Two Stamps Labeled 534B.

Gentlemen, let's get back to talking stamps and not personalities.

The two stamps in question are definitely "offset" printings, which narrows the ID question considerably. Having an image of the lower left quadrants will be additionally helpful to determine the types.

That said, I agree with the above comments that the very narrow margins mean they will never be certifiable as genuine imperfs since they can be trimmed from their perforated cousins. (All posted as the owner of three 534B stamps, all with Schermack type III vending perforations, one of which has a Philatelic Foundation cetiificate.)

Bubbachismo: You need to realize that even if your stamps happened to actually be 534Bs, there is no way to ever establish that fact. Which, in essence, means that you may as well assume that they are not. Too many 528B (or 534B with type III Schermack perforations) have been trimmed to look like the imperforate 534B. I think I still have one tucked away somewhere in a glassine envelope ... it looks much like yours except one of the horizontal margins is quite a bit wider. Which means that it probably was a 534B that started life with Schermack perforations which were subsequently trimmed off.
Moral of the story ... you can have the rarest stamp in the world in your possession, but unless there is sufficient evidence for experts to establish its identity as such, it is merely a wee bit of probably worthless paper.

Stamp1

Stamp2 heavy ink

I collect because it reminds me of my dad who I miss so much. Learning history doesn't interest me. I wouldn't assign a size "small" to treasure hunting, but rather one more reason people collect.

Treasure hunting can come in all forms. Is it a treasure if you buy an large lot at Rasdale for 10k and sell it for 50k?

The truth is when you see collections go on sale, the thing that is unsaid is that most collectors lost money on the transaction. With buyers/sellers premiums at 20%, taxes, handling, shipping, or dealers discounting buyouts, etc then profit is a fabled story for a collector.

Trophy stamps aside, which involve buying high, and selling even higher have largely been exceptions or tax havens on the flipside through trusts or proceed donations. That is at the highest end of the hobby with 6 or 7 figure buyers/sellers.

To summarize, the sure way to build a million dollar collection is to spend $2 million.

Me: I buy high and sell low.

Other people: But don't you lose money that way?

Me: Yea but I make up for it in quantity!!!

Stamp with "40" cancel has perf edges showing lower left side. Other stamp is wrong type.

Thanks rog

I collect cancels and I like the St. Louis 40 regardless of what stamp it is