Great Grandfather's US Stamp Collection

@ray, I do have a cert, PSE 01262108

It's been a while all! I've been doing various things, but now I think at this point I have done a first sorting of stamps I'd consider certifying. I am going to lookover again to see if any obvious fakes can be taken out, but this was my first look through the collection that I thought had a) a big enough CV AND b) difficulty in identification/commonly faked to merit a cert. The ones most likely to be taken out of the running will be the ones originally labelled 449 (these especially since they don't appear to measure up to vertical coil print size), 388, and 23.

Since certifying each stamp does add up in costs I also may whittle down some of the ones with multiple copies and only select the best looking one. I think it's a good start though, and for the time being the focus of these candidates is on confirming the identity rather than grading in quality not withstanding one or two of them. I was looking at doing PF for the cert'ing.

Have you measured the #315?

Yes, the 315 was measured and does meet the minimum measurements to be considered a candidate for an imperf. It also has the tiny eye portrait from my layman's perspective, and with these two traits it's enough for me to get it cert'ed.

I also took out the 449's as they were too small to be those. They are more likely 442 flat plates if they are true coils. One of the 445's also turned out to be a rotary press coil (far left one) so that got taken out too. Areas I'm still considering for cert'ing are some of the 24c washington 70/78's and maybe some of the higher Banknote era (90c) stamps. I am always open to other suggestions of general areas to consider outside the WF not mentioned to this point.

I would carefully check for faults on the 27, 28, 28a before sending them in. An average-centered copy could generously net 20% of CV at auction, if that is your goal. Paying 5% for a cert is arguable whether it will increase your proceeds by 5%. If you get a clean cert then the odds are higher, but if the cert says even something minor like a perf tip crease then it is almost better not paying for a cert. My opinion. Same with the 24c's and 90c's unless they are well centered and pretty. I don't think those are 70b's, but of course colors on the computer screen are hard to judge.

If you intend to keep the stamps, having the certificate to guarantee the ID is certainly good peace of mind and will help anyone in the future to sell them to know exactly what they are.

The purpose of cert'ing is for identification purposes, selling the stamps are not a top priority at this time. The centering is not top choice for the 5c's but they all appear sound. The 24c washingtons I intend to talk in person with an expert before deciding to submit any of those and anything else they may suggest.

During the last inspection I took out a fraudulent 353 that had trimmed perfs. Some of the perf 12 coils have narrow margins so I keep checking them over to see if there is anything overtly wrong with them. The coils really are frequently faked.

Look at the straight edges on all the coils. If they are "sharp" as if cut by a sharp instrument, that's a red flag although not a "deal breaker". Also check the relationship of the perfs on all flat plate coils. If they appear as a "mirror" image, of each other, that's also a red flag. Look at these: Second #356, second #385, #387, third #349, first #351, and the second #352. Flat plate perfs can, but usually do not have that effect. Again, not a deal breaker but something to be aware of.

Certainly. This is why I am going through multiple checks before committing to a cert. Worst case I'll replace any fakes later with real ones (and with certs).

It would be nice to see a scan of the potential 64.

Here you go. It's the one on the left.

The small ball at the bottom left being almost missing and the scrollwork above it being a bit faint, as well as the indistinctness between the shading line at the bottom of the left numeral three and the lattice work there, though not a prominent as some #64s, are characteristic of a #64.

I got the first ten stamps I'd like cert'ed sent in to the Philatelic Foundation. I got their confirmation letter last Friday, and they processed the stamps two days before that (20 August). When they are authenticated the numbers will be 615289-615298. I had the following sent in with my initial scott number ID, some for grading: 27 used, 28 used, 28 duplicate used, 28A used, 64 used, 315 MH, 394 MH LP, 395 MH LP, 396 Used LP, and a 446 used pair. I will be sending in some more stamps in a few weeks after some more scrutinizing.

The following pics showed how I packaged the stamps to the PF. I added cardboard shims in between as well.

While asking a question to the PF about how I would pay for my remaining balance, they informed me my stamps are ready to be shipped pending that payment as of yesterday the 19th. I will know the balance next week, but will not know the entire results until they are in my hands.

I also met with a W-F expert with a microscope to closely check the coils I had at the Spellman museum. Unfortunately, quite a few were likely to be faked going through the two pages above, most of the suspects being perf 12 coils. A few did pass the test and will be sent in for cert'ing, but it definitely hurts for the ones that do appear fake (the used 355 pair especially).

suspected fakes

However, I now have a good reference collection of fakes, and I can curate what stamps I want to get that are genuine to replace them. I also learned what a faked/trimmed edge looks like with the microscope tool. No faked stamps from imperforates with fake perfs were found, but there was a reference collection of fakes that I was able to look at for learning purposes.

good enough to cert

There are tons of fake WF coils out there.

No kidding! I vaguely understood that statement, but seeing it in action with my collection really imparts that lesson.

I got the invoice today, and I am happy to say all the stamps were submitted as I identified them, all except for the 64. Turns out PF identifies it as a 64b/rose pink. I will be very excited to receive them back in the mail soon, hopefully later this week.