Interesting 2 Cent Washington Fake

For the real stamp detective...

This is absolutely known:
It is perf 10x11 (perf 10 top and bottom) and they fit the gauge precisely.
Design measures exactly 19mm W x 22mm H .
Flat Plate Press
No WMK

It's probably a type I of design A157, though it seems to me to have characteristics of both types.

I cannot find a stamp like this that exists. Since it is not rotary press, it can't be a coil stamp perfed on top and bottom. I don't even know of a fake like this that exists. I'm totally stumped on what this was or is supposed to look like. Since it is not a reperforated coil stamp (not rotary press due to the design dimensions) what could it be reperforated from?

I don't believe this is a 554d. Am I missing something?



Thanks


-IBFS

Yes, that is what 554d looks like. Here are reference copies:
http://pfsearch.org/pfsearch/pf_grd...lledfrom=lkp
Of course it could be faked - but possibly not. You should get a certificate and let us know!

I doesn't look re-perforated to me. Maybe you have something there! I been searching through hundreds of these lately trying to find a certain stamp. I'd be blown away if one just showed up like that!

I thought you had already sent it! It doesn't look reperfed. Give it a rip and keep the fingers crossed!

Sorry everyone...Bill is referring to a post that I deleted saying that it could have been a faked Scot #606. But it couldn't be because of the design dimensions. In that post I said I hadn't sent it in because I wanted more opinions (thanks Bill).

OK. I'll send it in to PF. If it is a fake I'll be out about $55.00. But I've wasted more money than that before. My guess is after all the fees, if it is genuine, I would wind up with $1500.00 +/- for it from an auction. Then I would have to subtract about $600.00 for the expertization which leaves +/- $900.00. I guess I could buy alot of stamps with that.


-IBFS

Looking at the Scott 554d though it says perf 10 top or bottom. That would indicate one of the perforation mechanisms was damaged and replaced. That is what yours looks like. I see perf 11 on sides and bottom with perf 10 along the top. I'll cross my fingers also.

It is perf 10 on top and bottom tho. "Known" issues of 554d are perf 10 on top or bottom. But chasa's link shows an interesting example. There is one that is perf 10 on the bottom only and on one side. So why couldn't one be perf 10 on top and bottom?

I think compound perforations cast all of the censuses of 554d out the window. In my research, new certified examples are showing up in auctions with a reasonable frequency. This puts the actual rarity of 554d in question I think, in the minds of buyers. This would explain why $2400.00 to $2700.00 seems to be the auction house's average hammer amount. Dramatically different from Scott's Cat. value of $10,000.00. I don't know where Scott got that number from.

But the key question remains, if it is fake, what stamp was it faked from? Hopefully this will fall into the hands of a real expertizer who will spend some time on it.


Thanks for the replies
-IBFS

IBFS - yours is perf 10 at top only - and - not created from a SC606 which 'look' different.
The MOST likely explanation is a SC554 straitedged at top that somebody put holes in [fake],
but, as the PF pictures show 554d's can look pretty funky so there is hope.

Without a certificate - it is a curious stamp but not valuable/saleable.
With a good certificate - it is a curious stamp and very valuable.
With a bad/fake certificate - it is a curious stamp and not valuable/saleable.

I will let everyone know what PF says. It will take 4-6 weeks they say.


-IBFS

Yes. It is perf 11 on the bottom. Hmmm. But I don't know how you guys caught that from a scan.


-IBFS

Hawk eyes! I've gone through so many stamps I learned to see things as quickly as possible and move on before a brain freeze hits. I have stacks of Scott 632-633-634 and so on. The perfs look good to me. They all seem to have the right amount of "fuzz" inside.

Update 5/24/13 --

I sent the stamp in to PSE today. They will check it's authenticity and grade it. Their turnaround time is about 30 business days. I will let you all know what they say.


-IBFS

Good for you IBFS, good for you!

That's great. Congratulations.

Hey! I'm totally ignorant when it comes to stamps but I feel like I have three of these...am I completely wrong?

IBFS: I can't measure the perfs from your scan ... but I can count the number of perfs on both top & bottom. From that I can conclude that the perf measurements are different & that the bottom has higher gauge number than the top. Since you admitted the top was perf 10, it is natural to assume the bottom is perf 11. While it may appear to be a bit of a long shot, I hope you have a rarity!