Browsed by
Month: December 2016

Illegal use of 2c Pan American as revenue… but is it legit?

Illegal use of 2c Pan American as revenue… but is it legit?

When I purchased this a year ago, I didn’t realize just how scarce an item it actually is; it just happened to fit into my collection of illegal usages. It turns out it’s much more scarce than I initially thought. The 2-cent Trans Mississippi (Scott 286) can be found used illegally as revenues, usually ranging from $100-250 on document. They’re not common, but can be found. I have 5 examples on documents and another single not on document. They’re out…

Read More Read More

Color shade and paper variance in U.S. Wine stamps

Color shade and paper variance in U.S. Wine stamps

I normally don’t do much with 20th century U.S. revenues, but I had an opportunity to purchase an accumulation of unused wine stamps originating from a winery in Ohio. No high-cat items, just lots of quantity, which provides an opportunity to view a cross section of color shades and papers. The Scott catalogue states the following: “Nos. RE32-RE55 exist in many shades.” Well, it’s not just shades, but there is also a difference in papers as well. Most were printed…

Read More Read More

Savior for documents/stock certs/etc.: archival mending tissue

Savior for documents/stock certs/etc.: archival mending tissue

If you collect revenue documents, stock certificates, etc., especially 100-200 years old, you’ll frequently encounter documents that have become brittle and split. Additionally, there are frequently issues with cut and punch cancels that make the documents susceptible to further damage in transport and handling. You want to stabilize the document while at the same time you do not want to impact the visual presentation or introduce acid-based repair materials (tape). I swear by Lineco’s “Archival Mending Tissue”. It has helped…

Read More Read More

A Saturday stamp show trip

A Saturday stamp show trip

I drove up the MSDA (Midwest Stamp Dealer Association) show in Lombard, IL today. I’ve been going for the last 4 years or so. Even though most of the dealers are ones I saw at CHICAGOPEX in November, this show is a good “follow-up” opportunity; i.e., if there was anything I passed over, this was an opportunity to pick it up, or if a dealer and I discussed material they hadn’t brought with them, they could bring to this show….

Read More Read More

A change in perspective…

A change in perspective…

I’ve had a slight change in perspective on the stamp below. I initially thought it was possibly the initials of the signatories to the document the stamp originally was on, but instead of reading it left to right, try reading it top to bottom. What you potentially end up with is: R-R-R WELSH R-R-R or: RIRIR WELSH RIRIR I think it more likely the former given the difference in stroke length between the ones at top and bottom (if they…

Read More Read More

Help needed: 1st-3rd issue revenue double impression census

Help needed: 1st-3rd issue revenue double impression census

I’m working on a census of 1st-3rd issue revenue double impressions for my website, similar to the bisect census page that I’ve already published. Initial work can be found here: Double Impressions Census If anyone has any of the following information, I would greatly appreciate it: Any examples not shown or listed. High resolution images of the actual stamps where I only show low-res images that I obtained from auction catalogs or the PF archive. Public auction appearances that I…

Read More Read More