Washington Head
Denomination 
in Numerals
"2 CENTS"
Perf 10 Coil
Flat Plate

Perf 10 
Horizontally

Perf 10 
Vertically

Watermark Check and Type Check - Once you have determined that this perf 10 coil is flat plate, your work is done, there is no need to check for watermark, other than to confirm that the stamp is authentic, since both of these stamps are Type I and must be single-line watermarked. 

Caution

Both Scott 442 and Scott 444 are often faked, since they are in that gray area in which the cost of certification can often be more than the cost of the stamp. Particularly suspect are well-centered stamps. 

The obvious method of forgery would be to trim a fully perforated or large margined straight edge copy of Scott 425. A seasoned collector can often tell the difference between a genuine coil and a trimmed fake by feel alone, making the more dangerous fake, ones made by perforating the imperforate stamp, in this case Scott 409. 

We would advise purchasing Scott 442 and Scott 444 from a reputable dealer only.

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