Twohungover

So I have had this Franklin 1 cent for years, never thought much of it just came from my Grandfathers old shoe box of stamps he had acquired throughout his life. For whatever reason I haven't a clue ( boredom maybe ) I decided to start identifying some of them. When I got to this one here shown in the picture I did my usual routine and it came up as a # 596. Well it was about an hour later I noticed the value and was shocked " There must be some mistake" I thought to myself. I've spent over a week now trying to get this stamp to be a different # and cannot do it. I have scrutinized it on a merit gauge with a microscope and it will not line up on anything but 11 x 11. Next was the mm gauge because it must be a #552 the since it is the only other 11 x 11 I am aware of. To me it was not an engraved plate though, no green on the back from air drying in stacks and the measurements were not there either. So I payed a small fee to Mystic Stamps shot them a scanned picture the one you see here and asked them to identify the stamp. They said in their opinion it is a Rotary Press 11 x 10 1/2 perforated # 632 worth 25 cents. So back to the Merit Gauge and microscope it went and they are incorrect. This stamp is a 11 x 11 there is no possible way I can get it to fit anything else. Theretofore I am left with the stamp being a Rotary Press 11 x 11 #596 period. Am I crazy and just don't understand something about the Merit Gauge or I don't know, any help is welcome. Thank you.

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re: Scott # ??? Am I missing something here?

Yup, you're missing something.

I downloaded your image. Then, I copied the left edge perfs, rotated them 90 degrees, and pasted them along the bottom edge. On the part I pasted, you can see that at the left side, the holes line up. At the right side, they don't. Simple conclusion: the perforations at the sides are different than the perfs top and bottom.



-Paul

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sheepshanks

15 Dec 2021
04:19:48pm

re: Scott # ??? Am I missing something here?

Try lining the holes of the perfs with the blobs on the gauge, I'd use the ones down the side rather than the stepped ones.
To my eyes the points look off from about the 3rd or 4th perf from the left.

Edit, turn the stamp over to avoid the distraction of the printed side.

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Twohungover

re: Scott # ??? Am I missing something here?

I've try'd using different gauges , putting it on the side gauges everything. The results are the same no matter what I do. So the gauge say's what it say's like it or not and I still am not convinced it is a #596 but I am also not convinced it is anything else.

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Twohungover

re: Scott # ??? Am I missing something here?

The sides are not in question the top and bottom are. Listen I am not saying this is a 594 but I am also not convinced it is a 632. It should be very apparent to anyone that this is a 11 perforated top and bottom by looking at the photos. I really do not see how flipping the stamp over is going to change the perforations or reveal something that the front is covering or anything. If this were any other stamp I think this would have been declared an 11 x 11 long ago. But when I get back from shopping I will take more photos and post them. Thank you all for your help with this

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re: Scott # ??? Am I missing something here?

It is not a 596.

- only 15 examples are known
- 10 are precanceled Kansas City, Mo
- the green on 596 is darker than the color of the ink on your stamp

We must get 100 or more people a year claiming to have a 596. If that were the case, then it would be worth only 25 cents.

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Twohungover

re: Scott # ??? Am I missing something here?

Roy you solved the mystery I was having, I did not realize the 10 1/2 was the side of the stamp I thought it was the top and bottom. Well it does fit into a 10 1/2 slot nicely so it is a #632 thank you all for the help. Roy thank you for educating me on the perforations being on the sides. Dusty R Cobb

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cdj1122

re: Scott # ??? Am I missing something here?

" .... This is is when close (measurement based upon rounded
gauge markings) is not good enough. ...."

An important point; Generally catalogs round the measurement
off to the nearest ¼.
I suspect that there are a few stamps whose precise perforation
measurement is at the 1/8th or 3/8s, 5/8s, or 7/8s point, and
which is usually beyond the needs of the average collector,
(Male, 58 years old and at least 20 pounds overweight.), however
a decision was made based on the phases of the moon and tradition,
(Stare Decisis. ) takes over from there.

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