R15B -- Could This Be Real?

R15b is listed but unpriced in Scott. Could this be a real one? The date is suspicious but nonetheless...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/R15B-USIR-P...em2ee6a9a1a2

Perhaps, but you can see how off center the bottom is and it's not too difficult to think that the sides were very wide as well. The 2 cent USIR was not issued until October of 1864, so there is little reason to think that imperf or part perf stamps were ever issued except possibly in error. There were huge numbers issued, so an error sheet is possible but there should be a few multiples around if that were the case. Seems pretty unlikely.

This is one of those stamps that I wouldn't touch without a PF cert or in a pair of correct orientation.

The PF search shows one old example with a clean cert as a pair, but even so it is a pair in the wrong direction.

That cert is so old it's all but worthless, probably 40+ years. Alas.