A #183 is on a much softer, dull appearing wove paper, with a different kind of sizing agent. It shows the mesh pattern very clearly on transillumination. However, much of the time fibers will be seen protruding from the tips and troughs of the perforations on a close look at soft paper. This appearance is much more subdued on the thin hard paper.
It was the absence of protruding fibers and the brightness of its appearance that led me to think it might be hard paper. In the altered lighting of the reverse scan, the paper does not show the kind of "brightness" typical of hard paper, and the surface of the paper has a roughness not typical of hard paper. Go ahead and group it with the issue of 1879 as a number 183. If on transillumination you do not see a weave pattern or mottled appearance, and the light comes through rather brightly, then you can be sure it is a #178 and relocate it with the issue of 1875.
That's pretty neat information essayk! I knew that stuff once, but like everything I probably forget more than most remember! lol Thank you and nice vivid stamp too! Congrats!
To elaborate on what essayk is saying hold the stamp with a pair of stamp tongs and hold it up to a light source with the stamps back facing you and look for the indicators.
Hard white paper:
Soft porous paper:
This is a helpful site and also who owns the above images..
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Posted 08/11/2014 8:02 pm
