Query About An Interesting Hermes Head Stamp

I understand that but can you just provide one example that shows a hickey/donut the size of the one on my stamp? The perfect placement of it is another story...

I'm out, I think this thread is going nowhere quickly.
Don

First, the "111" in dots cancel on your stamp was applied at the Zakyntos Island post office.

Second, there are two types of printing flaws that look similar. One is a constant flaw that is the result of a defect in the cliche that was used to print a particular position on the sheet - after the cliche was damaged, all stamps printed from that cliche show the same fault. The second type is a "non constant" flaw which can be caused by variety of things that happen on a single print run. Maybe a speck of dirt on the cliche, maybe the bed below the sheet of stamps had a nail poking through, paper inclusion, etc. This second type of flaw is usually not worthy of a price premium while a constant flaw variety can be much more valuable.

To "prove" a constant flaw, two or more copies have to be documented. The Hermes heads stamps have been well studied and of the 40 lepta denomination there are only 8 major constant flaws recorded (and the same printing plates remained in use for more than 20 years). Your "flaw" is not one of these eight constant flaws (See HELLAS catalog). So, by default, and unless/until you find an exact duplicate, your flaw has to be a classified as non constant flaw.

I happen to have a small display of Large Hermes Heads stamps and covers here:
http://www.rfrajola.com/Greece/Greece.htm

Richard Frajola - Thank you for that information. What I really have to do is get a high quality photo of the circle's inner workings. That would be the only way to prove that it was done with purpose and therefore has meaning.

51studebaker - Pe@ce!

I give up.

jamesw - Why do you say that? It's easy to say it's a donut or ink hickey but providing solid examples obviously is not. I wasn't able to find an example of a hickey that matches the size of the one on my stamp so I asked if you could. Thank you for contributing to this discussion though.

You are not going to find an example of a hickey the exact size of yours, because, since it's a piece of dirt on the plate (assuming it is an ink hickey) then finding an exact match will be next to impossible. There may be a few other examples from the same print run where the dirt affected the printing, then the dirt may be gone. It's transitory. Expecting to find a perfect match is pie in the sky. IF the error was a plate flaw, then more examples could probably be found, if you spent years looking. But a piece of dirt on a printing plate from over a hundred years ago, I just don't have that available. Remember, there were thousands, if not millions of these stamps printed. Sometimes you just have to look at the evidence and make a call.

WC .. What part of my detailed explanation / definition did you not understand? Maybe I can expand but I do not really think so.

You have a one-off, non constant flaw that was not put on by aliens. Cause unknowable (but more likely to be something on the cloth bed the sheet was sitting on when it went thru the rollers than any other cause).

James - I'm not asking for an identical match. I'm asking for an example of a hickey that is "similar". You haven't shown any ones that are what I would consider similar enough to discredit the upside down head that I can clearly see with a magnifier.


Richard - You're right. Aliens have never placed secret symbols for the enlightened mind in their artwork.

There is no up side down head. You see what you want see. It's a matter of interpretation...yours.
It was not placed there by aliens, god, faeries, the NRA, KKK, Bernie Sanders, Sasquatch or my Aunt Lillian.
It's just a splotch on an old stamp. It gives no added value, no intrinsic appeal and no hidden message telling us Paul is dead.
It just is.

Fair enough James. I guess Hermes isn't Roman messenger God Mercury. I guess the ancient Greeks were wrong to name the major cult center of Thoth "Hermopolis" because of the similarities Hermes shared with Thoth, the God of wisdom. You're right and I'm wrong.

Can't argue with logic like that. Like I said, I'm done.

No doubt. It's just unfortunate that so many seem to discredit my theory when no one including yourself can provide a simple donut/ink hickey example that is similar to this one. If it is so common it shouldn't be that hard. I feel like I'm pulling teeth asking for some solid photographic evidence of a similar mark.

WCStamps, we are a stamp forum and as such we seek a technical solution to any plate flaw. Nothing wrong with symbolism, but most likely not used here. If you like to see some pictures of a "donut" please search for this title: "Nice 1c 1857 plate flaw, 71R7". Keep in mind that there are all sorts of these found as plate flaws - the stamp in the thread is just one example.

Peter

Peter - That's understandable and I would love to be able to say the mark on my Hermes head stamp is definitively a donut caused by dust, but there isn't a great example of this that I can find. The post by james describing ink hickies and paper hickies doesn't really give any idea of the size of the marks shown in the corresponding image. I was able to find a donut shaped white circle on one other stamp but it was much, much smaller than the one on this Hermes head stamp. My point is that if it is what you gentlemen are saying it is then an example of a donut this size should be out there. I have a feeling that donuts and ink hickies are created by very tiny particles of dust or dirt and leave very, very tiny marks that a Master Printer would take issue with and therefore it was documented. I don't believe this marking on the Hermes stamp was created by dust or dirt due to its size. That's all I'm saying. Thanks again Peter.