634B???

Hi again guys. I know by now not to get too excited when I think I have come across something special (still cant help the feeling of expectation though). Anyway, I would really like some of your input once again. The stamps in question are on a cover ( 5 of them), they are perf 11:10 1/2 , 90x22.5 and were I thought 634. However I surrounded them with other 634s I have and they are very much different in colour, and not just in colour but in their whole impression... they seem 'softer' somehow (if that makes any sense). They are cancelled Dec. 31 1929 which would put them in the right time frame at least for a 634b. What do you think??

The last picture is the closest representation as to how they actually look- at least on my screen. I added some tint and contrast to the first 2 pics to try and highlight the differences between the stamps

I`d like to see a close-up of one of the stamps in question.

unfortunately only have my phone to work from.. does this help?

Something I found on the Siegel auction site:

"According to Gary Griffith's United States Stamps 1927-1932, (p. 18-19), there are many different 2c shades, as one would expect from a stamp printed from more than 500 plates over 11 years. The first report of the Carmine Lake shade appeared in the October 1937 issue of Scott's Monthly Journal when Mr. R. C. Dahlem brought a "sheet" (probably a pane) to Scott Stamp & Coin and stated five sheets were discovered in a "western" post office some months ago. Then, ten months later, in his Aug. 3, 1938 publication Stamps, Max Johl reported a similar find of this shade when Mr. J. M. Taggart sent him a block of twelve from Plate No. 21411 allegedly from a find of four panes in a Springfield O. post office early last year. It is possible that the two reports are of the same find. To complicate matters, neither the P.F. nor the A.P.S. has a reference copy for this shade."

The 1847usa website gives a date of 12/20/1929 so I am thinking it is possible- not presuming it to be likely though.. But it is extremely different, the other 634s I have seem almost hard on the eyes in comparison.

I wanted to rule out a Type II, but the 'fuzzy' scan doesn't allow that. Cursory examination, and probability (I suppose), do suggest Type I.

Interesting thread: https://goscf.com/t/37035

And another: http://www.ebay.com/gds/Early-Carmi...01837/g.html

"As in so many cases, one of the most helpful things you can do for yourself is to build your collection in a well-ordered fashion and use your own stamps for reference. Nothing demonstrates the difference between "carmine" and "lake" better than setting a US #219d next to a US #220. In general, stamps from the same country and same era are likely to have consistent catalog descriptions – i.e. the yellow-green of one series should be similar to the yellow-green of another series."

The shade is not even close to carmine lake. The stamps look yellowish in comparison. A carmine lake would appear bluish in comparison. The carmine lake examples are on the left. With respect to the KGB post, the Scott US Specialized catalog is notoriously inconsistent.

Clark

To crfphoto.. I dont mean to question your' opinion but I did state the the first 2 photos had been tampered with in regard to colour and contrast and that the third pic. was closer to its' actual colour. To be honest the stamp you say is carmine lake ( bottom left of your picture ) does not seem to be unlike, or very far away from, in colour with the third of mine... at least on my computer screen.
Best regards

None of the stamps you pictured are even close to carmine lake. The best way to check is a direct comparison with a reference. The stamp in the top left corner is a reference. I own two others including the "discovery" copy, but the images in isolation are not particularly helpful. The stamps on the card pictured were scanned together to show that the shades are different. The two stamps to the right of the reference were submitted to APEX for an opinion. The outcome should be evident from the scan. The fourth stamp from the left was treated with hydrogen peroxide restore the original color. The reference was not treated and shows no evidence of sulfurization.

It is not possible to pick out carmine lake 634b examples in isolation. After a while, absent a reference, dark carmine begins to look like carmine lake, but it isn't.

Clark

I see what you mean the carmine lake has a purplish, or bluish, tint to it and it is also richly colored. Is it possible to make a colored transparent plastic filter and put it over the stamp to help pick out true carmine lakes? Not sure if I have it right, but would an orange tinted thin piece of transparent plastic placed over the carmine shades vs. true carmine lake appear different when viewed through the filter?