Some Questions About Fake Franklin Scott 318

So before I send this away and get told it's a forgery can I get enlightened about how it would be done. The stamp is used. First question if they exist new, why can't a used one exist? This one has a green line at the bottom of the stamp so it appears imperforate at least at the bottom. The back of the stamp (the one on the left) has the cover and a hinge still mostly attached and clearly sold for 1/3 cents.
What would be the purpose of forging a stamp so you could use it? Lastly, are there dimensions that would clearly show this stamp as fake because of perf trimming? Thanks in advance.
Ed

I believe the green line is a dead giveaway that this is a sheet stamp. Coilstamps never had a line there as far as I know.


Peter

Peter, The early coil stamps were made from flat plate sheet stock so they have the standard horizontal and vertical cut lines. The green line is not a confirming or condemning feature of these.

Jojo, Gentle correction on terminology, since exacting terminology is very important. The stamp is a genuine stamp produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for the Post Office Department, it is not a forgery.

That said, it is very likely a Scott 300 sheet stamp which had been trimmed/cut and now resembles a coil stamp - whether accidentally or on purpose. Some would call that situation a fake. Yes, there are generally accepted minimum heights considered to be pass/fail for coils, which I don't have handy at the moment. And the straight edges must be absolutely parallel.

They both could use a careful soaking, although it appears that the remaining backing paper extends exactly to the edges of the stamps which suggests the stamps were peeled from envelopes, THEN cut to resemble the coils. So oddly, the backing paper remnants may be the feature which is most condemning to these!

The top edge is not straight. And not parallel to the bottom edge. What is the vertical measurement edge to edge? Anything less than 25 mm is suspicious. What is the perforation measurement? This stamp was privately perforated with a gauge close to the Bureau gauge but would make it much less valuable, assuming everything is genuine.

Thank You. Any thoughts on what appears to be a watermark or some kind of fancy pattern that goes around the inside border of the stamp? I'll remove the hinge and see if that clears up anything. Again thanks. Ed

24 1/2 mm vertical