Tip of the week: Washington stamp flat-plate printing

Stamp Market Tips by Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

We last tipped the U.S. 2¢ pale carmine-red George Washington stamp flat-plate printing on single-line “USPS” watermarked paper perforated gauge 11 (Scott 461) in the Stamp Market Tips column in the Feb. 18, 2013, issue of Linn’s. It is time to revisit this stamp.

This stamp, issued in mid 1915, is missing from most U.S. collections. The 2018 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers values the stamp at $150 in unused hinged condition and $325 in mint never-hinged condition. The value for stamps in used condition is $375 with the value in italics.

The Scott U.S. Specialized catalog wisely warns of fraudulently perforated examples of the imperforate 2¢ carmine George Washington stamp, type I (Scott 409) being offered as Scott 461. These fakes are found in many U.S. collections.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

    Sign up for our Newsletter
    Like us on Facebook
    Follow us on Twitter

Examples of Scott 461 in the grade of very fine with no flaws are worth full Scott catalog value. We strongly recommend expertization when buying.

Used examples are truly scarce and must have a recent certificate from one of the recognized expertization services. Some older certificates were mistaken in their opinions about the authenticity of cancels.