I have what I want to believe is a Scott #596. The stamp is precanceled "Kansas City Mo. which I believe is a metal plate cancel and not a roller cancel. However I am concerned that the bars did not extend on to the right margin. The perfs measure 11 on standard perf gauge and 11-70 on a Kiusalas gauge. The size is 19 1/4 X 22 1/2. measured with 3 different specialty gauges all with the same results. Also compared with known rotary press stamps. There is no gum.
I have been to Stamp Smarter and checked all the boxes, except the one that bothers me and that is there are no known mint copies of a #596. EDIT: I guess a precancel is not mint, but what I meant is that the stamp does not look like it has been used.
Before I go to all the trouble and expense to have it looked at, is there anything that I should look at that I have missed? Information on fakes, etc. Any help would be appreciated.
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Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 14 Jul 2020 03:25:55pm
re: Looking For Advice on Scott #596?
No offence intended, but if I had a stamp whose value could be over $100 000 I would have it checked. Scott's says that a lot of the per-cancels are marked as your's is. I wish you luck and really hope it checks out!!!
Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't 14 Jul 2020 05:05:35pm
re: Looking For Advice on Scott #596?
"...have what I want to believe i..."
Conformation bias is a very strong thing, it is always best to begin with the belief that you have the most common variety. Otherwise, your mind (and hopes) will influence your identification process.
This is one of the stamps which color makes it easy to ID, the yellow-green color was only used in 1927, so it is a #632.
But even if a hobbyist does not know this, the first step is always to check the perfs. Your stamp is not a 11x11, it is a 11 x 10.5.
A simple way to check is to use a known perf 11 stamp and line it up against your stamp. Below, I have digitally compared the left side perfs to the top and bottom, you can clearly see they do not line up.
Don
Well I made a stupid mistake. I agree with Don, my mind (and hopes) did influence my identification process. For some reason, I did not check the side perfs, dumb. As far as color, that has always been a problem for me, so did not even consider. However, I knew someone could set me straight. Spent so much time on the size did not bother with much else.
Sitting here with about 1000 each of the 1 cent and 2 cent off paper and working on proper ID, (color, perfs, size, etc.) failed the most basic first ID and that of perfs.
Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't 14 Jul 2020 05:25:36pm
re: Looking For Advice on Scott #596?
No worries. The 'hunt' is often a fun part of our hobby! It is hard to not rent head space to the possibility of finding a rare stamp and tamp down down our enthusiasm.
Don