"One Cent Green Benjamin Franklin Stamp"
Let's start with an easy identification. It is the stamp above. See how the words: "One Cent" are curved?
There is only one stamp of the 19 that has these curved letters. You can identify it as Scott #279 - It was issued in 1898. And it's value is typically around 35 cents for used and 8-12 dollars for mint.
Just so you can see; all the other 1 cent green Franklins have straight text. And either "Cent" or "One Cent".
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Is the stamp imperforate? (It has no perforations around any of the edges.)
There are three of our nineteen that are imperforate. Scott #343, Scott #383 and Scott #575.
They are all exactly the same on the front. To identify them you have to look for a Watermark on the back. 
No Watermark? This is the Scott #575. It was issued in 1923 and it's value is approximately 1-3 dollars used and 5-10 dollars mint.
Single line Watermark? This is the Scott #383. It was issued in 1910 and it's value is approximately 3 dollars used and 6 dollars mint.
Double line Watermark? This is the Scott #343. It was issued in 1909 and it's value is approximately 5 dollars used and 10 dollars mint.
 
About Watermarks: They would be one of three letters U, S, or P. And it isn't necessarily a whole letter. They created these on full sheets with the letters spread out. So it could only be part of a letter. With a single line watermark the letter is a solid line. And with a double line watermark the letter is a made up of a double line.
 Now, these stamps are old! So the watermarks can be a bit tricky to discern. I have a very easy tutorial on how to see and determine the watermark. Right here: How to check for a watermark on a stamp
Ornate Stamps: All the stamps in our series of 19 have simple designs with Benjamin Franklin in profile. Except for two of them. These are ornate and Franklin is looking at us. These are either Scott #300 and Scott #314. Scott #300 is perforated around the edges and #314 has no perforations.
 
Scott 300 was issued in 1903 andf it's value is about 5 cents used and 3-5 dollars mint.
Scott 314 was issued in 1906 and it's value is about 5 dollars used and about 20 dollars mint.
Overprints
Scott #658 and #669
These are standard Benjamin Franklin stamps with Ben in profile. But, they are over printed with typewriter style text that spells out either "Kans." or "Nebr." Which stands for Kansas and Nebraska.
 
Scott 658 (Kans.) was issued in 1929 and it's value is approximately 1 dollar used and 5 dollars mint.
Scott 669 (Nebr.) was issued in 1929 and it's value is approximately 1 dollar used and 5 dollars mint.
Perforations!
To sort out the rest of our stamps we need to take a look at the perforations.
If you are unfamiliar with how perforations are measured here is a quick overview for you. It is typically referred to as "perf" followed by a number. Here is an example "Perf 11" . This number refers to how many perforations there are in a 2 centimeter length. The most common perfs are 8, 10, 10.5, 11 and 12.
And note that this doesn't necessarily mean all the way around the stamp. Sometimes the perfs vary. They can be one type horizontally and another type vertically.
So Let's identify the remaining stamps using perforations.
Perforated Horizontally - There are two stamps in our series that are perforated horizontally. There are two differences between these stamps that you can identify them by:
Scott 348 (pic on the left)is perforated horizontally 12 and on the back it has a double line watermark. It was issued in 1908 and it's value is approximately 10-20 dollars used and 50-100 dollars mint.
Scott 604 (pic on the right) is perforated horizontally 10 and it has no watermark on the back. It was issued in 924 and it's value is around 15 cents used and 50 cents mint.  
Perforated Vertically - There are two issued stamps that are perforated vertically.
Scott 597: (pic on the left) Is perforated 10 vertically and and has no watermark on the back. It was issued in 1923. It's value is approximately 25 cents used and one dollar mint.
Scott 352: (pic on the right) It is perforated 12 vertically and it has a double line watermark on the back. This stamp has some significant value. It was issued in 1909 and it's value is typically around 30-50 dollars used and can be 100-200 mint.
 
Scott 581 - This stamp has perforation of 10 all the way around. (perf 10). This stamp was issued in 1923 and it's typical value is 50 cents used and 5-10 dollars mint.
Scott 552 - This stamp has perforation of 11 all the way around.
This stamp was issued in 1922 and it's typical value is 25 cents used and 2-3 dollars mint. 
Scott 632 - This stamp has two different perforations. (11 x 10.5) Horizontally the perfs are 11 and vertically the perfs are 10.5.
This stamp was issued in 1927 and it's typical value is 25 cents used and 50 cents mint. 
Scott 578 - The perforations are 11 x 10. The horizontal perfs are 11 and the vertical perfs are 10. This stamp was issued in 1923 and it's typical value is 25 to 100 dollars used and 100-200 mint.
Let's finish off the series with the last three that can be a little bit tricky. They are all Perf 12 all the way around.
Scott 374 - Perf 12 all the way around. But the distinctive thing about this stamp is the watermark on the back. It has a single line watermark on the back. This stamp was issued in 1910 and it's typical value is 25 cents used and 10 dollars mint.
Scott 331 - This is perf 12 all the way around and on the back it has a double line watermark. This stamp was issued in 1908 and its typical value is 50 cents used and 5-10 dollars mint.
Scott 357 - This stamp, just like Scott 331 is perf 12 and has a double line watermark. But the difference with this one is the paper it is printed on. It is bluish gray paper. It isn't a deep blue gray and it is easy to mistake for the Scott 331. To best see it you turn the stamp over and look at the back, comparing it to other stamps.
This stamp was issued in 1909 and it does have some value. Used they can sell for 50 - 100 dollars. And mint they can sell for 100-300 dollars. |
