Pos 89R1L

1¢ Franklin Issue of 1851-1857, PLATE 1 LATE.
Pos 89R1L, (Scott #9)

Scott #9 Blue,
Relief B Type IV
Issued both imperforate and perforated.
Perforated copys are more scarce.

SINGLE RECUT TOP ONLY

The top curved line, only, was recut once. The bottom line was not recut. On earlier impressions the bottom line was weak, but complete. Over time, the bottom line broke or wore away substantially, to well over 2mm in 1857 printings as shown below.

From a classification point of view, in spite of the very large break in late printings, this is still classified as a Type IV, due to the top recut. As one might expect, it is much harder to locate an 89R1L with the bottom line complete.

Figure 1. (Below) Detail of the TOP RECUT line.

Figure 2. (Below) Detail view of bottom curved line on 3 impressions. The bottom line was NOT recut. The weak bottom line appears to have either broken or wore away in the lower image. This feature makes 89R1L famous but it is not the only position to have this characteristic. Earl B. Oakley illustrates in The Chronicle of the US Classic Issues, Issue 58, May 1968 that the bottom lines of Positions 30L, 50L, 67R and 90R and 99R1L also wear away on late impressions.

Figure 3. (Below) Detail view of the GUIDE DOT location .

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