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Post by khj on Jan 6, 2023 21:08:04 GMT
A buddy of mine who worked the philatelic counter many decades ago once showed me a page of US EFOs that he had fished out over the years as he sold stamps. He couldn't sell them, but took the liberty of holding on to them to show a few privileged collectors who could keep a secret. When he transferred out of that position, he returned the stamps on that page back to the powers-that-be as required (so he claimed). Not even sure if that philatelic counter still exists, as most philatelic counters have either closed down or been down-sized considerably.
But it did give me the idea to check through my US stamps a little more thoroughly. I say this because I used to do regular volume mailing lists, and always used postage stamps. So over the years, quite a bit of mint US postage stamps went through my hands (well, also because I collect US mint singles, matched plate blocks, Mr. Zip blocks, booklet panes, mint sheets, selvedge... but my excuse is still that I did a lot of mailing -- that's my main reason and I'm sticking to it!)
I've literally gone through many hundreds of US mint collections/accumulations. And of course, I was able to find EFOs once I checked little more carefully as I sorted the stamps by denominations. I also went through everything with my UV lamp as I also collect tagging varieties.
The great bulk of US EFOs I have are tagging EFOs, but in this thread, I'll only show EFOs that can be seen with the unaided eye.
Regrettably, I sold my 2 most valuable ones ~25 years ago and didn't take scans/pictures of them. The ones in this thread still linger around in my stamp study room.
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Post by khj on Jan 6, 2023 21:08:30 GMT
The first one is a basic color shift. Minor color shifts are usually considered flawed stamps. This shift is significant enough to give the stamp a modest premium. right stamp: Scott US #1206(14Nov1962), 4¢ higher education left stamp: black shifted up 2018 Scott catalog mint for normal stamp = 25¢ (Scott minimum catalog value)
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Post by khj on Jan 6, 2023 21:16:49 GMT
Scott US #1519a(8Dec1973), 10¢ 50-star & 13-star flags, imperforate horizontal pair. 2018 Scott catalog mint = $35
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Post by khj on Jan 6, 2023 21:19:52 GMT
US #899b(16Oct1940), horizontal pair with imperforate between error, missing/blind perforations at right selvedge, puncture damage at top right selvedge. 2018 Scott catalog mint = $32.50
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Post by khj on Jan 7, 2023 18:46:49 GMT
Unfortunately this one is a little dirty, but it is hinged with original gum on back (i.e., unused). US #900a(16Oct1940), horizontal pair with imperforate between error, missing/blind perforations at left selvedge. 2018 Scott catalog mint = $37.50 These blind perfs are not rare for large run small-sized stamps of this era. For US and other countries, they are sometimes referred to as "war perfs". To conserve metal during war, some countries would reduce how much maintenance/repair on the perforating machines and perforating pins would not be replaced as often, resulting in worn/damaged pins being used well beyond their normal usage lifetime.
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Post by khj on Jan 7, 2023 18:47:32 GMT
Here is another example with puncture at lower right selvedge. US #901a(16Oct1940), horizontal pair with imperforate between error, missing/blind perforations at right selvedge, puncture damage at botoom right selvedge. 2018 Scott catalog mint = $22.50
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Post by khj on Jan 7, 2023 18:47:52 GMT
Same as above, except with clean perforations at the right selvedge. US #901a(16Oct1940), horizontal pair with imperforate between error. 2018 Scott catalog mint = $22.50
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Post by khj on Jan 10, 2023 6:17:55 GMT
Color misregistration EFOs can be inexpensive fun. On stamps with more than one color, if one color is not aligned with the other color during the printing process, it can produce anywhere from simple displacements, to significant misplacements, comedic appearance... I am not taking into consideration inverts. Here is a simple example that is easy to collect. One of my favorite souvenir sheets is the relatively inexpensive 1947 CIPEX souvenir sheet (Scott US #948, 19May1947) issued to commemorate the Centenary International Philatelic Exhibition held in New York City from May 17 to May 25 in 1947. The convention marks the 100th anniversary of the first US postage stamp. The souvenir sheet shows a reproduction of the first 2 stamps, but in different colors from the originals. I'll first show the basic souvenir sheet. Notice in this example, both stamps are at the same level. Beware, sometimes the singles get cut out from these souvenir sheets are put on sale as originals. Remember, the colors are different. I've even seen them cut out and passed off as encased postage. Encased postage was used in 1862, and this souvenir sheet was issued in 1947.
