2 Rare #594 1-Cent Franklins?

I BELIEVE I have 2 Rare 594 1 cent Ben Franklins. I live in North Dakota and have been unable to find a stamp authenticator in the tri-state area. I have a few stamps I need to get verified and do not know what to do. Sending them in the mail to someone sounds rather stupid to me, so I haven't gone that route. Anyway, back to my stamps (pictures provided). I have spent most of the day trying to disqualify the possiblity that I have not 1, but 2 very rare U.S. stamps.
They measure 19.25 x 22.75 cm. (I used a digital caliper to verify. The stamps are both 11 x 11 perferations. I used the perf gauge and also used the digital caliper to count 11 perferations in a 2.0 cm line.
Now, is the one with St. Joseph, Michigan a first day cover or first flight(maybe that is just on air mail, hah)? That stamp doesn't have any gum on it. The other is a lightly cancelled version.
Both stamps appear to be a a kind of beige paper, rather than the normal white/off white color.
I have been collecting for a few years and have always gotten frustrated with the Washington/Franklin stamps. If anyone has pertinent knowledge (or even educated guesses are good for now) of other possiblities that I may be over looking please chime in. Also, if anyone knows someone in ND or Minnesota, South Dakota that would be a verified authenticator please let me know that too.
Thanks in advance for your help





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Hi Blondiebhot and welcome to SCF

I know zero about this stamp so I can't ID it, but as far as your other question:


In order to qualify as a first day (or first flight) cover, your stamp has to be attached to an envelope and postmarked with the official first date of issue of the stamp (or date of flight). Your St. Joseph, Michigan stamp is known as a precanceled stamp, which is a stamp that has been cancelled before being attached to an envelope for mailing (normally done to save the post office time when sorting the mail).

Well sending it in is the only way to be 100% certain about what you have. I suggest Bill Weiss' $5.00 I.D. service then if you do have one (or two) you can worry about paying for a certificate for each of them.

Just an F.Y.I. here: You would NEVER be able to sell them without a certification.

Now I could be wrong as I'm no sleuth on these particular issues, but the first stamp with the natural straight edge could just be a left margin copy instead of a booklet pane, so unsure on that one. Here are my best guesses.

1st Bluish green - #632a booklet pane single

2nd #552 or #632 need to see scan of back to rule out flat plate press printing

If they was the elusive #594 they would measure 19.75 x 22.25 and not what yours measures.

Below is a snippet from the 1847 site to illustrate why I thought they are what they are..

http://1847usa.com/1922identifier.htm

Also here is a Siegle's power search info for you- http://www.siegelauctions.com/lot_g...rade=&symbol

Do you know how to tell "flat plate vs rotary" printing??

Yes I do. there are at least two ways. 1.) comparative measurements 2.) look at the reverse and look for any traces of ink offset from when the sheets was stacked to dry from the press.

ILS...
not you...the original poster.

Check the back side of both stamps. There is probably some green ink off-set, from the sheet these came from, being stacked on top of another sheet before the ink completely dried on that sheet. Any green ink dots, partial lines, partial design, etc. would indicate that these stamps are flat plate printed stamps. The process for rotary printing was such that off-set ink didn't occur but very rarely, and if so, very minutely. #594 was produced by the rotary printing process, so there should be no off-set.

What you have are probably #552s. The one with a straight edge could be a #552a, from a booklet pane. I have several #552's, on and off cover, that measure the same as what you are measuring. Design measurement as well as perforation measurement are not an exact as noted in catalogues and references. They are a close approximation.
Paper production methods and moisture content prior to printing, the printing processes, post printing conditions of storage and I guess other factors can effect and do effect varying degrees of paper shrinkage etc. I've been down this road about size measurements with a couple of the experts and they petty much agree that measurements are not exact and also not complete determining factors regarding any one stamp.

If you feel confident enough that you have a #594, you will need to mail it off to one of the expertizing services to get an expert opinion. As suggested, Bill Weiss will take a look at it for a reasonable fee and advise you if you should pursue a certification further. Sending the stamp by registered mail is as safe as you can go by mail. I definitely use registered mail most of the time. Certified mail is a bit cheaper and probably will work too.

There is a least one conversation regarding possible #594s previously posted on this site. You can search for, find them and read what's been noted before.

Hope this helps some. I'm sure others will have additional information to add to this to help you with you determination.

Hi:

Maybe if you used a few more ????????? in your subject line, you'd get faster answers?

Welcome to SCF. If you haven't already done so, don't forget to introduce yourself in the introductions forum.

KirkS

WT1 basically nailed it.

Neither of these appears to be the rarity. Bear in mind that the rare #594 and #596 are worth a fortune because they're extremely rare. EXTREMELY rare. Hundreds of them were printed as opposed to BILLIONS of the common types.

The differences are very slight, but they're irrefutable. We do get posts on here on a very regular basis from people who think they've found one. I'm not aware of a new one being discovered in many years.

These are surely SC: 552's. Seeing the back side would be helpful. 552's will have slight specs of green ink on the back. Measuring with a ruler or caliper is usually wasting your time.

@Kevin504 - Oh sorry I thought you was referring to me. lol

@billW2 - Wasn't wt1 but Al E. Gator (same avatar and I get them mixed up too.)

Oops.

We need more avatars around here.

Regardless, it's the "OMG I FOUND A 594/596 AND I DONT CARE WHAT YOU PEOPLE SAY OMGF OMFG OMG OMGZ" thread of the week.

Seriously, we need a sticky about these rotary press 4th bureaus.

Both stamps are flat plate 552 singles. The straight is a 552a booklet pane single. Novice, and some experienced, collectors have confused booklet pane singles with rotary press coil waste. Flat plate booklet pane singles are slightly wider and shorter than sheet stamps because paper grain is horizontal instead of vertical. Rotary press horizontal coils are much wider. For comparison use a common 597 coil stamp in a lay down test.

Flat plate stamps shrink across the grain while drying after printing causing sheet stamps to become slightly narrower and booklet pane stamps slightly shorter. Perforations are not affected because they are not applied until after sheets are gummed.

The imperforate margin of the straight edge would be wide enough to show the guide line if it was a sheet stamp or the joint line if it was rotary press coil waste. The shade of the stamp is a flat plate shade, not seen on rotary press printings of the period.

Clark