Identifeying A Scott #1033A

Is there a definitive way to identify a Scott #1033a with out any harm to the stamp, I see a slight color difference, and the texture of the paper does look different. Other than that I honestly don't know. According to the Swedish Tiger only 300-400 of these exist, is this a accurate count?

Hi, sorry I'm not familiar with "Swedish Tiger", what is this?

Stampmaster

One of the major stamp sites until Stamp Smarter came along.

http://www.theswedishtiger.com/

I also asked this myself and here in the forum already, and I think it's not easy to identify it yourself. It should be a very very white or bright paper. The best would be (if the stamp is used) when it has a Westbrook cancel from 1954 (or later). But if anyone has a better hint I am also interested.

Yes, at Siegel research they also say there are 300-400 existing.

Thanks for the link. Another great site to go with stamp smarter.
Robert

Never heard of stamp smarter, but I will soon, always eager to educate myself. Thanks stamperix for the advice.

Stamp Smarter

https://stampsmarter.org/index.html

I just checked out "stamp smarter", thank you red for posting the link, very nice site, like the W/F section, it will help me with a pile of them I have at home.

In addition to the catalog number, it would be helpful to include a brief description of the stamp that's the subject of the question. Not everyone has a catalog handy at all times (or has it memorized). I'm guessing that 1033a is the Liberty series 2c Jefferson Silkote paper variety.

I am unable to tell the difference between 1033 and 1033a (Silkote paper) without using an ultraviolet light. The 1033a does have a brighter appearance to the naked eye, but it is very slight. Also, the 1033a is said to have a smoother feel, but I cannot definitively discern it and don't suggest testing for this with a mint stamp!

The 1033a is a nice "glamour" stamp that some collectors want in their collections. In F-VF, you can buy one for around $300. As explained below, nicely centered stamps (PSE 95-98) are in short supply (37 have been graded 95 and 98).

The Silkote papers went on sale in the Westbrook and Cumberland Mills, Maine post offices on December 17, 1954. A total of 125 press sheets (500 panes) were printed by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing in the late fall of 1954. The stamps were placed on sale in Westbrook, Maine and Cumberland, Maine.

The paper was developed by the S. D. Warren Co. (Westbrook, Maine) in an attempt to overcome issues related to the extreme dampening necessary when printing on the then-current sulphite paper known as "Oxford;" the Silkote paper had a special surface that made it unnecessary for extreme dampness to be applied to the paper in the printing process. The result is a sharper, clearer impression. Because the Silkote paper did not require the extreme dampness that the "Oxford" paper did, there was less shrinkage, causing the sheets printed on this experimental paper to be somewhat misaligned on the perforating machines which were set to account for the shrinkage experienced with the "Oxford" paper. Consequently, the stamps from the Silkote sheets tended to be relatively poorly centered, with but few rare exceptions. The paper contained calcium carbonate.

The stamps were released at the post offices with no notification of the paper use, but several were purchased by employees of the S. D. Warren Co. Siegel Auctions estimate that perhaps seven or eight panes are known and several have been broken. If a pane is broken down, the market becomes (temporarily?) saturated and prices for ungraded or lower graded examples (90 or less) will likely fall unless demand increases.

In 1954 you could mail a Christmas card for two cents if you left the envelope unsealed and just tucked in the flap. With no notice to the public, that's probably the way most all of them were used.

The 1033a is the stamp with the selvedge. It is graded 95.

I am skeptical of the claim of only 300-400 existing.

I too question the 300-400 number. According to my Scott catalogue, there were 50,000 of these stamps printed. This agrees with the 500 panes (100 stamps per pane) mentioned in an earlier post. No mention is made, however, of how many were actually sold.

The is currently a PSE Certified UR Plate #25061 Block, NH available for $1750 with free shipping verse a Catalog value of $2000 listed on eBay.

Without getting into the how many are out there, the on cover usages as really tough. There are three FDCs know, a block of 4 and two with pairs. Roland Austin or Tony Wawrukiewicz may know the current count of non-FDC 1033a covers.

The stamp a 2 cent paid a third class rate with bilk mailing, including unsealed Christmas cards being the likely use. Such usages are of the type with a lower retention rare in the hobby as an entire and less interest in soaking for hobby retention. If one want to find a usage I would target the December 1954 Mid-1955 (Xmas 1955 too) time range for both towns looking for Christmas cards and circulars or price list mailings




Number sold does not really matter as it can be deduced by knowing the number of sheets printed, 125 less the number of panes not delivered to the USPOD by the BEP as well as numbers of stamps destroyed from USPOD stock either original undistributed or recalled/returned after distribution. But the rate in question and demand for 2 cent stamps far out striped the period these would be on sale with little likelihood they were returned for destruction.

In 68 years not much has surfaced, just the few full panes and a few covers. There is no chance that "Bob in Oregon " or "Mary in Texas" or so and so in one of the other 47 states will discover panes of silk coats in their family's holding of Liberty stamps. Maine is where they were sold and from where they were used.

As an aside the rarest plate number used to print the 3 cent Liberty stamps were issued to one or a few post offices. Yet it's price does not reflect the low impression number due to the fact just by chance a collector went and purchase a huge quantity of the sheets from the post office getting the rare plate number just by chance. When the scare plate number was determined and publicized, the collect realized what he had and shared it with the hobby. That one purchase satisfied collector demand keep the price low for something with so few impressions.