Keep an eye out for this 1920 2¢ George Washington stamp

Stamp Market Tips by Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

In the early 20th century when collectors learned that imperforate sheets of regular stamps were being sold to private vending and affixing machine companies, they demanded that the same imperforate stamps be made available to the public.

One of the resulting imperforate stamps is the 2¢ carmine George Washington type V printed by offset lithography (Scott 533).

The earliest documented use of the stamp is a July 22, 1920, dated cancel on a pair of stamps. The earliest known on-cover use is dated April 12, 1923.

We have tipped this stamp twice before in the Stamp Market Tips columns in the Aug. 31, 2009, and the Oct. 30, 2017, issues of Linn’s.

This stamp is in demand, and it is time to revisit it. The 2019 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers values the stamp at $110 in unused hinged condition, $150 in used condition, and $175 in mint never-hinged condition.

The stamp is a good buy at $100 in unused hinged condition, $125 in used condition, and $150 in mint never-hinged condition.

However, be sure that the margins are large enough so they couldn’t be the result of trimming the perforations of an oversized perforated twin (Scott 527), especially on used examples. Pairs or sheet margin examples can confirm authenticity exactly.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

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