History of the Postage Stamps of the United States of America — John Shaqi
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
3 lines beneath "Post Office," with a smaller stroke over each.
4 lines beneath "Saint."
4 " " "Louis."
_Third Variety._ The point between the dashes, between the flourishes on
the left, missing.
3 lines beneath "Post Office," with a smaller stroke over each,
and dots between them.
3 lines and 2 dots beneath "Saint."
4 " 1 " " "Louis."
Mr. Pemberton at one time chronicled a fourth variety of this value
also, but could not afterward identify it. Indeed the impressions show
great variation from the intended design in the corner flourishes, which
seem to have been engraved too fine in parts.
TWENTY CENTS. While the author and many others do not believe the twenty
cent value to be genuine, in deference to such authorities as Messrs.
Scott and Pemberton, who accept the few specimens known, they are here
described. In the American Journal of Philately, of January, 1870, Mr.
Scott, after describing the three varieties each of the 5 and 10 cents
for the first time, mentions the 20 cent value as a new discovery.
Comparing the three specimens, he says: Two are exactly alike, and have
evidently been altered from variety three, above described, while the
third is different, having evidently been altered from variety two. At a
later date he mentions a fourth specimen. Five specimens are all that
have ever been chronicled, we believe.
Mr. Pemberton describes the first three more at length, in a paper in
the Stamp Collector's Magazine, for January, 1871. He says he had before
him 13 stamps of the 5 cent value, and 12 of the 10 cents, but he does
not state how many he had of the 20 cents, but that 10 of the 25
specimens were lent him from America. The American Journal, for
January, 1871, however, says he had the three known specimens of the 20
cents. The theory of his article is that the twenty cents was made by
erasing the numerals, and of course incidentally other surrounding parts
of the varieties two and three, of the five cent value on the plate, and
engraving the numerals 20, printing that value and afterwards erasing
the 20 and replacing the five. It is also the theory of the article that
this was done with all three varieties of the 3 cents, although the
author had seen only two varieties of the 20 cents, and only one
specimen of the 5 cents, which he could torture into a re-engraving. He
alters the arrangement of varieties of Mr. Scott, to which we prefer to
adhere, and thus describes them:
_Variety One_, from variety three of the five cents.
One long and one short line under "_Saint_." Half of each of the
original top strokes and the third stroke under "_Louis_" being erased,
but the dot left. The inner line of the frame erased from the T to L,
and a smaller portion of the outer frame above erased also.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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