Show Your US 1851-57 Imperforate Stamps

Hi stampcrow --

Before you erase the "Triple Transfer" pencil notation -- I believe that the handwriting is that of Leo J. Shaughnessy -- one of the well known platers of the Chase era.

Attached are two scans showing samples of Leo J. Shaughnessy's handwriting -- which I believe is very distinctive and a solid match to the "Triple Transfer" notation on your cover.

Regards // ioagoa

Hi Classic Coins --

That is very strange indeed.

Right out of the box, my Epson Artisan 710 with default settings of "Home Mode -- Photograph -- Color" has produced very nice scans that are reasonably true to the impression and color of my stamps -- and I have never felt the need to even research how to make improvements or corrections.

Curious if your testing of "Home Mode" will solve the issue for you.

Do you scan your stamps housed in a stock sheet or directly on the glass? The Hagner stock sheets that I use have a black card stock backing that is generally "flat" -- versus Vario's that are a touch "glossy" -- and I am wondering if that makes much of a difference in the overall appearance of the scanned image? In any event, the whole subject of scanner technology is way beyond my skill set -- as I am basically a very elementary user and not a technician by any stretch.

Regards //ioagoa

ioagoa,

I place my stamps directly on the scanner, mainly because the stock pages that I have reduce the clarity of the stamp images.

Thanks for letting me know what brand of stock sheets you use, also. I believe my stock pages are Vario. I'll have to remember to look for Hagner the next time I'm in the market for stock sheets.

The last stamp I posted was scanned in Home mode, but came out too light. It looks like it was because in the Configuration menu, I had ICM selected rather than Continuous auto exposure. I'll change to Continuous auto exposure and test some more.

I consider my scanner to be just as an important philatelic tool as my tongs and magnifiers, especially since I specialize in color, and my scanner helps me identify colors by scanning known colors with unknowns. I can assess colors this way better than I can under an Ott light.

Well, if you folks are enjoying imprint copies, I put this together starting about 25 years ago:
http://www.cgpostal.com/newexhibit.html

Sold most of them in this Siegel auction about 10 years ago:
https://siegelauctions.com/sales.php?sale_no=1002 (interspersed with the others of the same denominations starting at about lot 3687)

The imprint collection was for the 1851, '57, and '61 issues.
Enjoy
Chip

Hi Classic Coins --

I also have a serious interest in studying the colors of the 3 cent issue of 1851 -- 1857 -- and would like to learn more about your technique for utilizing your scanner to compare un-colorized stamps against those where the colors have been confirmed. Is that something you would be willing to share?

I am also curious which model Epson scanner you are using -- as I have been considering purchasing an Epson Perfection V600 Photo Scanner to replace my 11 year old Epson Artisan 710. Any comments you have in this regard are appreciated.

Regards // ioagoa

Hi Chip G --

That is an incredible exhibit.

One thing that caught my eye -- as I have never seen anything like this in all my years of collecting -- was on page 4 of your exhibit -- where you show a Provisional Postage Due Label made from plate 2 selvedge showing the imprint AND the plate number -- and with a NY SHIP integral due rate CDS to boot. Very nice.

Seeing all these imprints in one place is deceiving because it gives the impression that they are not too hard to find -- whereas in reality -- each of them is decidedly rare.

Again -- an incredible single frame exhibit -- and thanks for sharing.

Regards // ioagoa

ioagoa, ClassicCoins, I use a scanner software called VueScan, Don the moderator hooked me up a while back and because I use a Mac desktop. VueScan works pretty good, much better that the Epson software that comes with a new scanner.

I use an Epson Perfection V550 scanner with the VueScan software. Works pretty good. I'll scan either with the stamp directly on the glass or through the stock sheet, if I'm looking for more detail in the scan then it's flat on the glass.

The V600 should be a good scanner. Just cumbersome with the flatbed scanner characteristics of the big top cover and getting the stamps positioned correctly. The nice thing about the scanner is that it takes up less space as a multifunction printer and can reside beside my Mac on the desk.

chipg
Did you sell the Steam Ship folded letter addressed to Detroit?

