Show Your US 1851-57 Imperforate Stamps

A couple nice position pieces that I've acquired:

1c Franklin is unused, pos 91L1L, triple transfer, one inverted
(what I think looks like eraser marks on the back show through a bit)

3c Washington is 50R5e apparently ex-Chase

Hi RLSNY --

On your 1851 3c position 50R5E -- that is definitely Chase's handwriting -- so the stamp is "Chase plated" -- but as it is a different stamp from the one in the Chase Smithsonian photo set -- without any additional documentation, it is impossible to say if the provenance is "ex-Chase" -- versus a stamp that was sent to him by another collector for plating (as Chase plated literally thousands of these stamps for other collectors).

Nice copy (despite the shaved BFL) and nice strike of the New York 3-bar cds -- surely used Dec 1851 !

Regards // ioagoa

Thanks for that detail. "ex-Chase" was written on the stamp holder from the previous owner, so I'm basing it on that. I was hoping someone would confirm the handwriting.

I normally would not have bough these, but they were $1.
Total.
So please forgive he lack of 4 margins.


11 used (partial OGA? cancel)- gash on shoulder, weak line at top (at least the part not cut off)




11 used - only 2+ margins, but double transfer of outer left line?




11A - while it only has abot 1 1/2 margins, it is mint (hinge remnant) - double transfer on middle part of THREE CENTS?




11A used - pencil note on back reads:
"1 (Recut?)
V line recut
upper left
and bot right
tri"
I don't see the first part.
As for the second part are they talking about the vert part at the right of the triangle?

Hi eyeonwall --

That last group of stamps you posted is a very interesting group - and there are some really nice plating varieties in it. If you got all 4 of these for $1 -- that was a great buy. I have plated all 4 of them and here are a few comments:

The first stamp (the C relief with the strong gash and the "OGA" cds cancel) -- is position 7R6 -- and it is a very interesting double transfer -- with a westward shift -- showing a clear doubling of the upper left diamond block, the center dot of the upper left rosette, and bits of the tessellation work being doubled in the white space between the left inner line and the left frame line. A very nice example of a DT.

The second stamp (the one with the doubling of the left frame line) -- is position 29R4 -- and is typical of many of the stamps on plate 4 where the LFL is too close to the design work and is doubled. This doubling is not the result of a shifted transfer, but rather is the result of sloppy recutting by the engraver.

The third stamp -- (the one with the strong DT in the lower label block) is one of the well known recut varieties -- the so-called "3 GENTS" variety -- position 66R2L. In this case, the DT is so strong as to deform the C of CENTS to such an extent that Chase said it looked like a G -- thus "3 GENTS". As an aside - this stamp also shows 2 vertical lines recut in the upper left triangle.

The last stamp -- the one with the pencil notes verso -- is position 91R3 -- and it has one vertical line recut in each the upper left triangle and the lower right triangle - a nice recut combination.

All in all these are some really interesting plating varieties -- even if "less than 4 margins".

Regards // ioagoa

Thank you ioagoa - I will study the stamps with your notes when I get more tome later

You are mistaken "eyeonwall"
The first stamp is 4 margins; just not 4 margins all on the same stamp.
Nice buy, enjoy.
m

ioagoa:

first stamp - I see the westward distortion of the left rosette center (as well as the diamond block and left side), but now that I see that, it looks to me like the right one is also distorted to the west

And here is an 11A on cover that I bought because I liked the cancel

Hi EyeOnWall --

Regarding the DT in the URR that you noticed on your 7R6 -- I agree that in addition to the other major elements of the shift as previously discussed, that there is also a very slight shift in the center of the URR -- and if you studied the stamp even closer -- I am sure that you could find other evidence of the westward shift as well.

As an aside -- The Chase book does a very good job of explaining shifted transfers -- and goes into quite a bit of detail as to what they are -- and how they are caused on line engraved plates. If you do not have a copy of the Chase book, you can download it for free from the "Electronic Library" page on the US Philatelic Classics Society website -- and the discussion on shifted transfers is the opening subject of Chapter VII -- Plate Varieties in General -- starting on page 57.

