Scott 148 Or 159? What Do The Experts Think Of This One?

I picked this up from an APS sales circuit. The centering, color and crispness of the stamp was just too good to pass up for $4.00. As I look closely at it, though, I'm not seeing the secret mark clearly.

The color also appears to be a bright rose, which might be significant as rose is one of the colors listed for Scott 148.

The seller had it listed as Scott 159; I'm leaning toward Scott 148 Rose.

What do you think?

disi123, I know where the secret mark is, but if you look at the cancel on the stamp, it is exactly where I need to look to see the strengthen lines in the scroll. That's part of the reason I was asking everyone's opinion and relying more on color.

If the secret mark is there, it is obscured by the cancel. If it's not, then the stamp is Scott 148, unless I'm missing something else.

Stampman, maybe you can post a lager scan of the bottom left corner?

Peter

Run it through RetroReveal as well to see what you may be able to see.

I suspect that if you hold it up to the light from the back the paper will show at least some mesh, and will not be the super hard bright white paper of a 148.

I don't think there is much to debate here. The color alone says #148...

Sinclair, that was what I wanted confirmed. I've held it up to an Ott light and couldn't tell if the lines were there, but the color was so different from Scott 159 I felt it had to be Scott 148, but just wanted some confirmation. After all, this is only the fifth example of this stamp I've added to my collection.

Thanks everyone!

Disi123, that chart is obsolete with respect to the 3-cent value. I thought everyone knew this by now. Advanced philatelists no longer go simply by the presence of shading, which is somewhat subjective given various conditions of printing. Rather, the number of horizontal lines visible under the leaf is now what determines the variety. Using this new method I've been able to separate over 95pc of my stamps and covers with complete accuracy.

See Barwis, John H., United States Three-Cent Continental: Date Range of Varieties.

This stamp color appears to be closer to the typical Scott 148 color, but would need to see a more detailed scan or in-person to confirm. The cancel is a nice NYFM cross-roads, with a red partial transit cancel. Very nice centering, and a great deal if completely sound condition. whether a 148 or 159.

In my opinion, it is a #148.