Scott 728 - Fort Dearborn

I have several copies of this stamp, have noticed a marked difference, and wondered if anyone else had noticed this - generally one version is much lighter in places and, specifically, the banner with "U.S. POSTAGE" is almost white (the banner, not the letters), while other versions it's definitely green. Has anybody else seen this?

Alan B

I've noticed that the imperf version from the souvenir sheet is lighter than its perforated cousin.

What you're describing could be an inking variation. After the ink was applied to the plate, the excess ink had to be wiped off before the plate was applied to the paper. Also, the paper was normally moistened before the plate was applied to the paper. The almost white banner could have resulted from the paper being too dry when the ink was applied, resulting in too little ink adhering to the paper. It also could have resulted from too much ink being wiped off the plate before it was applied to the paper. Too much ink being wiped off was more common near the margins.

CC,

Thank you - that makes sense.

Alan B