Plate 1 Late
This plate is unique among 1¢ plates. As plate one in it's original state began to show wear, the printers decided to extend the life of the plate by employing the original transfer roll and re-entering each and every position, thus strengthening the design. As the top and bottom outer curved lines were still not strong enough, each line that needed strenngthening was recut by hand. All but one of the 200 positions received this attention. This lone stamp is Position 4R1L, a Type II. The remaining positions are all Type IV. This reworked plate is refered to as Plate One in the late state or simply Plate One Late.

Type IV (Scott No. 9) stamps have re-cutting of one of the four curved lines at either the top or the bottom of the design. All type IV stamps have either the top or bottom line re-cut or both of them re-cut. Stamps that have either the top or bottom inner lines re-cut will always also have an outer line re-cut. There are seven different combinations available, all produced from from plate 1 in it's late state. Stamps with double re-cuts (two lines at the top or bottom) are more rare than stamps with only one line re-cut at the top or bottom or both. Knowledge of this aspect is important for several reasons: to know if a stamp is recut in order to determine if it is indeed a Type IV and differentiate it from other types, to be able to collect at least one of the seven different recut varieties. And for the more advanced collector, to have the capability to plate the stamps and thus reconstruct and re-assemble the complete pane and plate.

Guide Dots

19 positions in the top row have guide dots, 10R being the exception. Of the 19,there are 11 which show double dots at the upper right, and 8 which only show a single dot. In the body of the plate guide dots are found in the lower right corner of nearly all the positions in the "B" relief rows, these being the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th rows. The exceptions are the "B" relief positions in the 10th vertical rows, viz., 30L, 50L, 70L, 90L, 30R, 50R, 70R and 90R. Similar to some of the top row positions, a few body positions show extra dots, for example, 47L, 27R, 28R, 62R, 66R, 69R, 82R and 89R show two dots, and 45R shows three dots. Position 22L shows an extra dot at the lower left corner. The guide dots are an immense help in plating, and it is possible to plate single copies solely by the help of these dots. There are 72 body positions of the "B" relief, which show (or should show) guide dots. Rick Nance has kindly provided a nice set of images showing the guide dots in an easy look up chart form.

The 1¢ plate-making process was further complicated by reentries and double transfers, wear over many thousands of impressions, the development of cracks and flaws in the metal, the reworking of the first plate used, and the need to accommodate perforations in 1857. Over ten years a total of 12 plates were made and one plate (Plate 1) was reentered and recut to improve its worn appearance. Plates 1 (Early) and 3 produced imperforate stamps exclusively. Plates 1 (Late) and 2 produced imperforate stamps for the most part, but sheets from these two plates were also perforated. Plate 4, used only in 1857, produced a small quantity of imperforate stamps and a large portion of the perforated stamps issued from July to December 1857. Plates 5 through 12 produced perforated stamps exclusively. Plate 6 was produced but was never used to print stamps as, no stamps from Plate 6 have ever been identified. Researchers believe Plate 6 was damaged while it was being made.

The designated types of 1¢ stamps are based on the resulting printed design after the die-to-relief-to-plate transfer process and the alterations made to the plate entries (principally burnishing and recutting). Philatelists look for certain features: Is the design complete? Is it complete just at top or bottom? Are the outer lines intact or broken? Were the outer lines recut? The rarity and value of 1c 1851-61 stamps are determined by the types and variations produced by 2,400 different subjects on 12 plates (including Plate 1 Late) over a decade. Because specific types, or Scott numbers, are produced by a certain number of positions on one or more plates, the quantity produced of any particular Scott number relates directly to the quantity printed from the corresponding plate or plates.

I can be reached at: nerdman@ix.netcom.com
Copyright © 2001-2008 Richard Doporto, Sonic Imagery Labs

Update 2/13/08