Help Identifying A 118 Pictorial

Anyone have any ideas about this 118? I sent in for expertising and the decision was the stamp grill was pressed and sanded but it was a 118. I think it looks more like a 118P or 129P color and clarity better than comparison stamps. My stamp is the bottom one.

I assume you are referring to the top stamp. That's a type I and so cannot be a 129/129P. If you want color and detail comparisons, it would be better to provide a scan of the actual stamp and an example in known colors (even used), side by side. A scan of a photo is not that useful. But from what can be seen, the stamp below is much sharper in detail. The shading lines in the frame are very clearly separated in the latter, not so much in the first stamp.

The stamp below is a type III, the design of #129/129P. And the colors of that are off, all examples should be red brown.

I am not familiar with a 118P existing, either -- is this a relatively new discovery? Is this what you were trying to prove here?

There are differences in the paper used for the issued stamps, the reprint and proofs. I can't accurately descibe it in words. Enough sanding would throw things off anyway. If you can pick up a couple points of the grill breaking the paper via magnifier or watermark fluid, then it's a #118. That said, the grills can be very weak and partial so pressing them out would be possible.

The bottom stamp is mine. I bought it on ebay for about $30. It was sold as a 118. Upon examination I couldn't find a grill or cancelation so I thought it might have some value. Sent to APS for expertizing and they took longer than usual to give a determination, which was it is a 118 with pressed grill and sanded back. they also saw cancelling ink.
The top stamp is a 118 unused on ebay. When I compared it to mine it looked a lot redder and less defined than mine. I found a picture on ARAGO of a 129P4 (Type I proofas you suggested) and it looks just like my stamp except no perforations. I'm not sure if I should pursue it farther but it is interesting.
Dan

I think the APS certificate is wrong. It looks like a type III design to me as well (no shading lines) & all of the perfs look fake, so probably an altered 129 proof. Any "cancel" they see is likely fake as well (or a stray mark/smudge). Based on the "sanded" opinion, I'd guess that it's an altered 129P4, CV $140.

The top stamp is almost certainly a genuine Scott 118, but probably used with cancel removed (plus overall bleaching IMO) and regummed.