Scott # 91...??

Hi guys...Getting a little better with American stamps (ya right..haha)..Any ways I think this is a Scott #91, it was a grill of 14x17 and a perforation of 12x12...Cant be a Scott 85f, so it must be a Scott #91 I think...Help Please.


Robert

The stamp has an E grill. Although it may have a small thin close to the left side (right side on the back), it is fairly well centered for the issue. It needs a small amount of TLC and maybe a bath to remove the left over hinge gunk below the top margin. Check the front first before dipping the stamp in water to make sure that the gunk isn't hiding some sort of water soluble repair. Also, make sure the blue doesn't quickly dissolve into the water. Use a large enough container and maybe change the water. If your water has a lot of chlorine in it use distilled water. Cleaned up, even with minor defects, the stamp has some value. Off center copies, even if sound bring very little in the marketplace.

Clark

Thank you cfrphoto...Scott # 91 it is then.

Robert

one more question if I can..I tried to measure the grill...I get (with a lot of frustration) 11x 12..Which is not in the Scott catalouge...Whats going on..??

Is there an easier way to measure grills..?

Robert

Count the points to determine how many vertical columns and horizontal rows there are. Partial rows may exist at the top or bottom of an E or F grill while a Z grill may have a partial side row. Trying to measure a grill with an ordinary ruler is futile. It may be possible using a 10x Peak scale loupe (with a reticule scale to the nearest 0.1 mm).

Clark

Back in the 1970s I had a rather large glass lens I wanted to use as a special supplementary lens on my camera. I designed a mount for it and took it to a local machine shop to have it mounted up in a cylinder with a screw thread so I could attach it to the front of my camera lens. After they had it all put together they told me that their equipment required that the pitch of the threads would be in English units while the camera lens from Japan would be metric. They warned me that I could screw it into the lens part way, but that I should not force it. The threads did not match.

I tell this story because it taught me that when you get down to small spaces, the differences between metric units and English ones can matter. The grills were machined in English units of measure, so measurements in tolerances of .1 millimeter will get close but don't expect things to line up precisely.

Wow...I am even more confused..Maybe I will put it away and try it later..Thanks guys.

Robert

Again, forget measuring. Just count the points across and down. The Scott catalog lists the expected row counts under each grill type.

Clark

Thanks guys for you help..Even though I still dont know the diffrence between an "E" grill and a "Z" grill....haha

I looked at the grill, there were 2 identifyiers..one was the grill, which mine is 14x17 which is probably that Scott #91, but a Scott #85F" (ya..i am dreamng). has the same counts...

Except that the points on a "Z" grill (85F) run horizontally, like this -------- whereas on the "E" grill (91) they run vertical, like this '''''''. There are good pictures of the different grills on 1847USA (Stamp Smarter) or Swedish Tiger websites.

A Z grill should have 18 rows, not 17 as erroneously stated in some older Scott US Specialized catalogs. Also, most important is that the horizontal "half" row at the bottom (or top) is a marker for an E grill. When a Z grill has a "half" row, it will be vertical on the left or right side.

Clark

Ok...I think I am catching on now...Thanks Bill and cfrphoto.

Robert