Two Cents 1875 Brown

Hello
if anyone can help me identify the scott of this stamp because I do not have the impression to see the grid on the back and if possible the values .thank you so much

US 113. Catalog $75 without faults.

craigk beat me to the punch. Interesting to note the catalogue price has dropped $15 since 2014!

ok thank you I said to myself too

Anyone see evidence of a grill?

I don't see a grill, but there are many unscrupulous people that might try to 'press' it out - sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't. Try shining light along the paper - small bumps should be more visible. Or dip in watermark fluid - should be able to see broken paper fibers. Even though the acid test for a 2c 1869, or the 2c 1875 Re-issue (significantly more valuable), is a grill, I would still assume this is an 1869 2c. Used examples of the Re-Issues are scarce - collectors bought the re-issues and tended to NOT use them on their mail. Of course, anything is possible. If you still think this may be a Re-Issue, you should pay for a certificate with the understanding that there is still a very good chance that it would come back as a 2c 1869.

2019 Scott has a 113 used listed at $85. That would be for VF centering and no faults. This stamp is VG centered (Good, design is into perf at right), and damaged (pulled perf at bottom). CV for a VG 113 used is $19, and that also is without faults. With the pulled perf, halve that. If you want to sell it on ebay, good luck getting $5 for it...

It is a 113, even if you can't see the grill. If you sent this for cert, they will all return it as a 113. Getting a 125 certed either has to be mint or on cover. No expertizing service will cert any of the pictorials without grills unless they meet one of those two conditions.

Grills are best seen in side cast light (the stronger the better, it creates a bigger shadow). It may be necessary to dip the stamp in fluid and side light it during the flash. Taking direct overhead shots of a stamp with ambient lite will wash out the view of any grill unless it's EXTREMELY deep.
These days I've taken to using a tactical flash light held at about 85 degrees and just slightly higher than level with the stamp. Enables finding grills easily. And you don't need to see the "full grill" to prove it's grilled, even 1 or 2 dots is a give away.

That's very interesting. What year catalogue is craigk quoting from?

113 is listed at $80 in my 2017 US specialized.

See the article on page 104 of Opinions IV: Philatelic Expertizing – An Inside View
Edited by Elizabeth C. Pope, Published by The Philatelic Foundation, New York, N.Y., 1987

http://wyzaerd-pf-prod.s3.amazonaws...CS-and-B.pdf

Another article in a later volume discusses in more detail subtle size differences between the original 1869 issue stamps and the 1875 reissues.

Hi. I don't have a current catalog. I was working off a March 2018 Siegel auction lotting a used 113 with a $75 cat value.

Hello
with the flash in a dark place on an angle seems to me a weak grid, I'm not sure? Is there a way to know if she is mint or not?

It is my understanding that there are characteristics on some of the values of the pictorials (15 cent) that petit expertization as no grill variety even as no gum ( Scott trepel on Frajola message board).

I certainly would not waste money on a cert for this stamp whether ultimately a 113 or 124. The damage to the perf basically cancels out any perceived value

Yes, the grill shows up toward the bottom of the stamp in the last image.



Do you mean if the grill is genuine (it appears to be), or something else?

Yes, 100% there is a weak grill. Could be from an attempt to press it out, or could just have been a poor strike of the grill which is very common.
A "Mint" stamp is one that has never been used. But there is better terminology. We hear MNH (Mint, never hinged) to be what MINT really. If it's anything other than MNH, then the stamp should be referred to as "OG" or "NG" (Original gum, or No gum), it may be further described as Hinge Mark (no fragment of hinge remaining, but is visible hat had a hinge in the gum as some point) Hinge Remnant (some part of the hinge is still stuck to the stamp), or Hinged (the entire hinge is still on the stamp).
All used stamps are simply Used.
If you mean, is the stamp considered sound, then no, it isn't, it has a pulled perf.
If you mean is the grill authentic, versus faked, 100% authentic. No one would fake grill a this design to look like a used 113, as it has the lowest value of any condition of any type of this design. That's not to say people don't apply fake grills to other stamps in the hope of making them look like a rarer variety. But in the case of the pictorial series, all UNGRILLED varieties are those of higher value. This is why some attempt to "press the grill out" of the stamp, to make it appear to be a more expensive issue.