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Suspect Scott #346

This is not all that expensive of a stamp - $25 catalog value and is not that often faked. Lets take a look at the particulars of this stamp. It should be imperforated, Flat Plate, with double line watermark. This stamp is not highlighted in the Experts Book but was flagged at the no longer active www.1847USA.com website as a candidate for being faked. The best 346 fake can be made by trimming the perforations off of a #334. Any used example from the list below could also be used but the lack of a double line watermark would give them away. Buying an unused #346 is most likely a safe bet since all the other stamps are worth so much more as themselves then being altered into a #346.

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Checking the watermark on the suspect stamp with my Signoscope shows what appears to be the top part of a single line "P" watermark in the lower left corner. I've included a picture of my template positioned over a "P" in the full size illustration found in the Experts Book. So right there the suspect stamp is either a cut down #377 or #427
I looked at the edges of the suspect stamp under X60 magnification and found plenty of perforation pits on all sides. The image at right shows two pits that line up perfectly with a perf 12 gauge.  With that I can conclude that the suspect stamp is a used #377 that has had the perforations cut off on all sides.

Reference material used: The Expert's Book. A practical guide to the authentication of United States stamps. By Paul W. Schmid

As always comments and suggestions are always welcome.