Features Of A Scott C14 US Airmail Specimen

Greetings,

[EDITED with updated images]

Please reply with observations or opinions about the condition of this stamp, especially with respect to its potential grading and value relative to a "perfect 100" grade. I'll be the first to admit that this stamp's grade would fall short of a 100. The question is by how much. Understood that all opinions are subjective. By my reckoning, this stamp:

• is centered a bit high and slightly to the left;


• has a number of what I understand are "natural gum bends;" and


• the far left of the stamp (as viewed from the reverse) reveals a ~2mm margin where gum was not applied.

Thanks in advance.

It's a nice example of, but a flat bed scan, correctly oriented would make a huge difference to our comments.

My free opinion:

Updated after seeing the new posted scans:

Previously (based on photo): It's centering is around FVF75 to VF80, leaning towards FVF75. Each minor fault (gum bend, gum skip) I would assess as -5%, so overall somewhere between VGF65 to F70. I'm sure other opinions will vary...

Now with better scans, the centering appears much better, possibly XF90 to XFS95, so my opinion would change to VF80 to VFXF85.

UPDATED with scanner images added.

or - harsh