Help With Scott 634. 2 Ink Stains And A Copper Thread.

First two have I think ink stains and the last one has a piece of copper thread?

First stamp has ink stain down middle of head.




second stamp has a large dot in fornt of head, Sletter "S" in stats odd and upper square in corner is that doubled or a plate scratch?




Last stamp has a piece of copper wire in the ink by the letter "O" in Washington. It looks like it flipped from its original spot on top of the "O"? The stamp is badly damaged at the top with a major tare.

any help Here? How did these occur? Are they common?

I'm partial to the one where a piece of hair or lint caused the inking issue in the 'o' of Washington!

It's surprising we don't see things like that more often. We've all seen lint in the air when the light is just right. That exists about everywhere including the print shops where stamps were made. And humans shed hair all the time. It's only where they are repeated over a period of time in the same place on a plate that they become a 'variety'. The one that comes to my mind first is the Scott 24 'Curl on shoulder' varieties. The one with a copper thread is interesting but a one-off type error...and who knows how it happened.

I've found similar 'errors' on Scott 295 where I have been able to locate several of the same error and others where I'm still searching for a 2nd copy of an 'error'. I would not claim to have discovered a 'new' variety though unless I can pinpoint it's position on a particular plate be able to demonstrate it having been repeated more than once.

These are not 634's but are inserted here to make my point.

One I've found more than once:


One I'm still searching for it's double:


Some refer to this as 'flyspecking' - I call it just another interesting part of the hobby!

If you notice the piece or hair or wire is still attached to the stamp. It looks metallic.

Actually it's ink.

I am confused. I took more pictures. This is what I am seeing. So the top part is a shaped like a question mark and is ink mainly ink. The bottom from the "O" down, is like a hook shape is thread or wire. I have light shining from different sides to show how it reflects the light from different angles. This only can be done if raised. The hook goes down to the second line above the "T" .

Sorry, thought you were referring to the stamp I posted. Wire or thread, it doesn't matter. It was inadvertently introduced during the printing of this sheet. Could have been in the ink when applied.

It looks as though the debris pushed into the paper as the printing occurred, and then flipped downward, becoming stuck to the printed surface.