Is This A Candidate 28A Or B?

The following is obviously my subjective opinion, no different than me applying a grade to someone else's stamp or cover. (Thank goodness we do not support allowing everyone to grade our posts!)

Applying quantitative analysis using subjective criteria is always a crap shoot. Consider sports, those which use this method always create the most drama (i.e. diving, gymnastics). Other hobbies suffer under the same burden; examples include automobile judging and showing dogs. There are endless examples of the subjectivity being 'influenced' by things that sh9ould not matter. My mother, who was a famous Borzoi breeder, maintained a 'black book' filled with years of notes on dog show judges; in her notes you could find a mix of information on how a judge 'graded' the confirmation of a dog. But also in her notes you could find things like "he likes low cut blouses". On the old car circuit, hobbyists only attend those shows which they know the judges are favorable to their model or style car.

In my opinion our hobby has always had 'grading', it was simply informal and done on a hobbyist level for decades. We sought out and purchased stamps and covers which appealed to our eye. This approach still works just fine for many of us.

But as Cyndi Lauper sang, 'money changes everything'...

Years ago it was apparent that there was a market for paying for someone's else opinion on our stamps and covers. This vacuum was filled by many but without any standard or quantitative agreement that was being applied across the entire hobby. Enter inconsistencies and related drama. And unlike coins, which are less likely to experience conditional change over time as paper, stamp grades have a shelf life. (Which few grading organizations acknowledge or dealt with very well, slabbing was never well accepted in our hobby.) More inconsistencies and related drama. Additionally there has not been much transparency with the grading criteria including whatever the criteria evolution may be over time. Again breeding more inconsistencies and related drama. Lastly as the number of graded stamps/covers increased and technologies developed that supported the ability for hobbyists to compare grades even more inconsistencies and related drama have occurred.

The state of the grading marketplace now includes things like software apps 'grading' and ebay sellers 'self-grading'. In my opinion the grading marketplace is ultimately doomed by these inconsistencies and lack of transparency. If the major grading players desired to make improvements they would form some kind of grading association, hammer out a published grading standard, and build consumer confidence in the service they are trying to provide. Catalog publishers have managed to prey upon clueless hobbyists by publishing inane stamp values year after year; so perhaps the grading organizations figure they can do the same. If I had a lot of stamps/cover that I wanted to be graded, I would consider wearing a low cut blouse and taking some people out to diner before I sent my material in for grading.
Don

And yet there is a "Like" button under the title of this thread. I clicked it. Shows 1 Like, on my computer, no idea what it does to others viewing the thread. Isn't that a form of grading?

The like was gone after I posted.

It is a FaceBook thing, I assume that FB requires this to be there. The forum has 'like/dislike' option turned off, I agree with Bobby's decision on this 'feature'. Some folks are lame enough to do things like make multiple accounts just so they can 'like' their own posts (a common problem that I have seen on other philatelic forums which turn on the 'Like' feature).
Don

Sorry that I am late to this party. I don't actually own any of these interesting stamps, but I do own a copy of the "Encyclopedia of the Colors of United States Postage Stamps" by RH White. It was purchased new and unused in the wrapper, and resides in a dark cabinet in my office, unless I take it out for a quick use. The book is copyright 1981.

Scott 28, 28A is explored extensively on Plate I-9 and I-10. For Plate I-9, the preface states,

"There is as much controversy surrounding the color of the various printings of the 5 cent stamp of the 1857-61 issue as any United States stamp for which earliest known usage has been confirmed...The opinion is held by knowledgeable professionals that there are innumerable examples of this denomination which have been incorrectly identified by the expertizing committees of recognized philatelic organizations or by individuals providing such services."

Provided below are scans of the actual plates from this book. The author goes on further to say, "Because of the problems with this stamp, copies of the various shades are placed adjacent to each other. The results are interesting, if somewhat disturbing."

It should be noted that in order to conserve space, I scanned the entire Plate at 1200dpi, then cropped and pulled items closer together to conserve space. Plate I-9 was scanned and manipulated this way, and so was Plate I-10. It is hoped that the cropping and re-arranging of the items didn't change any color aspects that the authors tried to show. (I do see that the grey background looks very poor, though.)

Plate I-9:


Plate I-10:


If anyone is interested in the native 1200 dpi versions of these pages, please email me through the system.

partime - Thanks for taking the time to put that arrangement of shades together. I'm jealous that I don't own a copy of the Encyclopedia myself. I see that Phil Banser has a copy, but it's almost $300.

It has been argued in other threads that the value of this Encyclopedia is questionable, due to the age and other factors. As I said, I am happy with mine due to the pristine nature upon purchase, and that I keep it in a safe, dark place. I have seen some others at auction, but they were well-used.

If I remember, I paid $400, but that included Volumes 1-2, 3-4, and another, "The papers and gums of United States Postage Stamps 1847-1909", along with dust cases. I rarely use that last one, but it almost completes the set.

"The state of the grading marketplace now includes things like software apps 'grading' and ebay sellers 'self-grading'.

Self-grading is hardly something new. It is all we had before professional grading services and there were large variations in such grading from conservative to lets call it overly optimistic. Before many dealers would sell you a stamp as VF and then try to tell you it was only FVF when you tried to sell it back to them. Now they would have to tap dance real fast to try to do that if the stamp came with a VF cert when they sold it. Are grading services completely consistent? No, but if they weren't more consistent than the free for all that came before they would not survive. And we are still free to disagree with their grade. Looking at a stamp graded VF and think it is only FVF, then just don't buy or - same as before when you didn't agree with the dealers self grading.

The real problem most collectors have with self grading is an inability to really be accurate in their assessment. Most collectors over grade, because they don't take the time and effort to really learn how to examine stamps properly. I'm sure we have all seen the variation of opinions when someone posts a stamp asking for grading opinions. Saying "I like this and therefore will buy it" is all well and good, but one can wind up spending a lot of extra money that way. As for the idea of the various grading entities coming up with a specific equal formula that everyone agrees with, that horse was beaten to death years ago.

The real problem most many collectors dealers have with self grading is an inability to really be accurate honest in their assessment."

Here's a newsflash: Grading companies are still over-grading stamps, mostly because of too much emphasis on centering when a stamp has little else to offer. Under-graded stamps are infrequentlyy encountered.

After reading this whole post I can understand the disappointment in this being certified used. Looking at the original post though it appears you only paid $200 for a stamp with the potential to be worth $$$$'s. This should be a red flag in all purchases without a certification. I suspect that the original owner has more information and may have known that the stamp was used. I see on ebay many people who sell stamps claiming to be X, but really are Y trying to get the most money out of someone who may not put in the due diligence. I am sure I have some in my album from my younger less knowledgeable years. As far as grading goes, most of us over grade our stamps as we wish to over value what we have.

Grading needs to have some standard of condition, color, centering and cancel if used. I have seen many stamps that grade high with cancels that you can't make out the design due to mostly just centering. Until there is some standard that is agreed upon, I just refuse to buy a stamp that is graded. That and I am not that interested in paying top dollar for a near perfectly centered stamp when I can get a suitable 2nd for a fraction of the cost.

This story represents an important lesson. When it comes to certification there are no short cuts for the average collector. "Pre assessment evaluations" in the overall scheme of things mean nothing, unless you have truly insider information with the issuing expertizer. The only thing that counts is what is written on the certificate.