Xtra Tall 3 Cent Washington Bank Note With Plate Print On Bottom...

An odd one for sure. How did this happen? Is it a common error?

Not unusual. What you see is the inscription on the selvedge of the sheet, usually indicating the printer of these stamps

Peter

Thank you.

unusual but not rare

These are collected. They are called "imprint captures." Their value to collectors is related to how much of the imprint is "captured."

Wondering if anyone recognizes the printer? I'm guessing Continental from the other details it has.

You see the secret mark, so you are correct that the plate was made by Continental. However, I cannot tell from your picture whether the paper is hard or soft. When American took over the facilities at Continental, Cont was already using a softer grade of paper than they had been using earlier. Under American they kept using the softer paper and the plates with Continental imprint until replacement was necessary. So, if hard paper, it's Continental, but if soft it could be Continental or American.

Here is a set of similar imprint captures on soft paper for the 2c vermilion. Same concept:

Very cool set you have there that you can even piece them together like a puzzle. I'm fairly certain my stamp is made from hard paper. Thank you for the info. I have had my collection since I was a kid. Now being 58 yrs. old I want to start adding to it again. I sold off some nice ones back in the 70's for money to go to the state fair...DOH! lol. I should be able to replace them with out too much pain. Can you recommend a good place to buy?

Depends on what you are looking for, but in my experience the APS store is great. Also, the APS circuits are an easy way to
shop.

Peter

ebay is great as long as you are careful, not that you don't have to be careful anywhere else you buy.

Thanks for the help! Much appreciated!