Scotts #354 US stamps

#354 - 1909 4¢ Double line USPS watermark, perf 12 Vertically

4¢ orange brown, brown

Subject: George Washington
Printing Method: Flat Plate
Perforations: Imperforate
Watermark: double line USPS (see below)
Scott #: 354
Quantity Issued: 472,500
Issued: February 23, 1909

Value

Used
$30 - $100
No postmark with gum (MH)
$50 - $90
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$130 - $190

Line pairs

A solid line between two stamps, seen along the perforations in the middle, was the guide line used on sheets of stamps. They would be placed between each pane (usually 100) of stamps. They can triple the value of the pair.

Paste up pairs

Above is shown an example of where two stamps have been pasted together. Observe in the center of the pair the straight edges of the stamps and the strip that joins the stamp underneath. Each strip of twenty stamps were pasted together by hand, an expensive and slow procedure.

Plate Numbers

The plate #'s on the top & bottom have been cut off and those numbers on the sides being covered by the paste-up.

Double line letters watermark

The first coil stamps

It was not until early in 1908 that the Post Office Department issued some coil stamps of the 1902 series for use in vending and stamp affixing machines, but purely as an experiment. They were found to be satisfactory and as the Department realized that a demand existed for this type of stamp it was less than three weeks after the new design had been issued in the ordinary form that it was also available in coil form.

As in the previous issue they were made from the regular 400 subject sheets which were perforated twelve in the vertical spaces between the stamps and then cut into strips of twenty. The vertical guide line at the center of each strip of twenty, which were pasted together by hand and rolled into coils of 500 and 1,000. These were coiled on one half inch diameter pasteboard cores.

Earliest documented use

Earliest documented date of use, June 9th, 1909

Counterfeits

An imperf pair of #346 with perforations added to give the appearance of a #354. For added perceived value a guideline has also been added.

Look closely at the bottom right stamp and you will see the remains of two perforations. That is because the pair was a pair of perforated on all sides 4¢ stamps (#334) with the bottom and top perforations trimmed off so as to give the appearance of #354. This is an all too common practice on this stamp.