Scott 393 2c Line Pair On Ebay -Real Deal

Here is the link.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Scott-393-...em3d4c9c5bc7

Your opinion?

Thx

YoP

I won't try to judge whether this item is legitimate. But, since 90%+ of flat plate Washington coils on ebay are deemed to be probable fakes, I would not buy this pair without being allowed to have it certified by the PF.

90% problable fakes? Is that an an exaggeration or a real approximation of the level of fraud in this hobby?

Thx

YoP

Many experienced people put the percentage of faked/altered Washington/Franklin coils in the 80%-90% range. Note that this is for Washington/Franklin coil stamps, not all stamps across the hobby.
When these coils were introduced demand was good, they made a number of running production changes which were not well communicated at the time. As such, they did not attract the attention of many collectors.

And altering sheet stamps into rarer coils only takes a pair of scissors.

Of course for the #393 there were no perf 8.5 sheet stamps to alter, so the criteria would be to determine if the perfs have been added. Fakes could be made by adding perfs to a #384S, for example.

I have an opinion on the stamp listed but am not confident enough to offer it. Perhaps others who are better qualified will weight in but I 100% agree with JLLebbert; less experienced hobbyists need to have Washington/Franklin coils looked at by very experienced people before committing any significant money on them.
Don

Take a look at genuine examples.

https://siegelauctions.com/lot_grd....nwwin=oyj66e

What do you think?

Based on the scan of the pair, there is a possibility that the guide line is not original. It appears to be in a slightly different color than the color of the stamps. Also the line is a bit uneven which is typical for rotary press coils, but not for flat plate coils.

I agree, the guide line looks fake. In addition to that, some basic image manipulation strongly suggests scissor cuts on the bottom margin. There is also a repeating irregularity in the perf alignment that suggests the tool or jig used to add perforations had a bit of a defect which compromised its ability to produce a straight line of perfs.

I agree also. The joint line does not look kosher. I would follow JLLebbert's advise aboe,

Peter

Thanks everyone. This seller ebay seller goes on my "Anthony List". (Black balled ebay sellers).

Ps I went "Anthony weed picking" #128541;and have a dozen entries for PF to examin. Will we find a pattern in these 2017 auction purchases? Stay tuned.

YoP

I agree the pair looks suspicious. any valuable Wash Frank coil should have a cert or be purchased with an extension to get a cert unless you are confident you know what you are doing. I would personally stay away from this pair for all the reasons already mentioned. Some people far more knowledgeable than me have already weighed in.

I will also say that I have made multiple purchases from this seller and always been satisfied. They have a good return policy. I have never had the impression they were intentionally trying to deceive. If this pair was faked, we don't know who did it. This seller sells a lot of Wash Frank series, and may just turn over whatever stock they just purchased without verifying every piece.

My bottom line: Regardless of the seller, beware of any purchase with a catalog value over $100 or claimed to be MINT OG or Washington Franklin flat plate coils.

I personally think the seller should not Sell stamps without full confidence in their product. They should ship it off if a suspected fake or destroy it or sell it with sell with full disclosure. ( Fairytale thinking I guess)

I pick this stamp out as a likely fake from a "100% positive high count feedback seller" (should be golden, no?)having little clue 90% of this type of stamp on ebay are fake! I have been collecting for one year now and just now coming up the curve on this prevalent daily ebay scam but regular sellers have decades of knowledge in the hobbies tricks of the trade,no?

One strike by this group is enough to get me to say no thanks. Life too short and their are some with ethics in this hobby I would hope that auction genuine stamps on ebay? (More fairytale thinking)

Never without a cert for this kind of purchase is my take away. Otherwise hurt is coming my way in all likelihood. Thx


YoP

In addition to the " irregularity in the perf alignment" mentioned by sinclair, the very middle perf is definitely a smaller diameter than the rest. It is also the perf that is the most irregular .

If I disqualified every seller that I found selling a bad item I would have very few dealers to buy from. Better to arm yourself with knowledge than to cut your nose off to spite your face.

Ditto what Sinclair said.

Need more education clearly. But
Here a seller that I trust never knowingly sell fakes.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/drbobstamp...AOSwnwZZyjd3

Is this coil Potentially fake in Your Opinion Please?

Thx.

YoP

.

Unfortunately, few have the knowledge. Others fail to inspect purchases immediately after delivery. For the average collector, finding the few dealers who know the difference between good stamps and bad ones will pay large dividends. It will also would send a strong signal to the marketplace that quality and accuracy is important.

While the perforations look convincing, the guide line is not. In addition to the line showing poorly defined and irregular boundaries, it is not centered between the stamps.

The bottom edge would require direct examination by an expertizer. Initially, the coiling machines used to strip auto wound perf 12 and perf 8½ coils were set up with only ten cutting wheels, leaving one edge untrimmed, normally at the center guideline.