What's This Odd Cancel On Scott 78

Let me preface by noting this is my first post. About 25 years ago I acquired some historic material from a 80+ year old woman who was a descendant of Benj. Rush, John Cadwallader etc. Her mother and her when she was young had to clean out a number of Mainline Philadelphia estates of relatives. ANYWAY, I got a small stack of approval cards and books from about 1900 that had sat untouched for all that time. I've been finally going through them to add to my album. One that has caught my eye is this scott 78 (in the approval book it is called 78B with a tiny question mark and was offered for 2.50 back then)
Can anyone tell me what's up with this cancel? Looks like some unintelligible letters then RED? or BED? NED?
Thanks
Greg

Registered?

Thanks I believe you are correct. I found a "Philadelphia Straightline Registered cancel" from 1862 in a Schuyler J. Rumsey Philatelic Auction. Here's a picture.
Does this sort of thing enhance the value of a stamp greatly? At all? What's the opinion on this stamp's worth?
Thanks for your response,
Greg

It certainly adds an element of interest to the stamp, which in the view of certain collectors might translate into added value. A straight-line blue REGISTERED marking (with serifs) not in box or oval and used to cancel the stamp makes it quite likely that it was applied in Philadelphia, although a look through James Milgram's book United States Registered Mail 1845-1870 doesn't show such a marking with a period at the end (assuming that's what the blob of color after the D is).

Looks too high to be a period / stop. I'd guess just an ink smear / blob.

Looking at it with a loupe it looks too big? for a period. Probably the corner of the stamp hitting as it was stamped. I don't have another to compare it to but in my book next the the #77 Lincoln it sure is dead gray, not hint of lilac.

Phillystamper. Also from Main Line area and into historical paper. When you get 50 posts send me an email and maybe we can exchange photos regarding historic material. Your stamp looks more steel blue to my eye rather than any shade of 78. There is no limit to what might be found in an old Main Line estate.

Indeed, those big houses are a treasure trove. She described to me how when she was a teen while cleaning out one house she found in a Philadelphia Highboy a bundle of letters from Benj. Franklin. The family donated them to the Philadelphia Historical Society.

Yes, I see what you mean about the slight steel blue cast. I find I can see the color more clearly if I throw my eyes out of focus when looking at a group of stamps. It sort of averages the color across a stamp.

What would the significance of the steel blue color? is this another variant?

Greg

Greg: I'm just giving you my impression of the color on the scan you show. Steel blue would be 70b, a popular variant shade of the 1861 24 center. You will find threads and posts all over this forum with various opinions on the shade; and even the expertizing organizations don't always agree.

Rush and Cadwallader both appear in Ron Chernow's book Hamilton. Rush was aligned with the Jefferson/Madison faction even though he was rescued from oblivion and debt incurred by his son by John Adams who gave him a job as director of the mint. Rush repaid the favor by hooking Jefferson and Adams up in old age leading to their legendary correspondence.

Funcity,
One of the better things I got was a sampler sewn by Eliz. Lloyd, Cadwallader's wife when she was a little girl. It's in the Winterthur museum now. She had a bill B. Rush had unpaid from a patient's family who died despite his efforts. Not sure why I didn't buy it? There was material from the Bradfords, McCalls, Carpenters among others.

Color seems to be the most difficult area of stamp collecting to sort through. So this stamp is still up in the air for me as to what it is a bit.