6 Cent Lincoln Bank Notes 148, 159, 186, 208

In the last year or so I started looking at 19th century stamps. A week ago I started looking more closely at the Bank Notes, and now can usually figure out the Scotts number.

It seems fairly easy to determine for the 6 cent Lincolns. Especially so with the re-engraved design. The shading on the left ribbon is usually obvious even on a thumbnail.

http://www.1847usa.com/1870/BankNote06c.htm

I've noticed that, especially on ebay, the 208 doesn't sell for as high a percentage of cat value as the other Bank Note Lincoln stamps do. Not even close. Even when properly listed and obviously a 208. It also seems like there are plenty of 208s out there, which makes me wonder about that $110 cat value. Am I missing something? Is this just an ebay phenomenon?

Condition, condition, condition. Only a very small percentage of bank note era stamps are well centered and sound. The Scott catalog price is for a very fine, sound example with a reasonable looking cancel. Unfortunately, the duplex killer cancels introduced in the late 1870s were much more efficient in obliterating the design by transferring lots of ink onto the stamp. Almost all of the examples sold on ebay are off centered, may be heavily cancelled and have defects, which may or not be disclosed by the seller.

Because so many stamps on ebay are not adequately described, buyers bid low because of the very real possibility that the stamp, even if it looks good in the scan, will be defective. There is such an oversupply of damaged and off center stamps that they sell at a small fraction of the sound, well centered price. For stamps like the 208, the Scott pricing guide underestimates the drop off in value because of centering. Heavy cancels are particularly unkind to the dull rose shade of many of these stamps. The deep brown red shades are much more desirable and should sell at a premium.

Owners of completely sound, well centered examples would do well to offer them as fixed price listings and avoid auctions, where realizations for sound stamps may be only about one third of retail, while prices for the worst stamps may approach or exceed fair retail. The flight from quality in ebay stamp auctions is almost complete. Junk attracts more junk.

Clark

If you want to see examples of this stamp, used and unused, that realized catalog or more, go to the Siegel auctions web site, in their Power Search section, and search on 208.

http://www.siegelauctions.com/lot_g...lledfrom=lkp " target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> http://www.siegelauctions.com/lot_g...lledfrom=lkp

Like a few of us, (I suppose) the 208 has long remained an open space in the album... {sigh}...

After reading this post, I got curious to see what was out there, as I hadn't checked in awhile, and came across this one, which I'm considering a snipe...

[Added Note] : I just messaged the seller to either add a backscan to his listing or send one, as I am noticing what (may be) some small creases on the left


http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-208-NG-/...em2ed57c4b89

The stamp is NG, which is fine with me... the stamp has reasonable value even without... the perfs look ok to my non-expert eyes... but I'd like to know what others see, that-perhaps, I do not...

Was it regummed? Do they have a back scan?

Hi, stampcrow... thank you for chiming in...

It's no-gum... and I've asked the seller to post or send a backscan...

Randall

Thanks Clark, you nailed it. That is exactly what I was trying to say. Factoring out more desirable fancy cancels, The 208s were lucky to get 10% cat. The other Lincolns in the same condition with the same poor centering could get 20 - 30%.

I agree that the quality on ebay is getting worse, even when you look at the higher priced examples. So where can I go ONLINE to find stamps with better centering than ebay, but not the "break the bank" perfection of Seigel?

Randall, I didn't look at mint so can't speak to those prices. For now I am limiting my 19th century to used.

Hi, Ray... when I went to ebay on my curiosity run,
I checked out the used copies... and there were some
with fairly decent centering...

Perhaps some of these were listed (or re-listed)
after the last time you checked...

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...8&_sacat=675

Randall

Disi123, Beautiful picture, as your usual and a beautiful stamp! Thanks for the post!

Hi, mud... thank you kindly for the compliment,
however I do not own this stamp... it's currently
on ebay... I'm considering purchasing it...

Randall

Thanks Randall, but I actually bought 2 used 208s. Not on ebay, on another site. They were sold as 159s, so I got them for $3 each. One might grade as fine, the other close to but not cut into the design and a pulled perf. That's what got me started on this whole topic. In just the week I've been looking, I've found quite a few Bank Notes that are obviously misidentified. And not just on ebay.

I'd like to hear how others feel about buying misidentified stamps. Do you tell the seller? Would it depend on the asking price? Also, when it comes to something like finding a Franklin curl or maybe a desirable plate position that you may or may not want to bid on, would you post it here? Or would you not mention it and either buy it or let another ebayer find the deal if you don't want it?

I go back and forth on this issue. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

Ray

With all the squawk recently about protecting buyers on ebay from naive or malicious sellers, that mis identify or mis price to the detriment of the buyer, I'm not sure why the same vitriol is not directed against those buyers that take advantage of seller misidentification. If the former activity involving the naive seller is unethical then certainly the latter activity is unethical as well.

In total agreeance with you on that one... however there's also
that instance where you receive it, and find out it's something
else... if it's to our detriment, then we're quick to move in
contacting the seller... but, when it's the other side of the
proverbial coin... (no comment)...

Not to 'toot my own horn', I make a very nice living and I don't
buy any stamps that are cheap (relatively speaking), and, in that
pricerange (so to speak) I couldn't live with myself in either of
the two scenarios...

In fact, the last I recall (before the purchase) was a seller whom
listed a very nice 500 as a 546. As memory serves, he had it at
around $75-$95... can't recall exactly. I messaged him and had him
make the correction, and I paid him $125 for the stamp, which was
fair (in my opinion) to both of us, and the seller was thankful for
the correction, and the extra money he received above his original
asking price...

There is an old saying that "successful stamp dealers must make enough selling to collectors to offset losses selling to philatelists".

Regarding the 208a pictured. Carefully check catalog values because unused examples are less than an ordinary 208. Conversely, values for used 208a are higher than for 208. Also, read the listings even more carefully because pale red brown is less expensive than deep red brown.

Clark

Hi, Clark... great line... I'll have to remember that,
should I ever decide to sell any of my "overage"...

May I please have your opinion on the 208 I have posted
above, which I am considering purchasing?

Thanks in advance...

Randall

At Stamp Smarter anytime we find a misidentified listing we try to contact the buyer; this includes telling them they have a higher value stamp than they thought; this has happened 4 times in the last 200 Reviews.
Don