The 1c Franklin - Washington Franklin

Franklin Head: Denomination in Letters: Perf 8½ Coil Stamps

	Franklin Head: One Cent Perf 8½ Coils
Scott 390		Scott 392

Watermark Check - There is no need to check the watermark on these stamps, they are all single-line watermarked. However, it would be a good idea to check it anyway, since these stamps are often faked by perforating the imperforate stamp, Scott 343. See the caution below.

Orientation of Perforations	Scott Number	May be faked by adding perforations to this stamp
Perforated 8.5 top and bottom	390	343 or 383
Perforated 8.5 left and right	392	343 or 383

Caution

If the stamp has a double-line watermark it is clearly a fake made from Scott 343. In any case, one should also examine the perforations. If the perforations appear genuine, there is a very good case that the stamp is genuine since there is no corresponding perf 8.5 stamp from which to make the fake. Scott 390 is relatively inexpensive and is not a prime candidate for forgery; you should be able to pick up a genuine copy without certification, but you must pay particular attention to guide line pairs which do command a high premium and are often faked.

Washington Franklin Identifier - Home Page