What Am I Missing Here?

So I came across this 5¢ in the wrong spot - RC24 - 2mm apart for overprint spacing. BUT, when I compare it to the set of TYPE I overprint spacing set, the color of the stamp looks different - all the others look a tad darker like the 4¢ I've put up as an example. These only come in one shade, right? Carmine rose? If so, then it's RC3A, right?

It might be. They issued billions of these over the years, so some shade variations are inevitable.

So it definitely does not belong where it was…. RC3A I think. Just odd that all the other colors are consistent in shade besides this one. But environmental factors, etc., could be a factor too I'm guessing.

I think one of the main reasons is that printing was not as consistent as it is this day


Peter

Not just the BEP printed the underlying stamps. There are variations.

You should check the headnote in the Scott Specialized on the 1917 documentary stamps. The cents denominations were initially printed in Buffalo. When Congress found this out, they insisted that BEP do the printing. When this occurred they added dots inside the circles to the left and right of cents. On the one cent the dots are prominent. On the other cents denominations these are tiny dots. Later in 1924, BEP transferred this design to what George Brett called high etch plates and they could get far, far more impressions than on lithographic plates. They continued to print on the offset machines. Your 5¢ stamp looks to me like it was printed from a high etch plate.

Compare the edges on your 4¢. Those seem very crisp, the characteristic of offset printing from lithographic plates. Now go back to the 5¢ and look at the edges. Also look at the interior edges on the 5. Do they appear not to be as crisp? If so, this was printed from a high etch plate. And yes, most of the high etch plate prints are slightly lighter is appearance.

I have taught about this in one or two of my APS Summer Seminar courses.

Ask questions and I will give you some further thoughts on differentiating the various printings or types.


There are thus three types of the 1917 cents denominations, not two as Scott suggests.

With the details from revenuermd, I will add that the essays created for the second set of US Parcel Post Stamps, were the design used to create the Documentary stamps in question. Those essays, 1,2,3,4,5,10,15 cent were the only known "set" until a 20 cent essay was discovered years later (I own it) and all eight examples do not have the dot in the circle mentioned above. The 2nd set was never finished to the $1.00 due to the removal of the restriction that only parcel post stamps could be used on parcel post mail matter.

I don't have any images easily at hand. Should I find one I will post it.

Edit: Found some --

Thanks Ron and ppg…. Currently out of town, but will take a closer look when I get back. Very informative. I don't think this issue, but I seem to remember too some issues that were identical I believe except that one version had small circles in bottom of corners and the other solid dots. I'm hard pressed now to remember which ones ……

Below I have three four examples of the documentary stamps being used to pay the WWI Parcel tax. On domestic parcel post mail, the tax was 1 cent for the first 25 cents of postage (not fees nor services costs) and 1 cent for each 25 cents of fraction over 25 cents postage.


This is shown so you can see the "dot in the circle" version with a dot of color in each circle to the left and right of "cent" or for the other values, "cents" as the word may appear. Additional December 1921 was the last month the tax was collected, which began December 1917--


Here is an example of common use--


Here is an example of use on a registered pouch of parcels where the parcels are not registered, but the entire pouch is. This is one of six or less such examples. They all have a total of under 10 cents in documentary stamps.--


For the use of the documentary stamps, the largest denomination which could be used on a single parcel post item was 20 cents as the maximum postage charged for a single parcel post item was Zone 8, 50 pounds at 12 cents per pound for $6.00 postage which requires 24 cents in tax paid by documentary stamps.

However you could group a number of parcel postage packages into a container, each any wight up to the maximum, 70 lbs for Zone 1-3 and local and 50 lbs for Zone 4-8. Such examples are the only way to find the denomination greater than 20 cents being used. Here is my example showing both the 50 cent and two dollar values. This is one of perhaps two $2 documentary know used as such. I have seen $1 documentary stamps used but I do not recall seeing the 40 or 80 cent stamps. [Other WWI parcel related war tax collection required solo 25, 50 and $1 values. I will not discuss that here.]

In contents of the large container included payment of individual postage which did not exceed 25 cents or for other service and fees. Thus the tax paid, $2.70 is less than what would be expected if the total postage affixed as shown was taxes.--


Edited for number, when I started typing I had only three images then added a forth without catching the error.