½d & 2d Litho Pictorials with SPECIMEN overprints
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:51 am
I would like to do a study of the ½d and 2d lithographed pictorials with Specimen overprint.
The ultimate objective of the study is to determine if studying the ½d litho Specimen (where all the stamps can all be plated) can help with plating the 2d stamps (where most of the stamps from the plates used for the Specimen overprint are not plated). I hope to accomplish this by examining the printing and font irregularities on the ½d Specimen overprint and trying to match those to 2d Specimen overprints. Assuming that the same device and configuration was used to overprint both the ½d and 2d stamps, it might be possible to deduce 2d plate positions. To test this theory, I need to find common flaws on the overprint between the two denominations, then determine if they match by plate position.
On the few stamps that I have examined to date, I’ve seen the Specimen overprint with a broken “S”, doubling on the “C”, a missing top serif on the “N”(two types), and a black spot resembling a period in front of the “S”. These irregularities suggest that we might be able to have some success.
Additional objectives are to determine if the ½d Specimen stamps are only found on stamps from Plate 1 (i.e., I have not seen any examples from Plate 2). Similarly, were only Plate 11 stamps used for the 2d litho with Specimen. I have seen fewer examples of the 2d Specimen, but all that I have been able to plate have been on Plate 11.
As these stamps are relatively expensive, I would like to request assistance by everyone posting scans of your ½d and 2d litho Specimen pictorials. The scans need to be the highest resolution possible (600 dpi tend to work very well). If your examples are from the top or bottom rows, that would be great to know as well because the top and bottom rows of the 1/2d Plate 1 and 2d Plate 11 have been plated and that would give a known control sample to use as part of the study. (You can tell if they are top or bottom row stamps because in addition to the V over Crown watermark, there will also be a horizontal line watermark above (top) or below (bottom) the crown watermark.)
Appreciate the assistance. Thanks, Jerry
The ultimate objective of the study is to determine if studying the ½d litho Specimen (where all the stamps can all be plated) can help with plating the 2d stamps (where most of the stamps from the plates used for the Specimen overprint are not plated). I hope to accomplish this by examining the printing and font irregularities on the ½d Specimen overprint and trying to match those to 2d Specimen overprints. Assuming that the same device and configuration was used to overprint both the ½d and 2d stamps, it might be possible to deduce 2d plate positions. To test this theory, I need to find common flaws on the overprint between the two denominations, then determine if they match by plate position.
On the few stamps that I have examined to date, I’ve seen the Specimen overprint with a broken “S”, doubling on the “C”, a missing top serif on the “N”(two types), and a black spot resembling a period in front of the “S”. These irregularities suggest that we might be able to have some success.
Additional objectives are to determine if the ½d Specimen stamps are only found on stamps from Plate 1 (i.e., I have not seen any examples from Plate 2). Similarly, were only Plate 11 stamps used for the 2d litho with Specimen. I have seen fewer examples of the 2d Specimen, but all that I have been able to plate have been on Plate 11.
As these stamps are relatively expensive, I would like to request assistance by everyone posting scans of your ½d and 2d litho Specimen pictorials. The scans need to be the highest resolution possible (600 dpi tend to work very well). If your examples are from the top or bottom rows, that would be great to know as well because the top and bottom rows of the 1/2d Plate 1 and 2d Plate 11 have been plated and that would give a known control sample to use as part of the study. (You can tell if they are top or bottom row stamps because in addition to the V over Crown watermark, there will also be a horizontal line watermark above (top) or below (bottom) the crown watermark.)
Appreciate the assistance. Thanks, Jerry