Stamp, 90 Cent With Grill, Scott #144 Or #144A

Hello,

could someone help me with this stamp?

It seems to be a #144. Could it be a #144A?

What do you think?

Thanks for your help and opinions!

The PF search only shows one 144a certified. PSE has zero. Though I can't tell for certain from the scan, it would be a very rare find indeed. It is certainly nicely centered, but some perfs might be reperfed. I would strongly recommend sending it in for a cert.

I agree with the previous post ... have the stamp certified. While it is unlikely to be an I grill (and hence 144A), there is also the possibility of a fake grill. I once purchased a 139 that proved to not be 139 ... the grill was fake.

Lot's of reperfing going on.

I agree with Rog. I'm not very accomplished at recognizing reperfs. That said, the only edge that I would give a pass to is the top.

The other three sides all look suspicious.

Thanks a lot for your answers.

One question to get better in recognizing reperfs, in general, how it is possible to recognize a reperf from a original perforation?

Thanks for your help and opinions!

Two things about this stamp's perforations caught my eye. First, most of the perforations (left, right, bottom) seem too regular & uniform for a stamp that has been torn from a full pane. Second, when one separates stamps along the perforations, small fibers are left hanging off the perf edges. These fibers are not much in evidence except along the top. The perf tips are too "clean", so to speak.

Certainly has great eye appeal, but as others remarked, the extreme regularity of perfs on a stamp of that era raises questions. I'd suggest getting itt certified to get a good knowledgeable direct look under the microscope at the grill and the perfs. Probably best to have that done by one of the US groups who look at these often.

I agree with the others on the perforations. Nice eye appeal, but I suspect that is 'artificial'. As to the grill - there is one good thing going for the grill being genuine. The back view shows the cancel ink 'bleeding' through at some of the grill points. This is what grills were intended to do - to make the cancelling ink soak into broken fibers of the paper and making it impossible to clean off the cancel and re-use the stamp. It looks like it was grilled before it was cancelled, and the cancel looks good. Not proof, but a good sign.

I concur with all opinions regarding the perforations and would add that the hole diameters on the left and right are larger than the bottom.

Don't get your hopes up for a 144A. The PF, and probably PSE, won't certify an incomplete I-grill as anything but an H-grill. That's part of the reason the 90c I-grill is so extraordinarily rare - it has to be complete to get serious attention.


FWIW the color of the stamp looks a bit light on my monitor for a National print - but sometimes they are like that. It's not a stopper for submission.