Show Your US 1851-57 Imperforate Stamps

Thanks for confirming Ioagoa and thanks for sending the examples.

Harper1249

I have a number of 3c stamps with these letter/number combos on the back. Wondering if folks know what they represent. I'm guessing they're some kind of plating ID number.

Harper1249

These aren't just poorly centered, somebody cut them in half!



3c Dull Red, Vertical Half (11c). Right half of vertical strip of four, lightly plated in pencil as Position 52/62/72/82L3, large margins, canceled by nine neat penstrokes with the ninth tying the strip on legal-size buff cover to Medway Mass., matching "Milton Mass. Aug. 29" manuscript postmark, some very minor cover wear

VERY FINE. THE ONLY RECORDED MULTIPLE OF A BISECTED STAMP IN UNITED STATES PHILATELY. A TRULY REMARKABLE COVER.

The census of 3c 1851 bisects, published by David Beals in Chronicle 76 and updated by Stanley M. Piller in Chronicle 136 and 137, contains a total of 16 covers. Of these, one is the strip of four bisects used from Milton, Massachusetts, offered here, seven were bisected for use as 1c stamps to pay part of the 10c transcontinental rate, and eight were bisected to pay the 1c circular rate. The rate the sender intended to pay with this strip is subject to debate, but in our opinion the sender cut vertical strips of 3c stamps precisely in half in anticipation of mailing circulars at the 1c rate. However, in this case, the sender used a strip of four to prepay the double 3c rate, and the postmaster at Milton accepted the "four halfs equals two stamps" principle. Given the address, perhaps he was more accommodating.

Ex Bakwin. With 2002 P.F. certificate stating "It is a genuine usage of the bisected stamps, but it is not possible to say what rate the strip is paying." Listed in Scott as "strip of four used as 6c on cover". Scott value $15,000 is for this unique cover.

This cover is signed by Dr. Chase. That's pretty cool!





3c Orange Brown, Ty. II (10A), Position 58R1E, ample margins to touched at top, affixed with additional red sealing wax to secure the stamp and tied by grid cancel, blue "Baltimore Jul. 1" (1851) First Day of Issue circular datestamp on blue folded letter to New York, manuscript "Paid" at lower left, letter clearly datelined July 1, 1851 and relates to a deposit of silver dollars, stamp with some slight puckering from the sealing wax (called light creases from the wax on accompanying certificate), sealed cover tear at top not affecting stamp or postmark

VERY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL AND RARE FIRST DAY COVER OF THE 1851 3-CENT ORANGE BROWN USED FROM BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. THIS IS THE ONLY CONFIRMED FIRST DAY USE FROM BALTIMORE.

Three new stamps—1c, 3c and 12c denominations—were necessary after postage rates were revised by Congress during the Fillmore administration. Effective July 1, 1851, the basic rates became 1c for newspapers and circulars (with a distance escalation until 1852), 1c for drop letters and carrier fees, 3c for domestic letters sent up to 3,000 miles, and 6c for letters sent over 3,000 miles. Prepayment by stamps or stamped envelopes was not made compulsory until 1855, but for the first time there were higher rates for letters sent unpaid—5c instead of 3c, and 10c instead of 6c. The combination of convenience and the financial incentive to prepay postage led to a rapid increase in stamp use and popularity.

Under Postmaster General Nathan K. Hall, the contract to print the 1851 Issue was awarded to the Philadelphia firm of Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. (Casilear retired in October 1854, but his name was included in plate imprints as late as 1857). To start, only the 1c, 3c and 12c (and the General Issue Carrier stamps) were produced. A 10c stamp was added in 1855 to meet the new transcontinental rate, and a 5c stamp was added in 1856 for use on transatlantic mail. The firm's original six-year contract was extended to 1861, during which time stamps were perforated and three new denominations were issued (24c, 30c and 90c), for a total of eight different stamps under Toppan Carpenter's contract.

All three 1851 Issue stamps were supplied to certain post offices on or before July 1, 1851, the first day of the new rates. The census of 1851 First Day Covers published by Wilson Hulme in 2006 (The 1851 Issue of United States Stamps: A Sesquicentennial Retrospective, USPCS) tallied 45 covers from 23 cities in 11 states (one in the count was postmarked by the Louisville & Cincinnati Mail Line route agent). Only two of the 45 covers have 1c stamps and the other 43 have 3c stamps. There are currently are no 12c July 1 covers known.

The Hulme census illustrates five covers from Baltimore, but four of these are either printed circulars dated July 1, 1851 (which were frequently mailed at a later date) or have no confirming evidence of 1851 usage other than an Orange Brown stamp from Plate 1E. This is the only Baltimore cover that can be definitively identified as a First Day use.

Ex Granzow. With March 31, 1947 note of authenticity from Dr. Carroll Chase on back and with 2020 P.F. certificate

Siegel's reasoning seems pretty good here with regard to how this may have occurred.

One big part of expertizing a bisect cover, is to construct a good reason for it to exist.

Beautiful covers StanShepp. Your FDC peaked my interest and made me wonder why there are so few FDCs for the 3c. Gary Granzow's Chronicle article from 2004 (https://chronicle.uspcs.org/PDF/Chr...3/12547.pdf) says that as of June 30, 1851, the Post Office had received 1,710,000 stamps or 8,550 sheets. So of this 1.7 million stamps there are only 45 examples of covers/letters/circulars showing July 1, 1851 usage. Thats a measly .002%. I guess it comes down to lots of factors such as unfamiliarity with the new 3c prepaid rate, loss/damage over time, removal of stamps from their covers, etc. Curious what others think.

(Side note: Your Ex. Granzow cover is included in the Chronicle article.)

Hope all are well.
Harper1249

Toppan Carpenter was having serious issues with gum in July 1851, with the early stamps.
The fact that your 3c stamp is affixed to the FDC via a wax-seal is evidence of this. It was a real problem initially.

I'm sure there are those out there, which for various reasons, are hard to identify as FDCs.
For example, a sulfuretted 3c OB, that doesn't really look OB as a result - so the fact that its a July 1 date (no year) makes this not "pop" as a possibility.

Following up on that, general covers where there is no provable year date. Of course, if franked with a 3c orange brown and postmarked July 1, that's strong circumstantial evidence.

Next would be covers that didn't get year-dated, or even postmarked with a date. They just got a killer, for example. Circular mail is often treated as such. The circular rate was 1c, and not 3c, so you don't see as much of that with the 3c stamp, but there are exceptions.

wellcome

Two Scott #14's that I have acquired. What do you call the little green dot on the upper left corner? The margin copy doesn't have this, but most 14's do. Thanks

It's called a guide dot. You are correct that most examples of Scott #14 (Type II) have the upper left guide dot, but stamps from the first vertical rows of each pane do not. Your left margin stamp appears to be from position 41R1.

From the Neinken 10c book, here is a map of the guide dots on plate 1 of the 10c stamp.

Most of the Ty IIs have guide dots at upper left, but not all as dudley points out.
The bottom row Ty I's often have a pair of guide dots at lower left.

These are remnants from when the plate was entered. Each guide dot typically equates to a setting of the transfer roll.

Plated this one tonight. A very nice impression of position 86R5L. Very nice detail in the weak inner right frameline and the double transfer in the lower label block and diamond blocks.

Regards,
Harper1249

Plate 5L has some really interesting varieties on it.