Show Your US 1851-57 Imperforate Stamps

Bottom row stamps do not show a recut at bottom, that is correct - but the bottom line is also much 'fuller' and more complete on bottom row stamps. The ornamentation in the middle bottom is much more complete and well-defined than on any body-of-plate B reliefs. There was no recutting to blur it and it was cleanly transferred in, so the detail is there. Its very noticeable once you know what to look for to distinguish a bottom row B relief from a body-of-plate one just on that.

Stan, regarding your top row plate 1E stamp, I think that it is neither 2L1E nor 8R1E,
The stamp does have wrinkles which makes for distortion on the compressed images.
Here is my comparison.

Here is 2L1E which is not even close.


Here is 8R1E which is not close.


I think it is 6R1E. There is a bump on the LR FL that seems to match.
The guide dot looks good too.

I picked this up recently as a #11, but the color is amazing and would fit well with my Orange-Browns.

I don't know how well it compares on your monitor, but it is a beautiful stamp for $22.

Of course, I was hoping to plate it as a #10A, but I have had no luck.
So I tried to plate it as a #11A - same result.

Anyone have a moment to weigh in?

I am going with a B-relief, no guide dot, 1 line recut in UL corner.
When that results in nothing, I think maybe there is a guide dot that I am missing and add that to the search criteria - and still nothing matches.

Opening up those same search parameters to the #11A plates - and nothing.

I don't expect anyone to plate my stamps for me, but any advice?
Not a B relief? Do you see a guide dot?
Can you narrow it down to a particular plate?

Thanks in Advance.
Stan Shepp

I thought I would give it a look and changed the criteria to A relief with inner lines and got this result,
111 Stamps Meet Your Plating Wizard Criteria - Plate 5E - Guide Dot Gd-None - Inner Line # 1 :
Looking at the results and I might suggest 38L5E or 33R5E are worth considering. I will see what other people come up with and will be interested in the results. TIA

Thanks Chipshot,

I will take another look at this from an A-relief point of view.

Hey Stan --

Regarding your stamp with the blue JUL 23 RICHMOND cds -- here are a few observations:

-- Stamp is 100% a B relief.

-- There is a GD -- it is hard to find -- but look closely at the LL corner of the LRDB and there is a bulge poking out into the white space between the LRDB and the LLB. Basically the LRDB is on top of most of the GD.

-- The LFL is clearly doubled opposite the chin / neck level -- (i.e., the recut bows out so much in this area that the relief line is visible as a separate line).

-- The LFL and TFL are crossed at the UL corner (and with the LFL extending noticeably above its intersection with the TFL).

-- I would start the hunt on plates 2L or 3. Logic is as follows: I dare touch on the subject of color -- but on my monitor, the stamp looks to me like an 1852 brownish carmine sharp print -- and given the clarity of the fine lines around the rosette centers, is surely a very early printing impression. Preliminary assessment is that the color and impression do not look like an OB -- so before looking at the #10A plates -- I would eliminate all of the #11A plates first. URDB not gouged -- so that rules out all but 2 positions on plate 1L. Inner lines look too strong for 5L. So that leaves plates 2L and 3 as the most likely candidates.

FL / IL bends are very distinctive on this position.

FYI -- I did plate the stamp -- but am not revealing the position as it sounds like you were only looking for advice on how to go about narrowing down the search. That said -- I should be able to readily confirm your plating.

Regards // ioagoa

Iogoa,

24L3.

That guide dot....holy cow. Easy to miss!

A beautiful example. Easy worth the $22.

It must be 1852 Brownish Carmine.

I'm not near my collection at the moment, but I cannot imagine that my other copies are nearly this nice.

You can confirm now, but I'm >99% confident that this is right.

Thanks!

Stan Shepp

Hi Stan --

YES -- 24L3 it is !! -- Nicely done!!

And YES -- that is one of the nicest impressions you will ever find from a plate 3 stamp -- almost "proof-like" !!

Regards // ioagoa

Ioagoa,

It rivals this unused plate 3 pair from the 3 rows/columns.

Plated as 23R0 by previous owner. Plate 0 doesn't seem to have much coverage in the usual plating databases. The collection has quite a few plated stamps, so I'm hoping the person knew what they were doing. Is there anyplace I can go to validate this one?

It looks like 23R0 is correct. You can verify it at stampplating.com and/or look at the chase images.

Regards,
Harper1249

Thanks! I don't see any plate zero info at stampplating.com and don't see any images at all on stampsmarter. I have a copy of the Chase 1851-57 book, but I don't think that has plating details by position. where can I find the Chase images?

rlsny, Plate 0 is at stampplating.com in its entirety, along with the Chase images. It is located after Plate 5E in the Complete Plating tab.

On stampplating.com click "complete plating", then scroll down.
It is between 5E and 1L.
Go into it, and the chase photos are there for each position.

Apparently I was blind - guess I didn't expect it in the middle - anyway - thanks! I see a 23R0 there. The recut lines are not as heavy in my stamp as in the one there, but it certainly looks ok. Thanks for the help. As I mentioned there are quite a few plated 3c stamps in the collection I just acquired. As you may know, but some may not, I break down collections for resale. I'm hoping I can handle verification on my own. But I may be back on occasion. Thanks!