3 Franco Stamp 1905 - Scott Catalogue

good morning! I have this Swiss stamp, 3 Franco Stamp. I think it is from the year 1905. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is the 125a. It has watermark 182 type 2 and the paper is granite. I would like to sell it but I don't know what value to put on the stamp. I am asking you who may have more experience when it comes to selling a high value stamp. where can I sell it? Should I have it certified? thanks for your help.

I think you should check once again that this really is a 125a as 125a was issued 1907 and they are normally postmarked in Lenzburg, Wohlen or Zofingen. Your stamp is postmaked Geneve 1903

Should'nt it have wmk 183 ?

The postmarked is from Swiss (rue do rhone) and is from 1903. The 125a series is before 1904 and is the only with granite paper

Cartomago7, Can you show us a better picture of the back of this stamp?


Peter

That looks like one of the Scott #88 stamps with the control mark, not the Cross watermark (#125/a).

As aolsson already remarked, the cancellation date already excludes #125/a.

As previously noted, the control mark would automatically exclude the 1905 and later Standing Helvetias.
A quick way to categorize the Standing Helvetias is the number of "zahne" (teeth) or perforations down the side, the control mark and the paper type.
The cross in oval control mark combined with the number of side perforations of 14 immediately narrows things down to Zum/Mi/Scott 72A/64XA/88, 72E/64YD/88b, or 72F/64YA/88d.
72A has the cross in oval control mark type 1 and was released in 1882.
72E has the cross in oval control mark type 2 and was released in 1901.
72F has the cross in oval control mark type 2 and was released from 1901 to 1904.
All of these are on white paper. The threads you are seeing in the paper must just have been in the mix when they made the paper, but wouldn't represent granite paper.
I was hopeful for you that this was a 72F which is fairly rare.
However, the dimensions of these three stamps are:
72A 11 3/4 x 11 3/4.
72E 11 1/2 x 12
72F 11 3/4 x 11 3/4
It's tricky to just eyeball those sizes, but you can do it from a computer fairly easily.
I took a screenshot of your stamp and pasted it into Paint. Then copied the perforations across the top, pasted them into the image and rotated them 90 degrees.
If your stamp was a 72F, the perforations should line up exactly betwen the rotated top and the side.
The perforations for this stamp do not line up.
My conclusion is 72E/64YD/88b. Catalog value is around $30 for a postmarked version.

88b

72E in Zumsteg

???????

Presumably they meant Zumstein, not Zumsteg (whatever that may be).

You must love the expertise when someone does not even know how the catalogue is called.

CARTOMAGO 7 ----Let me step in here ......and give you my viewpoint . I am a active buyer of better stamps .

Your stamp most likely is a $35.00 stamp . Not the Scott 88c at $23,000 .00 ,so most likely a 88 , 88a or a 88b . I would need the stamp in hand to tell which . The catalog value is the same as the cost to get it certified . but the stamp will sell for $5.00 to $8.00 retail ,so it has no market to a reseller.

So the answer to your question is for you to sell it on ebay ,if you do that , I will throw a $5.00 bid for it ,maybe a little more . any buyer isn't going to look at it as a lottery ticket for a $23,000 stamp .The reason I am buying it is the date cancel and color to be added next to the ones I already have .