Show Your US 1851-57 Imperforate Stamps

Thanks, Stephen. Of course you're referring to when I posted the 19L2L in another thread. It is a beauty, but it's hard to pick a favorite.

Here's another favorite; #10A position 37R0 with a deep blue West Stockbridge Massachusetts CDS:

Hard not to like that one!

Hi Moyock13 --

Regarding the HRE letters being connected -- I would say that this is how the stamp was engraved on the master die. I attach a scan of the Roosevelt small die proof from the 1903 printing -- Scott 41P2 -- as downloaded from Siegel's website (reference Sale 872, Lot 9). Although the die proof shows a teeny space between the H and the R -- this was probably blurred when the transfer roll was made -- or when the plate was rocked in.

Regarding the tiny scratch you mention -- I do not believe it is a recurring plate scratch -- as I have plated your stamp and have looked at 4 other copies from the same position -- and none of them show this "scratch". That said, it is very hard to say what might have caused this "scratch". If you are sure that the "scratch" is the same color as the stamp, it could have been a foreign object on the plate (or in the ink) when the press came down? Still, the so called "scratch" is very curious?

If you take another shot at plating this one -- you might want to focus on hunting for stamps with a similar BFL which has some very distinctive bends.

I will also say that identifying the relief on this stamp was not straight forward. If it were a C relief (which it is not), your stamp has cancel covering the toga button -- and thus obscuring any gash. In terms of a B relief, I really don't see an obvious break at the top of the oval, nor do I see a typical "B hump" at bottom. That said, I do not think it is an A relief as it does not exhibit the typical tessellation impingement into the white space of the oval at the 3:00 position -- nor is there an "A notch" at the top of the oval (all as discussed in the book titled "The 1851 Issue of United States Stamps -- a Sesquicentennial Retrospective" -- which is available for free download on the USPCS website).

Hint -- the stamp does not have a gouged URDB -- and is not one of the 2 positions on plate 1L where the URDB was not gouged. So plate 1L is eliminated. The recut inner lines look too strong for plate 5L. So, I would start the hunt on plates 2L and 3.

Regards // ioagoa

ioagoa, thank you for taking the time to explain. I enjoyed reading it.

I have to be honest I'm not seeing anything on plates 2L or 3, I even looked on 5L. I'm using 3 discriminators, the UL is bent downward on the right, the "O" of POSTAGE (it's a tick past 12 to the right), and the BFL. I'm not seeing anything that matches up.

Banknoteguy, any luck?

Hi Moyock13 --

I would go back and take another run through plate 3.

A few more hints to help you narrow down the possibilities:

-- Your stamp is a B relief -- and with 1 vertical line recut in the ULT.

-- There does not appear to be a GD at LR -- so stamp is either from the 10th vertical column, has a missing dot, is a misplaced B relief in an A row, or is a top row stamp. In addition, normal plate arrangement is such that bottom row B reliefs do not have GD's — but in the case of this stamp, the TFL of the adjoining stamp below is visible — thus eliminating all bottom row positions.

-- Once you narrow down the possibilities using the criteria noted above -- you will need to identify a plating characteristic that you can look for to either eliminate each possible position, or to identify it as a candidate for further study. In any case it doesn't matter what characteristic you choose to use -- so long as it is a "stand out" feature that can be used to readily eliminate a position -- or to note it as a potential candidate.

-- The key feature that I used when I was hunting for the position was the BFL / LLB relationship -- which is very distinctive. Note that starting at its west end and moving east, the BFL starts off fairly wide below the LLDB -- and then rises up quickly until it is very, very close to the LLB below the RE of THREE -- then it starts to widen back out until it gets to the C of CENTS and stays wide for the duration.

Whatever feature you choose to use -- once you narrow down the list of candidates, then make sure to check everything else. I can tell you that there is one other stamp on plate 3 that I found with a similar (but not identical) BFL / LLB relationship -- but as that stamp has a huge GD at lower right, you will quickly be able to eliminate it.

Happy to reveal the position, but will only do so if you want me to.

Regards // ioagoa

Edited to add comment about bottom row B reliefs without GD's.

ioagoa, thanks for being patient with my newness to plating. It is greatly appreciated as you provide a huge learning event.

I am 95% confident that the stamp is 7R3 after comparing several aspects, the LFL compared to the LLB, the ULB compared to the UFL, the right tilt of the "O" in POSTAGE, and using Classic Coins trick to squish the picture and compare the vertical frame lines.

There does appear to be an URGD that was cut off or at least not visible on my stamp. That may have added to my difficulty. Also the Chase picture shows a slight scratch crossing the LFL diagonally into the first "E" of THREE, however at a slightly different angle that my stamp.

Again, Thanks ioagoa.

Hi Moyock13 --

YES -- 7R3 -- Great work!!!

Regarding the "scratch" in the Chase photo -- I see what you mean -- and I am not sure what that is -- but I do not think it is a plate scratch as it is a colorless white space -- and a plate scratch would show up as a colored line.

Attached are a few additional images of position 7R3 -- two from Steve Ruecker's website (stamps4collectors.com) and a strip of 3 in which 7R3 is the middle stamp.

Always happy to help with plating of the 3-cent issue of 1851 -- 1857 -- as more platers are good for all of us and for the hobby.

Regards // ioagoa

PS -- I tried using Irfanview for the first time to shrink the file size of the 6-8R3 scan (original was 1.3MB -- resized to 199kb for SCF) -- so I am hoping it comes across OK in the post.

Thanks ioagoa.

The 6-8R3 scan came across ok, fuzzy if you try to blow it up a bit.

I use PhotoResize, mostly because I use a Mac desktop. I have yet to figure out how to provide a clear picture being limited to 200KB for fill size.

Interesting regarding the scratch, I'll see if I can research.

#11 position 50R4 with imprint and plate number:

Classic, that is a great stamp! Can't make it much easier than that!

Thanks, Moyock13. Plate number singles of the 1851-57 3-cent imperforates are quite scarce from what I've seen.

Uncommon to extremely rare depending on plate number. Siegel sold a set put together by Amonette earlier this year for $12.5K. The lot description indicated No.7 was impossible to find. Images from Siegel below:

Mind if I drool?

Just not on the stamps!

Hi Classic Coins --

Your 50R4 with imprint and plate number is a rarity of the first order - very nice stamp!

I only have a small handful of imprint copies in my collection -- and none that show the plate number -- but this 60R5E is one of my favorites.

Regards // ioagoa