Is This The Rare 1 Cent Ben Franklin Green?

Hey guys, new to the stamp game here. I've come across 3x FRANKLIN 1 Cent stamps. There's one online selling for thousands and it's exactly the same but I've read that it's about the perforations etc. Can anyone help me ID these? Fingers crossed :)

Thanks so much!

Welcome,
Sorry, no. There are many listings online with misidentified stamps. Definitive stamps like these were the 'work horses' and issued over many years in the billions. There are a few stamp, with similar designs, that are very rare. These stamp typically have differences like perforations. Stamp collectors enjoy seeking these rare varieties out but chances of winning a mega-lottery are much greater.
But stamp collecting is a great hobby for many other reasons. if you would like to learn more about US stamps, you can start here http://stampsmarter.com/1847usa/1847Home.html
Don

A great hobby. It's all in the details.

prettyricky,
The major clue on your stamp is that the pre-cancel is from the wrong location. That immediately tells you, it's not. All the precancel examples are from Kansas City, MO. Yours is cancelled Chicago Ill.
No need to look for other details in this case.

Thanks for the response fellas. I found this Franklin today, the WMK is upside down too. If that helps, beginner here :)

It is nice, but also nothing special,

Peter

Thanks Peter. so does that mean some cancel marks go unidentified? if theres no font and only a couple of lines.

Example here, this is my USA collection.

What people are talking about here is the difference between a pre-cancel and a regular cancel. A pre-cancel means it was applied before the stamp was used, so it is treated as a separate item with a separate Scott number. Stamps with cancels are interesting too, but don't change the Scott number.

A couple of replies/comments:



The precancel is upside down, not the watermark, since this issue is not watermarked.




Yes, certain patterns of wavy lines, bars, etc., are used at hundreds of offices and will not be identifiable to a specific office. More than half of the page you show fits in the unidentifiable category.




Huh? No. Scott does not provide any separate number or suffix for your precanceled stamp versus one post-canceled. Scott does recognize some precancel/non-precancel differences, but that is much later in the catalog.

One other important note to John's comments... If you have a pre-canceled stamp with original gum (OG), and it was never put on an envelope, this stamp is still considered a USED stamp, and not a "Mint never hinged" stamp. Mint refers to "unused", and since the cancellation is on the stamp already, for purposes of catalog value, it's a used stamp.

ClassicPhilatelist

You bring up a good point...Now when a printer sends the stamps to the post office and it is then precanceled, is it still considered USED, or does it have to go through the postal system in the mail to become used..?...It was never on any letter/envelope.

If it has original gum on a normal stamp and never placed on a letter/envelope and sold to a customer it is called MINT...This precancel was sold to a customer and never used, so would it not be considered a MINT stamp...??

Just for argument sake..Opinions please.

Robert

Now here is where it becomes cloudy, (to me at least)...Used to me indicates the customer (after purchasing new stamps from the post office) has placed it on a letter/envelope to sent through the mailing process to get to another customer.

If it is never used for the postal process after mailing, is it considered used..??

Or am I just an idiot and over thinking the process.

Robert

Mint not only means unused, it also means uncancelled. If a stamp is cancelled it is used, whether it actually went through the mail or not. It was only allowed to be used by the owner of the specific permit in the first place; it is a used stamp to anyone else legally.