Prexies, Learning - Is The White House 41/2 Precancel Also A Prexie?

As I am sure you can tell, I am falling in love with the art as well as discovery of stamp collection.

Double checking - is that White House 41/2 cent precancel part of the Prexies? Yes I know they are not in the best condition ,but I might invest in a few mints :).

Thank you all for your responses and patience with this new collector.

Yes, it is considered a Prexie.

If you would like to learn more about 'Prexie' stamps and how they were used, one of our members (Hal Klein) has assembled a great online exhibit here http://stampsmarter.com/learning/al...ie_home.html
Don

You have some interesting stamps. They are not in great shape, but you can learn much from them. The 1$ Wilsons can be checked for watermarking. The 5c Washingtons can be checked for tagging. I am no expert either. Stamps are a fun hobby because there is ALWAYS more to learn and collect. I like the piece with multiple denominations. I would keep that intact.

Thank you for your responses. yes they are not in the best shape. Currently - what I am doing is trying to sort, by collection, country, dates etc. Once I get that done and place the stamps somewhere safer - as they were literally just thrown in an old bag :( so they got beat up. I am waiting for my Mystic Stamp Albums and I will start working to place them in the albums. Of course - there will be many that I cannot identify - my Franklin Washingtons - aside from the year for now (with a few exceptions). As I learn, I hope to identify them properly over time and leave the albums to my young sons. Ok - I will read online, but how do I see if something has a water mark or is tagged - especially when they are not in great shape? Thank you again, Nora.

Watermark detection:
http://www.stampsmarter.com/learnin...nFluids.html
http://www.stampsmarter.com/learnin...termark.html
Thee are also images of US watermarks on StampSmarter

In short, Ronsonol is generally available but perhaps locked up with the cigarettes in your local store. You need a black/very dark tray or even a plastic display card for contrast. The deal is you wet the stamp with a couple of drops, and it dries quickly without affecting the ink. Some watermarks are hard to see and you do need some practice to recognize partials that are not full and square in the middle of a stamp.

Tagging: Nothing to worry about until you get to the 1960s and later issues. You will need a black light/ultraviolet, both in long wave and short wave. For US stamps, you'll need a short wave lamp or one with a short wave filter. http://stampsmarter.com/features/Tagging_Home.html

Mrita75, You can learn more about the various Prexie denominations from the Prexie Era Committee, a study group of the United States Stamp Society.

https://www.prexie-era.org/prexies-low-mid-values/