APS 24c Banknote For Certification

Wow. That's quite defined, Canyoneer! I wonder, does the front side show the same texture?

I think the important point is... With a used stamp that is decades or centuries old, no one knows the provenance. What is 100% sure (by definition) is that an off-paper used stamp has been through the mail stream and then soaked and dried. Lord only knows what other handling the stamp may have been subjected to over time.

This makes trying to ID colors or papers the most challenging aspects of our hobby. I think that it is a good area for study but one that takes owning large reference collections (or examining hundreds of stamps) and years of analysis to become highly proficient.
Don

I can't find any direct quote about easy methods for differentiating National to Continental papers. RH White did have an example of an American Bank Note Printing that he states that the paper was probably taken from Continental Stocks.


There seems to be less of the lights / darks that he mentioned, but difficult to say with certainty.

It should also be noted that the paper content and manufacturing styles were in flux at just this time period. RH White had a further analysis in an appendix whereby he notes the experimentation going on: