Great Grandfather's US Stamp Collection

To wrap up the year, I ended with a few great purchases. There is still some thought and decision making I need to make, but right now my interests are starting to coalesce towards a few areas of collecting.

They are used WF coils, 1847-1869 used stamps and postal history, and regional/state postal history where I live.

I am sure it could specialize further, or I can end up collecting all the material above, but this month I made a few nicer purchases.

In the First Sunday Stamp and Coin Show in Dedham MA this month, I acquired a set of RH White Encyclopedia of The Colors of US Postage Stamps Vol I-IV for a very reasonable price. Maybe in the future I will look for Vol V and the gum/paper book, but for now I am happy to have the rest of the issues for initial color ID'ing. I know this book is not a 100% accurate reference material due to age, but it is certainly a useful tool for initial decision making and whether to send a stamp in for a cert.

I also got a free copy of the Armstrong WF book with the White purchase. There are out of date items in the book, but it also has a good overview of WF that is still useful to reference. There are other reference materials I plan to purchase too to better educate myself, better appreciate philatelic items, and assist in selecting a collecting area(s).


Last week were two big Rumsey sales. I participated in the auction running from 9-11 December, and initially I was going to try to get a 244 $4 Columbian (sale 126 Lot 513) but it went beyond what I thought it was worth, and instead decided to get two covers I won, Sale 127 Lots 2051 and 2052.

They are quite scarce WF perf 12 coils on cover, a 351 5c vertical coil pair and two 355 5c horizontal coil singles with certs. Looking at the senders they appear to be old time stamp dealers, but the period use appears correct with the 8c reg + 2c letter rate for the 351 pair and 10c reg + 2c letter rate for the 355 singles. I spoke with some WF collectors before and after to better understand the material, and used WF perf 12 coils really fascinate me due to their scarcity (especially on cover). We'll see what the future holds for further acquisitions and specialization!

Oiman, congrats on all of your certs and recent purchases. It's nice to see someone enhancing an inherited collection.

IMO, the Armstrong WF book is a better reference than "The Experts Book" by Schmid. I've read the Armstrong book from cover to cover more than once, and not only is it easy reading, but it gives a great explanation on how the different print methods and different perfs evolved. It would be so great for someone to find one of those 6c WF coils!! Congrats on scoring the Armstrong!

Ray

Thanks Ray.

Besides the 16 I purchased and posted in the US stamp forum, I also got this used 293 $2 Trans-Mississippi to complete the series. It came with a 2022 PSE ungraded cert (1414258) that noted it being sound, but I am curious about the top right perf. It may be a scuff or paper inclusion, but the rear doesn't appear to show a fold even when checking in fluid. The auction description didn't note anything either.

Looking very closely at the cert pic it does appear very faintly in the image, so I am curious if this is a fault (or not) big enough to mention, or if it can be attributed to it being used and remain omitted. Viewing it in person is much harder to detect even with magnification and appears accentuated under a scan. I'm happy with the stamp regardless, and this is more of me better understanding condition

I think I answered my own question. Looking at PSE's grading criteria it appears they won't mention very minor faults on the cert they issue (whether it's a fold, scrape, or inclusion). It would only impact the grade if the stamp was graded, so if this was graded 90, 5 points would be subtracted without noting the fault.

a rather tiny "fault" on a very attractive stamp
could it be an internal inclusion? (it would show up with backlighting)

There appears to be a trace of the guideline on a perf in lower left. I learned the hard way that, for some reason, guidelines will knock it down one grade (PF does this, don't know about PSE). However showing on one perf shouldn't matter (I think).

@eyeonwall that's a possibility. It's difficult enough even using magnification with my limited experience for me to judge what it is. It's essentially invisible when looking at it in the album

@canyoneer looking at the PSE grading guide it dings it as an Extremely Minor Fault if the guideline is on perf tips of one side. I interpret it it as a distinct line being fully visible on the whole row of perfs to fulfill that fault definition. I agree with you; I'm doubtful a sliver on one or two perfs would count, but who am I to say that's true?

I suppose if I really wanted to find out I'd send it in for a graded cert. I am not concerned personally from a visual opinion and I don't plan to sell this stamp. It already has a clean cert, and I believe I got the stamp for a fair price regardless.

It's been a few months! I have gone to a few shows and also have been active in my other hobbies. However Boston 2026 is arriving in just a few weeks. I plan to be there for most of the week to meet people and see the many exhibits and societies that will attend alongside me.

I also wanted to show this cover I got recently. It is among the highest domestic rates I've seen with mixed franking (69 and a strip of 3 113) to pay 6x the 2c letter rate from Harrisburg PA to Adrian MI.

looking at the PSE grading guide it dings it as an Extremely Minor Fault if the guideline is on perf tips of one side.

This puzzles me to no end:
What idiot decided that layout lines are "a fault"?
They are there for a reason and have nothing to do with faults....

Fantastic cover!

"This puzzles me to no end:
What idiot decided that layout lines are "a fault"?
They are there for a reason and have nothing to do with faults...."

Not a fault, but visually distracting to some.

I sent out some more items for certifying to the PF and these Richard Doporto certs. The latter probably won't return for at least a month but Doporto had a very quick turnaround, taking one week from receipt to shipping back out from CA back to New England! I was pretty confident the pencil notation stating the plate positions on the rear of the two strips of 3 (II-IIIa-II and strip of 3 II), but I wanted to have certainty. I also got a fresh cert on a 21 type III on cover I bought at the Boston 2026 show from Rumsey as its prior cert was from 1980, ex Pietro Provera.











I also placed an item on extension for the first time. I won a bid at a Kelleher auction for a double recut Scott 34 and decided a I wanted a fresh cert, which will also be from PF. I hope it comes back clean as the lot description stated!