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Single-line USPS Watermarks
on United States Postage Stamps |
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The "single-line" USPS watermark,
introduced in 1910, was one of many experiments the Bureau of
Engraving and Printing made to reduce waste due to paper
shrinkage. This experiment lasted until 1916 when
unwatermarked paper was reintroduced. United States has not used
watermarked paper on its postage stamps since, other than the
error stamp Scott 519 and the
$1 Prexie error stamp, Scott 832b.
The un-retouched photo below provides an excellent example of
the possibilities of single-line watermark position. The
stamps are part of a used sheet of the 25c Parcel Post Postage
Due of 1912. Although the regular issues, that is the Washington
Franklin stamps, are smaller than the stamps illustrated here,
the underlying principles are the same. The watermarks form a
staggered pattern of the letters "USPS", with every
other row identical. The letters form diagonals. Contrast this
with the double-line "USPS" in which the letters
read "USPS" in both perfect horizontal and vertical
rows and columns. (more...)
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| The "single-line" USPS
watermark |
An Example
For the following the above stamps have
been numbered one to twelve reading from left to right, top to
bottom. Stamp one has two easily discernible watermarks, an
"S" and a "P". Stamp two has an
"S" dead center and part of a "U" at the
very right, barely visible in the scan, pointing out out one
of the major difficulties in finding a single-line watermark,
often a letter that must be there may not be visible at
all.
To confirm the placement and necessary existence of the
letter "U" in the third stamp, look at stamp eleven,
also in the third column. The right half of the "U" is clearly visible
at left and is in the exact horizontal position of the
"U" in stamp three. Knowing this and comparing with
the "U" in stamp eleven, the outline of the right
half of the "U" in stamp three, although very weak,
can be made out.
The next stamp of interest is stamp eight. It clearly has an
"S" at left and a "P" at right, but it
also seems to have a partial "U" in the center. This
points out the other great difficulty in determining whether a
watermark exists, often a non-existent letter seems to be
present. As it turns out, part of this non-existent
"U" is a cancellation on the front of the stamp and
the upper left extension is a legacy of the design of the
stamp; note that this mark exists on all of the other stamps.
Often, viewing other stamps of the same issue side-by-side
with the stamp in question will help you avoid the pitfall of
"seeing" a watermark where none exists, by revealing
dark areas of the design which will be consistent from stamp
to stamp. In addition, keep an eye out for creases, thins and
cancellations, which will add dark areas that should not be
confused with the watermark.
From this example it is easy to see that identifying
single-line watermarks on U.S. postage stamps, is one of the
more difficult identifications. Even the experts disagree on
the presence of a watermark on many stamps. To compound the
problem, the single-line watermark is even more difficult to
see on some of the lighter colored stamps. Orange and
olive-green stamps present particularly difficult problems.
The use of a colored filter of a complementary color may help
a little. For example, using a blue filter, the
complementary color of orange, may make the watermark on
orange stamps more visible.
The single-line watermark was used on U.S. postage stamps
from 1910-1916.
This includes:
The Pan Pacific Exposition
commemoratives - Scott's 397-404
The Washington Franklins - Scott's 374-421, 424-459 and
461
The following Postage Due stamps - J45-J58
The following Special Delivery stamps - Scott's E8-E9
only
Three Official stamps - Scott's O124-O126
The
Parcel Post stamps -Scott's Q1-Q12 and JQ1-JQ5
It is interesting to
note that no airmail stamps have watermarks since they were
not printed until 1918.
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