USA Scott 72 - 1861 90c Washington Blue

This issue seems to be "not common but ... readily available".
How does it compare to its predecessor (the civil war 90c blue) and its successor (the 90c Lincoln square)?
The later 90c stamps - the Perry "Bank Notes" - seem to be way more available?
Or am I mistaken?

This stamp is more common than either of those, especially the 39, which is a rare stamp genuinely used. The 122 used is out there, it just takes money. None are "common", but this one is the easiest to obtain of the three.

The #72 90c from 1861 is more "readily available" than the 1860 #39 or 1869 #122 although all of them can be easily found these days on ebay, SAN, or at local stamp shows in the US. They are not common, but they are not rare either. They are expensive because they are popular (supply and demand). The #39 genuinely used is very scarce, but unused (especially with no gum), or with fake cancels, are fairly easy to find. Much less common than #72 but still out there.

A used Philippines #225 ($5 US #278 overprinted "Philippines") is much more scarce than any of these, yet the catalog value is much lower than the scarcity would imply. Again supply and demand.


Edit: did not mean to be repetitive with revcollector; was typing at the same time...

In the Scott catalog I am reading about different shades.
(I am not a "shade-believer".) Are those easily distinguishable?
(Or just "readable" from a cert?)

I've heard that the #39 was withdrawn due to the civil war - to fight currency equivalency that could be used by the confeds.
Is this story true?
If yes, why would people stock "invalid dollars" these days?
(Yes, I like to learn about postal history!)

I do believe that this stamp was heavily cleaned at some point losing some color and design, especially in George's face, in the process.

Yes, all US 1851-1861 issues were rendered invalid (the usual term is "demonetized") in 1861 by the US Federal Government in order to prevent Confederate usage. At that time the 90-cent value #39 had been in use for less than a year, which is why genuinely used examples are scarce. The stock of unused #39's which was left over is the source of what exists in collector hands today.

I assume that you mean cleaned for reuse, with this cancel being the reuse. I don't see any evidence of cleaning, George looks normal.

OK - all stamps up to 1861 demonetized - and the remainders not burned but sold later to stamp dealers?
=> a #39 would be either unused, or with forged ("CTO"?) cancel - generally used quite rare - especially in fine condition...

To make it clear (to clean or not to clean...) - the images are photos in good lightning - no flat scans. (As I own quite some camera equipment, but no high-end scanner.)