Identifying #5
(#5 is a Type I)
#5 is a Type I design. The design on a Type I is complete, meaning that the ornaments at the top and bottom of the frame have not trimmed by the engravers at the time. All other types of the Franklin 1c have a portion of the design trimmed away. Type I is also distinguishable in that it has double transfer.
Only one plate position produced the Type I stamp, that being position 7RIE, a number known to most serious US philatelists.
Notes on #5
1) it is a unique position (only one of the thousand positions produced this)
2) Unlike its cousin, the perforated 1851 1c Franklin, it does not have a dot in the white border surrounding the medallion on the left hand side
3) It was forged a lot, mainly by taking the 1875 reprint and adding lines to duplicate the double transfer. The 1875 also has the secret dot on the left, which does not exist on #5.
4) A certificate is a must, never buy without one.
5) It is the rarest US stamp issued prior to the grills of 1867.
6) Seigel Auction Galleries printed in 1960 the Jerome Wagshall Survey of this issue, at the time of printing there were 90 recorded examples, since that time another 10 to 15 have been discovered.
Why is there only one position with a complete design?
The design of this early issue was too large to allow for the accommodation of the 200 subjects onto one plate. Therefore, each position had to have some amount of the design erased to allow enough room. These erasures accounted for the majority of the types. One position, however, was not subject to any erasure whatsoever, that position being the 7R1E.
What exactly does position 7RIE mean?
It means the 7th stamp of the right pane of plate I in the early state. Plate one had two states, early and late. Plate one in its original or early state became worn with use, the design on the plate were then recut (after only 11 months use) and thus the plate became the late state. Plate one remained in service until 1857.
7 = Seventh stamp of the 100 on the pane
R = Right Plane
I
= Plate I
E= Early State
How many plates were there?
There were twelve plates of the 1c Franklin made, plate six was never used, probably due to it being damaged in it's creation. Most of the plates were used for both the imperforate and perforated design. Some only produced one type or the other. For instance, plate 12 produced only perforated stamps and the early state of Plate 1 produced only imperforate stamps whilst plate I late (reconstruction) produced both imperforate and perforated stamps. Plate 4 was the last of the imperforate plates to be used.
Double transfer
(details of which are shown above)
Click here for a comprehensive, printable, identfication guide. Courtesy of Chris Biason (447kb)
