Slightly Off-Center...

Or F-VF if Apfelbaum is selling it...

The rare "missing design" variety.

Yours is an extreme example -- so much so that I find it interesting and not just very poorly centered. That said, I'm dumbfounded by experienced ebay sellers who regularly describe stamps as XF, Superb, or even Gem, when they are barely F, if that.

Yeah, this goes beyond simple bad centering and strays into EFO territory, which is why I picked it up. No extreme value, but a curiosity.

Is there any consensus on the characteristics of F, F-VF, and VF centering on 1st issue revenues?

It varies by stamp, in my opinion. For example, many of the part perfs are routinely badly off center left-to-right, so what might pass for VG or F on a front-of-book stamp would actually be VF or better for the type. R77c-R80c are very tightly spaced on the sheet, so examples with designs clear of perfs on all 4 sides are very few and far between.

What about for the typical, first issue "c" stamps - would there still be a lot of variation between the specific stamps? Since I don't have 50 years left to gain the experience that many of you have, I am trying to get a sense of whether a grade listed for a first issue "c" stamp is reasonable.

I'm the wrong person to ask about that, as I ignore stated grades for the most part. The difference between a VG and a VF is whether you're buying or selling.

In the areas I collect, "grade" is frequently irrelevant or of minor consideration compared to other attributes of the stamp or document. Unless you're talking PF or PSE certified 90 or higher, the grade usually doesn't have that much of an impact on the value/price as much as sound vs. not sound. Revenue collectors tend not to split hairs on F-VF vs. VF vs. VF/XF as much as front-of-book collectors do.

Reminds me of the old chestnut:

Collector: "Do you grade this F or VF?"

Dealer: "I grade it $25."

(In other words, feel free to grade it whatever you want, but my price is $25.)

I agree up to a point, but for me the terms "XF" and "Superb" have a connotation of centering and condition that is often completely ignored by some ebay sellers in both their descriptions and their prices. They're obviously aiming at inexperienced and uninformed buyers because the overblown descriptions are visually obvious. I am continually tempted to fire off a snarky message but have restrained myself so far.

Okay. Sorry for the rant. This is a personal ebay pet peeve.

Agreed. I guess what I meant is that in general, unless you are talking about high-end grades, if person is buying a stamp for a specific cancel, plate variety, or on-document usage, they are likely not going to shun a F example because it isn't VF or XF. In those cases, the grade tends to be somewhat secondary.

With respect to ebay sellers, there is one in particular that always annoyed me, that had the words "SUPERB & PRISTINE" in *EVERY* stinking listing, even for faulty and damaged stamps. Wanted to smack him with a clue by four.

When collecting plate varieties, it is sometimes advantageous to look for off centered examples which might show a specific variety better. There are double transfers, foreign entries, and major cracks and scratches that show in the margins.