Scott US 500

Family,

Do I have a Scott US 500 here? It appears to be a Type 1a to me.

Thanks,
Jack Kelley

Jack, the experts on these issues here can speak up, but the strength of the toga characteristics you are pointing at here are shared with type II, albeit the latter is only on rotary press stamps. But since you do not say whether your stamp is flat plate or rotary, that can't be ruled out. For a #500 you need to show the whole stamp including perforations if you do not provide a side by side with a known flat or rotary item in the same image as the target stamp. The latter is better, but not as two pics; i.e. both in a single pic so they are of the same scale.

Edit
here's a recent thread on this same theme:
https://goscf.com/t/41826

I'm in total agreeance with essayk... a full clear scan of the whole
stamp is needed... preferably at 1200dpi... although your stamp has
strong toga and rope characteristics, other types (as mentioned) do,
as well...

The side ribbons possess important defining Ia characteristics, as
well as the laurel leaves... additionally, the vertical line pattern
within the button on your scan more match those of the offset Types
V, Va, VI and VII... moreso the Va than the others as opposed to the
flat plate Ia...

The color also has to be defined as deep rose to be a 500, besides having to be type 1a and flat plate. You might get many different opinions on what type it is and what color. To muddy it up even more, There are 10 total characteristics to the design A140 2 cent for types I, Ia, II and III alone. If you can verify it as flat plate, I recommend 2 scans, one High res and one low res (for bigger picture), and you might get more agreeable opinions. But in any event, the only way, in the end, to tell if you have a 500 will be to get a cert.

But...it doesn't look like a type 1a to me because the lines between the bottom line and top line of the toga rope don't seem the same with to me, from that scan. Those shading lines of the toga rope have to be the same width all the way from the oval to the toga button for that single characteristic to qualify as a type 1a.


-IBFS

Totally agree... and the way it appears in the scan is nearly
a dead-on match to the offset Ty Va... (in addition to the toga
button vertical line pattern I previously mentioned)...

Hi Family,

Sorry for the delay in responding. Family commitments, you know.

Well, I have had a chance to re-visit my earlier conclusion. It turns out that this stamp is an OFFSET printing. At least, that's what the tin-foil indicates (to me). Further inspection of the nose show four dots in the third row above the nostril. Type Va? Disi123 thought so just seeing only a small portion of the stamp.

Please be patient with me. I am really trying. My order of operations is (1) check perf. (2) check FP, rotary or offset, (3) check watermark (4) consult 1847USA. Seems that I forgot step 2 prior to my earlier posting.

I've posted an upload of the whole stamp. I believe it is a Scott 528, type Va. Your comments will be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Jack Kelley

It's definitely not Va, but I'm not 100% sure what it is. Could be V or VII. Better scan needed.

If you look under the nostril and if there are 4 horizontal rows with 3 dots it's probably a VII. I don't think it's a V since it doesn't appear to have the broken line in the left 2. If it's not the VII then it must be the V with a stronger line in the 2.

Just my humble opinion.

I believe its either a VI or VII. Hard to be sure without a larger image. I'm leaning toward a VI. The "white" area between the corner of the mouth extending up to the nose appears a bit larger than on a VII, which has more pronounced coloring from the added dots of color, and I can't see the added color dots in the hair line the VII has, but that could be because of the small image. All speculation without a larger image to see the detail better.

my guess: VII

Now you're all making me doubt the credibility of my #500...no big deal really I'd rather learn an accurate lesson and be wrong about a stamp than to have a stamp in the wrong spot! I'll check mine and check back. Thank you.

Today, I listed a #500 on ebay as http://item.ebay.com/361224858784. Although the stamp has a minor fault, the starting bid is quite reasonable. I included 800 DPI images of the front and back and a close up of the plating mark in right ribbon. If someone wants a reference copy, or one for the album, this copy could be very affordable.

Clark
ebay ID: clarkphilatelics

So you are clarkphilatelics. We have done much business together. The name rings pleasantly familiar.


-IBFS

Many of us here have purchased several stamps
from Clark over the years...