Some New Revenue Acquisitions

Well, it depends: is it a complete document or just the fragment shown? If a complete document, I would not remove the stamps, but if it is just the fragment shown, there's no upside or downside to leaving them on the fragment.

My latest revenue acquisition... first invert :)

Am I not seeing this correctly as it looks like a paste up?????

left side of portrait????

Hard to tell, but looks like it was photographed through clear plastic so all sorts of reflection anomalies. At first glance, it looks ok.

There are silk threads going from the frame into the portrait, so it should be good.

I leave all stamps on documents

sorry about the poor pic, it was done through plastic. here is a better shot. Has a crease and thin but was a hole that I was looking to fill until I win the lottery.

Any invert is a good invert. Nice, Shannon.

A newly acquired revenue item is linked below my description.



[The Earliest Use of a Stamp in the United States], #RM3, 3d Embossed Revenue of Mass. Colony impressed at bottom left of a partially printed writ dated April 7, 1755 signed by Joseph Bowditch as Clerk. Signed on reverse that the person took bail for his appearance and is dated May 7, 1755 and signed by Nathan Brown as Constable for Newbury.

The Mass Colony Act of January 8, 1755 was in effect for two years after April 30, 1755. The Act also specified that the dies were to be ready for use 40 days prior to that date.

Ex Philip Ward find and the Theodore Sheldon collection (sold by Mercury Stamp Auctions on June 12, 1970).

Act States: That for the better and more effectual levying collecting and paying the several and respective Duties hereby granted there shall be chosen and appointed in like Manner as other Civil Officers in this Government are chosen and appointed one or more suitable Person or Persons to be a Commissioner or Commissioners of the Stamps for the Province who shall keep an Office in the Town of Boston and shall receive such Allowance for their Service as shall be granted by the General Court and shall by the Space of Forty Days before the said Thirtieth day of April next provide Four different Marks or Stamps that is to say one Stamp or Mark with which all Vellum Parchment or Paper hereinbefore charged with the Payment of Four pence shall be marked or stamped and one other stamp or Mark with which all Vellum Parchment or Paper hereinbefore charged with the Payment of Three pence shall be marked or stamped and one other Stamp or Mark with which all Vellum Parchment or Paper hereinbefore charged with the Payment of Tim pence shall be marked or stamped and one other Stamp or Mark with which all Vellum Parchment or Paper hereinbefore charged with the Payment of one Half penny shall he marked or stamped which said several Marks and Stamps shall be published by Proclamation to be issued by the Governor witli the Advice of the Council a convenient Time before the said thirtieth Day of April next to the End that all Persons may have due Notiee thereof And the said Commissioner or Commissioners in providing the said Marks qr Stamps shall take care they be so contrived that the Impression thereof may be durable and so as the same may be least liable to be forged or counterfeited

http://www.philamercury.com/viewcov...=24336&num=1

I don't actively seek plate varieties but recently picked up this R55c showing a pronounced cracked plate. I assume (but don't know for sure) that this is the cracked plate listed in Scott.

That's the only cracked plate I am aware of on R55. There is a scratched plate as well.

http://www.revenue-collector.com/pl...ieties.shtml

In many, many cases there are multiple DTs on the same stamp type and there's no way to know which one Scott refers to. A numbering system for 1st-3rd issue plate varieties is on my to-do list.

Thanks, Dan. I had actually looked on your site, but in the wrong place. I forgot about the reference page for plate varieties and instead checked EFOs.

Edit: I must have been having a senior moment. On rechecking, I see it is also included in your EFOs.

Yeah, I probably need to differentiate those pages more. The EFOs page is all items I have in my collection, whereas the plate variety refernce page is meant to be more comprehensive, not just stuff I own.

That's the only one I have - yours is a nicer impression though. Nice find!

Dan, is there a similar but shorter crack in the lower right corner on your R55c?