Scott #41 - A Lot Going On With This Stamp.

Hi guys..Was working with my Scott #41 trying to write a small paper on "perforation identification adjustments" and came across this stamp.

1 - Perf is not 12 x 12, but actually 12 vertical and 12.2 Horizontal.
2 - Looks like double struck on line cancel.
3 - Colour does not appear to be aniline ink on the back.
4 - Print on the back is shifted 7.6 degrees.

See pictures below..Robert

That is interesting wert. It looks to nice to be a wet transfer, but you never know.

Neat. I think that is a kiss print, where the ink from a stamp below is transfered upwards to the back of the stamp(s) laid upon the below stamps.


The double struck 'on line' cancel is a multiple-line ovoid or oval obliteration, otherwise sometimes also known as a cancel.

Together with the circular date stamp part (rond cachet) if struck together at the same time, makes this a duplex type cancel or postmark.

But, I think at that time the two types, the circular and the obliteration part, were struck separately with two different stamping on devices.

Not too sure about double struck cancels as being normal..Just came across another stamp and it has single line..

Double strikes of cancels or obliterations are a normal occurance, now and then. Not especially rare to a collector though. They are interesting probably from a busy day, more stres, hurrying, etc.

Your example shows a multiple-lines obliteration that has been struck twice, so thus neat, but not a variety for a catalogue or pricing really I think. More a curiousity worthy of sharing, thank you, and explaining how this happens to a novice collector perhaps, to alleviate his worry.

Not a kiss print. A "kiss print" is when the paper is place on the inked plate, then repositioned before running through the press. The first time it was dropped on the plate (kissed the plate), it may have picked up some ink. It will appear as a doubling of the front of the stamp.

Reversed ink on the back would come from placing the printed sheet on top of a pile of previously printed stamps where the ink hadn't dried yet. Any angle to that print would be from the way the sheets were stacked. Such offsets (or set offs, as some say is more correct) are not particularly uncommon, though one where there is a fairly full and dark image are striking to look at.