Follow these steps in the
identification of your thirty cent Bank Note:
You will need to check for the paper
type on this stamp. If it was printed on the "soft porous"
paper it is the American Bank Note printing, Scott 190. Some, but not all, of the
American printings have the "secret"
mark.
If the stamp is
on the "hard white" paper, you will need to determine the
color. If it is a full rich black, it is most likely the National
Bank Note printing. If
it is a greenish, grayish black, it is most likely Continental Bank
Note printing. This
is the primary consideration in determining whether a stamp is Scott
154 or Scott 165. Note that the Continental
printings do not have the "secret" mark on this issue.
If the stamp was printed by the National Bank Note Company,
check for grill to determine the Scott number. If the stamp has a
grill, it may be the rare Scott 143. If it does not have a
grill it is Scott 154. Care must be taken when authenticating
the grill. Many fake grills have been added over the years in an
attempt to increase the value of the stamp.
Watch for re-perforation (to fake a more well-centered stamp), for re-gumming (a major problem with the Bank Notes), and even
for bleaching
of the cancellation (to remove the cancel). Unused copies carry a
substantial premium over the used stamp.
We include the "Special" printings in this identification
guide merely for completeness. Only 179 copies total of Scott
176
and Scott 201 were sold, and they were never issued for postal use. We occasionally see uncertified copies of
these stamps offered for sale at ridiculously low prices. You can
rest assured that the stamp being offered is not genuine. These
stamps are so rare, only 80 are known, they rarely come up for sale, except in the sale of a major U.S. Collection.
