PSE Certs With Questionable Details

So the question remains, is the joint line drawn in? A $350 item is pretty expensive for someone to use to practice on.

If the PF ran it through the comparitor, they would have additional info that the rest of us do not have. The drawn in line would likely reflect the light waves differently than the original ink.
Don

I've had very good experience with PSE. . .that said, I've gotten erroneous certs from them that they quickly fixed. I think they have process, and likely computer/database issues with stamps and other material that get very deep into the BOB. One issue I've seen is correct Scott number on US Possessions, but the description matches the Scott number of the same US stamp by Scott number. I tend to send more obscure stuff to the PF. PSE gets most of my "normal" stamps where I want a graded cert. I've also had certs "reversed" from both PF and PSE, but those are pretty rare.

I did a quick search of the Siegel website for 454 guideline pairs to see how the draw-in-line example compared. I have zero knowledge of these stamps or guideline pairs, but I couldn't help but notice the extreme variations in the thickness and clarity of impression of the line. I found one example where the line was even thicker than the one pictured in the PSE cert. Interesting stuff, to be sure.

I have to wonder how many, if any, of the Siegel examples would have the cert(s) overturned if resubmitted.

Here is a 313 that I purchased at auction and returned when the PSE found faults that were not noted by the PF and PSAG in older certs. The grade naturally dropped as well due to the regumming and perf work.

If you don't have a modern cert, most people don't take it seriously. The technology has changed so dramatically in just the past decade that picking up faults is easy today that would have been almost impossible a couple of decades ago.

Actually, in many collecting areas an item being offered with a very old cert immediately throws up red flags. Even the vaunted PF has eras where certs are suspect.

There are exceptions to this though. For example, I actually like PSE certs for U.S. revenues from the 1980s and early 1990s where the expertizers were listed on the certs by name (a practice I wish would return). There were well-known icons of the hobby that were performing the expertization during that period, and having their names on the certs is a positive.

Can anyone explain how a perf tip is repaired, please?
Not come across that before.

One can add paper to a short perf and make it appear normal, at least from the front. The PF would use the VSC6000 to look at the line. It can enlarge a stamp to the point that paper fibers are visible, with no distortion.

Amazing, the depths the forgers go.
I looked at the Expertisers site of PF

Never heard of some of the things, like "collodian stains"
Collodian for joining separated perfs from blocks.

Would a 313 have the typical perf indents on the gum as the lower denomination issues and also seen on other series stamps from the time period?

Seems that would be tough to fake.

They would be, but those indents do not occur on every example; there are certainly OG stamps without them.

Hello Everyone,

I took 51's advice and wrote to PSE last week about two of the items I originally posted about. This morning I received a very nice reply from Scott Murphy at PSE. He informed me that the information on the certs has been corrected, and offered explanation as to how the errors may have occurred. I got a good feeling about PSE from reading his reply, and his responsiveness to my email and prompt correction of some errors is most commendable.

That is a refreshing development. Thanks for posting this follow-up, EssayProof.