Is This Stamp Too Good To Be True?

Happy New Year everyone!!!

I bought a WW collection with a nice US section with mostly avg-f stamps so this one stuck out;





There are no faults on the back. At first I was skeptical but the more I look at it the more I think it's OK. Any thoughts?


The were a few other stamps with interesting cancels and I'll post them later.


Thanks,

Ken

Obviously a margin example. The big question is whether it is a 14 or a 16. I think it's a 14, but the top arc looks like it might possibly have been re-entered. It does not appear to show any signs of having been rebacked.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Type 4 have a "continuous" border at the top, bottom or both? Because of the breaks on the top border line, I'm guessing that this is a Type 2, or Scott 14.

If it's 16, it's definitely only recut at top
Could only be position 65L, 74L, 86L, or 3R?
None I believe are sheet margins. Is that sheet margin on left or just massive margin?

I'm intrigued here

I'm pretty definite it's a 14. It's real nice. Great find!

Part of the next stamp shows at the bottom right, so the left margin has to be a sheet margin. It's too big to be anything else.

Type II, no question.

I agree-Type 2. All 4 positions referenced above should not show breaks in the top frame as this example does. Also, I see no clear evidence of recutting.

type ii scott 14 and a real nice copy. has a definate break in top frame line and no signs of recutting.

A handsome stamp - nice find Ken

To be the skeptic here... I think the margins are TOO big. You should very very carefully examine this for added margins, which when skillfully done can be very hard to detect. And don't let that "extra stamp" at right fool you, that could be just the thing that gives it away.

Have you examined this face down in fluid? If not, I highly recommend to do so, and look for any hair line you can find in it.
It may be legit, and if it is, it is a wonderful example, but my gut tells me, this doesn't "look right".

Thanks everybody, here are some more from this collection as promised;

Classicphilatest, I would normally agree with you, but if you're referring to the right margin, the cancellation would be really hard to push cleanly through an extension. A depression or change in surface absorption would alter that area. The uninterrupted contiguous nature, is very compelling to me, using digital zooms from this. I'm going with non altered on this. Awesome stamp find, nonetheless

The cancel also looks fancy. At first I thought I saw a Waterbury smoking pipe, but I don't think it matches, as those were solid inkings iirc.

If no margins have been added it is a very impressive example

rismoney,
I find that area of the cancellation particularly dubious and is part of what caught my attention. It's not the same level of strike as the one on the left. The left margin is crazy big which is great. The splicing techniques used are sometimes incredibly hard to detect without close examination, usually in fluid and under magnification. I've seen too many of these kinds of alterations to go off of just a "picture" (and not a very high res one either) of the image. Sometimes I even pull the black light out for these in fluid. Balance of probability, it seems genuine, and if it is, this stamp is worth a cert (in my view). The VF used value may be $200, but the XF value is $600, the XF-SUP is at $2,500 and the SUP is at $7,500 CV! So worth having it checked out.

KRelyea,
Nice 72 and the 67.