Plating The 3Β’ U.S. Imperforate Stamp of 1851 - 1857


Plate 1i:

Dr. Chase cites that Plate 1i came into use about the middle of July, 1851, with the earliest known use on a cover dated July 13, 1851. The plate was used for about three months, when it was again softened and extensively reentered and recut, which then resulted in the third state of the plate, Plate 1L. The intermediate stage recutting was the same as found in Plate 1E, with no additional touching up of the designs done for Plate 1i. Although the reentry was done to deepen the impressions from the fairly faint impressions of Plate 1E, the reentry failed, and the impressions of Plate 1i are no deeper than Plate 1E. In fact, Dr. Chase notes that due to the reentry, many of the fine lines are actually fainter on Plate 1i than on Plate 1E. Approximately 4,050,200 stamps (20,251 impressions were printed from Plate 1i. The plate showed no wear, so impressions are clear. Refer to Dr. Chase's book The 3Β’ Stamp of the United States 1851-1857 Issue for the full story of Plate 1i.

Plate 1i - Earliest Use July 12, 1851; Used for 2 1/2 Months; 20,251 impressions/4,050,200 stamps/1.12% of issued; 65 Scott 10, 135 Scott 10A:

Chase - Plate 1i:

Images are provided courtesy of Smithsonian's National Postal Museum

  1L2L3L4L5L6L7L8L9L10L    1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R
       
11L 20L 11R 20R
21L 30L 21R 30R
31L 40L 31R 40R
41L 50L 41R 50R
51L 60L 51R 60R
61L 70L 61R 70R
71L 80L 71R 80R
81L 90L 81R 90R
91L 100L  91R 100R
  91L92L93L94L95L96L97L98L99L100L    91R92R93R94R95R96R97R98R99R100R


Lund-Amonette-O'Doherty - Plate 1i:

Combined plating from Lund, Amonette, and O'Doherty sources

  1L2L3L4L5L6L7L8L9L10L    1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R
  10L 1R 10R
11L 20L 11R 20R
21L 30L 21R 30R
31L 40L 31R 40R
41L 50L 41R 50R
51L 60L 51R 60R
61L 70L 61R 70R
71L 80L 71R 80R
81L 90L 81R 90R
91L 100L 91R 100R
  91L92L93L94L95L96L97L98L99L100L    91R92R93R94R95R96R97R98R99R100R

Celler - Plate 1i:

Richard C. Celler images courtesy of Robert J. Lampert

  1L2L3L4L5L6L7L8L9L10L    1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R
       
11L 20L 11R 20R
21L 30L 21R 30R
31L 40L 31R 40R
41L 50L 41R 50R
51L 60L 51R 60R
61L 70L 61R 70R
71L 80L 71R 80R
81L 90L 81R 90R
91L 100L  91R 100R
  91L92L93L94L95L96L97L98L99L100L    91R92R93R94R95R96R97R98R99R100R


Amonette-Historic - Plate 1i:

Dr. Wilbur F. Amonette Historic Complete Plate Reconstruction

  1L2L3L4L5L6L7L8L9L10L    1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R
       
11L 20L 11R 20R
21L 30L 21R 30R
31L 40L 31R 40R
41L 50L 41R 50R
51L 60L 51R 60R
61L 70L 61R 70R
71L 80L 71R 80R
81L 90L 81R 90R
91L 100L  91R 100R
  91L92L93L94L95L96L97L98L99L100L    91R92R93R94R95R96R97R98R99R100R


Please HELP! Stamps Needed for Improvement

⚠️ PLEASE HELP! These stamps urgently need better images or plating corrections.

I have never heard of a plating that is perfect - but I want this one to be! If you have one of these stamps for sale or trade, please contact me! I'm actively looking to purchase these positions to improve the accuracy and completeness of this plating study.

33R1L

πŸ“§ I Have This!

21L3

πŸ“§ I Have This!

73L3

πŸ“§ I Have This!

13L4

πŸ“§ I Have This!

40L4

πŸ“§ I Have This!

41L4

πŸ“§ I Have This!

79L4

πŸ“§ I Have This!

72R4

πŸ“§ I Have This!

78L5L

πŸ“§ I Have This!

13R5L

πŸ“§ I Have This!

35L5L

πŸ“§ I Have This!

75L6

πŸ“§ I Have This!

15R6

πŸ“§ I Have This!

87R6

πŸ“§ I Have This!

20R8

πŸ“§ I Have This!

Why These Stamps?

These positions have been identified by philatelic experts as needing better images or plating corrections. I am actively seeking to purchase or trade for these stamps. Your help in locating these positions is greatly appreciated!