Advice Needed On A George Washington Stamp

I'm new to stamp collecting,amongst my stamp collection I found a few stamps that belonged to my great grandmother, two stamps in particular looks quite old to me, and I was just wandering if they have any value beyond sentimental valuable.
I've attached a photo of the stamps



I think the orange-brown stamp was made in 1867 and depicts George Washington, as for the blue stamp I have no idea when it was made I think the person on the stamp is Ben Franklin

I would appreciate it if any one could give me an idea of what they are currently valued at.

Thanks

Hello vustinC, welcome.

I am not a US collector but I can see that the Ben Franklin stamp has been cut close on its perforations (perfs) so that would reduce the value immensely. It might still be worth something but not the full calue.

The Washington stamp is nice to see, a bit creased and crumpled in the upper right corner, but I like the fancy cork cancel on it. Nicely centered for an old stamp. I think it needs a gentle soaking in water to clean it a bit and then a pressing after its wet while it's drying to flatten out some of the crumpling. However, take that with a grain of salt because I do not know it's possible value. The more valuable the more gently you treat it.

I think there is a catalogue just on the fancy cancels and possibly web sites too.

Please wait for confirmation from others here who are much more knowledgable on US stamps than I.

Hi
I looked on wikipedia and found the following

1867 Issue

Perforated 12 and grilled. Printed by the National Bank Note Co.

George Washington, 3¢



George Washington, 3¢
with "F-grill"



From what I could find this stamp was last sold in 2008 for $1,035,000, including commission.

The stamp I have looks like the first image, my question now though is how much of a difference is their between them in terms of value, since they were both released in the same year and it seems the that the only difference is the color.

I'm new to this so I was just wandering is their a chance my stamp could be of similar value.

Any advice would be apreciated

Thanks

Wow. That's a nice tidy sum.

It does look like one of those, but, because of physical damage and imperfections, compared to the one that sold for that big sum, yours would be devalued and not wanted as much as a nice copy would be.

The stamp also looks, to my unpracticed and non-expert eye to have toning or rust around some of the edges, which is a kind of mold or mildew and that stamp should be separated from other stamps to prevent it migrating to the other stamps, if they are clean and OK.

If it does have something like that it would still be wanted by some, just not many and would have to be treated and separated.

Another concern about high dollar value items is the chance of a damaged stamp having been repaired to improve it's value or even forged. I just read a lot on here, I do not know enough to say yea or nay on either concern.

A scan at 600 dpi (high resolution) of the front and back would be needed for any people on here to give you an honest opinion also. The photo is somewhat blurry. But, even a scan is not the same as having an expertising service examine it in person. Again, there are better people than I to let you know how that works as to costs involved.

There are a few people away at the moment that could chim in on this so be patient. If you stick around and no one answers, add a reply to the topic and just say bump or anything to put this thread up in the list of to be read threads.

Hello Justin, the stamp you show may look like the others but looks can be deceiving. The 3cent Washington has many variations just for the one stamp. So step one as you say it is a grilled stamp. This would narrow it down from 13 major types to 6 types. These six types are the major variations of grills for this stamp. We are not even considering minor variations or the possibility of a essay.

So 6 major grills for this stamp are as follows.

#82- Grill measures 18x15mm, average number of points 22x18

#83- Grill measures 13x16mm, average number of points 16 to 17 x 18 to 21

#85- Grill measures 12x14mm, average number of points 15 x 17 to 18

#85c- Grill measures 11x14mm, average number of points 13 to 14 x 18

#88- Grill measures 11x13mm, average number of points 14 x 15 to 17

#94- Grill measures 9x13mm, average number of points 11 to 12 x 15 to 17

As you can see a grill for this stamp has many variations also color variations and condition which would make value from a few dollars to thousands.

Welcome JustinC. As already said by others, the Washington stamp has many varieties beginning in 1861. Values range from a few US dollars to the high price you saw on Wiki. Grilled 3c Washington values start at around $10. Do you know what is meant by grills? If not, try to get a clear photo of the back, better a scan if possible and we could verify if it has a grill or not.
By the color on the Ben Franklin stamp, it appears to be a Scott #206 issued in 1873. If so, it is worth about a dollar in good condition. Since it is damaged, it essentially has no monetary value.

Marty

Hi Puzzler

Here are the scans of the stamp.
Unfortunately the stamp has been previously hinged





Thnks

Very good scan Justin. Thank you.

When you see the detail involved in some of these older stamps it makes me want to collect these.

That worn away spot on the back is known as a thinned spot or just 'thin' and again, devalues the stamp from whichever one it turns out to be. I don't mean to be negative, I am just letting you know so you won't be disappointed later on.

The creasing in the upp right corner seems to have disappeared or is not transferred to the back anyway but the upper right corner has a cut or rip into the stamp.

Examining the stamp I person under proper light you could, holding the stamp with stamp tongs, turn the stamp and tilt in so the light shone on it in different ways and illuminated most rips, tears. thins or creases. Looking at it under ultraviolet (UV) light also helps to reveal attempts at repair. I still don't like those brown edges on the perfs outer edges. May be just dirt.

A suggestion to soak this stamp to help clean it and flatten out any creases or bends it may have should be run by an expert on these stamps as some inks will run when soaked and I am not familiar with the US issues. Personally, I would attempt it if it was mine but I am prepared to lose a stamp also. Maybe you would not be. Better safe than sorry most times I think.

I cannot see a grill though the cancelled part over the stamp but again I am not familiar with these. I have just looked at some on here.

Justin the stamp in question does look to lack a grill and would be narrowed down to a Scott #65 which in this condition would have a value of about dollar.

Hi mac

I was just wandering how does one count the amount of grills on a stamp

Justin,

I tend to agree with the previous advise you've gotten. I don't see grills on the Washington stamp you've scanned and it does look like Scott 65 to my eyes. Grills tend to look like a waffle pattern and can sometimes best be seen on the reverse side of the stamp. I am not seeing that pattern in your scans.

But if you want to know more about grills, please see the following http://www.jamesdire.net/grill.html. It's much more than merely counting, it's grills points up or down and perhaps much more then what you want to know.

-Larry