Since the rare stamps may look a lot like more common varieties, and there are many sources out there that may show pictures of these rare stamps, there are lots of cases where folks find an old stamp and think they may have found a treasure.
In this section, we’ll show some of the more common mis-identifications and what separates the rare stamp from the common one.
For some of these, the differences between the rare and common are obvious, for others you may need to have the stamp expertized to be sure.
US #316 #
In 1902, the US issued a new series of stamps for regular use. The denominations ranged from 1¢ to $5, with the lowest denominations being the most common. The 1¢ stamp featured Benjamin Franklin, and covered the postcard rate. It is listed in the Scott catalogue as #300. Because postcards were so popular at the time, billions of this stamp were produced.
Much less common, but with this same design, is #316. It differed from #300 due to the fact that it was an experimental coil stamp, produced as a long strip of stamps which could be purchased from a stamp vending machine. These stamps differ from #300 due to them not having any perforations on either side, but rather straight edges.
To further confuse matters, #300 was also widely produced in stamp booklets. These would have small blocks of 6 stamps (2 across, 3 down), perforated in between, but with straight edges on all sides. Stamps from these booklets would thus have perforations on only 2 or 3 sides, but always on the top and at least one side. One could use one of these to either accidentally or maliciously create a lookalike to #316 by taking a stamp with perforations on 3 sides and trimming off the perforations on the other side.
Here’s what these two stamps look like:
US #300
US #316
All known copies of #316, per the Siegel Census
US #594/596 #
In 1922, another regular issue series was issued by the US, and again produced some rarities with the 1¢ Ben Franklin stamp.
The common variety is #552, with billions produced. #552 is perforated 11, and the 2 rarities with the same design, #594 and #596, were also perforated 11. What separates these are the printing method. #552 was produced using the Flat Plate method, but #594 and #596 were produced using the Rotary Press method.
These stamps are known as ‘coil waste’ issues, since they were produced from stamps originally intended to be used for coil stamps, but were re-purposed to be sold as sheet stamps.
The way you tell #552 from #594 and #596 is the size of the ink design itself. #552 measures 18.5-19 (w) x 22 (h) mm. #594 measures 19.75 x 22.25 mm, and #596 measures 19.25 x 22.5 mm. So #594 is wider than #552, and #596 is taller than #552.
But these size differences are a mm or less each, which can often be hard to tell by directly measuring the stamp. See the Printing Methods page for more info about how to properly identify these different printing methods.
US #552
US #594
All known copies of #594, per the Siegel Census
US #596
All known copies of #596, per the Siegel Census
US #613 #
Released around the same time as the Fourth Bureau series, a small set of stamps was issued in 1923 to mourn the death of former President Warren Harding. There are 4 similar stamps, Scott numbers #610-613. #610 is the most common, it is perforated 11 and produced using the Flat Plate method. An imperforate stamp was issued as #611, and a Rotary Press stamp perforated 10 was issued as #612.
The rarity of the set is #613, a perforated 11 Rotary Press stamp.
It shares the same size perforations with #610, but the printing method (and thus, design size) of #612. People often confuse their #610s for #613 thinking it may be wider than a normal #610. The size difference is just around half a mm, so it is often confused. Again, you can refer to the Printing Methods page for info about how to distinguish Flat Plate from Rotary Press.
US #610
US #611
US #612
US #613
All known copies of #613, per the Siegel Census
Ireland #68b #
This stamp identification mistake is similar to the US #300/#316 confusion. Like that stamp, there is a common variety perforated on all 4 sides, and a much rarer ‘coil’ variety perforated on just the top and bottom. You can read more about this issue here.
Non-coil variety
Coil variety
