Rare US Stamp 834A Is It Or Not

To start j merritt brundige was a stamp dealer on the east coast during the 30's- 50's best as I can tell.Okay one stamp has a slight tone to it the other does not have, One is bright white the other has a redish tone to it. Now 834a is a rare stamp and I have not seen one used before.One question I have is if this was mounted in the 30's or 40;s was it known how rare it is and could it have been used and then munted at that time as a 834 ??. Also what kind of price do you put on a 834a
used if there are none to judge.

Hi painless, and welcome to this forum. Your picture is awful small and colors are very difficult to interpret on a computer, but it seems unlikely that either one is red brown. I see carmine stamps,

Peter

Here is another pic. one is for sure bright white I have seen very brown looking colors and some not really brown but a off red color or so they claim it is. wishfull thinking I guess since it been stored in a chest since the early 60's and how old the stamp dealer was. thanks

Painless, this picture is even smaller. To take a good picture of this, especially to show the white the stamps should be on a totally black background

Peter

trying one more time

Is that a scan or photo? I had trouble when I first started as well. I'd suggest that you scan the item at at least 300 DPI and crop it if necessary. Black background is a help. If you want some good opinions you need to have a pretty clear hi-res scan. Good luck. wolf-==-

834 is carmine & black and displayed on the left, 834a is red brown & black and displayed on the right.

As small as those images are, I feel comfortable that both stamps are carmine. I see little distinction between either, and certainly nothing to lead me to believe that either is 834a. As depicted in Walkman82's image, the red-brown is distinctly different, and perhaps even more so in-hand. This is such a unique color, that once you see it, you will never forget it or mistake it for the more common carmine variety again.

not 834a

.

I had to chuckle when I saw your question. The average collector couldn't afford this $5 stamp in the late 30s,40s and early 1950's when this stamp was in use. The average US wage was $40.00/week, or less up until the late 50's. My first job in a local retail store as a stock boy in 1955 paid 50c per hour BEFORE taxes -- and that was Minimum Wage!

(THE PREXIES by Bob Hohertz)

The $5 Prexie was predominately used on Registered Mail Bank Tags (see above). Collectors purchased used copies (like yours) that were soaked off bank tags with little concern over color variance. I suffer from "crs" at times but if I'm not mistaken 834a became a recognized variety in the late 1960, early 1970s. I checked and the earliest PF Foundation Certificate was # 123,952 for a Sc#834a.


834

834a


Hal

Thanks Hal glad you got chuckle. My reason for my guess is only thing I could find on j merritt brundgie is that burton dowling worked there as a boy in the 30's who was in the stamp game till his 90's. And could not find how long they where open. If you have any info on bundgie it would help I have a stack of stamps from his shop

Hi Painless,
I'll ask a few of my friends who are of the more "ancient" sect of collecting.

Best,
Hal

Hi Painless,

The only thing I was able to learn was that he was a long time and well respected dealer in upstate New York.

Hal

Thanks for the input. I kinda came up with the same thing. I have not found any items sold with his paper label sold after 1950.
Thanks for the help

HiPainless,
If I learn anything else, I will post on this thread.Sometimes you wait six months-plus and a dearth of information suddenly appears on a subject that was never there before. Be patient...you'll find out something in due time.

Goodluck on your search,
Hal

Hello!
I am J. Merritt Brundige's granddaughter. Thank you for saying he was well respected. I understand he was. He had many stores in Albany in the 1930's- 1950's. He passed away in 1963. How wonderful you have some of his stuff!