Show Your US 1851-57 Imperforate Stamps

ioagoa-
here is another Troy Ny 10a position 31R1i



and also a Buffalo NY pair 10a position 94-95R2e

Hi Phade --

Your stamp with the blue 7-bar circular grid cancel on the cover with the matching blue AUG 12 TROY N-Y cds is NOT position 31R1i.

This stamp is badly cut in and is barely a "2-margin" example -- which makes plating very challenging as much of the areas of recutting are gone.

That said -- I am fairly confident that your stamp is position 14L1i -- but hard to be 100% certain given the completely missing top frame line, the significant cut-in at left which removed roughly 60% of the LFL (and along with it a good chunk of the upper left corner), and lastly, the missing piece of the RFL at its lower end.

Regarding your question about PlateAI -- it only works for Scott #'s 10, 10A, 11, 11A, 25, and 25A. It does not work for Scott #26 and 26A.

Regards // ioagoa

edited to correct spelling errors

good day ioagoa-

Hopefully these scans have come out better, ok the last page I posted.
US No.10a orange brown position 76L2e relief A
CDS from Harrisburg Pa Jan 20 (1852) blue
stamp tied by matching faint circular 7 bar grid handstamp.
and on this page with the Troy NY, post. I also posted a Buffalo NY pair 10a position 94-95R2e

thank you for taking a look at the Troy NY so 31R1i is no good. I wrote the wrong position, thats for a US No. 10, not 10a. and your positive 14L1i is it. I thought that position was for US No.10, not 10a
I ask, because my 2nd choice was (19L1i) being this stamp is a 10a thank you. let me know your thoughts on the other two. thank you so very much.

Hi Phade --

you wrote --



As I mentioned in my last post --



Again -- to be clear -- I am not 100% certain that 14L1i is it -- but it is the best match that I can find given what we have to work with in the patient stamp.

As far as questioning if the stamp is a #10 or a #10A -- unless there is a partial recut of the LIL that we cannot see because is was cut off -- I see no trace of recutting in either the left or right inner lines. That said -- what looks like a very partial RIL at its upper end -- and perhaps a trace of an LIL at its lower end -- both both came from the transfer roll when plate 1E was re-entered to become plate 1i. In other words -- these are not recuts.

If this were my stamp, I would mark it "probably 14L1i" and move on.

And, YES -- I still have your tentative 76L2E and 94-95R2E patients in the queue for confirmation -- and will get to them as time permits.

// ioagoa

good day ioagoa-

thank you for breaking that down for me, my apologies for me not understanding
I got confused, but that makes sense, and I appreciate your thoughts and guidance.
see its stamps like this that make it confusing. thank you for being patient with me.
I have loged it as such and like you said moved on. let me ask
where on the stamp is the best place to start looking when plating.

Hi Phade --

You wrote:



That is a tough question to answer in a brief posting -- as it requires a basic understanding of what makes the stamps platable in the first place.

Very generally speaking -- in the case of the 3-cent stamp of 1851–1857 -- the design transferred poorly from the transfer roll to the plate -- necessitating the recutting -- by hand -- to strengthen and restore certain design elements. The extent of the recutting varies on each position -- but on the overwhelming majority of all 2,600 possible positions -- all 4 frame lines were recut -- (and there is no position where less than 3 of the 4 frame lines were recut). Because this recutting was done freehand -- each recut is unique -- thereby enabling the plating of each of the 2,600 possible positions. Add to that the recutting of inner lines, varieties of recutting (e.g., triangles, diamond blocks, label blocks), relief ID, guide dots, shifted transfers, plate flaws, plate cracks, the impact of re-entry, etc., etc. and each of the 2,600 positions can be identified as to the plate and position from which it came.

If you have an interest in learning more -- I suggest that you download a copy of the Chase book -- free from the USPCS website .

The Chase book contains a very good discussion about how the stamp was produced, how and where the recutting was done, and even has a separate chapter for each plate discussing its plating characteristics.

Another great place to get information is from all of the various resource material contained on the StampPlating website.

And for a deeper dive -- there is the Sesquicentennial book -- also available for free on the USPCS website. This is the "go-to" resource for really understanding how to identify the 3 reliefs on the transfer roll used to produce the 3-cent stamps -- which, from the perspective of a plater, is important to understand. There is also an article in the Sesquicentennial book that fully explains the "guide relief" process that was used to manufacture the plates -- including how and why the guide dots were used.

These resources listed above comprise the basic foundation for understanding "where to look" when plating the 3-cent stamp of 1851–1857 -- and they are all available for free.

Regards // ioagoa

Hi Phade --

Your previously posted 76L2E and 94-95R2E stamps are confirmed as being correctly plated.

Regards // ioagoa