Question About A Pair Of 3 Cent Washington Stamps On Cover

This pair of stamps has a visible grill on one but no on the connected second stamp. Raises a question I'm hoping someone might be able to address. Mainly, since the process of applying grills was automated to some extent, is it unusual to see a pair of stamps like this? I have yet to figure out why some grills are clearly visible from the face of a stamp while other stamps have grills that can only be seen from the reverse.

The last scan clearly shows a much weaker grill in exactly the same position as on the stamp above, as we might expect. The cancel is watery enough that the grill is partly obscured, but it is there.

Hello;
I am trying to get much better at recognizing grills. I see little dots, just barely, about the ear area. It does not seem obvious to me. Could one of you mark the copy to show it more clearly please?

You should try moving your light around the stamp. A low angle from the sides might make the pattern of the grill easier to see.
I can see vertical lines on the face that are part of the grill.

Thank you all. I've experimented with the USB Microscope by turning off the internal light and using an external light source angled to hopefully highlight any changes to the stamp face of the second stamp.




I tried using various filters in my image editing software on the third image above. Maybe it helps?

My OP didn't question the existence of a grill on the adjacent stamp. I was assuming the grill existed but would be clearly visible from the reverse unlike the first stamp which is clearly visible from the face. Sorry if my question was unclear. Since grills were not applied individually by hand should uniformity of a grill impression be expected on two adjacent stamps?

No expert here but generally yes. However, there are lots of ways that grills could be "flattened" after the application. Also the placement of the cancel can change how the grill looks. Lots of variables to consider.

Nice cover with the Due 3 on it.

wkusau

Thank you for your help. As a novice collector I appreciate all the help I receive here. I liked the cover and thought it unusual. Seems to be a government envelope. Why it would require 9 cents postage within the confines of Pennsylvania is unknown.

Probably overweight.

The rate of postage was 3 cents per half ounce at that time. This letter weighed between 1 and 1.5 ounces, 3 rates.

Painting with a broad brush, free franking on "official mail" is a federal concept, not applicable at the state or local level. Pennsylvania had to pay postage on their state's official mail.

The enclosure, whatever it was, was probably rated at triple the first-class weight. The two three-cent stamps paid only a double rate, hence due 3.

Thanks all. Learning something new everyday here.

Gettinold, much more light might help. And per wkusa, this is a used pair of stamps and any kind of flattening could happen to one stamp and not the other at any time. Marks of color loss are different on each stamp, too. Mint grills tend to be consistent in blocks but I think those that we see at auction were among the ones that were carefully stored/preserved over the years.

Louise411, a scan of a grilled stamp, particularly a used one, is harder to study vs. the real thing. You may have already read and bookmarked this one, but https://goscf.com/t/46153 provides better/stronger views of grills, albeit only back views.