Riverside Stamps
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Suspect Scott #449
This is an expensive stamp if it were real - $650 catalog value and is rarely faked, most often it is confused with a #450 Type III or a #442 Type I Flat Plate. Lets take a look at the particulars of this stamp.
The stamp is identified on the back in pencil as a 449a which is weird because there is no such variety. That being the case is the stamp a Type I? The answer to that question is yes, all the markers for Type I are present - the left and right ribbons only have one line, the toga rope is poorly defined etc. So this eliminates the #450.
Next I checked to see if the stamp is a rotary or a flat plate. The design on a #449 should measure 19.0 to 19.3mm by 22.5 to 23.0mm. The suspect stamp's design only measures 19.2mm by 21.9mm. This makes the suspect stamp a flat plate #442, but wait there's more.
Scott #442 is a reasonably expensive stamp, $45 used and is often faked so lets take a closer look at this stamp and see if it is really a #442.
The top and bottom perforations check out to the correct 10-79 on the Specialist gauge, so far so good.
The width of the stamp is 21mm at the top and 20.5mm at the bottom, should be closer to 21.5mm. The left edge is not straight, this gives me pause because this is not a stamp that may have been hand trimmed before splicing together small strips to make a coil. Strike one.
The watermark should be single line and oriented horizontally i.e. reads from left to right or right to left. The watermark on this stamp is an "S" that is oriented vertically i.e. reads from top to bottom. The image below show the watermark as viewed through a Signoscope watermark detector.
As suggested by Schmid in The Experts Book I cut a 22mm X 25mm hole in the middle of a piece of cardboard and overlaid it on the actual size illustration of single line watermark on page 198. Moving the mask around I found a position that exactly matches the watermark on the suspect stamp. The image below shows the result. The mask is oriented correctly - top is top etc. while the illustration of the watermark on page 198 in The Experts Book is turned on its side.
The fact that the watermark is oriented vertically proves that the stamp is actually a Scott #425e booklet single that has had left edge perforations trimmed off.
To Contact Riverside Stamps:
Email:
Mike Girard - Owner / Operator / Web Master:
g1rardmn1099@comcast.net
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I am a member of the American Philatelic Society
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I am a member of the United States Stamp Society  USSS #: 16733 Visit the United States Stamp Society Website at www.usstamps.org |
I am a member of the Perfins Club
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Reference material used:
- The Expert's Book. A practical guide to the authentication of United States stamps. By Paul W. Schmid.
- How to Detect Damaged, Altered and Repaired Stamps. By Paul Schmid
As always comments and suggestions are always welcome.
To Contact Riverside Stamps:
Email:
Mike Girard - Owner / Operator / Web Master:
g1rardmn1099@comcast.net
|
I am a member of the American Philatelic Society
|
I am a member of the United States Stamp Society USSS #: 16733 Visit the United States Stamp Society Website at www.usstamps.org |
I am a member of the Perfins Club
|