Bluish Paper W-F Series US Stamps

Hi everyone,

I am a newbie and have a lot to learn.

I have several stamps 1 - 6 cents (mostly 1,2 cents) . How do I tell bluish/clay paper? Some of the stamps are still attached to paper. Do I have to remove them or can I tell by viewing front of stamps? Stamps will follow!
Thanks

The best thing you can do is search this forum for "bluish paper". The search function is on top of this page.
Please do not take the stamps off the cover if they are still there. Your stamp is worth more and much more interesting if it is still attached to the cover.
And one last thing. Please keep in mind that it is not very likely that your stamp is on bluish paper, given it's scarcity! Good luck.

Peter

'Blue paper' is a nickname for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Washington Franklin stamps of 1909 with paper containing a high 35% rag content. The "blue papers" were an attempt to reduce the shrinkage when the paper dried after printing and thereby reduce waste, since the irregularly shrunken sheets did not perforate properly. The result of the "blue paper" experiment was deemed unsatisfactory, and was dropped that year. The color of the paper is not "blue" it is more of a gray hue. You can best see this gray color in images if you will scan them on a orange background.


When starting out, the best thing to do is buy a certified stamp and use it as reference; the 1¢ and 2¢ blue stamps are reasonably priced. Once you have a reference copy, it is fairly easy to tell the blue papers from the regular stamps. If you think your stamp is the blue paper variety, you should have it certified. The 4¢ blue paper was never issued for general use. Only one pane escaped destruction and, according to Johl, most of this pane of 100 are known, all unused. If you think your stamp is the blue paper variety, you must have the stamp certified. The 4¢ blue paper is one of the great rarities of 20th century U.S. postage stamps.

Watch for 5¢ misidentified blue stamps. Since the stamp was printed in blue, many people mistake the ink for blue paper.

If you post images please scan 4-5 stamps together; this allows us to compare stamp-to-stamp. Do not scan one stamp at a time.
Don

You can learn more at Stamp Smarter - use search tool 'blue paper' - You can also search this forum for blue paper.