114, Reissue 125, Or Fake?

I have many 114s with very prominent grills. This one however does not. Would lo e some feedback

I seem to have one of these as well as pictured above. I found one on eBay with a certificate at a really high price.

US #114a, 3¢ ultramarine, Without Grill, og, hinged, PSE cert, Scott $13,000.00. It is still out there, but does not show the PSE. There are a couple of used ones available on eBay as well. I think you need to decide if you should send it out for certification and is it worth the cost? I doubt that I will send mine out, but only time will tell.

The grills on these issues can be notoriously weak. You could also contemplate 114a but only two used singles are recorded so it is highly unlikely that you have one. There is also a 114a variety on gray paper with molasses-like gum but again extremely rare. You should dip your stamp and sidelight it. You will likely see some grill points.

Let us know when you know, please?

What's the best dipping agent to use?

I will dip mine sometime next week and try to photo the results and post them here for review. Thanks for the suggestion and it will be interesting to see if any points appear.

dip = pretend you are watermarking it. Use standard watermark fluid or lighter fluid.

Here's pics from the dip. I used clarify watermark detector.

Well presented, I think you may have one..... However, that side illuminated view is not there. I would think sending it out might be warranted, especially if it might be one of only a very few. let us know!

The angled view shows what was likely to be the grill location, just slightly left of the center of the stamp. For sure it is not a re-issue (wrong type cancel).

1869 pictorial issues with missing grills can only be authenticated in mint condition with original gum.

Has a spot that might have had a grill at one time or should have but didn't get grilled? Just forget it completely and put it back in the pile. Sounds like zero value.

Bubbachismo, could we have a clear picture of the front? The large version in the OP is not helpful. 125s have extremely clear and distinct details with separation of the shading lines. The first few impressions from a 114 printing plate or a newly cleaned plate could be equally sharp, however. There is a difference in papers between the two, but you might not be able to tell.

Chipshot - if you were to draw a vertical line right through the center of the image of your stamp, then a horizontal line through the center, then I see an incredibly faint grill in the upper left quadrant, but up against those imaginary lines. The paper is 'bumpy' there, unlike anywhere else.

As has been said, these grills can be incredibly faint. Find an incredibly faint one to start with, and wet it down and press it under a ton of pressure, and the already incredibly faint grill becomes even more incredibly faint. I have had 3 or 4 over the years. None turned out to be the Re-issue, nor did they come back as 114a. I suspect a lot of these have been doctored.

Bubbachismo - no matter how hard I look at all the scans you posted (thank you, btw, for all of them), I cannot see what 'used to be' a grill. To me, there's something funky about the perfs T&B. The straight edge is a little curvy, to me, so I don't think that is 'original' either. the laid pattern of the paper is encouraging, but there is a spot (mid-stamp, a little off center towards the straight edge) that ALMOST looks like a thin layer of paper (covering something up???). What I describe is not at all apparent in the WM fluid - and it would. I cannot rule your's out, but I am definitely not comfy with it, either.

Here's some pics where I play with the photos a little. I appreciate the amazing support by the community and I hope I can do the same in return one day. I took some perf matching pics too but realized now one came out blurry. I'll get a new one when I get home.

mootermutt987 thank you for your observations......... I believe you are correct in your assessment, and further indicate that even if submitted it would be for naught. I understand the difficulty of trying to make a judgement on something that has been posted, and then kept for 150 years making it very hard to evaluate. I have "dipped" the stamp and have images using the side lighting. With what you have indicated I will only post them if I think it can be argued that there is no grill. I struggle with the images and file size requirements to get them posted. Thanks for everyone's help in that regard, but I still have a lot to learn.