#11 Or Help Me Learn

I am new to IDing the classics.
I think this is a #11 or variant, but not sure.
I know there are plenty of experts who will tell me or ask for more info.

This is the best scan I could do at 1200 dpi and then crop and reduce.
It still doesnt' have the clarity that think you experts will want.
Maybe there are tricks to scanning I am not aware of?

What else do you need to know to help identify it?

The back and zoom of lower right corner.

No problem. It is a #11

Turtle2900, Your scan is not bad (could be a little better). Unfortunately, the stamp has issues with ink integrity (oxidation) due to exposure to elements that make the details less clear. Here is an article on removing oxidation:

http://stampsmarter.com/learning/Ho...idation.html

I concur with bobmill's ID as #11. More specifically, this is a #11 printed from plate 4. Plate 4 printings can be identified by a heavily recut line at the top of the upper label block (U.S. POSTAGE), and a left frame line that is usually doubled, and it usually gets fainter near the top. Here is some info on how to identify the plates of the 1851-15 3-cent imperforate stamp:

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