1c Franklin Blue - Would This Be A Type II?

Starting to try and get some kind of handle on the 1 and 2 centers. This was marked Type II but to my eye it looks more like a III, but it also looks like a lot of the design is missing. How am I reading this wrong?

Comments appreciated.

Looks like a type 5 to me since most of the right side design is missing, and there are the typical type 5 scratch marks on the right.

BTW, a very pretty stamp!

orstampman is correct. It's a "D" relief Type V, from either the 4th row of the plate, or from the 8th row of the plate.

Hope this helps....Ray

Gentlemen, thank you very much. I see I've a lot to learn on just the W & F stamps. ray.mac, if I might inquire, what does 'D' relief type V mean?

Walkabout, Type V stamps of this issue have the side ornaments (especially at the right) partly erased (see red arrows). This was done to increase the space between stamps on the plate to accommodate the perforation process. A tell-tale sign of Type V are the scratches especially on the right side (see black arrows) that resulted from the design erasure process (although not all Type V stamps have these scratches). Note: All Type V stamps have wide breaks in the top and bottom frame lines, but the incomplete side ornaments "trump" the broken frame lines in determining the Type. There were six design reliefs used to create the plates that produced Type V stamps, designated A through F. The pattern of side scratches on this example are typical of Relief D. You can find a treasure trove of information about this stamp issue in Mortimer Neinken's book The United States One Cent Stamp of 1851 to 1861 for free at the USPCS website: http://d2jf3tgwe889fp.cloudfront.ne...okmarked.pdf

dudley - Thank you for the specifics. Yes, it was the ornaments that had me questioning whether it was a Type II (I'm still not looking at the whole).

dudley - speaking of not seeing the whole, yet, I just now saw the whole of your comments. :-) Thank you for the design relief and reference information.

You are most welcome. And I agree with orstampman that this is a lovely specimen!

Ray.Mac does a great job explaining how to identify the 6 reliefs (A-F) of the Type V in this thread: https://goscf.com/t/34436.

I referred back to it many times until I finally remembered all the variations.

Much like the 10c 1857, the Type 5 1c stamp can be told at a glance by the huge side margins.

raymodj - Thank you for posting the link to that thread - another bookmark! If I had a memory, I would be dangerous, so I'll keep the bookmark in an easy to find spot. >;>

billw2 - Again, having to consider the whole and not just the parts. I sure hope that someday that sinks in.

walkabout, the members here have provided you with great information that I cannot add to. I just want to say that your willingness to learn impresses me. Many here also do so but I don't always find an opportunity to congratulate them. I enjoy reading your posts and I learn from the results of them. There are many here that are willing to educate and I thank them for educating me regardless of doing so in an indirect manner. This forum continuously amazes me. Thank you everyone.

Historical DNA Collector - Thank you, I'm glad my questions can and might help others, too. A person can learn from anybody. Everybody can contribute information and knowledge of how to use it. Sort of like a chef once told me, "I can teach you how I cook, but how you cook is from what you learn from everybody and then take what works for you".

There is an tremendous amount of knowledge and information on this forum and the folks willing to share. It used to be like this with the local clubs (pick a hobby), let's hope it continues on into the future.