Fancy Kills

Before I found this forum I thought these black blobs were probably the scourge of the stamp world. Since then, I've learned each has a different meaning and importance, and I have a entirely new appreciation for them.

JessEm....Unfortunately most show major damage.
The best item in both photos is the 24c Washington
in the 1st photo....3rd row.
It actually looks the best of all shown.

A hint: when scanning stamps they show better when viewed on
a black background. Either scan in a stockpage or cover
with black construction paper (or similiar)

Thanks for the tips kevin. I would've posted a Scott 121 in this group as well but I think a dealer stole it from me on Thursday. :(

"but I think a dealer stole it from me on Thursday."

Whaaat? If so that's no dealer, or at least not one who knows how to stay in business.

Sir, My understanding is he's been in business for quite a while. Someone at the Northern Philatelic Society here in Minnesota referred me to him.

One thing that really gets me is that I do not know which version it was. Someone a long, long time ago felt it was special enough to make it one of only 3 stamps among hundreds and hundreds in the book to have it's own small glassine holder. We all know what the odds are that it's the inverted version, but this book is dated 1910 and this is how these things are found... It's just really annoying.

I really wouldn't care who refered the guy, if he stole from me, I'm sure that I would have rasied a conciderable uproar!

As far as the 121 being special enough to merit a small glassine of it's own, just being a 1896 pictorial is enough to sepertate it from the rest that you showed.

Believe it or not, this does make me feel a little better. :)

Yes, a considerable uproar would be in order had I noticed it was missing right away. However, I took them to him on Thursday, and it wasn't until Saturday night that I discovered it missing. He and my wife were the only people with access to them, and be assured, it wasn't my wife. He is actually the only person I've ever shown them to.

At this point I'm not sure what I'm going to do. My wife thinks I should call him, just to let him know it's missing, and to let him know I know it's missing...

The approach I'm leaning toward is a little different. I'm thinking I should not let him know I know, and then watch his auctions for it... I thought about calling the police just so there's a record if it does show up, but I suppose this post will suffice for that... The problem with this approach is that IF it was the inverted version, and that's a big IF, I think the chances of him making it available in a public sale is around zero.

My favorites of the bunch are row3-#2, row4-#2, row5-#1

Here's a couple more I found. Again, not for the mint collector but neat never the less. So are these called kills? Or cancels? Or are the terms interchangeable?