Help Me Please In That 5 Stamps I Bought

hi comm pls identify this 5 w stamps of 5 c blue

Hi agmas,
The Washington-Franklin issues are one of the more daunting areas to tackle, but with some effort, you can do this.
The things you are going to want to get are:
A perf gauge
Watermark fluid (or just Ronsonol Lighter Fluid)

And a catalog to look them up in.
But I will help you in the meantime to narrow these down.

The top left stamp is Perf 10, so that gives us 3 options.
1. 428 - If Single Line watermarked CV $1
2. 466 - If no watermark CV $2.50

To be certain, you just need to check it for presence of a single line watermark (wmk 190).

The center top stamp appears to be a "coil" stamp (perforated only on the vertical sides in this case). It appears to be perf 8.5 which would make it a 396. HOWEVER, coils of the Washington stamps are frequently fraudulent, because the coil varieties are worth a lot more. They are frequently made from either imperforate stamps (which do exist for this issue), or by trimming the perfs off of a perforated stamp (but in this case the 8.5 perf only is present on a coil). So if this stamp is fraudulent, it would have been made from an imperf 347.

396 - CV $68

The upper right stamp is perf 12. Watermarking is needed to determine what the exact number is. It is most likely a 335 (double line watermark WMK 191) or 378 (single line watermark). There is one other possibility, but it is unlikely (and looking at it in this image, I don't believe it is a candidate) for printing on "bluish" paper. This paper type is actually more gray, and is identified by placing the stamp face down on an orange surface. It's best to compare a common stamp next to it. If the paper appear dark, thick and slightly gray in color, then you have a candidate for the 361. This is a rare stamp (and I use that term to describe stamps with a value over $10,000). Watermark check it, if it's single line, you know its a 378.
335 - Double line wmk - CV$ 2.50
378 - Single line wmk - CV$ 1
361 - Bluish Paper (Rare) - CV $17,500

To qualify as a 361 you'd need an expertizing certificate if you want to sell it. But I'm 99% confident that this is not a 361.

Bottom left, same as upper Right. Perf 12 stamp. 335 or 378, watermark check it for verification.

Bottom right stamp looks like a perf 11 (verify all these with perf gauge). that would make it a 504, and the only perf 11 type. CV 35 cents.

This is a challenging, but really fun area. I hope you continue to purse it.

Also the 504 has a "perfin" cancellation. This was a type of "precancel" to prevent stamps from being stolen from various companies. This looks like something from New York, but can't make out the full perf initials. Turn it over on the back, and you will be able to see it more clearly.

I & M / NY Listed but not as yet identified (as far as my records)

The 5¢ perf 8½ coil cannot be faked. Imperf 5¢ stamps would have the wrong watermark. The stamp cannot be trimmed. Single line watermark 5¢ sheet stamps were perf 12 or perf 10.




Make that 100%. Only two off cover used examples are known.

thanks for important knowledge

You will find the upper right stamp to be perf 11, not perf 12 as indicated earlier.




A perfin is neither a cancel or a precancel. Yes, they are privately applied as a theft deterrent, but do nothing to cancel or invalidate the face value of the stamp for postal use.

cfrphoto,
While I agree with you about the watermark, we still see people apply fake 8.5 perfs to try to "fake" this example. Many people don't know to look for the watermark, so I still classify it as possible fake. If the OP watermark's it, then we can be more definitive. The number of things I've seen people try to do to fake a coil (as I'm sure you have as well), is sometimes mind boggling. To you and I, we'd never be taken by it, but to many a collector, they can be fooled.