Need Information : 2 Cents

Hi,

Is a stamp like that have some value or it is too common?

Thank you!

Hi cdnum, welcome!

As you might expect, same with anything really, it depends on who is selling it and who is buying it.

That sounds terrible. Sorry. To a collector, every stamp is interesting. That stamp, to me, who does not collect USA stamps (yet) (well, not really) (OK a little) it is interesting because it has perfins (or a perfin). That is a short form of saying PERForated INitialS (or INscriptionS).

I do not have a catalogue of US stamps (see your library if you want to) so I do not know for sure if that is one of the more valuable ones or not. It is only in so-so condition. That is because the design is not centered too well on the whole stamp. Doesn't look as nice as one that is well centered.

The perforations around the edges can be measured and some stamps that look the same have different measurements that make them rarer so more valuable, even if not centered well.

Some folks will say, oh it is used so it's not worth much. True enough, a mint pristine brand new stamp (or anything) is usually worth more. But, to a collector who wanted that stamp, or perfin, or something special about it (I don't know) it would be worth something. Not a lot maybe, but something.

It looks common to me, but that is because I do not know or have not studied up on US stamps.

I mean, that the stamp could be worth $0.10 or even $30 or something and I wouldn't really know.

I know some Canada stamp values and some others but stamp collecting is such a large hobby with all kinds of collecting interests that is hard for one guy (or gal) to know everything.

I hope it turns out well. And anything else you might have also!

Normally, the answers come fast and furious here...not right now, for some reason.

I'm not a big U.S. collector either, but I can tell you this...the perfin has a good look, and I wouldn't throw it out if I passed by. (I don't recognize the perfin, but it should be pretty easy to i.d. by someone who knows...)

It is a difficult question to answer.
If that was on a Hagner of 40 perfins in Aust
I would expect to pay around $10-$20.
If a rare perfin who knows?
Any replies to queries on value are frought with danger.

What would you pay for this?
(apparently it sold for $1000)

It is worth keeping in mind that to many collectors d'un certain age, perfins are junk. Plenty of collectors don't share that opinion, and there are perfin specialists and organizations out there.

A lot of identifying value in our collections is searching out information, and then searching out interested parties.

Cdnum: to answer your question, you first need to identify the stamp. It's a 2c Washington and the color is carmine. There are many variations of this issue and color, so next you may want to try to gague the perforations (you can buy a perforation gauge, or simply get a decent ruler and measure the number of perforations along a 2cm stretch). You may need to measure the top/bottom, as well as the sides, because these may be of different gauge, depending on the stamp.

Your stamp //may// be a Scott #634 (see this site): http://www.mysticstamp.com/viewProd....asp?sku=634 Or it //may// be a 634a(?): Here: http://www.mysticstamp.com/viewProd...asp?sku=634a

Or it may be some other 2c carmine Washington...

It is obviously used and has the perfin, which may change the value somewhat. Best bet is to either try and get a sense of the perforation gauge for yourself, then get a copy of the Scott Catalog from the library to do some research. Or, try to find a stamp club near your home, where somebody may be able to help you out. I would think that getting a good identification of what the stamp is may be a better question to ask than how much is it worth. Not to suggest that anyone is going to try and take advantage of you, but it might be a good idea to know what you have before trying to get advice on value from a prospective buyer. For example, I will pay you $0.01 for it now, if you are willing to cover shipping. (joke) :)

Any criticism on what I just said from more experienced collectors will be ignored. Good day!

Hi,

I begin to collect some stamps last month and this is for me a Special one... I don't know why. Probably perforations and color, plus obliteration shape (look like footstep at right of washington without touching). Reverse M is W for Washington. It is a beautiful stamp for me.

Gaff : It is not a #463 ?

http://www.mysticstamp.com/viewProd....asp?sku=463

Thank you for your comment.

Cdnum,

Firstly, welcome to the forum. I'm sure you will be welcomed all round here as there are a lot of nice and helpful people who hang out here.

Your stamp is a 2cent Washington and was part of the Washington-Franklin series of stamps that was issued, in the US, between 1912 and 1920. This denomination was issued using different printing technics and dies. Consequently, since most of them were hand engraved, there are many varieties with very small but important distinctions.

During the course of this stamp series life, several billion of these stamps were printed and sold, so the probability that your stamp is particularly valuable is small. Nevertheless, there is a lot to be gained from understanding stamps such as this.

There are two elements about this stamp that are specific. The first being its perfin status and the other being the exact type of Washington 2 cent.

I'm out of my depth on perfins but as to type, this depends on little things, like the number of lines in the crease of a ribbon at the bottom of the stamp, or the consistent thickness of the engraved line at the top of the toga (George is wearing a toga in this stamp, btw), color and the perforations here. Unfortunately, your photo is not clear enough and has out of focus elements just where I need the image to be clear. Other eyes might be better than mine, though.

Is it possible to scan this stamp? If you were to scan I'm sure we could id it for you in a jiffy.


-Larry

Leaving the perfin part aside. The value of this stamp can be from minimal to hundreds of dollars. It all depends on which Washington-Franklin it is. There are many 2 cent candidates. In all probability it is one of the common ones, but you never know.

So your first order of business is to positively identify it. Get a Scott US specialized catalogue and plow through the types of the 2 cent stamps. Including the offsets, there are as many as 7 types, all distinguished by very tiny differences. It can be either a very fun endeavor, or one to make you tear your hair out.

Hi,

I don't have a scanner but this picture is better...

Thank you!

The yellow color is probably from a scotch tape on the back.

Thank you!

Cdnum,

Its a bit hard for me to tell from the photo since it still isn't clear enough, but if you want a guess, I'd say its a Scott 527. 527 dates from 1920. The stamp looks like its printed via offset with perfs of 11. I am then probably convincing myself that it is type V. Please take all of this with a really big caveat since the photo doesn't help and I am trying to count dots on the nose.

Used in good condition this would sell for a couple of dollars or so. If you've got scotch tape on the back, that doesn't help condition and as for the perfin side, I don't know perfins.

-Larry

Hi,

Is a scotch tape was put on the back to use again this stamp?

Thank you!

It might not be scotch tape. If you are not familiar with stamp hinges then you possibly could be thinking the little hinge is scotch tape.

The discoloration is not good of course.

If it is a hinge , this is put there so the stamp could be 'mounted' or placed in an album on paper pages. You would moisten the small part of the hiuge, stick that to the back of the stamp, then moisten the large part of the hinge and press it and the stamp to the spot on the page where you want the stamp to be displayed.

It should be able to be removed by soaking the stamp in some clean tap water for 5 to 15 minutes and it should float free. As the stamp dries, it may start to dry out and curl up, so place it between some blank paper and put a book or two (something heavy) on top for a while. As it dries it will flatten out.

The discoloration may be from another source.

If it is scotch tape then that is tougher to remove, or at least the glue part is.

Usually when there is scotch tape it is over the front of the stamp when someone tried to reuse it that way. My aunt used to do this. She said she didn't have enough spit to make the stamp stick. But scotch tape usually ruins a stamp's front, the glue with age is bad.

Some libraries (at least where I am) have scanners that you can use and also editing programs so you can reduce the size of the final picture so it is not too too big in file size.