12¢ Stanley Steamer (Scott 2132) Type I And II Differences

Creating my custom pages for varieties is ongoing. I am now in the Transportation II era.

Scott notes the difference between Type 1 and II as the length of the inscription. The difference is obvious so no question there.

I was checking tagging and noticed my Type I was responsive to SW and LW but not the tagged version. It appears whiter and brighter under both. Is this a consistent variation to also distinguish?

Interesting, PNC3 org does not explain type I and II and see no mention in Durland other than it was a different press.

One of yours is printed on Hibrite paper and the other one probably either on regular paper or very little whitener added. Look through a magnifying glass while you have the Long UV light on and you should see lots of brighter threads in the Hibrite paper - far less in the regular one. This is not how to distinguish between two printings, just different treated paper.
And the reason PNC3 does not call them type I and II is because in the mind of PNC collectors there are no two types, just two different printing presses. One was printed by the Cottrell press, the other by the B-press. The Cottrell version shows a seam line, the B-press version does not. And then of course your difference in width.

Peter

In checking mine, I found the following:

2132 - Type I, responsive to LW UV, Hi-brite paper
2132a - Type I, responsive to LW, Hi-brite paper
2132b - Type II, non-responsive to LW UV, dead paper
2132c - Type I, non-responsive to LW UV, dead paper

Mstocky2, the first two on your list are the same. Is that a typing error?


Peter

Angore, Idove into my collection to see what I could come up with, and with help of PNC3 ( they do indicate type I and type II! ) I came up with these characteristics:

Scott 2132, plate 1 & 2 - Overall tagging. These come in three different types paper ( I, II & IIIa ).
The two plates can come in Hibrite and dead paper, and every "shade" in between.
Scott 2132a. plate 1 & 2 - Untagged. Precanceled. Comes only on type I paper, but again in different shades, from Hibrite down to dead paper.
Scott 2132b. plate 1 - Untagged. Precanceled. This is the B-press version and comes on type III paper.
Scott 2132c. plate 1 & 2 - Tagging omitted, not precanceled. This is an error.

If you like to read up, the "1995 Plate Number Coil Catalog" edited by Richard Nazar is on the web in its entirety.



Peter

Hi Peter,
The Type I and Type II I was using is how they are described in the Scott Specialized Catalogue. With Type I referring to "Stanley Steamer 1909" being 18mm long and Type II it is 17 2/3 mm long. Your info adds more depth I wasn't aware of.

Mark

I thought the change in length was due to plate changes due to change in press. The PNC3 mention the press change but does not make an obvious difference on help distinguish. They have two pics without any guidance. There were paper changes not all consistent with press change.

Angore, you are correct on the press change. The Cottrell stamps are a bit longer because they were mounted on a cylinder and therefor stretched a fraction of an inch. Paper changes had very little to do with the change of press - the press was changed because the old Cottrells were discontinued.
PNC3 members collect plate number coils in strips of 3, 5 or 7 or in some cases longer. A plate number strip of Cottrell issues is easy to identify by the presence of a joint- or seam line, whish is missing on the B-press issues.


Peter