I Was Told That I May Have A 613 Lottery Winner?

Greetings everyone!
I will start out by saying that I am not, or have I ever been a stamp collector. I am a retired race car driver. I had been given this stamp by a relative many years ago as a kid, and told to "put this somewhere special, it's a special stamp that you will appreciate when you are older.". So I did, and forgot about it for 45+ years. I had put it in an old watch case that my grandfather gave me, while going thru old boxes I came across it. I showed it to a friend of mine that was a collector at some point, and was told of an elusive unicorn in the stamp world and there is a possibility that this is one. I have scanned it into Adobe as well as imported a scan of a known 613 (Harding 2c. rotary) and created an overlay. exact match. I'm sure this is a case ( just like the thousands you already answered ) of an uneducated greenhorn thinking he has won the powerball jackpot. But i'm sure you understand, I have to ask! So I have put on my Nomex&helmet and ask... Any thoughts?

It will be useful for fully understandng the replies you receive if you could also post the same quality image of the back side of your stamp. Thanks in advance.

uploaded! thank You

Have you measured the perforation?

I'm not sure how to tell with a photo unless you have other known varieties with it. A Precision US Specialty multi-gauge should tell you if it's rotary or not.

DISCLAIMER: I know nothing about US stamps.

Assuming the DPI is 1200, Stamp Analyser gives the following perfs and measurements:

Does anyone know of a good place in Southern California that I could take it to have checked? I'd love to speculate as much as the other dreamers, but life seems to be a bit more by the book. unless there are other foolproof methods of Identifying. I am currently working on an overlay using the image of lot 527 of Heritage auctions on 4/01/08. it appears to be similar in respect to the off-center printing.

My only input at this point: thank you for 1) appreciating how improbable having a 613 is, and 2) providing really good scans. Also, how eccentric was said relative, to hand over such a (possibly rare) stamp to a child without label, protection, notice, or anything more?
I'm rooting for you. I mean, I doubt it is, but I'm cheering you on.

Correct me if I am mistaken, if the analyzer shows the width as 18.3 when should be 19.25 a difference of 0.95 , using that same adjustment for Hight puts it more in contention for a true 22.5 Hight over 22.25 give or take?

classic-paper thank you!

I would offer the following: the chances are not in your favor. Any chance would only be proven if the item were to be certified (APS). Before sending it out, CALL them & discuss what you think you have & why. No one here should hint that you may (or may not) have without a full explanation. A certificate will provide surety of identification. You should discuss costs of the certification (low to high). There are MANY threads & comments on this site which discuss this specific issue. Only with stamp-in-hand can the experts make the valid determination. (In my business travels I came across a HARDING, on a post card, framed & hanging in the sitting area of a local bakery-coffee shop. I hope it's still there).!!

Looks to me that the analyzer lines for width is not in the correct place on the right side.

I believe that is the case. I think the analyzer is programmed such that when auto-detected, the design line is no further outside than the margin line. Since the design is off-center right to the point that the perfs cut into the design, the design line is prevented from extending to the right past the margin line. Let me see if I can manually adjust it.

EDIT: Manually adjusting the right design line ups the 18.3 values to 18.6.

NicholasC is correct ... the width reported by the software should be slightly greater ... probably a bit less than half a millimeter more.
To my eyes, the white background around Harding's head appears "too clean" for a rotary stamp.

Thanks to the good quality scan, I agree the printing looks more like the flat plate 610's rather than a typical 612 rotary printing.
Also if it is reperforated on the right, that's another sign it was probably from a straight edge on a flat plate 610.
But, since you asked,


You just missed a big annual stamp show San Diego with a lot of dealers last month. This web site lists a couple of other monthly shows in Southern California that should have sufficient experts on hand to let you know if it is at all worth the gamble to pay to have it certified by the Philatelic Foundation if you still think it is genuine.
https://www.stampshows.com/california_s.html
When my nephew was a child I gave him a "million dollar bill" (fake). I hope he didn't put it away in a safe place hoping to cash it in for his retirement. Oh, the tall tales we like to tell the young'ins.
Good luck!