E Grill, 88, With Extra Rows Of Grill Points

Hey guys,
I'm hoping someone here can shed some light on this stamp. I've had it for years and just noticed the extra rows of grill points when held under the light at the right angle. Any and all theories are welcome. My guess is that the extra 3 rows are from a partly erased grill but partly erased from which grill?







Sorry about the duplicate pics, Image tutorial hung up on a blank page and I've never posted before.

Thanks for taking a look, Bob

It appears that there might be a single row from a split grill... see bottom of page here https://stampsmarter.org/learning/I...8Grills.html
Don

Could it be an offset second strike with the die?

if from a second strike, would it be aligned so well with the first gril? And from the possibility of a split grill, it is showing 3 more rows spaced exactly the same as the clear grill. no gap or different spacing.

Well if the first strike was very weak and the second was strong, it might account for this. As for alignment, I'm afraid I'm not familiar with operations of the device making the impressions well enough to say for sure.

But... this is just a shot in the dark on my part. I've checked all the grills I have and can't say I've seen this.

There is a phenomenon where the A grill was incompletely erased when making C grill roller. It is mentioned in Scott just above #83. Here is one that was certified (has some faults).

(I can try to take a better picture of the grill if needed)

This looks interesting,
The images are too noisy, if it were mine
I'd focus on 4 spots on the back I can see,(might be nothing but the image I'm looking at threw my device)
trying to get a better picture of what I was looking at

Every now and then things in the image seem to line up and take a form (not a clear enough image)
Good place to start looking for a weakness in that armour

Might be nothing, but gives you something to do waiting
Just my thoughts

I have absolutely no clue what your word salad means. What exactly are you trying to say?

There are 4 "clearer" impressions with less distortion on the (backside) grill image
I'd look at closer, to start….might give a better idea
I'll add *I know nothing of this at all*
Just if it was mine that's how I would start my approach
It's a interesting stamp


*I'm not saying it was pressed 4 times, just the small squares in the grill
I'd look at closer 4 appear to be more put together*

Thanks to all for your imput. This thing is still a mystery though of all the ideas floated, jconey I like yours the best, no matter how astronomicly improbable a perfect alignment with a previous grill impression would be. I think in the early days of grilling they were much concerned with making sure the grill was impressed clearly so if a sheet went though with a light impression It could have been run through a second time. Maybe this was on the first sheet of E grills and they were still trying to get the machine set up? It is definitly horizontal points down so unless it were run through the grilling machine upsidedown (did someone say astronomicly improbable? ;) that rules out the A - C. rlsny Thanks, I knew I'd seen something about a partly erased grill somewhere but couldn't remember where. If you have the catalog from Siegel sale 968, lot 104 shows the partly erased grill essay on blank stamp paper in addition to the stamps offered. Unfortunately power search of that lot only shows the stamps. Not sure if it's ok to scan and post but if you'd like I'll PM you a scan. Nice find BTW.
If I ever get a cert on this I'll look you guys up and let you know how it turned out. Thanks again,
Bob

Durp.... Definitly ***Vertical*** points down.... it's not a Z grill

This appears to be 88var, double E grill (one faint), with a "miracle double" alignment (nearly perfect except for 3 columns of misalignment). While rare, several miracle doubles DO exist (I've seen at least 5). To verify this, study the points in the farthest 3 columns compared to those in the middle 11 columns. If the former look like a normal grill while the latter look like a combination of the normal and weak grills, it's conclusive. Although the weak grill impression may not greatly alter the normal grill impression in combination points, you may see ridge ambiguity or odd points because not all grill columns are identical, and overlaying different columns (if the weak grill makes an impression) can produce slightly odd ridges (as if out-of-focus). Yours may be more discernable than the used copies I've seen.

P.S. All 5 miracle doubles I have seen (on 3c C, E, and F grills) have been column shifts as with your example. I believe this to be consistent with the direction of grilling movement.