Pos 12R5

1¢ Franklin Issue of 1857-61, PLATE 5
Position 12R5

Blue,
Type Va, Relief B
Issued only perforated.

NOTES:
Ornaments L, M and N on stamps coming from the 2nd horizontal row right pane exhibit various combinations of shortness or completeness. The different combinations can be helpful in quickly narrowing down position possibilities. 12R5 shows Ornament L as short, M is complete and N is weak but basically complete.

Figure 1. (Below) Small broken vertical scratch ending with a dot as illustrated in the plating diagrams. The long horizontal scratch appears to only show on early impressions and is not consistent.

Figure 2. (Below) The red arrows indicate the location of another faint plating mark which is not clear on either copy.

Figure 3. (Below) Various blurs and plating marks. (red arrows) These marks are shown in Neinken, but this photomicrograph shows the subtlety more accurately. These markings are consistent on this position. Many "B" reliefs have similar blurs, but they all have variation by position. A small piece of the Right Full Plume is visible. Most Type Va "B" relief positions do not have this feature, so it can be helpful in plating this position.

Figure 4. (Below) A strong vertical dash west of Ornament "H" halfway between Position 11R5 and 12R5. This mark is consistent and is shown on the Neinken plating drawing.

Figure 5. (Below) This position has a break in the top curved line above the "S" of "US." Also note the lack of dashes below the top line. Many of the Type Va "B" reliefs share this feature. Plating marks at the bottom of Ornament B and a vertical dash of color above Ornament A are not illustrated in the plating diagrams but have been confirmed as constant.

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Revised 5.14.2023