Scott #152 US stamps

#152 - 1870 without grill 15¢

15¢
Bright orange or deep orange

Type of Paper: Hard white wove paper, thin to medium thick.
Subject: Daniel Webster
Number issued: 5,500,000
Perforations: 12
Scott #: 152
Printer: National Bank Note Company
Earliest Documented Use: June 24, 1870

Value

Used
$10 - $25
No postmark with gum (MH)
$375 - $550
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
No records available

#152a

Double Impression, possibly unique
#152a
Value = $10,000+

Earliest Date of Use

The earliest known date of use of #152 is June 24th, 1870, as shown above

Plate #'s

#152 was issued with the following plate #

Imprint and plate number
20

There are no recorded plate blocks left today

The design inspiration

The vignette design was derived by Shobal Vail Clevenger's marble bust of Daniel Webster

Notable Sales

The largest known multiple. 10 stamps never hinged

Sold March 2018 for $17,400

Explore Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions

#152 Characteristics

A shade with a check mark could be #152
#152 is a more orangey shade, #163 is a more yellowish shade

The paper

#152 is printed on hard white wove paper, thin to medium thick.

Hard paper was used by the National Bank Note Company and the Continental Bank Note Company. Soft paper was used by the American Bank Note Company,

The hard paper of the Bank Note issues is fairly white, perhaps it might better be called grayish white or sometimes a somewhat bluish white, while the soft paper seems slightly yellowish when compared with the hard paper.

Soft paper has a looser weave and more porous paper than hard paper, so it feels softer, displays a mesh or weave when viewed by holding the stamp between your eyes and light so that you are looking “through” the stamp.

Some people can also ID hard paper be “flicking” the edges and thereby “feeling” the stiffness of the paper versus the feel of soft paper if flicked in the same way. There's more of a snap to the hard paper.

On high magnification the perforation tips on soft paper will have more strands of paper sticking out than hard paper.

Soft paper is fairly dead looking under a long wave UV light ( (briefly and from a reasonable distance in a darkened room) while hard paper reflects more light. If reference copies of stamp designs known only on hard paper or soft paper are viewed under UV light, the difference in paper brightness should be apparent.

For a reference stamp obtain the inexpensive 1861 3¢ (#65), it is only available in hard paper.

A simple test is to hold a stamp to a lamp, you will see the hard paper is more translucent.

The Secret Mark

According to Scotts Look for the bottom of the left top triangle. If you see that the triangle has been strengthened at the inside bottom it is the 'secret mark' that shows you have a copy of #163. HOWEVER there are few #163's with this secret mark.

Color difference

A more reliable but not foolproof method of telling the National and Continental printings is by the color, as shown above. Also the fine lines in the shading are less clear on #163 as the plates were becoming worn. In truth the only way of definitely to say the 15¢ is on ribbed paper, which was exclusively used by the Continental Bank Note company.