Even The Most Experienced Dealers Miss The Easy Ones

I've slowly been trying to complete my 4th bureau set with high quality pieces. I'm trying to finish the rotary press printings and saw what was advertised as a 634 with lovely centering and margins so I bought it for $4.00. Here is what I got from one of ebay's larger sellers of high quality stamps.





Perf 11 554.......

Pretty piece for four dollars! Congratulations - I love it when something like that happens.

Peter

When you purchased it, did you suspect it was perf 11, flat plate 554, not rotary? Or did you notice all this after receiving in mail?

After, on the 4th bureau I can't tell the difference in the 2¢.

If the stamp is perf 11 my money is on it being a fake 595. Or is it not perf 11?

It is Perf 11. Was advertised as a 634. Interesting thought.

Here is the back





And side by side with my 554.





Definitely taller than my 554. Scott lists the rotary press AS 19 1/4 x 22 1/2 MM, Not sure they list a design size for the flat plate printings.

Your stamp is a rotary press stamp so it has to be a 595 or a fake 595. I don't like the perfs.

It is easy enough to see that the side perforations are not perf 11 because they don't match the 554. The bottom perforations won't match exactly either, but the difference will be more subtle. The spacing between the side perforation is greater (0.075) and the bottom perforation spacing is less (.070) than the standard flat plate perforation spacing of .072, all measurements in inches. This is consistent with the Kiusalas notation 11-70 x 10½-75 for a 634. A 554 would be perf 11-72 on all sides. Also note that the top and bottom perforation rows are aligned between rows. Almost all 554 examples do not have perforations aligned between the top and bottom rows.

What is amazing about this stamp is the unusually large and well balanced margins for a rotary sheet stamp. While on the subject of other varieties, the shade of a 595 would appear similar to 579, a few early coils and 582. Richard Kiusalas believed that a perf 11 tall rotary stamp should exist (hypothetically Scott 596A). Since none were found, he made at least one from a 583 booklet pane single.

All known 2 cent rotary press sheet stamps should have gum breakers. Coils and coil waste stamps and flat plate stamps (579, 595, 554) will not have gum breakers.

It has the gum breakers.

So this stamp ( original post) is a 634 rotary?

It must be...