Scott 65, Maybe 64 Or ?; Strange Translucent Paper, Help Please

Hi all,
Just found my stamp collection from when I was a kid int he 70's and have been reacquainting myself with the hobby. This stamp is likely the oldest in my collection, and I've been struggling to identify it. I suspect its either a Scott 65, possibly an Essay or proof of some type (seems unlikely) or a fake of some sort. My starting point tends to be to assume what I have is the most common version and go from there.

It appears to be a perf 12, rose (?) colored 3c washington from the 1861 series, but there are a few things that make it seem a bit "off" to me. This may simply be my inexperience and searches I've done so far have not helped much, so am hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

The paper is translucent and feels waxy and thin to me. If I place the stamp over something with dark lines or print, I can see it through the head portion of the cameo. Also note that the perfs on the left lower side appear to have been cut with a sharp item. I'm not sure if that would be common at this time or not. I don't have any other stamps from this time period to compare it to.

I struggle with color as an identifier as many of the shades look the same to me. Unless it's oxidized, I don't think it's a pink variety and is most likely a rose shade.

The only reference to translucent paper was for one of the essays or proofs, but the design does not seem to match any of those and it doesn't make sense (at least to me) that these would have a cancel, unless its pretending to be something else (fake). Please correct me if I'm wrong about that.

I've attached a scan of the front and back. I hope the resolution comes through, my original scans are at 1200 dpi in an uncompressed tif file (from Epson V600 photo scanner), so I doubt the <300kb jpeg will do it justice.

Any thoughts from those with experience with these?

Thanks in advance,
Messinian7042

Pretty good analysis, I have to say. Much appreciated for that and the nice scans.

I agree it's a #65 rose. Scissors were common enough at this time so perfs cut like this are possible. New Orleans postal clerks used scissors a lot during this period although this one is only cut that way on 3 sides. Maybe this was once a pair separated by somebody over the years; we'll likely never know.

It might be just old gum thoroughly soaked into the paper; hard to tell with just a scan. But by the waxy feel, It might be that this stamp has been soaked by oil or candle wax at some time after its use. Soaking in water for a few minutes would help remove old gum. Try that first. If it's wax or oil, Ronsonol (used by many for watermark fluid) would remove at least some of it. Using a small amount in a condiment cup (as if watermarking the stamp) would leave a bit of residue washed out of the stamp after the Ronsonol dries.

If you see right through a portion of the stamp it could be thinned (damaged) in that location.

Thanks rogdcam and hy-brasil. I appreciate the responses and info.

The stamp is semi-transparent across the entire stamp, but easier to see through the white of the head.

I tried both the water soak and ronsonol and it didn't really change the feel of the paper.

thanks again!

Messinian - if you have another you could hold side-by-side with a light source behind it in a picture it might help.

@Caper123,
Unfortunately, it's the only one I have from that series. FWIW, here are a few shots of it compared to a soft paper Scott 212.
First is a standard shot on black paper, next two are backlit.
If there are other (later issue) stamps that would be more relevant to compare, please let me know.

Now, I may need to look for a used 65 to buy for comparison. :)

I am also wondering about the imperf (or cutoff perfs) on the bottom. Looking at the sheets from this series online, I only found images with perfs at the bottom on the sheet/pane.

Cheers,
Messinian

It's a completely normal stamp with scissor-trimmed/cut perfs.