Washington - 4 Cents - 19??

Hi,

Maybe you know how I can identify the year of this stamp... 1909/1911/1914 or other?

Thank you!

Are you able to measure perforations? That would probably be helpful. If you have a gauge, great. If not, a simple ruler can do the trick: measure how many perforations there are along 2cm of stamp edge. Or, measure all the perforations on an edge, divide by how long the edge is in centimeters, then multiply by 2 to get the perforation number. The perfs along top/bottom may be different than those along left/right sides, so need them both...

If you have access to a Scott's or other catalog for U.S. stamps, use that along with a perforation gauge to measure the perforation size. There are also different watermarks for this stamp so you will need to check that ton using watermark fluid or lighter fluid (be careful..fumes and keep away from flames). I'm not good at eyeballing it from a scan, but it's probably perforation size 11 or 12. It has a parcel cancel which unfortunately usually does not include a date.
Will

Hi,

It's 6 for 1cm = 12 .... I try to see watermark without success... I will try again... :)

Thank you!

Hi Battlestamps,

I try to see watermark with lighter fluid... and nothing appear. is it possible?

Thank you!

Most of the issues from 1916 and later don't have a watermark. It could be Scott 503, but that is perf. 11

So, if you checked the watermark and found none, use a perf gauge to check the perforation. It would then be either Scott 465 (perf 10),1916-1917, or 503(perf 11) 1917-1919.

Hi,

I am almost certain it is perf 12X12 because I can count 6 perf (horizontal/vertical : 1 cm). I use 8X loop. I will read more on watermark to understand it...

Thank you!

cdnum, the easy way to determine perforation is either to use a perforation gauge, or to take a stamp of known perforation and compare the edges. In order to do it by counting, you would have to measure off a distance of 2 cm and count the perforations in that length.

If you have a one cent Franklin of the Washington-Franklins and the denomination is spelled out "One Cent". It must be perf 12 (the stamp must not be a coil)

To answer your previous question--If Scott 465 Oct 7, 1916 (issued, no earliest documented use given in Scott's) if 503, March 1917 (no EDU given)

Hi Rohumpy,

It's a perfect match with a "ONE CENT" franklin. I think it is 12 because when I count, it is exactly 6 / 1cm (center). Other perf 11 or 10 have 5 or 5.5 perf. I will buy a gauge :).

Thank you!

Then it should show a watermark. It is not impossible for the single line watermark paper to be laid out such that a particular stamp does not show the watermark.

If you check the watermark again, look for just a part of the single or double line showing.

Hi,

How much time I have to let the stamp in the fluid?

Thank you!

Place the stamp face down in a black tray. Wet the stamp with the watermark fluid. You should see the watermark immediately.

I add picture... I see nothing special. Maybe you can see something... :)

Thank you!

I don't see any obvious watermark. There are some vague markings in the upper corners, but they don't look like portions of the letters "u", "p", or "s".

What can we say. If it is perf 12, it should have a watermark. I suppose that as I said above, it is possible for a stamp to fall on a part of the paper which doesn't show any part of a watermark.

I went back through the catalog thinking there was an issue I had forgotten about, but my memory was okay.

It will remain a puzzle.

cdnum,

As rohumpy has said, if it is perf 12 then it will have either a single-line USPS (Scott 377) or a double-line USPS (Scott 334 or 360) watermark.

Go to the archived 1847USA.com web page at http://web.archive.org/web/*/1847USA.com and open the April 21, 2008 page. On the right-hand side you will see an article on Watermarks.

That article has printable watermark templates for both the single- and double-line types for each of the eight different possible orientations that you can use to see where the markings might appear on your stamp.

Another useful site for Washington-Franklin identification in general is at http://www.askphil.org/W-F/Index.htm.

Good luck! And please let us know if you're able to find the watermark.

Steve