Club Articles

 Other than a stamps design, one of the more basic ways that collectors identify stamps is with color and hue.  Correctly identifying a stamp by its color or shade can be difficult for collectors because the names that stamp colors are known and the shades of each color are a great source of confusion.   

The 1875 Government issued Reproductions(U.S. Issues SC#3-4)   It all started in the 1870’s when the U.S. Government decided to reprint all of the previous and existing U. S. Postage stamps. John Tiffany ( One of Americas first Stamp Collectors;1842-97) has  proposed that they were advised to make them available for an exhibit at the first World's Fair officially held in the U.S., at the Centennial International Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia.  

The history of San Diego’s Rancho Cuyamaca and the areas southeast of the San Diego River differ from that of the other ranches of the rest of California as well as San Diego County.   

Our EFO  topic  this  time  is on  Perforation  Phenomena  surrounding Gutter Pairs, Snipes and Selvage.After the release of the last issues topic, it was brought to my attention by several club members that the editor had intolerably left out some of our member’s favorite perforation EFO’s (The Guttersnipe). 

 The stamp series known affectionately as the “Prexies,” is the 1938 Presidential series which is a favorite specialty among stamp collectors.The $5 denomination of the set pictures President Calvin Coolidge. The series was issued in answer to the public clamoring for a new Regular Issue series. 

A Double Transfer is a plate variety(Freak) in which a portion of the design is doubled. This occurs on engraved stamps when a design is "rocked" into a plate from a transfer roll in such a way that the resulting image is misaligned with a first entry or where an old entry was only partially removed before a new entry is made, resulting in extra lines being printed. 

In the United States stamp series of 1922-25, the30¢ issue pictures the American Buffalo(Bison). At one time gigantic herds of buffalo, or bison, roamed all over North America.Before the 1800’s it is estimated that there were over 30 million bison inhabiting the Continental United States.  

One of the most well known counterfeit stamps identified in Scott’s Specialized Catalog is for the 2c Washington stamp A157 Type I.  Most of these counterfeits have been sold or listed as either forgeries of Scott 634 or 554.   Neither of these Scott numbers is as accurate a description as using type A157.    

 U.S. Scott #1474 was issued on November 17th, 1972 in the city of New York. It was issued in recognition of a hobby that is both educational and fun  and in response to numerous requests that collectors have a "stamp of their own." 

Plate varieties in general are classified into two groups: Designed and Accidental.This presentation focused on identifying the accidental varieties 

Plate varieties -  One of the most interesting plate varieties of this stamp, one which has caused considerable differences of opinion in describing it, is located in the lower right pane of plate 20538 (the Plate number below stamp No. 100).  

The regular bi-colored 5¢ airmail stamp which features the beacon at Sherman Hill, Wyoming, was issued July 25, 1928 in anticipation of a reduction in the domestic US airmail rate to 5¢ per ounce.  The stamp was beautifully engraved using 2 plates for the bi-color design.  The stamp proved to be too costly and was used fora short19 months with only 107 million copies produced.   

Inspired by Chief Hollow Horn Bear a native American of the Brule band of Lakota Sioux. The “American Indian” stamp was originally flat plate printed and placed on sale May 1, 1923 as a perforation 11 Scott #565. Later it was rotary printed using a Stickney press as  a perforation 11 x 10.5 Scott #695. 

 One of the more interesting items was a discussion on how to identify forgeries of the Nebr. and Kans.overprints.  Having collected this set over 20 years ago, I had not really looked closely at them since completing the set those many years ago.  

Color Omitted Error In 1975, the United States Postal Service created a series of definitive stamps paying homage to the impressive ideas that formed the United States.  Each stamp in the “Americana” series features a central image and a curved line of text that runs along two sides of the stamp.

 On modern lithographed stamps, most ofthe doubling we see are not double strikes at all, but rather is what is known as a “ghost impression” or Chill Roller double.  These errors are typically found on a stamps coil line (chill) or plate numbers (ghosts). Both of these roller errors are classified as “Freaks”.  

Read interesting articles on Errors, Freaks and Oddities (EFOs).  

One of the most popular stamp errors is the INVERT.  These errors typically occur on stamps with multi-color/multitask vignettes. Whenever the process requires two persons and a single sheet to be pressed more than once, the paper can and will end up reversed. As we all know Murphy’s Law also applies to the processes of stamp production. 

Also an article on U.S. Classic stamps on Cover.

Errors, Freaks and Oddities Part II Describing  Double Impressions, Chill Roller Doubling and an interesting article on the Zeppelin "USS Los Angeles ZR-3"

Read articles about Errors Freaks and Oddities associated with the 10c stamps of 1855-59 and plating issues associated with this issue.

Our EFO topic this time is on color plate shifting and other color printing phenomena. 

Perforation Phenomena  are  among the most common types of Errors, Freaks and  Oddities. Mis-Perfs over  the  past  century have  become  popular  among stamp collectors. Misperforations are  found  on  stamps  from  the  very  first perforated  issues  up  to the  present.  

Read about WWII covers from Japanese American covers sent from U.S. based internment camps.   By signing Executive Order 9066, President Franklin D. Roosevelt uprooted all Japanese and Japanese-Americans on the West Coast, sending them inland to hastily built “War Relocation Camps.” Historians see this internment as one of American history’s worst constitutional abuses. 

