Q Re Scott Nomenclature

I am puzzled by the way Scott's indicates the year of issue in several cases.

Example from USA section of Scott Specialized (2011):

1897-1903 (In bold-face type)
297B 2c red, type IV ('99)
c. 2c rose carmine, type IV ('99)
d. 2c orange red, type IV, horiz. wmk. ('00)
e. 2c orange red, type IV, vert. wmk.

No year of issue is given for 279B e. Should I infer that it is the same as 297B d, i.e., 1900, or should I presume that it is the first year defined in the heading, i.e., 1897?

Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Donald

I think you must mean Scott 279B (not 297B, which doesn't exist). In any case, my 2013 Scott Specialized Catalog clarifies it a bit further, presumably because legitimate covers have been found to document the varieties noted:

First, the 1897-1903 in bold face type is the "series"

As to the detailed listings, my catalog references:

279B (Red, Type IV) May 1899
c. (Rose Carmine, Type IV) March 1899
d. (Orange Red, Type IV, Horizontal Watermark) June 1900
e. (Orange Red, Type IV, vertical watermark (error)) May 1902

... and, of course, there are additional letter-suffixes for other varieties.

There is also a footnote indicating these Earliest Documented Uses:
279B, July 6, 1899
279Bc, March 30, 1899
279Bc in bright rose carmine, July 16, 1899
279Bd, June 8, 1900

Thanks, wt1. Yes, I fat-fingered the 279B into 297B. Sorry...

Donald

wt1: It seems from your explanation that I should not infer any date for any Scott entry that does not show a date.

Given that, in the same series as 279B, do you, or anyone else in the Forum have information on the year of issue for 280a, lilac brown, and 280b, orange brown? Scott is silent on these, but shows 280, rose brown, as ('98).

As always, I appreciate the help.
Donald

Haha...Never be sorry dlambert1..We all make silly mistakes..Check out my past posts....haha

I read my 2013 Scott Specialized as grouping together all stamps #280, #280a and #280b in terms of date of use, with the issue date said to be October 7, 1898, with the earliest recorded example known to be November 13, 1898. That information is recited under the section "Statistics" at this link as well:

http://www.theswedishtiger.com/280-scotts.html

wt1: Thanks for the link and I have bookmarked it for future use.

I am wondering why your Scott Specialized has more detail than mine. Perhaps because mine is the world wide volume and yours may be the US volume. I have ordered a used copy of the latter and will check out some of these details when I receive same.

Thanks, again.
Donald