Scotts #387 US stamps

#387 - 1910 1¢ Single line USPS watermark, perf 12 vertically

1¢ green, dark green

Subject: Benjamin Franklin
Printing Method: Flat Plate
Perforations: 12 vertically
Watermark: single line USPS watermark (see below)
Scott #: 387
Quantity Issued: 3,794,000
Issued: November 1, 1910
Earliest Documented Use: November 5, 1910

Value

SINGLES

Used
$20 - $90
No postmark with (MH)
$30 - $60
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$90 - $175

PAIRS

Used
$800 - $1,300
No postmark with (MH)
$90 - $175
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$230 - $300
Multiply by 2 for line pairs

Notable Sales

Known for poor centering this issue can only muster this 95J as its best example. It has rapidly appreciated in value due to its perceived rarity.

Sold October 2019 for $10,620 (MH)

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Guide Line Pairs

Ideally horizontal coil stamps should be collected in pairs. The guide line pair is so called because it is where the lines that separated panes are placed One can see the line along the center of the perforations.

Earliest documented use

Earliest documented date of use, November 5th, 1910

A New Watermark

The purpose of this change was to strengthen the paper and to give it a more uniform thickness. The old double line watermark covered too much space and made the lettered area quite a bit thinner than the rest of the paper, which caused variation in the shrinkage of the paper. The new watermark was also smaller, occurring 400 letters to a full sheet instead of 360.

Single Line USPS Watermark

A brief life

This stamp was only on sale for two months. However many were collected by philatelists so whilst uncommon, it is not rare. The 12 gauge perforations were not a success, like all 12 perforations it made the stamps break apart from each other too easily. This problem was excerbated by the fact that these coils primary purpose was for stamp machines. They were replaced with the 8.5 perf, which caused the opposite problem.