Imprint On Back Of Three Cent 1869

I played around with it a bit in Photoshop. Does this help?




That the text reads "[U]NITED STATE[S]" is pretty clear to me overall despite the fact that certain letters are mangled. And I do see the ball ornaments that Jerry referred to above the lettering, and a couple below it in the region of "ED"

So it does appear to be an offset transfer from a six cent. Perhaps one that was stuck to the reverse for a while, possibly by the residual of gum on the back of the three cent? Sometimes when that happens and the gum dissolves away the transfer stain remains.

[To get this expanded image required increasing the res to 600 dpi, then doing a horizontal flip and rotating the image 15 degrees clockwise. Using a low level sharpen filter and cropping got us what you see here.]

I want to thank you Essayk on the great work you did on this image. I knew this look like a 6 cent transfer and now you proved it to me. My next question for you is this something that could have happened during the printing of this stamp or added on by someone who wanted to enhance the price of a 3 cent used stamp? I also can see on your image on bottom one inch from the left side to the top of the right side that looks like a perf, the large balls that circle the 6 cent portrait of Washington on the 6 cent stamp. thanks again.

I disagree with offset transfer.....
Offset transfer would be in reverse....right to left.
not in "reading format"....left to right.

Are you basing your comment on the appearance of the original image, or my manipulated one, Kevin? My image has been flipped and turned and what not so the content can be recognized. Getting that across was the point of that last part of my post, but it is confusing I know. Nonetheless, go by the original image for matters of orientation.

essayk.....apologies.
I did not realize your image was flipped/turned???

I can't think of any way that the transfer could read as the correct orientation, so it must be an offset transfer. Which could have legitimately happened when sheets were stacked and the ink was still a bit wet causing an offset transfer such as we see here. However, that scenario defies belief because;

1. It doesn't seem logical that the printer would be stacking freshly-printed sheets of two different denominations;

2. The angle that this is offset could not logically have occured from stacked sheets (why would only a small portion of the design offset and why at such a sharp angle?).

Therefore, I vote for it occuring pretty much just as essayk says. A 6c stamp (or part of one) was stuck to the back of the 3c stamp and when removed, a part of the design transferred. As far as whether or not it was something that was intentionally created, I doubt it. Why would an ethically-challenged creator only make such a small portion of the design and why make such a poor job so that it took enhanced computer technology to "see" the offset correctly? So bottom line, it was an "accident" as outlined by essayk.

Thank you Bill, I agree with you and Essayk that offset transfer was a accident. Hope you get some golf in soon.

Golf? What's "golf"? It's been soooo cold here you can't even take a walk outdoors!