Riverside Stamps
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Suspect Scott #443, Unused HH Single (5/10/14).
This stamp was part of a larger collection of larger collection of Washington/Franklins I bought at auction in January of 2014. According to The Experts Book this stamp is often faked and can be manufactured from a #408 by adding perforations at the left and right edges and trimming the top and bottom edges, from a #408S by adding perforation to the left and right edges and from a #424 by trimming the perforations from the top and bottom edges. Fakes can also be made from the #424d booklet singles but the watermark will read in the vertical direction instead of the horizontal. The only way a forger could get away with using a #424d booklet single would be to use a stamp with the watermarks in the corners which would make it difficult to determine if they read vertical or not. The catalogue value is $45 for a used single.
As can be seen from the image below the watermark is a horizontal, reversed and inverted “P” in the upper left corner which means this stamp can't be a modified #424d booklet single.
The suspect’s height is only 24.25mm at the left and right which is very short of the ideal 25mm.
The images below show the suspects perforations overlaid on genuine gauge 10 perforations.
The suspect’s perforations don’t seem right when compared with the genuine perforations: the suspect’s left perforations slope away from the frame near the bottom, the suspect’s left perforations also look like they are a slightly smaller gauge than the genuine, the suspect’s right perforations also have small but significant fit issues.
Conclusion: In my opinion the suspect is a #408 with added perforations on the left and right.
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.
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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