BEP Postage Due Colors And Catalog Numbers

I'm not sure if I'm frustrated or excited about a challenge regarding postage dues colors. It seems to be that this is a pretty neglected area. The Scott catalog seems, at best, incomplete and inconsistent with regard to minor letters and colors for the BEP postage dues. Dealers are terrible at identifying the small letter varieties, and I've found it to be very hard to find the stamps I'm looking for and to identify them once I have them. I've attached a page from my album that I really like, but also is really frustrating because, clearly, some of these stamps are misidentified. For example, there is no way the 1st two stamps on the page are both "deep claret." The 1st one looks to be more of a carmine shade. It has no watermark, that I can tell, and the unwatermarked stamp is not listed in any shade other than "deep claret" and "claret." Perhaps it has a difficult-to-see watermark. Or many it is just "claret" (it would be strikingly different than the "deep claret," if so). If It's identified correctly, it is a $300 stamp, so I'll probably send that one in for a cert. Has anyone else struggled with these stamps? Has anyone written anything up on them?

Nicely done!

These stamps are soooo difficult for me to identify. As I have said in other posts part of my plan to tackle them was to purchase certified low catalog value stamps in the different colors that had been submitted by people hoping that they were more valuable issues and use them as reference items. It has worked well. It cost me about a $100 to get PF certified examples of the colors. I still only buy certified copies of the higher CV dues but that goes for all of my stamps.

Some of these have certs already. . .J35 (1894 10c/No wmk/perf 12/Deep Claret) has 2018 PF cert. J48a (1910 5c/SL wmk/perf 12/Rose Carmine) has a 2015 PF Cert. J49a (1910 10c/SL wmk/perf 12/Rose Carmine) has a 2000 PF Cert. J55 (1914 5c/SL wmk/perf 10/Carmine Lake) has a 2001 PF Cert. A total 14 of my "Design 2" BEP postage dues have certs (1 PSE, 10 PF, and 3 PSAG).

I may send a few more out for certs, even some less expensive ones. . . The first one on the page (J35) is really bothering me. . .I need to look at my other pages too.