That was a great display of covers.

ioagoa and stampcrow, I concur!

chipg, that was a great display!

Thanks for sharing.

FWIW, I scan my stamps using a Lighthouse 1-strip stockcard, so I am scanning through a clear strip. Some stockcards have a 2nd coverpiece, but I don't like those. The backpiece of these stockcards are black plastic, not black cardboard - I find the black plastic is 'blacker' than the black cardboard. I have a Canon scanner and find I need to do all kinds of image manipulating in order to get what I feel is representative image - maybe I should look into an Epson!

I have always admired the Siegel scans. I wonder what they use. Undoubtedly, some professional-grade system, but still I would like to know! Whenever I buy from them, I 'save as' their lot scan and use that as my reference copy instead of my own. As you can tell from my postings, I have ended up with all kinds of scan sizes because I tend to 'save as' the scans of all my purchases from the web images from any stamp firm, so I have a mix of scans from, perhaps, 10 or 12 different auction houses, PLUS my own scans of stamps culled from large lots or those not bought online. I ***DO*** need to be more consistent with my images. Oh well.

I can say unequivocally that being involved in this discussion has benefited me greatly. I have learned more about the issues (stamps) and the scanning of them in more than I thought possible in such a short amount of time.
Thank you Classic Coins for everything! I doubt I would have ever seen such wonderful stamps in 10 years let alone in just a couple of months.

Chip - some terrific covers. I recall seeing that exhibit years ago online.

The USPO dispatch carrier on 1c selvage is a great usage, along with others.

Hi, ioagoa. I use an Epson V370 scanner. The only recommendation I can make regarding buying a scanner for stamps is to buy Epson. My understanding is that they have a limited number of models for sale at any given time, but I don't know which of their models are better than others.

Since the 3-cent imperforate colors have so many subtle variations, I have been using Epson Scan's professional mode, and changing the RGB values in the Histogram Adjustment tool until the preview image on the screen looks closest to the colors that I see with direct viewing. This is mainly for my own use, although I do post some of these scans for others to view on their monitors.

Moyock13, I have tried VueScan with my Epson scanner, and was disappointed with the functionality and scan results. I could never get the clarity that I get with Epson Scan, even though I used both apps with the same scanner.

Here is an example scan of clarets and yellowish rose reds (and claret/YRR candidates) that I made to help me evaluate my colors:

Stamps 1, 2, and 3 were known clarets in the pale-to-medium range
Stamp 4 was unknown, and determined to be in the medium claret range
Stamp 6 was a known medium claret
Stamp 7 was a known deeper claret
Stamps 8 was a known YRR in the pale-and-yellowish range
Stamps 9 was a known YRR in the medium-and-deeper range
Stamp 10 was annotated "1856 yellowish rose red" on the back by Fritz, an experienced 3-cent plater and color specialist
Stamp 5 is very similar to stamp 10, but is unresolved, and I want to scan it with other colors

As most here know, current convention is to group the yellowish rose reds into a pale-and-yellowish range and a medium-and-deeper range. Stamp 10 would then be at the deeper end of the YRR medium and deeper range, explaining why it looks so much different than stamps 8 and 9.



Disclaimer: This image is provided to display variations in ink color between different stamps, all of which were scanned together. Because of variations in scanner settings, and because different display screens render colors differently, this image may not be suitable for confirming colors of stamps in hand or in other images.

You're quite welcome, Chipshot. Thank you very much for your feedback and kind expression of gratitude.

ClassicCoins, I'll have to try Epson Scan again. Do a comparison. I didn't find it as useful as VueScan, but I did buy the VueScan Professional. Don't know if that makes a difference or not.

I do have to say that I'm impressed if you see all of those colors in the 10 different stamps. Fortunately, I was much younger when I was an aircraft electrician and could see all of those variations in colors. Today I'd just be a puff of smoke and an ash pile!

What do you use for a color guide? I know that Scott has a color guide, is that a different standard?