France: 10¢ Napoleon III, Bister On Yellowish - I.d. S'il Vous Plaît

Need a 2nd opinion on this one before I mount it in the wrong spot or toss it out.

It's cut within a hair's breadth of the frame line all the way around, which makes me wonder if someone was trying to make it look like something it is not (a Scott #25 with the perforations cut off trying to pass as an imperf #10 or #14 ).

It is not a #10, because it says "EMPIRE FRANC" up top instead of "REPUB FRANC".

So that leaves me with either an imperf #14 or a butchered #25. There are two printing dies for this value. #14, #14a, and #14b are all Die I, and #14c and #25 are Die II. The differences between the Dies involve the two lines forming the curl of hair below the "R" of "EMPIRE" and shading lines across the neck.

The problem is I don't have any other 14s or 25s to compare it to.



Thoughts?

Al

In my opinion it's definitely Type II (Die II), because the hair curls to the left of the ear must be much stronger, and the hair directly above the ear must have an additional line, for Die I. I am relying on Yvert 2018 which comments on different spotting items than your catalogue. This example is slightly under-inked as well but I think these spotting items are dispositive here.

On the top margin just above the R in EMPIRE I think I see the bottom of a perforation hole although its diameter is tiny so it could be a paper nick given the age of the stamp. But this issue had margins sufficient to allow wider trimming than what you have, so my vote is for a trimmed 25. If you want to fill the space for 14, it's probably better to hold out for an example with margins and clear Die I identification.

Chris

Thanks Chris!

I don't have Yvert, but Scott doesn't say anything about the hair directly above the ear. To quote my 2015 Classic Specialized:

"Die I. The curl above the forehead directly below the "R" of "EMPIRE" is made up two lines very close together, often appearing to form a single thick line. There is no shading across the neck.

Die II. The curl is made of two distinct, more widely separated lines lines. There are lines of shading across the upper neck."

Here's a blow-up of the above image:



The arrows are pointing to the lower ends of the lines I think they are talking about, which would make it a Die I.

...but that little nick that might be the bottom of a perf hole is concerning!

So I agree with your overall assessment. (too many maybe's!) I'm slowly building Steiner albums and moving all my stuff that I've never been a serious collector of into those. I'm using good paper back-to-back inside document protectors and top-loading clear mounts. So "Ol'e Louie B." is in a loose mount inside the protector to rattle around until I find affordable replacement(s)!

Thanks for your help,

Al

I apologize—my catalogue is Spink Maury, not Yvert. Here's the relevant page to show what they focus on.

Yes, I'd say definitely a type II and very, very likely a trimmed #25. I'd put it in with my references, not in my collection.

Thanks for the reference, Chris - great info!

...and billsey - agreed!

Now, here's hoping that someone from Amos Publishing will see this post and revise the Scott Classic Specialized - unless a later version since my 2015 has already been corrected..

Thanks again,

Al