Identifying Cut Squares And Entires

I recently acquired a large accumulation of old entires and cut squares. I'm also slowly acquiring some knowledge about this genre of collecting. Thought I'd post a few examples here to both check that I'm identifying correctly and to ask for some help on some of the more problematic examples. Thanks in advance for any and all guidance! I'm using a 2005 US Specialized catalog for reference.

First up, this rather nice entire



I see 6 different red two-cent inscriptions in the catalog ... U60-U65

comparing a closeup of my inscription to the description of each of these, I was able to eliminate all but U64

here's a closeup



U60 has no wavy lines in the ovals
U61 has 4 wavy lines, mine only has 2
U62 has blurred and thickened lines in oval, mine are clear
U63 has 3 1/2 links over the lefthand 2, mine has 2 links
U65 has a round O in TWO with a dash above, mine does not appear round and has no dash ...

U64 has 2 links below right hand 2 which mine appears to have

so U64 yes?

another one, not so old but interesting anyway ... I easily found the catalog reference for this one, U581, and the listing mentions entire first day cancel Williamsburg. Is there a catalog or reference that might include my example?

this 1891 entire is in very good condition IMO. There are three possibilities in my catalog ... U70 U71 or U72. The cancel smudges out the ears and mouth making those difficult to use, but I think the point of the bust and the bar on the G make this pretty easy to identify as U72 or catalog U318 ... which is nice as this variety is much scarcer than the very common U71/U311.

front


back


closeup


catalog

well after finding another example of U318(?) I'm less confident that I've got it right ... anyway how about this one?

I'm pretty sure that it's image U67 and brown lake in color which would make it a U277a or maybe even a U278a (amber paper). I'm a little confused by the left numeral however ... does not match the catalog U67 (sorry for the blurriness but you can make out what I'm referring to I think). Any help on this one?

entire


closeup


Numeral


catalog

my guesses: first U61 SC 260 aged white paper.
second U71 SC U311 "
third U67 SC U277 - always hard to distinguish colors online but this looks like the 'normal' color to me.

How nice to find a fellow collector. Here are a few of mine on various colored envelopes. I'd like to know which they are as well.

thanks Chas ... I bow to your experience, especially on the U71. I've another copy of that one with a much clearer bust to help see the marks.

But what about the U61/64? Mine appears (to me at least) to only have 2 wavy lines.

And I don't know about the colors on the last one either. It doesn't look brown to me at all but rather clearly has some red in it.

At any rate I've joined the UPSS Society and ordered their catalog ... so I look forward to doing a better job of identification.

thanks for those images Bfranton! Do you consider all of those to be 'brown'? Do you have a 'brown-lake' for comparison? I've looked at a few online color charts ... and I swear my cover matches the brown-lake better than the brown. Maybe wishful thinking I guess ...

also the paper ... my cover appears to match your last image ... is that considered amber paper or is it normal?

thanks!

The last is, I'm fairly certain, fawn. I think I have a scan with all the paper shades somewhere.

Even if we were all in the same room we might view the colors differently. Ambient light also can influence how the colors look.

And then we add in how the image is generated (scanner settings, software manipulation, file format compression, and upload 'optimization') and the image may no longer accurately represent the colors. Finally, even if we discount all of the above, we are all viewing the images on different devices and monitors. What may look very white on my monitor may look less white on yours.
Don



I hesitate to post the image above but it has some value since all the images were scanned in one pass. This illustrates the relative differences but caution should be used if trying to make a definitive ID of a color in-hand.

I agree with chasa, U260, U311, U277.
For the U581, there must be a topical area for papal-related covers.
You see the left "2" on the U277 with and without the hatching. Could be differences in working dies, or maybe the hatching disappears with age of die.
It doesn't really come into the catalog number determination in this case, but the U260 above has 2 1/2 links below the right "2".

I like your visual and agree, that color is most subjective.

thanks Thomas! I bow to your wisdom! I went back and looked and the U64 doesn't have ANY wavy lines ... so my copy can't be that. U260 it is!

Here is a fawn envelope for comparison.

Even though it wasn't designed for this purpose, the UPSS's ERP (earliest reported postmark) database can be used to get an idea of the paper color of an envelope.

http://www.upss.org/erp/index.php

I purposefully chose a waffly term ("get an idea") because you won't be able to find an exact match. Maybe just get a list of 2 or 3 colors it might be.

In any case, it can be a useful resource for the U.S. envelope collector.

you guys have been very helpful and thanks a lot! How about this one? I make it as a U412a? Carmine on amber die2?