I Need Help Indentify Grill Markings Blue A24 Franklin

The A24 Franklin affix to cover with no postmark trying to indentify grill markings without removing stamp. Thanks

Best guess is it is a Scott 86, "E" grill. I think I count 14 points across and a couple of points appear to be vertically oriented.

Thanks that what I believe I was counting also 14 points across

Take a look at the row that meets the angle where his neck meets his shoulder. From my view here it doesn't look like it is straight. You'll be able to see it much better and I could be incorrect...wouldn't be the first time or the last :)

If it is not perfectly straight, could be a fake Grill.

Hope not, hope this is helpful, Ray

OldStuff, would it be possible to give us flat view of this? And there's no town postmark, not even a written one? That's a warning flag.

OldStuff, thanks for the second scan!

My thoughts:

It's not a Z grill. Probably.

The size is that of an E grill, Scott# 86. But it may be a fake.

I can't see the grill structure/pyramids in either scan. Yes I can see what looks like vertical pyramid ridges to the left of the nose in the first scan, but nowhere else. I can't get much of a further read from the second scan, unfortunately; I can't see any pyramid ridges there. That doesn't necessarily mean it's bad; it's hard to tell without examining the stamp in person.

What really bothers me is the scuffing that makes the grill show clearly and cuts through the cancel. Grilled stamps really didn't wear like this. More often the grill is not seen because it's covered by a cancel. The cancel here is also smeared at the bottom or has an added smear. This is also something that might be an attempt to highlight a fake grill.

Thanks so much for all the information this has been very helpful

With all due respect, what you are calling "scuffing" is not evident in the first picture and should be if it was damage to the paper. In view of the original photo the effect you are seeing in the second is most likely an optical effect. Your comments read as if you are starting with the assumption that it is fake until proven otherwise. That's fine, but let's look at the evidence a bit more evenhandedly.

Although I am not able to tell the point shape directly, I do see what appears to be a horizontal half row at the top of the grilling in photo "1." This row is just above the level of the eyes in the portrait. This row surmounts a 16 point column extending down to the letter "O" of "ONE". By this measure it is a 14x16 point array. This point count is correct for an E-grill, and the row of half points at the top is an additional characteristic of E-grills (at top or bottom or both). I have no hesitation in suggesting that this stamp is a number 86, with a rather strongly impressed grill. Bill Crowe and I see it the same way.

Whether it is original to the cover on which it is mounted is a completely separate question, and in view of the lack of surrounding detail one which I am completely unable to address.

I do see what I believe to be scuffing at the grill's lower left of the first picture. It could be a trick of the light, I'll admit, but it does not disappear in the second scan. That and another view of the grill is what I requested the second scan for. I do realize pyramid impressions for E grills can be mushy, but the grill is so strong that I would expect something clearer to show for the pyramids overall. It does show pyramids in the 2nd and 3rd columns to the left of the ear (first scan), but not clearly enough to my eye.

Nonetheless, I defer to the experts.