Tagging-omitted error discovered on U.S. 1997 32¢ Vince Lombardi stamp

Jun 17, 2025, 9 AM

By Charles Snee

Almost 30 years after it was issued, a new tagging-omitted error has been found on one of the two United States 1997 32¢ Vince Lombardi stamps.

The error occurs on the stamp with the red bar above the coach’s name (Scott 3147). The other stamp (3145) does not have the red bar.

Stamp dealer Jerry Birdsall of Northland International Trading in Caldwell, N.J., alerted Linn’s Stamp News to the new error, which he discovered on a complete pane of 20 that was in a postage lot that he had purchased.

According to Birdsall, a note included with the pane stated “tagging missing?” Birdsall then examined the pane under shortwave ultraviolet light and did not see any tagging.

“I checked [the tagging] out and it looked missing so I sent it to the PF [Philatelic Foundation] for a certificate,” Birdsall told Linn’s.

The Philatelic Foundation subsequently issued a certificate stating that the pane is “genuine, never hinged, tagging omitted.”

Birdsall said that he sent the 32¢ Vince Lombardi tagging-omitted error pane to Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries in New York City for inclusion in a future auction. “Not sure what the estimate on it will be, probably $1,000 or so,” Birdsall said.

Scott catalog editor-in-chief Jay Bigalke said the new tagging-omitted error would be listed as Scott 3147a, “tagging omitted.” The new listing will appear in the 2026 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers that is scheduled for publication in October.

Tagging, which is visible under shortwave ultraviolet light, refers to the phosphor material on stamps used to activate automatic mail-handling equipment.

This may be lines, bars, letters, part of the design area or the entire stamp surface. The tagging may also permeate the stamp paper.

Some stamps are issued both with and without tagging. Catalogs describe them as tagged or untagged.

Linn’s has reported other tagging-omitted errors in recent years.

In the Aug. 5, 2024, issue, Linn’s reported the discovery of a tagging-omitted error on the 2023 Freedom Flag coil stamp (Scott 5789A) printed by Banknote Corporation of America in rolls of 100.

In the Feb. 12, 2024, issue, Linn’s revealed the discovery of a tagging-omitted error on the U.S. 1981 nondenominated (18¢) B-rate Eagle booklet stamp (Scott 1819).

In the Aug. 8, 2022, issue, Linn’s announced the discovery of a tagging-omitted error on the U.S. 1991 29¢ Comedians booklet stamp (Scott 2562) honoring Laurel and Hardy that came from a booklet pane of 10 containing two each of the five different 29¢ Comedians stamps (2562-2566).

In addition to the aforementioned Laurel and Hardy stamp, during the past several years, Linn’s has reported tagging-omitted errors of the 2017 nondenominated (47¢) Love stamp (Scott 5155), 2022 nondenominated (58¢) Flags coil stamp printed by Banknote Corporation of America (5656), 2019 nondenominated (55¢) Flag coil stamp printed by Banknote Corporation of America (5343), 2022 nondenominated (58¢) pink Love stamp (5661), two of the four 2022 Mountain Flora stamps (5676 and 5677), and one of the four 1986 22¢ Ameripex ’86 panes of nine (2219).

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