Caution
Scott
356, the 10¢ coil stamp, can be easily faked by trimming the top
and bottom margins from the Scott 338 sheet stamps, or simply the
top or bottom margin if the sheet stamp has an existing
straight-edge. The altered straight-edge stamps are particularly
dangerous since they can approach the proper size for this coil
stamp, that is 25.0mm or larger, measured top edge to bottom edge.
This stamp is known as short as 24.2mm, but these shorter examples
are rare. Any 10¢ Washington head coil stamp under 25mm tall should
be considered suspect. The coil can also be manufactured by trimming
the single-line watermarked stamp, but the lack of a double-line
watermark would be a dead give-away for anyone willing to
check.
Scott 356 is usually found with yellow or light yellow color. Dark
yellow or orange yellow copies are unusual and therefore suspect.
Interestingly, guide-line pairs are a different matter. If the stamp
has a genuine guideline it must be a genuine 356, since there is no
imperforate stock from which this coil can be manufactured. A piece
of thin foil pressed gently over the guideline will reveal if the
guideline is genuine (see: printing
methods).
We would highly recommend purchasing examples of 356 only with
certification or from a reputable seller.
This stamp also comes in the famous "blue
paper" variety; it is quite rare and unlikely to show up in an
unchecked mixture of Washington Franklins. The "blue" is actually
a "gray color", not really "blue", although it may take
on a slightly bluish tint. The stamp was made with a higher percentage of
rag content (about 30%) resulting in a grayish tinge to the stamp. As a
first check, be certain the stamp is double-line watermarked, all "blue
papers" are double-line watermarked. Fortunately, double-line
watermarks are hard to miss, if you don't see one the stamp is suspect. If
you think your stamp is the "blue paper" variety, you MUST have
this stamp certified. Even faulty, poorly centered examples of this stamp
command a premium far in excess of the certification fee. If the stamp is
genuine, it will retrieve a far higher price when certified. Conversely, do
not purchase a non-certified copy of this stamp. If the seller is unwilling
to pre-certify the stamp, there is a high likelihood that the genuineness of
the stamp is in question.