Read an article on U.S. to Hungary covers

 The  Pony  Express was established  by  the  freighting  firm  of  Russell, Majors and Waddell, who wanted the lucrative United States mail contract to California. The freighters felt the central route of 1,943 miles from St. Joseph, Mo.,  to  San  Francisco  would  give  them  the  edge,  since  the  United  States Congress wanted faster communication with California. 

See covers from Historic Campo California and read about the gun battle an the old Campo store the eclipsed the battle at the OK Corral.

In observance with the exposition’s dedicatory theme, the U.S. Post Office Department issued the nation’s first commemorative stamps, the “Columbians”. Issued in conjunction with the Exposition,sixteen Colombian stamps were issued in denominations ranging from one cent to five dollars. 

Learn more about stamps produced to support the WWII war effort and a short article on the Multi-Gauge measuring device.

 Interesting United Nations Covers,  When looking at covers or collections, you should be on the lookout for the United Nations New Your Number 2a.  The 2a is the 1 ½ cent pre-cancelled.  

A visit to one of our sister Philatelic Clubs in Reno Nevada and an article on the history of German Local City Stamps.  

 On one of my voyages, in search of my favorite philatelic items, Puerto Rico, I came across a cover from San Juan.  It had rubber stamped across it (BLUE) the wording “CORREO AEREO, POR AVION SANTA MARIA”.  

 Read a short article about damaged and burned covers 

In 1975 the Editor had the opportunity to visit the Iguazu Falls (Iguacu in Portuguese) falls on a trip to Sao Paulo Brazil.  The Iguazu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border between Argentina and the Brazilian state of Paraná. 

Read an article on how to prevent foxing and fungi in your collection and methods for cleaning stamps.  Also an article on Oleo Margarine TAX stamps. 

Collecting stamps based on the Japanese syllabary (Japanese kana) and the “i-ro-ha” poem arrangement of 48 sounds might be considered by many as a bit of an Esoteric Stamp Collecting Endeavor. 

 It is an unusual and odd experience when you show someone your specialty album and the first remark you get is “So you only collect the bad stamps?”  Then when you think about it, you realize that they just might be right.  

After a bit of research ,  I have come to understand that the stamp was most likely cancelled sometime during the peak of the Gold Rush (1852-1857) or at least a few years prior to the creation of the Pony Express.  

Over the past several years the editor has been asked again and again for his opinion on the identity of one or another of the woven types of Banknotes on Hard and/or Soft papers.  I had always been a little weary of making such calls as my “real” knowledge on the subject had been superficial. 

 Snowshoe Thompson, A moniker attributed to a cynical witness of his first cross Sierra trek, who yelled from the crowd “Good luck Snowshoe Thompson” and it stuck. Thompson was an early resident of the Sierra Nevada of Nevada and California and was the Norwegian-American considered to be the father of California skiing.

The TAG - Over the last couple of years I have become aware of an error stamp known as the “TAG”. It is a type of U.S. 10c 1861 Stamp #68 where extraneous ink is located within the Letters T, A, and G of the word POSTAGE.  

Do you have a   “true” Double Paper stamp? If you do then you may have a valuable   rarity. Examples of the Double Paper   banknotes can demand very high prices. The stamp pictured below has a Scott Catalogue Value of $600.00; this   is not bad for a typically lower valued and generally common banknote stamp. So for the banknote collector identifying a   double paper is important and this article is aimed at arming you with the   knowledge needed to identify them. 

 Street cars Color Omitted Error -  This true stamp “Error” was a recent acquisition that I found at the last pre-Covid SANDIPEX stamp show.  The stamp is both dramatic and rare in U.S Postal history.  The stamp is classified as a true “Error” because it is missing black intaglio ink completely as cataloged in Scott. 

 The American Letter Mail Company -  This article is targeted at the proofs associated with the American Letter Mail Company(ALM) whose issues featured the image of a small eagle with a decorative border.  It is believed that these 20 for a Dollar issues were most likely engraved by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson using a stock die purchased by RWH&E from Durand, Perkins & Co. after the firm went out of business in 1832.  

 Grills –On a stamp is sometimes an embossed pattern of small indentations intended to discourage postage stamp reuse. Used in the United States in the 1860s and 1870s, they were designed to allow the ink of the cancellation to be absorbed more readily by the fibers of the stamp paper, making it harder to wash off the cancellation 

 Shanghai Overprints - Most U.S. Collectors and specialists are conscious of the Washington-Franklin Shanghai overprints, but few know the story behind these rare and unusual U.S.stamps. 

Willie M. Pickett a.k.a Bill Pickett(1870-1932) – “Was a fearless cowboy, rodeo showman and rancher, said to have invented bulldogging.  Both Will Rogers and Tom Mix served as his assistants.” It was written in Wisconsin’s Stevens Point Journal, That Pickett would use a special Bulldogging technique that involved biting the animals in their lower lips and hitting a nerve that would cause the steers to collapse.He was a real cowboy who performed at rodeos and is credited with creating steer wrestling. 

History of Grant on Stamps,  The Civil War needed Grant and Grant needed the Civil War Ulysses  S.  Grant’s  success  as  a  military  officer  is  nearly unparalleled  in  American  history.  When  the  Civil  War  broke out,  the  North  needed  officers,  and  Grant  was  given  command as colonel of a volunteer Illinois regiment.  In early 1862, he set out  on  the  Kentucky-Tennessee  River  campaign  that  would make  him  famous. Despite  devastating  losses  at  Shiloh,  Grant seemed to be without fear of failure, and he soon proved himself to be a bold and brilliant strategist .