USA Scott 72 - 1861 90c Washington Blue

My dear US-experts!

I recently acquired the following stamp for my US-collection:


What do you think?
Nice "jumbo" with "fancy cancel" - or reperfed junk?

I am not so sure - but I like the "eye-appeal".

The stamp is valued quite moderately in the Scott catalog. (At least the issue I have.)
Is it a common stamp? Did many of these survive the parcel-postage in 1861?

Does anyone know about the cancel? Nice "fancy" or fake-phantasy?

Thank you!

It is not reperfed.

Probably not, but without actually seeing the stamp it's not guaranteed.

Good news so far.
(not "obviously" referfed)
With a width exceeding 21mm - is it considerd "jumbo"?
Is the centering still OK?
What about the cancel? Can it be found in any specialized handbook? (Or home-made cork?)
(The stamp origines from an old Swiss estate built up in the 1950s.)

Centering is typical for that issue. Not the best, but by far not the worst either.

Margins are also typical. That stamp often has larger margins than other stamps from that period so it probably would not receive a Jumbo designation if you wanted to get it certified.

It is a "circle of V's" fancy cancel, but as fancy cancels go, it is one of the simpler and more common, so it would be hard to tie to a specific city, and it wouldn't receive much of any premium as a fancy cancel.

The main feature is that the cancellation is cleaner and lighter than normal, and "face-free", so that is a plus. Many cancellations on that issue have heavy smeared cancellations.

You have a very pretty stamp that is missing from most collections.

I agree with the above. This stamp (Scott #72) is not what one would call common but it is readily available. You show a nicely centered copy with a clean unobtrusive cancel. It is very attractive and, if free of faults like thins or creases, of some value. The relatively close margin at left would preclude categorization as a "jumbo," but this descriptor really does not apply to the 1861 series.

Dip the stamp face down in watermark fluid to check for creases, thins or alterations like added margins. If it looks too good to be true, then it is.

Can we see the back?

Did many of these survive the parcel-postage in 1861?

US Mail did not offer parcel post in 1861 so most covers known with this stamp are higher rate foreign mail letters.

Here is the backside:

Is it too good to be true?
Do we see repairs of small thins?
Or just old hinge-marks imprinted to the paper?

For the postal history:
Only known use were heavy foreign mail letters? Documents sent back from the immigrants to the continent? So any 90c 1861 Washington stamp in an US-collection had to cross the Atlantic at least twice?

Not necessarily across the ocean. Plenty of heavy envelopes went between large cities and Washington DC. Or between other locations.

Might be a couple of perfs added at the top, but I don't see anything else that raises any alarms.

Without dipping it in person, it's difficult to be sure of everything.

So at least a decent stamp with nice "eye-appeal"?