Possible Scott 613 - Looking For Advice

Hi everyone, novice stamp collector here and need some help with this one. Thinking I might have something special, I've used a template and this stamp is definitely longer and wider so I think it may be rotary perf 11.

Looking for some advice :)

Not a 613.

Did you measure the perfs? What did you come up with?

Perforation rate is measured using a perforation gauge, not by counting the number of perf tips.

I used a perforation gauge and the perforation is 11x11. Trying to figure out if it would be worth sending for verification.

Why do you say so?

Ric - Your stamp is a flat plate printing. This may help:

The top stamp is a 613. The bottom stamp is a 610.



A high percentage of the rotary-printed stamps exhibit a gray patina and the color seems less crisp. Here again, comparing with known examples of Scott 612 will give you a benchmark for evaluating the color.

The reason for the patina is that the manual process of wiping excess ink from the flat-plate surface was replaced by an automated system for the rotary-press printing. It could work as well as a hand wiping but often did not, leaving a residue on the rotary plate that transferred to the imprinted areas of the stamp during printing.

https://www.linns.com/news/us-stamp...arding-.html

Turn it over and see if there is any ink offset on the back. If there is, it is proof that it is NOT a 613. Alas, if there is none, it proves nothing.

Due to the fact it is not a 613. Yes, , that is life.

You did not mention any reasons for your conclusion of which there are three which need verification nor did you use a proper template. Therefore I felt no need to give a detail including response, just the answer. I knew others would chime in with details.

Also because you jumped right to the very, very rare expensive lottery winning choice with out first ruling out all of the lesser (and common) possibilities. If you first showed it could not be a 610, 611, or 612, then a close examination of your item would be warranted.

A template is only good if you understand what tool you have created and how to use it. Not all flat plate stamps are equal and not all rotary stamps are equal. It takes care to be sure *exactly* what stamp you start with and its plate and paper characteristics. At the very least, use a known stamp from the same series as a template.

Here is an almost identical thread from 2 weeks ago:
http://goscf.com/t/84123&whichpage=1

As the curved plates of the Rotary press made the stamps slightly larger it is relatively easy to discern which stamp is flat plate and which is a rotary press stamp. First select any perf Washington Franklin stamp or the first issue Washington Franklin 1 cent or 2 cent. These are the stamps with the numbers one and two spelt out, instead of numbers being displayed. I chose the latter alternative as shown in the first image above.

People are always saying this:




Without acknowledging this:

The top and bottom of a flat plate is equal. But when it is forced to curve to fit a rotary press the circumference of the finished curved plate is smaller on the inside and larger on the outside of the finished curved plate. The inside stays the same size and it began but the outside, the stamp image side must stretch to grow to the longer required outside dimension. Such stretching is not equally uniform over the length of the plate it is close everywhere but still varies as the plate does not react, does not stretch the metal the same equally. Thus yes the image is stretched, but with small variations over the entire width of the plate.

Pi x 2(radius) [inside diameter] is one side after curving. Pi x 2(radius + thickness of the plate) [outside diameter] is the outside after curving. As the plate always has a thickness the outside printing surface will always be longer (stretched) as it is curved.

You can easily go through the mathematical contortions to determine the distance of the outside circle circumference that one stamp design occupied but you would end up with the number we already know to be plus/minus 22.5 mm so why bother. Paper shrinkage/expansion makes the .25 mm delta between flat and rotary printings pretty much worthless for making a positive determination. For reference a human hair averages .12 mm or half of that .25 mm. SO, if you are trying to eyeball the thickness of two human hairs or less have at it.

PS: Your template stamps are not immune from paper shrinkage/expansion either. IF you use the correct template to start with.

Extremely unlikely you have a 613. If you really must know for sure send it in for certification from either the PF, PSE, PSAG or APS. But don't get your hope up.

It has already been explained it is not a 613 and why. Do not send it in. Learn about what you have been given here.

Picking out one of the four certifying organizations mentioned also requires study and knowledge.