I Found Something Interesting (I Think)! Franklin Series 1902 With Bureau Margin?

I was looking through my postcard covers and this caught my eye. I thought it was just another mis-cut Franklin stamp, but upon closer magnification, it looks like another stamp entirely.



It's got a little wheel shape on the left, and the text looks like it reads: "[Washington?] Bureau Engraving?"

What is that?

I was just reading about this very issue in the Max Johl book, where it discusses all the various plates and engraving errors.

Is there any premium for these sorts of quirks?

I keep seeing crazy prices on ebay for stamps with cut lines on the edges (but no sold comps over $10)...dreamers I guess?

It looks like this is a One Dot relief break (pg 39 Vol 1 Johl)? Stamp image is too small to see it clearly. Could you post an image the size of the imprint image? Nice find on cover.

Plate imprints of any kind on stamps before the first bureau issue are definite premium items. I'd say the premium goes down sharply after that, though if you happen to get the plate number on a 1st bureau or 1902 issue those carry some premium.

Looks like it's a normal break. Just looked at it under magnification and there are no dots under the "2".

I have found several of the two dot breaks...

How can I tell if it's a first issue? I have several postcards with this issue and 1902 and 1903 postmarks.

Would the first issue stamps be free from breaks and imperfections? I figure the breaks happened because of use, and are to be found on the later issues.

"first bureau issue" is a general term for the series of stamps first issued in 1894 (much like the 1890 series, but with the addition of triangles in the upper corners - you are likely to see 1 cent and 2 cent 1st bureaus on early postcards, but not the earlier material where there are significant premiums for plate imprints).

appletonco, I'm not sure you've gotten a clear answer to your question. This is a normal sheet margin imprint added to the printing plate by The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, who manufactured the printing plate. Here is a full imprint, with plate number, for example.