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Post by khj on Jan 10, 2023 6:19:31 GMT
I bought a pack of 100 of these and searched through them, thinking I might find a noticeable color misregistrations. Sure enough, I found a few. Here is one with the orange 10c Washington placed higher. Is it the orange misregistered high, or is the blue misregistered low?
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Post by khj on Jan 10, 2023 6:20:21 GMT
And, of course, here is one with the 10c Washington placed lower (relatively speaking). k
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Post by stampie83 on Feb 20, 2023 17:03:26 GMT
Same as above, except with clean perforations at the right selvedge. US #901a(16Oct1940), horizontal pair with imperforate between error. 2018 Scott catalog mint = $22.50 I assume you have already noticed the dots in the unperfed area of all the stamps in this set. Would I be correct in assuming these are guide dots of some sort? It seems they go across the sheet as a dot or partial dot can be seen in the perf are on either side. They are all in the color of the stamp. All four of your posts are like this. Can someone enlighten me.
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Post by khj on Feb 20, 2023 18:14:20 GMT
Good question. In general, identification/registration marks on US stamps were always made on the selvedge of the stamp. So when BEP began putting the plate number on the coil stamp instead of the trimmed margin, that created a new collecting field of plate number coils.
So the short answer is, those dots are not guide dots nor intentional.
The bars in the selvedge are "electric eye" guides. When they first experimented with the Prexie Series, that was the only way to distinguish between pre-Eye and Eye printings. During the transition, known as the Experimental Eye plates, the guide bars are there and the plate number is shifted 3 selvedge slots away from the corner. Those Prexie Experimental Eye plates are collected as plate blocks of 10, and have a decent premium over normal pre-Eye and Eye plate blocks of 4.
So what's causing those dots? Most likely from gunk on the inker. By coincidence, it appears between the stamps repeatedly as the ink is being applied (not sure from right to left, or left to right). But you will notice it varies in size and exact location. As with other countries, stamps issued during WWI and WWII tend to have special unintended "features" as a result of supply conservation/quality. In some specialized areas, such as Germany, the printings are distinguishable, and sometimes referred to as "war printings".
For US stamps, the most distinguishing feature are worn/missing perfs due to not maintaining/replacing pins to conserve metal. Although I have to wonder, how much metal is used by all those tiny hollow pins? I guess every little bit helps?
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Post by stampie83 on Feb 20, 2023 19:47:58 GMT
Good question. In general, identification/registration marks on US stamps were always made on the selvedge of the stamp. So when BEP began putting the plate number on the coil stamp instead of the trimmed margin, that created a new collecting field of plate number coils. So the short answer is, those dots are not guide dots nor intentional. The bars in the selvedge are "electric eye" guides. When they first experimented with the Prexie Series, that was the only way to distinguish between pre-Eye and Eye printings. During the transition, known as the Experimental Eye plates, the guide bars are there and the plate number is shifted 3 selvedge slots away from the corner. Those Prexie Experimental Eye plates are collected as plate blocks of 10, and have a decent premium over normal pre-Eye and Eye plate blocks of 4. So what's causing those dots? Most likely from gunk on the inker. By coincidence, it appears between the stamps repeatedly as the ink is being applied (not sure from right to left, or left to right). But you will notice it varies in size and exact location. As with other countries, stamps issued during WWI and WWII tend to have special unintended "features" as a result of supply conservation/quality. In some specialized areas, such as Germany, the printings are distinguishable, and sometimes referred to as "war printings". For US stamps, the most distinguishing feature are worn/missing perfs due to not maintaining/replacing pins to conserve metal. Although I have to wonder, how much metal is used by all those tiny hollow pins? I guess every little bit helps? Thanks for the info. Just curious since they were all in just about the same place on each stamp. Now I have something else to keep track of in my already cluttered brain.
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Post by khj on Feb 20, 2023 20:14:01 GMT
At least you have a brain! According to my wife, I apparently don't...
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