Is This A Placement/Guide Dot On 1851 3 Cent?

Would a guide dot be seen sitting this low? I'm hoping it is indeed a guide dot. That would place this stamp in the top row, eliminating nine other rows.

Yes, it is a guide dot and a top row stamp. Look at Plate 1i Right first if you are trying to plate it.

Thanks.
This week I'm going to pick up a copy of The 3c Stamp of The United States by Carroll Chase.

I see the Smithsonian offers prints of the reconstructed plates. Are there less expensive alternatives?

Edit: my $40.00 best offer was excepted on the Carroll Chase book.

sinclair2010,
It appears that you have identified stampcrow's stamp as a #10 from plate 1 intermediate from the right hand pane.

From the other thread: "Stampcrow, In case you didn't already know, the cancel on your second stamp is a NYC square grid which was only used in 1851. The stamp is guaranteed to be an 1851 orange brown 10/10A. It looks like it is a Type I, #10."

I do not reply in any manner to discredit you. I reply only in the hope that you share with us what is determinate for you to make the identification in this particular case. If one views the NYC grid cancel as genuine, then your logic of identification seems simple.

What I am most interested in is how to make an identification based on images shared over the Internet when no obvious clue exists such as a cancel only utilized on a single Scott #. Not only do you determine that it is guaranteed as either #10 or #10A, you also identify the particular plate and which side of it that this stamp was produced from.

stampcrow's stamp's image has low detail and seems to be a color different than "Orange Brown". Obviously color identification is difficult without calibration. I present an image that is a combination of his on the left and mine on the right which is a very near color calibrated #10A "Orange Brown":



Considering how inaccurate color reproduction exists in most scans and how under-detailed many scans are, how does one best identify a #10/10A based on images over the Internet? Would plating information be the most accurate and definitive?

DNA, I wonder if the cancel on mine is affecting the focus of the scanner? The color difference looks like you have a brighter light source.
Here are a few more from this collection. They seem to have that Orange Brown "warmth". I'm not sure they are, but they do stand out from the other three centers.

Edit: Looking at my bottom two stamps here, they also look lighter. This has me second guessing my initial judgment of them being OB. I think my eyes need a break from these...lol

I do believe that last cancel is a New York Ocean mail cancel...

billw2, I have a few of those. They have dates of Sept., Oct., and Nov. I haven't found much info on them. There is one on ebay, referred to as a clipper cancel. ??

The Chase book pdf can be accessed from here...

http://www.uspcs.org/resource-cente...nic-library/

Regards,
Stampalotapus

HDNA, Plating information or plate characteristics are pretty helpful. Rarely are scans good enough to plate from. With a decent scan you can combine the plate characteristics, impression quality or characteristics, and the color of the stamp to usually be pretty accurate in online identification. With the #10, I say Plate 1i Right because of the color and the fact that most Type I stamps come from the right pane of Plate 1.

Billw2, I am unaware of that cancel being associated with ocean mail. It is just one of the many NYC cancels that incorporate bars or slugs. The 4-bar cancel I think was used for about a year between late '51 and '52.

stampalotapus, I did see the USPCS download. I'm still a book in hand guy though. The copy I bought has some added interest. It's signed by Herman Herst Jr. I'm a sucker for this kind of thing.

Very nice acquisition for your library stampcrow.

Regards,
Stampalotapus

I'm hoping it'll make me smarter