Scott 5054 Vs. 5054B

Not long ago I received these two stamps from ebay and I can't seem to figure out which one is which. They both look the same and have the same "microUSPS" position. The only difference is that one of them is from a booklet of 10 while the other one is from a booklet of 20. And I've hit a stump on which is which? Anyone been down this road before and can offer me a suggestion on how I can tell the difference?

Ron

Looking at the section on booklets in the back of the Scott Specialized catalog, the booklet of 10 is oriented vertically 2 wide by 5 high, and booklet of 20 is horizontally, 2 high by 4 or 6 wide depending on which side of the double-sided pane you are looking at. Unless there is some minor difference in die-cutting not mentioned in Scott, it would appear that singles from the corners would be identical from both booklets, but singles from along the sides would differ by which side has the single straight edge.

Thanks John for that information. One stamp has a straight edge at top while the second stamp has the straight edge on the right side.

I'm thinking that the stamp with the straight edge at right might be from the booklet of 10. If it was from the booklet that was 2 high it would have to have the straight edge either on top or bottom (like the other stamp does). Does that sound right to you?

That is my interpretation from the catalog listing that SE at left or right is from booklet of 10, SE at top or bottom is from booklet of 20, based on the overall orientation of the booklet panes, but I don't collect these so others may jump in with a correction if I am incorrect.

Scott 5054 is the number for the stamp; 5054a is for the booklet pane of 10 and 5054b is for the booklet pane of 20. All singles are cataloged as 5054 regardless of which booklet they came from.

Robert

I thank you again for that information. I don't have the Scott Specialized catalog and the regular Scott Vol. 1 didn't give the detail that you gave. If nothing else I know more right now than I did an hour ago!
Thanks again John.

Trainwreck, I did see that a and b differentiation in Scott. I use Mystic pages and I've noticed from time to time they don't display on their supplements some of the varieties. All I saw on the page was "5054". I might need to investigate Scott supplements for the future and drift away from Mystic.

Hope this helps. From the 3/21/16 issue of Linn's.




Robert

Thanks for those images Robert. I'll take a closer look at that.

Ron, I think the listing is for the entire booklet, not the individual stamp. My experience has been that stamps from the same printer, same design, are the same except for the booklet format (10 to a pane, 20 to a pane).

If it were the Ashton-Potter printing, it would be a different gauge on the die cuts.

While this is true for the coil versions of these stamps, the booklet versions all have the same die-cut gauge, regardless of printer.

You're right on the booklets; my mistake.

That means the only real way to differentiate the two would be the plate numbers. Ashton-Potter starts with a "P"; Banknote Corporation starts with a "B".

There can also be differences in the location of the microprinting. That is the case with the 2016 flag stamps under discussion.

There are other minor differences in APU vs. BCA flag stamps from recent years. In both 2018 & 2019, the dates on the stamps have had a different intensity … one dark/heavy, one light. This alone is enough to identify them, although I never seem able to remember which is which.