Show Your US 1857 Perforated Stamps

A while back I bought what seemed like an incredibly solid US collection in an American Heritage Collection album that contained a number of stamps I did not own. The price seemed too good to be true considering how well so many of the stamps showed in the online auction pictures. I figured some/many of the stamps must be altered or faulty in ways that didn't show up in the lower resolution pictures. I finally started processing the collection yesterday. I thought some folks might be interested in seeing what I found with this first questionable stamp, and I also have some questions for those that are more experienced than myself.

Here is what I believe is a US #24. At first glance in the album page, it looks very nice and looks like it could even be unused or unused NG. I soon realized that both top corners have been repaired, and it looks as though a cancel may have been removed. Here are 2 scans and a photo showing details:

Front scan:



Back scan:



Backlit lighting photo:



I have included the backlit lighting photo because I believe it does a better job showing the corner repairs.

So now my questions, since I am still rather inexperienced in identifying these types of faults:

1) Does it look like the upper corners were glued back on, or replaced?
2) Does the lightness/whiteness at the chin, tip of the nose, and in the back ground below the S is POSTAGE imply cancel removal?
3) The right side and bottom were definitely scissor/knife cut, but do the perf holes also look unnatural?

All that said, when sitting on the album page, the stamp shows very nicely. Thoughts?

Since the corners are roughly torn and match pretty well, I'd guess they came from the original stamp and not a manufactured patchwork from a different stamp. I think there is another tear in the perf half way up the left margin. Yes, I would vote for reperf on right and bottom.

As for a removed pen cancel, the signs that I see are the uneven brown stains in the hair, and a little bit still there in the C in Cent. Do you have a UV light you can look at this with?

I've definitely seen worse. A decent-looking space filler.

Zebraman - thanks for the response, and I think you are correct about the small tear on the right side. It also appears to have been "repaired".

I do not own a UV light, but I just ordered one online. I am curious to get it and see what it shows me on this stamp and a few others in this collection that I believe have had cancels removed.

And yes, I agree, it is a pretty good looking space filler. It is even pretty well centered.

One other question ... do the scratches on the right side lend it to a certain plate if I were try to plate it?

Check the right and bottom perfs, it appears to have been reperforated.

Thanks for posting this 40 year as it is quite an opportunity to see what some people might do to improve their collections or to gain financially. I also take it as a caution on what you might get from less than stellar images on line.

When taking a look at one of my two Scott 23's Type IV, I realized in the bottom left that there appeared to be a crack among the ornaments. It might be a common item, but I have not yet found that specific example online yet, but wanted to ask if anyone here may recognize it. I noticed it only after comparing two scans of the stamp in different pages (one in my album and one after I dismounted it).

Oiman, you have a nice example of the cracked plate position 40L1L.

Looks to be dead on accurate, thank you for the assistance Dudley!

I kept on looking in the area and I also found what appears to be a vertical crack on most of the right margin of these two Scott 24, one of them covered by the cancel partially. Apologies to ask again so soon, but I do not know where you have the sources to identify some of these cracked positions, and thus request assistance with identification again (and if this actually is a crack or some other trait).

Whoever responds, may I inquire where you found this information? Thank you

Hi Oiman, the type V, Scott #24 was printed from 5 different plates (5, 7, 8, 9, 10), and was printed with 6 different dies (the impressions on the stamps are referred to as reliefs). The plates were arranged in 2 groups of 100, left side of the plate and right side. Each side was printed in 10 rows of 10 stamps.

The rows were laid out like this: relief A (top row), relief B (2nd row) and so forth.
After the 6th row (relief F), the bottom 4 rows were laid out with reliefs C, D, E and F.

The cracks you're referring to are referred to as side scratches. They are found on all reliefs B, C and D on each plate, with the exception of some of Plate 5.

So, the stamp you're looking at is a "C" relief, and it would have to be plated to identify the actual plate and whether left or right side. Again, all "B", "C" and "D" reliefs have these side scratches, unless they're from specific positions on Plate 5 and these stamps would be Type Va.

Many different references to this, and the most useful is Mortimer Neinken's "The United States One Cent Stamp of 1851-1861". That can be found, I think, on several different sites: USPCS, StampSmarter and others.

Easier though and online is Richard Doporto's site: www.slingshotvenus.com/Frank...chv_Main.html

Hope this is helpful! Ray

Thank you. I've seen the Doporto website but unless I already knew what position what I'm looking for, I was struggling to figure out how to use it well.

Good thing I'm a USPCS member! I will need to look at Mortimer Neinken's book along with some other material I didn't know I had access too until now.

In the mail today came 40 copies of the 3c Washington. I believe 3 of them are #25. There's also a MH 26. I'll get scans and show some of them. Most aren't worth writing home about. Also included is a #24 and what looks to be a very nice #32 on piece.

Love imprint captures

My apologies for this very dirty stamp. But I have 2 questions.

1) This is most likely a #26, but the outer frame lines at the top are strange to me. The left frame line stops at the end of the design, but the right frame line seems to continue up. I thought that both frame lines would either stop or continue, not one or the other. Am I seeing things or is this a possibility?

2) Would a hydrogen peroxide bath do this stamp some good? Or would it cause damage? Perhaps a "Dawn" bath? I'd like to avoid ruining the blue cancel.



More of a closeup to see that right frame line extend up.