Scott 24 Plate Crack Or Something Else?

Has anyone seen a crack/loose hair like this on this ebay list or is it just foreign matter?

Hard to tell. Can you post a better ( larger ) scan of the stamp?

Peter

Yes, we need a full picture. It's possible this is a "curl" variety (though I don't recognize it offhand from the small sample).

Would love to post another/better pic but this is right off an ebay listing. I've done all I can to crop/enlarge and tint it slightly to bring it out as clear as possible.

Please provide a link to the listing

Caper123, if you are interested in this why not ask the seller for a better picture? And yes, please follow Dudley's advise.

Peter

Sorry, I should have posted the link to begin with.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/19191070473...RK:MEBIDX:IT

Thanks, Caper. Unfortunately the photo in the lot does not have the zoom feature. However, I conclude from the features of the broken frame line at bottom and the bruises visible under the letters of the lower label (see David Zlowe's three-part article on relief bruises in recent issues of the USPCS Chronicle) that this is an F relief from the sixth row of the (undetermined) plate. None of the available references indicates such a scratch or crack as a feature of any of these plate positions. I believe it is an extraneous artifact (foreign matter, as you say) and not part of the stamp impression at all. This is all the more likely in that you can see how the "crack" is visible in the dark background of the medallion, curving off to the left above to top of Franklin's head. You wouldn't be able to see a real plating mark like this. A long-winded way of saying that this is probably a hair or fiber on top of the stamp.

Thank you Dudley for your observation and input. I have harbored doubts to it being a plate crack but have asked the seller to provide a 'better' photo, assuming any new photo at all would likely cause a movement in any foreign matter sufficient enough to resolve the question. I'll update this post with anything new I discover.

Have made 2 requests for a better photo but still no response.