History of the Postage Stamps of the United States of AmericaTiffany, John K. (John Kerr)
History
History of the Postage Stamps of the United States of America
Tiffany, John K. (John Kerr)
Postage stamps -- United States
The 4th or 1869 series presents greater difficulties to the collector
who desires to have only genuine originals. Made by the same company
that produced the originals, and only a short time afterwards, the
processes of printing, ink and paper making had not materially changed,
but the reprints show signs of more careful workmanship. Notwithstanding
the circular some of them at least were sent out by the department
gummed. But strange to say as noticed by Mr. Coster (A. J. P. 1875 page
6) the gum of the originals "varied from decidedly brownish to almost
white" and "on the 1861-69 issues of the reprints (as also on the
eagles) simple gum arabic seems to have been used, the color being
perfectly white. Furthermore, if the stamps are bent at all, the gum
cracks, which is in no case true of the originals." Mr. Coster further
says, "the originals all had the grille and the reprints have not."
Unfortunately, Mr. Coster was not aware that the four higher values at
least, with the brownish gum and without the grille, and undoubtedly
original, existed in collections before the reprints were made, and have
since been officially stated to have been so issued, and other values
also in that condition are known, which have every appearance of being
originals. Unfortunately also, it is not very difficult to remove the
gum, imitate the grille or not and regum the stamp with brownish gum.
Such experiments have been made with fair success by members of that
fraternity who exist by the trade in bogus antiquities and counterfeit
evidences of value, who sometimes do these little things merely to
experience the delight they feel in deceiving the so-called experts,
especially when as in this case a known reprint is almost unsalable,
but if it can be made to pass as an original its value is increased
several hundred fold and its salable qualities many times more.
Fortunately there are not a large number of the reprints to encounter
and grilled specimens are in all probability original. The 3d or 1861
issue was also made by the same company that did the reprinting. The
originals were issued first without the grille and afterwards with it,
both had the brownish gum. The reprints have the same perforation and,
notwithstanding the circular, were issued both without the gum and with
the white stiff gum noticed above. Originals without the grille are
rarely on tinted or surfaced paper, though sometimes smurched in parts
from careless wiping of the plates. Originals with the grille are
generally on lightly tinted or surfaced paper and the colors are usually
stronger than the earlier ones. The reprints were without the grille,
but the colors are rather those of the grilled originals, the paper is
however whiter, the printing more carefully worked, and there is the new
look about them noticed when speaking of the reprints of the newspaper
series of 1865. Sheets of the one cent reprinted show the printer's
imprint on the sides and of the pattern of that on the 1869 issue. All
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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