1986 Stamp Collecting Booklet Pane . Scott 2201A/E? . What Is It?

The above images are of what appears to be a Scott 2201a booklet pane.
Four items of note:
(1) There is a line between the two middle stamps ... it can be seen from both the front & the back of the pane. Why would there be a line in a booklet pane?
(2) The pane appears to never have been folded. There should be an obvious fold between the middle stamps. As far as I know, no unfolded panes were sold for this issue.
(3) The pane is not tagged ... making it possibly Scott 2201e.
(4) There is a non-uniform glossy area (glue/varnish?) immediately to the right of the line on the 3rd stamp. This "glossy" area hugs the right side of the line, is widest (4mm) towards the bottom & tapers towards the top until it disappears just below the "S" in STAMP. Unfortunately, this does not show on the scan.

What exactly do I have?
Counterfeit? Unlikely I think for this issue ... plus I don't see one listed in my 2021 Scott specialized.
Printer's Waste? Actual Tagging Omitted Error? Either seems possible.
Given the above info, is it worth expertizing? Has anyone seen a similar 1998-2001 pane?

This is similar to a thread on Scott 2117-2121, seashells booklet of 1985, which has panes listed both as normal and scored perforations. See the illustration of "scored perforations" I posted near the end of this thread and eyeonwall's post following it.
https://goscf.com/t/74140

The two examples of the entire Stamp Collecting pane I had handy did not show such strong cuts, but the used singles all had a distinctly cleaner separation between the two center stamps. The lack of a specific mention, likely means all panes were scored.

I am unsure whether your example is inked or not, but it would be easy for the blade to pick up ink and redeposit it as it cuts.

Other theories?

Sure looks like it was folded to me.

John Becker: I must have missed that topic. I think that you are correct ... what I interpreted as a line is actually scored perfs.

eyeonwall: I have several (more than 10) 2201a panes. All of them have a very obvious fold in the middle. If I pick one up it immediately starts folding at the middle. But I can wave this particular pane in the air ... and there's no hint of a fold. Yet, assuming that it did come from a booklet, it must have been folded at some time in the past.

Thanks to both of you for your replies. I have a couple of other items to have expertized in the near future ... I'll probably spend a few shekels & piggyback this pane on that order.
... John L. ...

First, what you have is a block of four stamps, not a booklet pane. A booklet pane also contains the tab (at left) where the pane was glued into the booklet front cover.

The scoring on these panes is all over the place. I have panes that are scored heavily in all four perf columns, and I have panes that are unscored in one of the four columns. It may be that the scoring fell right into the perf holes by chance. The scoring strengths also vary considerably, some panes almost fall apart, while other panes barely show the scoring slits in some columns.

If your pane really is not folded (this easily shows, as you say, when you try to hold one end horizontally, the other end will instantly drop vertically) then you have something interesting.

Make sure you use the correct uv lamp, shortwave 254nm light. The panes are block tagged, the blocks covering the stamp designs.

Should your (almost booklet) pane really be unfolded, then this is a new variety not known so far. It would certainly warrant to be expertised. The "unfolded area of panes" didn't (re-)start until 1988, two years later with the Greetings booklet. Maybe your pane, if really unfolded, is printer's waste that somehow made it into the public.

Scoring does not show thru on the back like that. Despite your waving test, I still think it has been folded.

I agree, most likely a folded pane pulled out of a booklet, with missing tab.
I forgot to mention that you have to do the "flap test" with the gum side up. Image side up the pane(s) do not drop down, giving the false impression of an unfolded pane.

I've tried the "flap test" with gum side up & gum side down. The block does not fold in the middle in either case. I'm actually leaning towards printers' waste for this reason. That said, I actually agree that it has been folded ... a close look at the gum side would seem to indicate that this is likely even though it won't fold "automatically" now.
I will send it to PSE or PF to be certified ... and I will be sure to post the result. Assuming I send it in by mid July, it will probably be mid September before I have an answer.

I submitted this item to PSE during the first week of August. If interested, look at cert 1431939. While I thought the pane was untagged, PSE did find traces of tagging. In addition, they judged that the two center stamps had been "rejoined". Which helps explain why the pane appeared to me to be unfolded ... at some time it had been parted at the fold and subsequently somehow "glued" back together.

When I first saw this scan back in June it certainly looked folded between the center stamps. As you describe it now, rejoined certainly makes sense. The center perf holes are not completely round and some are askew. I've seen very old stamps and blocks rejoined, never would have considered that for a modern issue. Unusual, I wonder what the reason. "Traces of tagging." Too bad. As with all errors, "traces" of ink (or phosphor) does not make it the rare variety, but still an interesting collectible to a specialist.

Thanks for the update!

If you ever think you have an untagged error, it must be kept in a new glassine, new mount or new card because taggant os known to migrate off stamps and then back on the next stamp in the same place.

eyeonwall: Thanks for this reminder. A not so obvious fact and easy to forget.