1c 1851 Plate 4 Stamps

Njs - that's a really nice example of the type. Thanks for posting that.

I bought this sad torn thing for a pittance but had a hard time plating it as a defining mark is a horizontal scratch through the hair. It turned out to be 23L4 where the scratch shows in several copies in Doporto but is not shown in Neinken. I have marked my book and recommend you do the same.

My sincere thanks to txstamp and Njs900 for the previous discussion concerning Type Ic. I learned a great deal from two true experts.

I agree on 32R4 for Widglo's stamp.

I plated one more stamp from plate 4 this morning. This one didn't take too long because there aren't that many "B" relief positions that are type III. The scratch across the top of the plate clinched the position as 15L4.

widglo, I'm very impressed with the quality of the stamps you post.

Thanks for the compliment, Dudley.

I have another Plate 4 stamp (type IIIa) that has 3 PF certs stating it is position 35L4. The earliest cert (PF#155231) is from a pair identified as 35-36L4. The right stamp being a Type III. I don't really know how they arrived at this plating decision because I don't think my stamp really matches the Neinken diagram for 35L4. The dot next to the right lower plume had me thinking it was a 37L4, but that would have made the right stamp in the original pair a 38L4, and I don't think that is correct.



I've included an image of the right stamp from a Siegel sale if that helps.
If the PF is correct it is a 36L4.

Widglo, I agree that your stamp is not 35L4. It is too short at A and B and elsewhere on the left side.

Can you send a 1200 dpi scan. The 200kb limit here makes plating difficult.

On 32R4 vs 72R4, here is a key differentiator:

32R4 has a very weak ornament H1.
72R4 has a much stronger ornament H1.

I just took another 2400dpi scan of my #22, and I am chagrined to confess that the dot I was seeing next to the right plume is no longer there. I thought I was keeping my scanner pretty clean, but obviously, not clean enough for plating purposes. Sorry to waste everyone's time.

Ty II, #7, Position 8L4.
A top row plate 4 stamp.

I need some help with this stamp. It appears to be a plate 4 relief C (looking at the lower right plume). The blue cancel makes it very difficult to determine what is cancel and what is stamp ink. There may be a plate crack at upper left shown on the enlarged image. The last image shows a couple of possible plate marks.

Definitely not a Plate 4 stamp.

I agree with Sinclair. What led you to your conclusion that it was from Plate 4?

I was just looking at the short right plume but I see that some plate 2 have a short plume as well.