Special Printings Stamps

I have contacted 4-5 different philatelic places and can't get an answer back and my question is how much do they charge to certify a used special printing. Does anyone know someone I can contact that's maybe close to Atlanta that I could contact. Thank you


The special printings are the 3 rows across the top

In my opinion,
1. "special printings" as a term is being mis-used. For example, the first two stamps in first row are a part of the regular issue series 1902-1907, which did not have "special printings." (In the photo, they appear to be common perforated stamps that an amateur cut down with scissors so as to make the stamps look like their "imperforate" (no perforations) siblings in the Scott catalog. That is why halfway serious collectors only collect the imperforate varieties as attached PAIRS (or larger) to show scissors tomfoolery not done.

2. Auction houses generally do not have expertization services. The work is hard work and highly specialized, which is why there are only 3 or so independent organizations* that 99.99% of collectors and dealers will accept, and even then the work is not infallible. You can do an Internet search on the subject to learn what you are seeking. *Here are some acronyms: APEX, PF, PSE.

3. 19th century Special Printings, as can be seen in the Scott catalog (or anyone reputable selling online like a major Auction house -- they have past auction lots and prices realized), are so rare and valued highly, that no collector would store them in the mixed lot of stamps in this photo (including rather poor condition stamps). I have consulted the Scott Specialized catalog for years which explains the 19th century special printings, you might have similar explanation with a good internet search if you have not sat down and studied the Scott Specialized introduction pages, or the page or two for the Special Printings catalog entries.

highly unlikely there is a special printing in there

Over exuberance. Slow down. A lot to learn here. Let the learning begin. Take a deep breath. Ask more questions. Take no actions. No certs no $$

"Highly unlikely" is far too optimistic.

A Special Printing is Special. Please show some closeup scans of just the best candidate and your reasoning for believing that it is a Special Print.

I like that first stamp on the left, 5th row.
As for special printings.., I'm clueless.

I suspect that it is a 35. The margin makes it possibly nice.

Here's some more pictures of a few of them close up.
The one on far right is blue and the middle one is the special printing bright blue. It still has the glue that was used to mail the letter.
The left one is 1c ultramarine hard white paper on piece of paper
2nd picture is pale red brown

No matter how much you wish for it, none of these are special printings. Just so you understand, I have had about 3 dozen special printings in my hands over the years, so I know what they look like.

The stamps issued by the National Banknote company and the American Banknote company from 1870 to the 1890s are the most misidentified series of stamps of the classic era in my experience. Each series has very slight differences and in the dozens of collections I have purchased, I think I only encountered one where most of the stamps of this era were correctly placed.

Take a look at this image. Every stamp in this picture is a different Scott number - there are no duplicates in this picture.

FYI - none of them are Special Printings

Nice NYFM cancel.

I've been collecting on and off for about 50 years. I didn't start yesterday. I have the Scott's worldwide catalog as well as a book for every country. I have a perf gauge as well as a millimeter gauge. I was looking for someone to be able to look at what I have and maybe point me in a direction of someone to look at my stamps. Thank you to the nice opinions. We have contacted several places that certifies but don't get a reply.

Rogerblades, it might help if you specified whom you have contacted and exactly what you have asked them. There are really only a handful of certifying organizations that could credibly identify US special printings (the Philatelic Foundation and the American Philatelic Society are the top two). Each has detailed instructions on how to engage their expertization services at their respective websites.

The thing to know about this forum is that it has some of the world's experts in classic US stamps. I consider myself to be really good at identifying bank note issue stamps, but I too come to this forum when I see something I'm not sure of. What you have received is more than just some random opinions on the internet. You've been told you have no special printings from some of the most knowledgeable people in the world. There are a handful of stamps on that page worth more than $10 - like the number 17 and 153. But that's it.

I don't know if the OP has actually been told that they have No Special Printings … rather that the odds are really, really, really low. I haven't yet seen good enough scans to determine one way or another (but I wouldn't know either way). I agree, though, that the expertizing houses have websites that tell you exactly how to submit.

I'd still like to see a good scan of the one item that the OP intends to submit. Front and back would be appreciated.