Help With 4c Proprietary Stamp Color And Number Please

Looking in the Scott book today for this stamp and can not find a color or giving number for it. It looks to me like a R3 style.

I was reading the Forward Page of Revenue Stamps in Scotts and read that many color variations occurred, particularly if unstable pigments were used and color was intended to be purple or violet such as the 4c Proprietary, 30c, and $2.50 stamps. Is this the problem with this stamp or is it just a badly faded black or even a purple.

I would appreciate your thoughts and comments.
Newby

This shade would be slate. Scott only lists purple, but the Boston Book lists 10 different shades for this particular stamp. They are all pretty much equally common, this is a fairly early shade. They go from slates to lilacs to mauve's to browns.

Thanks for chimming in revcolletor. It looked gray to me but I wasn't for sure. Would you know the number of this one so I can log it and put it back in the book.

Thanks again for your knowledge.
Newby

R22c

Although it is a poor strike, the cancellation on this stamp is a black oval for Dr. D.H.S.& Co. This makes it a medicine provisional usage of Dr. D. H. Seelye & Co., used before their Match & Medicine stamp was ready (Scott RS222a). It's a well known cancel that is not overly scarce. The M&M stamp is an 8 cent value, so these were probably used in pairs originally.

revcollector thanks so much. I was thinking R22 but the color was throwing me and just didn't see anything else of the color I had or even close for that fact. I wish Scott would be more in depth on BOB items and actually; for more of the regular issues for that matter.

You think if it was the Holy GraiI book of stamps it would list all the variations of colors. Then a person wouldn't have to by a heep of books. I may opt to find one of those Boston Books because I have some more Revenues with cancels, but I'm not a real collector as a lot of folks here. I just have a lot of stamps that need to be logged correctly hopefully one of the boys will take it up when I'm gone.

This forum is the best.
There's no place like this place any place.
Newby