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http://imageshack.com/a/img924/8012/oErd0u.jpg

Wow, gorgeous stamp. Thank You.

US stamps are just stunning.

At least they used to be

Thanks, jchrisler.

This stamp exhibits multiple traits of my stamp collecting specialty. I collect the US 1851-57 3-cent imperforate stamps almost exclusively, and I specialize in color study and plating of the issue.

I saw this at a stamp show last year labeled as a #10A (orange brown, cat: $150), and priced accordingly. Normally I pass on #11/11A labeled as #10/10A without suggesting the dealer correct the ID, but I had to have this stamp. In addition to the centering, margins, and superb impression, I knew this stamp was printed from plate 8, and stamps from this plate are scarcer than from any other #11/11A plate. Also the color was spectacular for the issue.

Fortunately, I carry four #10As to every stamp show I attend in the event that I need to make a case with a dealer, and I was able to quickly persuade the dealer to correct the ID. I bought it for $7.00.

This is an 1857 claret color in a deep shade (although the color looks more red in the image). I plated it to position 64L8.

Wow, am I understanding you right Classic Coins? You reconstruct sheets of stamps based on what plate was used to make them? I am impressed, I had no idea of the depth and breadth of the stamp collecting hobby. I never dreamed that it got so detailed. Please don't misunderstand my awe for anything but admiration. Reconstructing a sheet of stamps by color (and whatever other characteristics you look for) is an amazing endeavor.

Have to confess, I do not understand some things about the plate position number, like do you pick a certain plate to use as a master and build your sheet based on that plate's characteristics? Each stamp has a position that is labeled on the sheet I am guess, and that is what you meant by this:




Please let me know if I am understanding you correctly - and I am thinking there is a way to read the plate number so you can tell what position the stamp is in on the sheet, this part of it I don't understand.

I must confess, I am drawn to US stamps, but then again there are also many other interesting stamps from other countries. I am now very wary of any stamps from the "dunes" now - seems like these stamp packets are full of them. I am just stashing them away to deal with another day - I can't read the Arabic(?) on them anyway.

Thanks for sharing the story of acquiring your stamp Classic Coins, I love hearing stamp stories, silly as that may sound. When I first started posting in this forum someone told me that the "fun is in the hunt" and I am really starting to get that, I am having a blast looking at the stamps and I am so happy I found this forum, I really think this is a nice community (my impression so far of course).

Also, thank you to everyone for your help so far, you all are amazing people!

Julie

Julie,
Stamp Smarter has info on plating the 1851-57 (Scott #10, 10A, 11, 11A ) 3C stamps including a Graphical Plate Reconstruction
http://www.stampsmarter.com/feature...Plating.html
Don

Hi Julie,

I appreciate your feedback and kind comments.

Yes. There are 2600 total positions for the 1851-57 3-cent imperforate stamp, and the position on the plate that each of these stamps was printed from can be identified with diagnostic markings that were left by the workers who added lines by hand to the plate after the designs were impressed from the transfer roll. Sometimes these guys had a steady hand, and other times not. An example is position 4R2e below. What I did here was scan the stamp, and the position from the Carroll Chase Smithsonian print. I then overlayed the scans, and vertically compressed the combined image to amplify the left outer frame line engraved by an unsteady hand. This allowed this stamp to be easily plated to the correct position; 4R2e (the 4th stamp in the top row of the right pane of plate 2 early):



In addition to Don's link, more info on plating this issue can be found at the US Philatelic Classics Society links below:

https://www.uspcs.org/stamps-covers...amp-plating/

http://www.uspcs.org/stamps-covers/...2%a2-plates/