Show Your US 1851-57 Imperforate Stamps

Hi Classic Coins --

Here is scan of example plate marks of some of the well known platers -- which includes another of Cabeen's.

Apologies for the poor scan quality -- but I do not have the original of this item and am posting a scan that was given to me years ago. Hopefully it is legible enough to be of some use.

Regards // ioagoa

(edited to correct spelling error)

Thanks for the feedback, and for the info on platers' markings, ioagoa!

Well here's a tired topic I'd like to bring back up.., plum. Of course I still have the same issue of a poor scanner so I can't really capture the color of this stamp.
So I guess my reason for posting this is to get opinions on where you would send a questionable colored stamp for authentication.

Hi Stephen, Nice stamp!

The impression I've gotten from personal experience and correspondence with others is that the PF is highly unlikely to certify a 3-cent imperforate as a plum without established provenance or prior approval from a color expert.

I recommend as a first step, sending the stamp to a color specialist for an opinion.

I hope you'll consider getting an Epson scanner this year.

Gary, You would think with as much time spent and enjoyment I get from working with these stamps, this would have been done a while ago. Thee's a character flaw in there somewhere.



Honestly.., I don't know how to move forward with that. Other than the folks on this site Charles DiComo is the only collector that I have any kind of relationship with.

Any suggestions?

I was going to leave this kind of thing for my Grandson to deal with in later years but recently I've been thinking I should at least try and gain some clarity myself.

The PF has in fact recently certified a plum that was just found out in the wild and submitted for a cert. The stamp above seems quite a ways away from plum.

Stephen, I'd be happy to look at it if you want to send it my way.

Winston I agree the stamp as it shows above is not what plum would be.

Gary, thanks, I'll email you.

ioagoa - I love the idea of the various platers' marks. I recognize Chase and Shaughnessy right away. I bought an accumulation a few years ago with a bunch of Watt identified examples, too. I should check/compare my others, that I do NOT recognize, with your post - maybe I have a few others and don't know it.

I am curious, of all the 3c '51's that you have marked on the back, how many of them can be attributed to the guys in your post?? Is it like 90% (they have done the lion's share of the work in the field - or at least marked their stamps...) or is it more like 10% (they are the biggies, but there are LOTS of others that do the same thing)? Just curious.

Hi Mootermutt987 --

You wrote:




Tough question -- and one that I have never analyzed -- at least not quantitively anyway. That said, I have looked at thousands of these 3c imperf stamps over a 20 year + period -- and a couple of observations -- (all "stream of consciousness") ...

-- In every one of the platings or bulk lots of 3 cent imperfs that I have acquired (or previewed at some of the major auction firms) -- there are always some stamps plated by Chase. In a few of the "old time" platings I have broken down over the years -- I estimate that I have seen up to 25% of the stamps, and sometimes even more, being "Chase plated".

-- Likewise, in most of these so called "old time" platings that I have broken down -- I will usually find at least another 5% plated by Shaughnessy -- and sometimes more. After that -- it is a random mix -- but I always find a few plated by Hicks, Card , and to a lesser degree Wardwell, Cabeen, and Simpson. So if I were to calculate the percentage of stamps in the aggregate plated by the guys in my previous post -- I would estimate a collective percentage of around 40%. Again -- this is for platings that were assembled during the "Chase era".

-- In other, more recent platings and bulk lots that I have seen over the years (which I would call "post Chase era") -- I still always find a good mix of Chase plated stamps -- and usually a decent mix of the more recent platers as well -- like Celler, Watt, Lund, Amonette, and Fritz. That said -- generally consistent with the "old time" platings mentioned above -- at least 50% - 60%, or sometimes even more, of the stamps are a mix of other unidentified platers.

-- I think it really depends on the "time period" in which the plating or bulk lot was assembled -- as clearly the "old time" platings are more heavily weighted to the well known platers of the Chase era.

-- Over the years I have seen a wide range and mix of plate marks that I do not recognize -- and I have a few groupings where I am sure that the same plater made the marks -- but I have no idea as to who the person is. For example -- one such grouping that I have always wondered about is attached below -- where the plater made a very distinctive "upside down U" -- or perhaps better described as a "caret" -- placed just below the first digit of the plate position mark. Of the 200 stamps from this particular plating, I would estimate that this mark occurs on approximately 10% to 15% of the stamps -- so definitely a recurring theme. But again -- I have no idea as to who the plater was?

-- Lastly -- one thing I have learned -- is to never rely on a prior platers plate mark -- as everybody makes mistakes -- including Chase (albeit upon very rare occasion). In fact, I consider Chase "errors of plating" to be collectible in their own right. In any event, I always confirm the position of stamps plated by a prior owner -- and I can tell you that on average, the error rates I see for "unknown platers" are sometimes very surprising -- and in some cases running over 25% on a common plate (i.e., like 1L, 2L or 3).

Enough of my rambling. Hope this helps a little to answer your question.

And, if anybody out there recognizes the person who plated the stamps in the scan below -- please let me know.

Regards // ioagoa

#11 from sheet position 67L6 (misplaced C-relief). The color is deep purplish claret:

ioagoa - I am just now seeing your response to my query. I've been at this for many decades, too, but have not had as many platers identified as you do, so I have been unable to answer my own question. The 'mystery plater' that you showed a scan of is interesting. I wonder what the 'caret' represents, or if it is simply the plater's way of identifying the beginning of his 'entry'. I have id'ed a few myself over the years, so I expect some might even be mine. I tend to not mark the stamps, though, because I am not an expert and figure if I can figure out a particular stamp's position, it is probably a good exercise for someone else to also do it from scratch, rather than assume my marks are correct. But, yes, you are right --- never depend on someone else's work as being the gospel truth!

I just received a stamp from an ebay purchase and believe it to be a #14 TyII. I will ask for verification and comments on that being the case, TIA.

Here is the entire document which it is on and it is a portion of an envelope which was cut down to single ply.


There is a dealer stamp on the lower left and 4.00 on the back.
and this script which I can not make out to the right of the stamp.