Show Your US 1851-57 Imperforate Stamps

Hello Everyone,

I have been trying to identify these stamps using the resource over at stamp smarter, but I've been having a bit of a hard time and was wondering if someone could help me.

Here's the first one. I think it is a #9 because it looks like it has two recut lines on the bottom. This stamp is on a cover dated April 29th, 1853. However the cover also has "Type II" written on the inside, could it be a #7?


Recut Lines? I'm guessing they are because they appear darker than the rest of the curve.


The second one is stumping me. This one is on a cover dated December 1st, 1856.



Thank you for any help

Top stamp is 71L1E, Ty II, no recuts. #7.

Its a late use from plate 1E.

This is one of the Inverted Transfer positions - a good variety.

Second stamp is a type II #7 probably from plate 2 or 3.

Appears to be cancelled with the Boston PAID killer.

Ecostic, the top stamp has no recuts. Recuts on #9 are continuous arcs, not separated segments along the curve of the frameline. Your arrows indicate the comparatively strongly impressed portions of the bottom frame line. It is the weaker portion in between these two segments that would be recut in a #9. Attached is a photo of position 71L1L, a #9 recut version of your 71L1E #7. You can see how the entire recut segment between the arrows is uniformly strong compared to your stamp.

PS. Note that both the outer and inner top frame lines are recut as well.

Thank you very much Txstamp and Dudley for your help and information!

Sorry to do this to you, but how does plating work?

71L1E means the 71st stamp on plate 1 and 1E means that it was an early printing?

How do you even start plating stamps?

Also what do you mean by "inverted transfer positions" Sorry, I'm very new to this.

I googled around a bit and it looks like a 71L1E cover sells for $450 - $600 at auction? If that's the case its pretty remarkable that I got it for $30 on ebay.

Heres the full cover:

It is a newspaper called the Savannah Republican.

And you are correct on the Boston cancel Txstamps:
I bought this one for $22 on ebay as well.

This one is a typed business letter about a shareholder report for the American Land Company.

I have one more cover with an Imperf 1 cent stamp, I'll try my hand at identifying it better and maybe try plating it and then see how close I get to the right answer.

Ecostic, the Savannah cover was an extremely good buy -- well done!

In plating nomenclature, 71L1E refers to the 71st position on the left pane of Plate 1 in its early state. These stamps were produced in sheets of 200 that were separated into two panes (left and right) of 100 subjects each (10 rows by 10 columns) for delivery to post offices. Thus position 71 is the first stamp in the eighth row.

Thanks again Dudley,

Here is my other stamp. I am pretty sure it is a #9, especially after comparing it to the picture you sent. It has nearly the same recut line on the bottom.

How do I begin trying to plate it?

Ecostic, first of all you need access to certain information resources with which to compare. Get a hold of either Ashbrook or Neinken's book on the One-Cent 1851-1861 stamp (the latter available from the United States Philatelic Classics Society's electronic library) and bookmark Richard Doporto's Plating Archive at http://www.slingshotvenus.com/Frank...hv_Main.html

You have picked a good stamp with which to get your feet wet. It is indeed #9, which limits your choice of plates to Plate 1 Late. First, determine which Relief you have (T, A or B)-this will help narrow down the choice to certain rows. Then determine the pattern of recuts--there are seven possible (recut once at top only, once at bottom only, twice at bottom only, once at top and once at bottom, once at top and twice at bottom, twice at top and once at bottom, twice at top and twice at bottom). This will help narrow down the choice of positions. Next look for "plating marks", including such things as guidelines and guide dots as well as actual unique ink marks on the stamp that come from imperfections on the plate itself. This should get you to the actual plate position.

Hi Dudley,

The link you provided does not work. I get a 'Not Found" error.

Belay my last! There is a period at the end of the url that is the culprit.

Ecostic, Wow! Nice!

Thanks, Moyock. Offending punctuation eradicated!

Thank you much for that resource Dudley!

Upon closer inspection I noticed that there are guide dots on the top right of the stamp. After looking at that website, the guide dots matched those on the 5L1L stamp. I believe the recut lines also match.

http://www.slingshotvenus.com/Frank...Pos5L1L.html (For some reason the first time I clicked the link it redirected me to the wrong site, but clicking it a second time sent me to the right place.)

However unlike the 51L1 stamp, mine has this mark below the U:

And also unlike 5L1L, the top of the portrait is different:

However, the missing designs at the very top still match 5L1L.

Was there a a bit of variation between every stamp? I image that the mark below the U was caused by an external factor and not the plate itself.

Nevertheless I am fairly confident that this is a 5L1L because of how well the recut lines and the guide dots match up.

A+, Ecostic! Your stamp is a Relief T, so-called second condition (left pane of top row only) from Plate 1 Late (since it is recut). It is recut once at bottom only, so it could only be 5L, 6L, 7L or 9L. The double guide dot configuration identifies it as 5L1L. I think I also see the dot inside Ornament B that the Doporto image indicates (see the Plating Archive's Main Page for a diagram showing the conventional nomenclature for identifying these ornaments).

You are correct that different printing/inking anomalies can occur on the same position. It is a matter of experience to be able to distinguish these from actual plating marks.

This #10a, position 49R1i (inner line at right only), was favorably miscut. The adjoining stamp to the right has three lines recut in the upper-left triangle:

Classic Coins, that's pretty sweet! Thanks for sharing.

How the heck do you come up with these crisp, clearly printed 170 year old stamps? Most of the stamps I find look as though they've spent time on my garage floor.

Here's a 6R2L with recuts 28 & 30. Top diamond blocks and top label block are attached.

Thanks, Moyock13. And, you're welcome.

I've been collecting the issue for decades. Unfortunately, nice copies of this issue are tough to find at a reasonable price these days.