1 Cent Washington - From Top Row Of Sheet Of 30 Or Sheet Of 400?

Hi

Came across this and noticed no perfs along the top. Stamp perf is 11 on three sides. Noticed sheet of 30 is not perf'd along the top. Full sheets are typically perf'd along the top. Would an experienced collector conclude based on absence of perfs on top that this stamp is from the top row of a sheet of 30?

Yes, its from a booklet pain of 30.

The top margin was folded over when the vertical perforations were applied - note the ends of the fold line with an extra-wide perf bridge at left and the overlapping perf holes at right.

Not so fast. The crease suggests that other scenarios are possible. A design of a single from an AEF booklet pane of 30 would be slightly wider and shorter than a normal sheet stamp because of paper differences. Booklet panes were printed on horizontal mesh (or grain) paper while sheet stamps were printed on vertical mesh (or grain) paper. Shrinkage after printing was primarily across the grain. If the paper had been folded over before perforating, the top row of perforations may have missed the top margin. No way to tell without examination by a competent expert or scans overlaid on a regular sheet stamp from the same issue to show design size differences.

Vertical Mesh? Lines appear to run vertically.

Clark makes a good point.



The top selvage is a bit large for a booklet pain, particularly if the bottom perf is not into the design. I may have spoke to soon in seeing the selvage, given that 1/3rd of the stamps in a booklet pain will have an imperf top, as noted in the image above.

The crease then is a mystery, as it's not the orientation the stamp would be perfed in the 30 pane booklets.

ClassicPhilatelist

It certainly has me scratching my head. Looking at the image of the stamp vertically I see what I think may be a perf on the bottom at the crease but the idea of a fold seems possible. If this is the case would this stamp qualify as an error? I have no idea whether an error of this type would justify the expense of a cert. If you had this stamp what would you do?

Has to be a foldover based on the perfs. If it was refolded the perfs would line up exactly.

revcollector

I see what you mean. The depth of the bottom perf at the crease doesn't match surrounding perfs.

Image digitally folded over



Don

Thank you. Nothing like technical image expertise.

Image from reverse. I think this image and yours answers the question.

The perfs on both sides of the crease are the giveaway. A foldover is the only way perfs can look that way in either case.

In my opinion ... Yes this foldover is an error (at some lower level on the E-F-O continuum). In this case the squareness of the fold entirely outside of the stamp image area does not make for anything very spectacular. It's retail value is less than the cost of a cert. Label it so that your heirs and future collectors will know what it is.

Thank you all. I will label it. I'd like to call it a 498a but don't have the second stamp to make a pair. It's been a learning experience and I do appreciate the efforts of everyone who has offered their expertise. Hope to someday be the one to help others new to the hobby.