Identify This Stamp Please.

I still don't know enough about these issues but, is it me or is there something wrong with the perfs on the stamp?

I have got some more other ones with simulair..well sort off, odd perforation looks.

And another one I cannot see that easy what number this is exactly.

Top and bottom are perf.10
The sides are actually 10 1/4.

But because the image is a bit longer then the
normal 3 cents I guess it is rotary...

Thanks in advance.

Clean looking perforations like the ones on the first picture usually indicate that an affixing machine was used to put the stamp on the cover.

Peter

Hmm.Have to google the machine then. Never seen it before. Guess its common, looks like I have some more.

Thanks Peter! :)

Ahaaa..

I have looked at the mail o meter before.
As I found some of those also. Never thought that this might have been done with the affixing machines. Quite some story's about them I found quickly on the net btw. Very interestng!

Thanks again.

Got an new question again.

Boston pre filataly..?

You are correct, if pre philately means before the stamp. The cancel is not easy to read due to the angle of the photo, but can you get the date out of the letter?

Peter

Thanks peter.

I will make a close up on the cancel. And pictures of the letter to see. Mayne also interesting to take a look at.

The CDS reads:
BOSTON // 9 DEC // 5 cts

remco - If you carefully unfold the letter, you may find the year at the top of the text. Content is just as important as condition in this area of collecting.

Washington coil - While the perfs seem to be OK when Srail tested, the straight-edges are not parallel and it appears that there is evidence of a perf hole at bottom left corner.

Washington precancel - The perfs look ok under a Srail test and it looks like it is perforated 10x10.

kollectorkurt - You might want to make a list of stamps that could be simply altered to make a 3 cent perf 8 1/2 coil.

It would be worth reading the Expert's Book by Paul W. Schmid:

http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Aut...p/B000VZN1YG

Clark

Thanks for your effort taken !

When I used the perf gauge, there was a very slight difference ;).

Carefully unfolded the letter. Thankfully it is preserved quite well.

Date shows 1850.

But let the pictures speak for themselves. :).

Clark. Why would they alter stammps to look like this coil? Any value then?

Remco

Generally, coil stamps are more expensive. However, not all coils can be faked. Scott 394 is one of a few coils that cannot be faked. No perf 8 1/2 sheet stamps were ever produced, making it impossible to trim a sheet stamp and no imperforate 3 cent single line watermark stamps were produced either. No raw material = no fakes. Because of the way earlier perf 8 1/2 coils were trimmed, it is possible that the untrimmed edge (from the sheet centerline) might not be exactly parallel to the trimmed margin. An additional knife was added before perf 10 coils were produced with the result that edges must always be parallel.

Clark