Looks more like a tear that continued up from the perfs on the bottom. You can easily check by putting the stamp face down in a watermark tray and add some watermark fluid. If it's a tear, you'll see a black spot/line where the defect (tear, thin, etc.) is.
This stamp (Scott #707) does indeed have a number of plate flaws but this is not one that is known. For it to be considered a plate flaw, and not simply a inking issue, there would need to be additional examples. As a inking issue it is a curiosity without much additional value. If it were mine I would hold on to it, note the issue, and hope at some point other examples surface.
Don
re: 2 cent Washington broken E in cents ??
Looks more like a tear that continued up from the perfs on the bottom. You can easily check by putting the stamp face down in a watermark tray and add some watermark fluid. If it's a tear, you'll see a black spot/line where the defect (tear, thin, etc.) is.
re: 2 cent Washington broken E in cents ??
This stamp (Scott #707) does indeed have a number of plate flaws but this is not one that is known. For it to be considered a plate flaw, and not simply a inking issue, there would need to be additional examples. As a inking issue it is a curiosity without much additional value. If it were mine I would hold on to it, note the issue, and hope at some point other examples surface.
Don