US 132 - 90 Cent Lincoln

That, Dear Watson, will lead you to the faker.

I actually prefer Weiss's non-opinion. Unless the PF can date the ink as not being from 1875 (which actually they can do a pretty good job at), how do they know for sure it is a non-contemporaneous smeared thumbprint? I have some thumbprint cancels on banknote stamps that I think are genuine (cheap stamps and no other cancels or markings), and I have seen one on cover that also looked genuine, so the postmasters do get creative sometimes when they have to.

99%+ probability that PF is correct, but I wonder if they really know it is a fake cancel, or just assume that it is fake because it is not one of the known cancels for the period.

There seems to be a space between each print which would indicate four separate impressions. Makes no sense.

Thank you all for your insights. I have found that as soon as I enter the rarer air of collecting anything, there is a world of deep knowledge and experience that generate everything from delight to dismay. I enjoy the sense of being in with fellow collectors rather than dealers and traders.
To clarify my position.
I have actively sought collections which display research and examples within the classic US era. This collection is definitely in that category. Apparently the collection (taken from the many Weiss certificates, of a William Robinson (I hope I am not out of line in revealing his name, who some of you might have knowledge of), it is an exciting adventure to learn of the many fine stamps he acquired. For me, it is a like a workbook in classic stamps. The varieties generated by the engraving process, the color, secret marks,plate position, grills etc. are a bit to learn.
I started this thread to get some sense of how much the value would be affected by various aspects of the cancellation. I fully intend to keep the stamp in my collection. spot 132 with both cert. alongside.

Various ways, from ink composition to comparisons of known cancels. There are thousands of known cancels from that era, so there are plenty of examples to look at.

It is worth looking into. There are a number of examples of 132 cancellations that have a similar appearance. Compared to the lower valuations, it almost would seem that the likeness was intentionally left clear, perhaps out of respect for Lincoln.
on the grilled issue I assume they had to cover the grill. Just guesses.

And keep in mind that the PF did not get its VSC6000 until 2016, six years after they issued the certification. So it would be well worthwhile to resubmit.
Don

It would likely be worth resubmitting. I have to imagine though that some faults may be noted to the base stamp that were not noted before simply because it makes no sense to take a sound mint example and apply a fake cancel to it regardless of the value bump. That is to say if the cancel is still judged to be not genuine.