1c 1851 Plate 3 Stamps

txstamp - yes, that crack is present and illustrated on my album page for this pair. It can be seen under magnification running approx. NW-SE from the white medallion oval above the E of CENT to the outer bottom label below the N of CENT, and is visible in the upper arm and lower serif of the E. In Whole #110 of the CHRONICLE (1981, p. 103) there is an article by Neinken and Cipolla that includes an "improved" drawing of 7R3 showing this crack.

dudley - nice.

I think that each 7R3 I've seen has had the crack, but since it got missed in the Neinken book (except for the lower-right: he drew part of it). So I'll conclude for now that all copies probably have it to some degree, and whatever one that Neinken was looking at probably had it, but it just wasn't well defined.

Yes, thanks, I remember now that Ron Cipolla updated that crack in Chronicle 110. I keep a copy of that issue inside my Neinken book. That whole article started when Ron noticed that the top row left pane of plate 3 was incorrectly plated in Neinken. If I recall the S-curls clued him into this. They almost had to be adjacent positions, since the foreign matter on the transfer roll wouldn't vanish then re-appear on non-adjacent positions. I recall verifying most of his new top row plating back in the 90s. I don't recall finding any errors.

To go with your 6-7R3, here is 8R3. 8R3 shows one of the two most prominent cracks on plate 3. I will have to redo this scan another day. Vertically between the US of the top label, my scanner shifted the scan somewhat and inserted that skew you see in the image. Its not on the stamp. Also, the color is poorly reproduced.

Anyway, I decided to upload it anyway, since you can see the nice crack in it plainly.

The status of the stamp being a Plate 3 stamp is not in question. What is not known is what position it is. Ron Cipolla had two copies of the position in his collection, one which clearly shows the guide dot for the stamp above. Even with that, the actual plate position remains a mystery.

Here is an 82L3 that I made a half an effort to buy on ebay pretty recently. I lost to one of my usual bidding foes.

That 82L3 is a nice example of the fine cracks that are often found on plate 3 stamps. They frequently are not that strong, but sometimes are.

One thing I've been curious about, is whether the cracks got wider and stronger over time. I haven't ever conducted a good scientific experiment to figure that out ... my feeling is that they did get a little stronger towards late 1856. My only reservation in stating that is that I don't have enough data points from 1857 printings. From memory only, I don't necessarily recall seeing strong cracks from 1857. I want to say that most of the strong looking cracks I've seen were from late 1856 - most approaching the dark prussian blue shade, like this 82L3. So, I do have to wonder if the ink itself somehow made the cracks look stronger at this point.

How does a block of four compare to a strip of three?

Just saw this # 7 block. It is likely not a plate 3 item.
I do not see these often on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/27037596151...RK:MEBIDX:IT

Block looks like b reliefs bottom rows plate 2, maybe 83r2,84r2, 93r2,94r2???? Hard to tell

Nice appearing block - too bad its quite faulty, but most are.

Definitely the bottom 2 rows as rgstamp points out. Almost certainly plate 2 .. I'll look closer when I get some time, if someone else hasn't worked it out yet.

There are only 3 known (to me) unused blocks from plate 3. There is:

- the Armitage block of 8, that Wagshal had

- a block of 4 in Ron Cipolla's collection - I think it was 19-20/29-30R

- a block of 4 from 39-40, 49-50R - formerly part of the Armitage block of 15, but cut off in the early 20th century, when the Armitage block became only 8, where it is now. This block was ex-txstamp, West, and Philip Ward.

Definitely keep your eyes open for Type II items of interest. You never know if they might wind up being plate 3. That's how I found the second vertical centerline strip of 3 (on cover) on ebay, described as #9's.

Used strips of three are very common because many were used to pay the 3c letter rate. There are probably thousands of strips of three for every block of 4 or larger. Many blocks have been destroyed for the graded stamp market.

The block is definitely 83-84/93-94R2.

93R2 has a double transfer in the bust, which is visible on a better scan I managed to find elsewhere on the net, of this block. That double transfer is not recorded in Neinken, but was well known for years, and I think someone finally wrote it up in The Chronicle.

This is 97L3.

This is the gray shade from 1856, after the ink film disappeared, but just before the prussian blue shade appeared. This is the (Aug)-Sep-Oct 56 timeframe. This is a very fine example of this shade. Usual disclaimer on color and scanners.

Nice cracks show on this stamp, but are fainter than on some of the previous stamps, that were in later prussian blue shades.





This is ex-Newbury, Oakley
This stamp has sentimental value to me, being the very first stamp that I ever bought at a philatelic auction. There was no internet, I didn't know to use an agent, and I submitted a bid in writing. You can guess how well that went. That said, I have never regretted overpaying, so to speak, at a given point in time, for something great. This is still one of my favorite 1c stamps that I've ever owned.

Here is a mid-1856 impression from Plate 3.
This shows the ink film characteristic of early Plate 3 impressions.

This is 42-43R3, with a Canton negative star cancel.
Ex-Cipolla

Txstamp,

Quality of the pair looks outstanding.... same for the 97L3! Centering is unbelievable!!

txstamp, you mentioned in the double/triple transfer thread that you once attempted a full Plate 3 reconstruction. How far did you get?