Scott 986 - Edgar Allen Poe

My Scott Specialized catalogue notes that there is a version of the stamp with the "Thin outer frame line at top, inner line missing", and then it continues with "(24143 LL 42)". I've figured out that 24143 is the plate number, but what does the "LL 42" mean? Is 42 a position on the sheet, in which case do you count over then down or down then over? And in any case, what does the "LL" indicate?

Any insights from this forum are appreciated.

Thank you.

Alan

LL 42 means Lower Left position 42. Count from left to right and then top to bottom.

Peter

Peter,

Thank you for your response. I had thought that LL might mean Lower Left, but it seemed superfluous given the position notation of "42" which is very specific. Even more confusing is that I have a full sheet, plate block number 24143, and none of the stamps are missing that inner line. "Curiouser and curiouser", said Alice.

You don't have a full sheet of the Poe stamps. A full sheet is actually 4 panes of 50 each. I would doubt anyone outside of the BEP and PS has full sheets. You actually have a full pane of the Poe stamp. Depending on where the plate number is found you could have an UR, UL, LR, or LL pane of the sheet. The listing means that only 1 stamp out of the 200 stamps printed in a full sheet has the variety.

Many collectors incorrectly use the word "sheet of stamps" when they really mean "pane of stamps". We can more easily understand this today when we think about the Press Sheets the PS is currently selling. The PS sells full press sheets of stamps. However, some dealers cut the press sheets into Panes and sell them, as does the PS at its offices.

To further illustrate Glenn's explanation ... here are 4 matched plate block positions from the 4 panes of a sheet. (illustration borrowed and cropped from the web)

FYI..
Here is an example of a full sheet (except 400 stamps) that Glenn is referencing, the yellow is a full pane.
Don

Ah, "I see" said the blind man. So the LL stands for Lower Left Pane. and my plate number is in the Lower Right, I understand why my position 42 stamp is normal. Thank you all for the explanation.

Alan