Help Large Hermes Head Stamp

I am trying to determine whether it could correspond to one of the specialised classifications.
Thank you very much

Bluegalic, I'll try to provide you with some direction on this one, but please understand that the Greece Hermes Heads are perhaps some of the most difficult stamps to properly identify of all World Classic stamps.

A few points:

• First, you need to soak off the hinges, and realize that this stamp isn't in very great shape to begin with


• Next, It's not a fine print, so you can start to eliminate those Scott numbers that this stamp cannot be-- it cannot be #10, not #13 or #13b (fine print), Not #17 (pale blue), etc.


• Without reference copies, you probably have very little chance of identifying this one as any of the specialized paper types

I can refer you to a page of Jim Jackson's wonderful "Big Blue" website, where he goes into detail about the different prints, and has done a great job:
https://bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.c...s-heads.html

If you go to the link, start eliminating, you may have a decent chance of getting close to a good identification.

One other point, and perhaps the most important-- we all want our unidentified stamps to be the most valuable and rarest examples. That isn't realistic-- you should probably always start with the assumption that the stamp you're looking at is on the lower end of the value and not a world-class rarity.

Hope this is helpful, Ray

Thank you very much for your detailed reply and for taking the time to help me. I really appreciate it.

I completely understand your point, especially about not assuming every unidentified stamp is a major rarity. I'm actually very new to philately. About a year ago I inherited several old albums from a great-grandfather, containing stamps from around 1840 to 1930 from many countries, and I became fascinated by the hobby.

For me, the interesting part is not really the money or trying to become rich from stamps. I do not sell them and I intend to keep the collection as a family collection. What I really enjoy is the research process itself: learning, comparing, identifying printings and papers, and occasionally discovering unusual varieties or small differences that make a stamp a little more special or uncommon.

I know this Hermes stamp has condition problems, the hinge, and the cut margins, so I understand it is not a high-value example. My goal is simply to understand what it is as accurately as possible and learn from the process.

Over the last year I have spent many hours researching and slowly sorting the collection, and I have actually found a few interesting items that I later had certified and preserved separately. That "treasure hunt" aspect of philately is really what has made the hobby so enjoyable for me.

Thank you again for the guidance and for the excellent reference link. I will continue researching and comparing examples.

I'll take a crack at this but as said above, this is challenging issue outside the Paris prints ( which your stamp is not)
I suspect your stamp is Scott 41 or 47
If bluish paper, thin with mesh, then 41

If it's cream color paper, then 47

The CN is interesting with deformed "0". But don't think this carries any extra value.

Thank you both very much for your help and for taking the time to reply

Mystery solved!

Mr. Karamitsos very kindly replied to an email I sent him and confirmed that the stamp is a Hellas 51F Ultramarine, Plate 76.

Bluegalic, Hellas catalogue number, So that would be a Scott #47 as rgstamp mentioned?

Edited: totally changed the question