US Stamps
Errors and how they are determined
U.S. Stamp Notes by John M. Hotchner
What could be scarcer than a genuine missing color error? The same error on commercial cover.
Out of nearly 100 million 18¢ Edna St. Vincent Millay stamps (Scott 1926) issued July 10, 1981, only 10 panes of 50 of the stamps were found with some or all the engraved black text missing.
There may have been more, based on the cover shown here. That cover is franked with a missing-color stamp; a normal stamp is shown to the right of the cover. What apparently happened is that someone bought a pane of the error stamps and used them on mail, not realizing that he or she had a small gold mine, given that missing-color stamps are scarce and sell for way more than the face value.
The current Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers value for mint versions of the error is $200. (The value is in italics, which indicates an item that can be difficult to value accurately). But the commercial cover use shown here is far more scarce. Since a high percentage of mailed envelopes are thrown in the trash, this cover may be the only contemporaneous use that has survived. It’s certainly the only example I have seen or heard about.
If a Linn’s reader can prove me wrong, I would be interested to hear it.
I purchased this cover after I took a good solid look at the stamp with a 30x magnifier, as this is one of those missing-color stamps where a good percentage of those presented as candidates for expertizing turn out to have tiny spots and smudges of intaglio black ink disqualifying them from the error status they seek. Even one bit of color makes the stamp a freak rather than an error.
The stamp on the cover got a clean bill of health. There was no intaglio black ink to be seen. So I bought it without asking the dealer to put it on extension. That request is the prudent thing to do when buying missing-color stamps and the object of your potential affection does not already have an expertizing certificate.
To read the rest of John Hotchner’s column about expertizing, subscribe to Linn’s Stamp News.
Connect with Linn’s Stamp News:
Sign up for our newsletter
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
MORE RELATED ARTICLES
Headlines
-
US Stamps
Nov 12, 2024, 2 PMMore information on the ‘War Stamp’ overprints of 1917
-
World Stamps
Nov 11, 2024, 5 PMCanada issues sacred, secular Christmas stamps
-
US Stamps
Nov 11, 2024, 1 PMOctober cartoon caption contest winner envisions Olympian method of pizza delivery
-
Postal Updates
Nov 7, 2024, 4 PMCelebrate Thanksgiving with Plymouth 400’s commemorative postmarks