Regarding your Wilkes Barre, PA cover -- that is a very nice strike of the cds. I plated the stamp this morning to position 83L2L -- but only with 99% confidence.

Normally, this would have been a relatively quick plating job -- but from the perspective of a plater -- your stamp is completely missing the TFL -- and is a bit cut-in at upper left, shaving the recut vertical line in the ULT. Additionally, the cancel obscures many of the key plating features -- for example the GD and the end points of the inner lines relative to the rosettes. That said -- it is an unmistakable B relief -- and the RIL / RFL relationship is fairly distinctive -- and by process of elimination on the "inner line, dull red" plates, unless I missed something, the only possible match I can find is 83L2L.

Once I landed on 83L2L -- everything else that I can see seems to match up -- including a slight weak spot in the BFL below the RE of THREE -- and also what looks like the edge of the GD from the adjoining 82L2L at left -- and while I am 99% confident in my plating -- differences in inking and impression between your stamp and my reference copies are making some of the white spacing relationships appear a touch off -- so if another plater can confirm that this one is 83L2L, it would be appreciated.

In any event -- I agree that the attraction of this stamp and cover is primarily the XF strike of the Wilkes Barre, PA cds being socked on the nose of a fresh stamp with a nice impression -- and thank you for sharing it.

Regards // ioagoa

eyeonwall, That's a very attractive Wilkes Barre cover. Congrats on picking it up!

I agree with ioagoa that the stamp is a match for 83L2L. In addition to his observations, I used the spacing from the adjacent position at left, and the line in the upper-left triangle as key diagnostics. Although it is lightly recut, the angle of the line in the UL triangle, and its alignment with the left inner frame line are a good match for 83L2L.

It's possible that the adjacent position shows part of the guide dot below the bottom frame line that 82L2L has, but it's very difficult to tell from the image. Maybe you can see this with a magnifier.

Classic - closeup of that corner




ioagoa - thanks for the ID

Same time I picked up a cover with a fairly nice Bendersville PA cancel, but most of the Ben didn't ink and it is on a 26 not an imperf.

classic coins -- thanks for the plating confirmation on the 83L2L -- much appreciated.

eyeonwall -- in addition to the confirmation provided by classic coins -- that close up you posted of the lower left corner of your Wilkes Barre 83L2L nails the plating without a doubt -- as the GD at the LR corner of the adjoining 82L2L is clearly visible and a dead on match.

Regards to All // ioagoa

PS -- I understand the file size limitations on SCF are probably necessary for overall management of the website -- but the 200kb scan file size limit is often inadequate to allow for a high enough resolution scan that is suitable for plating purposes. This stamp is a good example of that -- as with a higher resolution scan, under magnification, instead of getting a "pixelated" image, there would have been no question as to that GD on the adjoining stamp -- and likely same for the recut in the ULT. On average -- I have found that a 1200dpi scan of a single stamp made on an Epson V600 with default software settings results in a file size that averages somewhere between 500kb and 700kb (depending on how large the margins are). Curious if there is anyway around the file size limitation for future plating candidates other than utilizing an offline private message?

As I have offered in other threads, email it to me and I will get it posted. Please also note that the file size limit was moved up to 300kb last year (I think?).
Don

Edit:
Epson V600 1200 dpi scan and saved in PaintShopPro (default JPG settings) is 370KB

It allows me to upload the 370kb shown above but this may be that I (as Mod) have a larger limit than others.

Hi Don --

Thanks for the speedy reply!

I was unaware that the 200kb file size limit had been increased to 300kb -- which I think should be enough to readily accommodate scans of single stamps at 600 dpi -- and maybe even a bit higher.

I guess I need to broaden my horizons and read more of the SCF threads as well -- as I was also was unaware that in those instances when warranted, you are willing to accept an emailed image of larger file size for posting -- and next time around when I am having a tough time plating a stamp for a fellow SCF member -- and wishing I had a higher resolution image to work with -- I will try going that route.

Thanks again for hosting this forum.

Regards // ioagoa