3c Perf 10 Coil Washington Postage Stamps

Watermark and Type Check - The perf 10 flat plate coil, if genuine, can be only the type I Scott 445. The only vertical 3¢ coil is the Scott 489 and it is rotary and type I. The only type II 3¢ coil is Scott 494. Thus, only the type I rotary horizontal coils need to be checked for watermark and type.

Coil Type	Printing Method	Watermark	Type	Scott Number
perf 10 vertically	Flat Plate	single-line	I	445
perf 10 vertically	Rotary Press	single-line	I	456
perf 10 horizontally	Rotary Press	none	I	489
perf 10 vertically	Rotary Press	none	I	493
perf 10 vertically	Rotary Press	none	II	494

Caution:

The flat plate type I perf 10 coil, Scott 445, is sometimes faked by cutting off the perforations on the 3¢ perf 10 sheet stamp. The fakes usually measure smaller than the desired 25mm tall and are therefore not very convincing. Taller fakes can also be made from the imperforate type I stamp, Scott 483. Although the 483 is unwatermarked, it may pass detection if the watermark is not checked. Be aware that fake watermarks do exist on this stamp. Better centered copies and line pairs are particularly suspect. In all cases make sure the flat plate coil has a single-line watermark.

*The Scott 445 illustrated is courtesy of the Robert A. Siegel Auciton Galleries, Inc. and is from sale #941, The John F. Odeneal Collection of Superb Mint U.S. Stamps, October 3, 2007.

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Perf 10 Flat Plate Coil Siegel 941*	Perf 10 Rotary Vertical Coil	Perf 10 Rotary Horizontal Coil - Type I	Perf 10 Rotary Horizontal Coil - Type II - Joint Line Pair