R48d Silk Paper

Hello Forum. Just wanted to get a sense of the room about the R48d that is in the current Aldrich auction.

As it says in the description, it will be interesting to see where the market takes what may be the discovery copy of an up till now rumored stamp. It has a 2014 PSAG certification.

Without seeing a high-resolution image of the back, who knows. If it has a PSAG cert, presumably Eric and/or Richard have examined it in hand.

Aldrich opening bids are always incredibly high, as the majority of revenue lots are their own material, not consignments. It's the same business model that Apfelbaum uses. Looks like a real auction, but usually isn't.

Also, as with Apfelbaum, beware of inflated grades, undisclosed faults, and faked imperfs and part perfs.

I would not assume Eric or Richard have examined it unless you speak with them and they specifically say they have. Aldrich knows that one of the foremost experts on first issue revenues is also the lead expert at the PF, so it going to PSAG raises a red flag in my mind.
In the interests of full disclosure, I also expertize revenues at the PF.

"Also, as with Apfelbaum, beware of inflated grades, undisclosed faults, and faked imperfs and part perfs".

And potential fake silk papers and roulettes as well.

Another thing that bothers me-why not post the back of the stamp as well, since that is the money side? It would cost him nothing to post a second scan.

unless of course when it comes down to it, paper thickness and feel is more important than threads, which could be the case, at least on some d's? Still, it can't hurt to post a higher res image, sorely lacking in Aldrich's listings. Don't understand it at all.

Do the expert services (or experts for that matter) agree on what is necessary for a stamp to be an experimental silk?
It is my understanding that the PF will not certify as experimental silk without short red or blue fibers, but I saw an APEX cert on an M&M experimental silk with a black fiber, and no evidence to my eye of a red or blue fiber.

I agree with revcollector on showing the back of the stamp, something I think should always be done with silk papers.

The silk paper on first issues and the experimental silk paper on M&M's is the same paper, used by Joseph Carpenter at the same time. Essentially it should only have short straight blue fibers; occasionally a fiber will have some small arc to it. It should not be red or black, any fibers of either color should not be silk threads but fibers left over from the paper making process. It's also very important that the fibers be embedded in the paper, and not just be laying on the surface.
Genuine PINK papers usually have one or two dark pink or red fibers in them, I believe they are fibers from the package holding the ink which did not get pulped.

Instead of ink, I should have called it dye.

Paper thickness and feel are important, but fibers are the whole story on silk papers. Without them it is not silk paper, even if all the other characteristics are correct.