Show Your US 1851-57 Imperforate Stamps

I just want to to clear things up regarding Chipshot's gash-on-shoulder stamp above, in case anyone didn't see ioagoa's PS at the bottom of his last post, since the plating is generating discussion.

I never plated the stamp to position 6L2L. On page 14 of this thread I plated a different stamp of Chipshot's as 6L2L, and in an email I plated the stamp above as 10L4.

Somehow there was a mix-up, and the 10L4 got advertised on ebay with 6L2L in the description, generating the email from the unnamed customer.

Ah! Thank you for clarifying, CC.

my apologies to the community as I had the proper plating from CC and misinterpreted the stamp. STAMP Dyslexia? Nevertheless The thread has been corrected and those that wish to check it against the stamp plating site will easily see that the stamp is 10L4. Thanks all!

#11A position 19L3 is "three rows" Variety #5 – Frame Line Takes Place of Right Inner Line.

However, 19L3 does have a very weak right frame line from the master die (indicated by the arrow). By the time the design was transferred from the master die to the transfer roll to the plate, the RFL was very weak. In the case of 19L3, the RFL is visible but was not recut due to the spacing issues discussed on page 10 of this thread.

Classic Coins, how cool is that?!

Interesting when you can know the history of the process of these plates. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks to ioagoa. Although I've been plating this issue for 22 years, I have learned a lot from him since starting this thread, and the knowledge he shared helped me understand what I saw on this stamp.

Relief lines are pretty common on the Type III stamps, leading to many slightly erroneous claims of double frame line varieties.

Good point, Winston.

I did not know this. This is very interesting. I will have to check my 19L3's when I get home from work (he-he, don't tell the boss!) and see if their impressions are sharp/clear enough to see this 'extra' line on the right. I was always counting lines on the left. Who knew???

Here's a worn-plate corner margin strip of three, positions 8-10R1L. It's a shame it was torn away on such a slant at the bottom.

Does anyone know if this was plated by Bill Amonette, and what the letter N on the back signifies?

Please show a scan if you have a 19L3 that shows the relief line well. The impression on mine isn't great.

Hi Classic Coins --

I do not recognize the plate mark on your 8-10L1L strip of 3 -- and I do not think it was plated by Bill Amonette. I attach 4 scans of Amonette's plate marks for reference -- (two from the left pane, and 2 from the right). Note the difference in the "R", among other differences.

Regarding the letter "N." in the lower right corner, likewise, I have no idea what it might signify. That said, I have seen plenty of stamps where Leo Shaughnessy, one of the well known platers of the Chase era, would put a code at the lower right -- that looked like a fraction, but instead of numbers, would contain letters, and often the letter "N" is present. I do not think that the "N." on your 8-10L1L strip was written by Shaughnessy however.

I also attach scans of a couple of examples of Shaughnessy's plate mark -- and where his "coding" system at lower right corner can be seen. Again, I have never been able to figure out how to decipher it. If anybody out there knows what Shaughnessy's coding system meant, I would be interested in knowing.

First 4 scans are examples of Amonette's plate marks -- last 2 are Shaughnessy's.

Regards // ioagoa

Hi classic coins --

Great post on the 19L3 showing that faint line at right. I have never noticed that line on 19L3 before -- and in checking my plating, do not have a copy that shows the line any better than the one you posted.

That said, in keeping with the theme of "extra lines" -- here are a couple of stamps from the 8th vertical column of the right pane of plate 6 -- both of which show what Chase described in his book as having ..."a rather faint guide line just to the right of the right frame line, and running from the top to the bottom of the plate"...

Chase also stated in his book that he considered stamps showing this extra line to be a "sub type" -- and which he further denoted as recut variety #10 -- Extra Line at Right (No Inner Lines).

The top stamp is 78R6 and the bottom stamp is 98R6.

Regards // ioagoa

ioagoa, Thanks for posting the images of Bill Amonette's and Leo Shaughnessy's plate position markings. They are great reference images. Bill's printing doesn't seem very distinct to me.

Here is a DeVere Card-plated stamp with Bill Amonette's color annotation and initials:

Hi Classic Coins --

That is definitely Bill's handwriting and initials on your Card plated 73R2L "PLUM" -- which is the "gold standard" when it comes to the scarce colors -- and, at least in my view, is much more meaningful than a certificate.

Regards // ioagoa