#3087 Coloration Issues

I don't know if it's permitted to post a link to current or completed eBay auctions on this forum, but I have noticed that some USPS sealed sheets of #3087 have what appear to be a tinting, shading or coloration problem on a block of the stamps in the 2nd and 3rd rows. They appear to be a different shade of white than the rest of the stamps on the sheet. What is the cause of this?

Without link or picture we are in the dark

Peter

Here are two examples

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Scott-3087...047675.l2557

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1996-USPS-...047675.l2557



The stamps on the left part of the 2nd and 3rd row seem to be a different shade of white than the others on the sheet.

In both links the images are photographs, not scans. So the ambient lighting can cause all kinds of strange things. In the image above, it appears to me to be an overhead light source reflecting off the sheet.

Have you seen scanned images which show the issue?
Don

51studebaker. I haven't seen scanned images, but here is another one. It seems like the second or third row on a lot of the sheets in this lot are affected.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/TEN-10-199...047675.l2557

Many stamps of that era were sold in stores within post offices where the stamps were displayed in racks on the wall. You would select the stamps you wanted and take them to the counter to pay. The packaging sometimes included an electronic anti-theft device that was attached to the cardboard stiffener as a white sticker approximately 2 x 2 inches in size. That's what you're seeing on these two examples. Notice that the color showing through the perforation holes in the affected area is white while the remainder show the blue color of the cardboard stiffener. Attached is a scan of a stiffener showing the white sticker.




Here's what the device on the back of the sticker looks like if you peel it off (doesn't always come off cleanly).

I just looked at this item. It appears there is a piece of paper under that sheet which is giving that illusion of a different color; while also making the stamps look part imperforate if you glance at it quickly.

After writing I just looked at above post. What philatomic said.

Addendum: yes, an rf device to help prevent theft. Chip with a coiled antenna.

Thank you for the explanation. Do values, desirability, collectability, et cetera differ between sealed sheets that were sold at post offices vs the USPS mail order division?

What do you all think about the future desirability from a collector standpoint of these stamps vs other Olympic stamps?

I doubt it. I wouldn't pay more for sealed panes. But you can check completed sales on ebay to see if there's a difference. I see that the lot of 10 sealed panes sold for only $35 vs. a face value of $64.

Stamps sold by mail order from the USPS facility in Kansas City also typically come packaged. Currently they include ordinary grey card stock for a stiffener but in the past white cardboard with a USPS logo has been used.

philatomic: Thank you for the information. I guess Olympic themed stamps from that period don't have that much demand, hence the low sales price. It's interesting how certain stamp subjects like Wildflowers, Wildlife, Space, and Cartoons are still in high demand today.

If you pay full face or more for any of the modern issues, other than genuinely scarce issues, you are overpaying. Even if the subject matter is popular all of these issues were printed by the hundreds of millions and billions.