Plating The 3¢ U.S. Imperforate Stamp of 1851 - 1857

Acknowledgments:

Robin Lund

Of course, acknowlegements MUST begin with Rob Lund and his Complete Plating of the 3¢ U.S. Imperforate Stamp of 1851 - 1857. Without Rob's incredible achievement, there was nothing for me to work with. Thank you Rob for being so supportive and answering all my questions.

The Platers

Platers who have achieved the complete plating of this issue are few. They deserve our recognition and honor. My "educated guess" of those who have achieved the complete plating include the following:

Robert J. Lampert

Bob Lampert began mentoring me early in my journey with this stamp. He has been my valued sounding board during this process of turning spreadsheets into a web site. Bob's insight into the wide world of plating and his willingness to share everything he saw with nothing held back was appreciated more than he likely knows. I have enjoyed immensely our long phone conversations over the gory details of all the data table worksheets. Bob is also an expert on color and really sped up my learning curve on many issues. Thanks Bob for being there to support me!

Richard C. Celler

Dick Celler passed away in 2021 from cancer. He was a treasured resource and always responded within hours to every single one of my novice emails with valuable information that helped me learn. Dick stands high above as the Grand Master of all things plating. Thanks Dick for all your expertise on display for all of us.

Dr. Carroll Chase

A 374 page book on a single stamp? What's that all about? That is what got me hooked on this plating thing when I returned to stamps after too many years. Sure, I was tackling my U.S. Classics collection; but, working on this massive jigsaw puzzle hit all my buttons. It had order, analysis, art, history, potential completion, reasonable rarity, and would not be an entire waste of time. It provided me a practical reason to learn how to build a web site. This is a great hobby! How the stars aligned when Dr. Chase was ill and trying to fill his time with this stamp must be a very interesting story. But, this whole thing really appealed to me. Thank you Dr. Carroll Chase for starting it all.

DeVere Card, Mark Friedman, David Watt, Bill Amonette, Dick Celler (Again) and others

DeVere Card, Mark Friedman, David Watt, Dick Celler, Bill Amonnette, and others I am sure, stewed over the notion of Plating Systems for years. I have seen the correspondence about "computerizing the process." With today's technology, once the work of evaluating each stamp is done, presenting the results is easy to achieve. I believe the real value of this web site will be version 2.0, which will launch the first solutions to the "ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS" goals of this web site. All of the aforementioned have great ideas for different ways to look at these stamps and help platers plate them faster and easier. All of their ideas are readily transferable to this web site. It just takes more hours of heavy lifting to get the job done. I intend to begin that during 2018; but, I wanted to launch this "Version 1.0" to show the beginnings of a process of growth. Thanks all!

Richard Celler (One more time) and Elliot Omiya

Dick and Elliot's work on reliefs is just amazing. I have read their articles many times and each time something new sticks. Thank you for doing this research and explaining it so well.

The U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, American Philatelic Research Library, and the Smithsonian National Postal Museum

I relied heavily on many resources from the USPCS, rare information from APRL, and the Chase Photos from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Hopefully, I have done them all some justice with this educational study of the 3¢ imperforate stamp. Thank you very much for your resources. Links to these amazing organizations are below:

About Me

June 2015, I returned to stamps after a 42 year hiatus. After plowing through my long untouched storage boxes, stamps stuck again - and with a passion. The online auctions and research resources, nonexistent in 1973, had a lot to do with that. In the Fall of 2016 I got very interested in the 3¢ plating and wanted to learn to program a web site as well as see how far I could take my excel worksheets with the data. Here it is. Other than that, I am an aging baby boomer, ex-rock drummer, ex-CPA, active small business owner, husband/father/grandfather, and now classic U.S. stamp guy living on the Oregon Coast during the Spring-Summer-Fall and San Jose del Cabo during the Winter.


Resources:

Throughout this study, I do not believe I have added ANY new knowledge; however, I have certainly encountered an amazing amount of existing information. Gathered here are important items that helped me understand this stamp. Please note there is some duplication of information from other sections of this study:

Data Tables:

This link provides you a downloadable Excel Workbook with multiple worksheets providing Plating Details For All 2,600 Positions and detailing the evolution of Chase to McDaniel version 1 and McDaniel version 2 plating information. Some of the more important worksheets included within the workbook are described below:

1. "Chase", which presents both the Summary Tables of Plating Characteristics and line detail for each of the 2,600 stamps and the 3,311 related recuts published by Chase;

2. "McDv1", which presents both the Summary Tables of Plating Characteristics and line detail for each of 2,600 stamps and the 3,431 net related recuts published in the first series of Condensed Plating Information between 1973 and 1977;

3. "CURRRENT PLATING - McDv2", which presents both the Summary Tables of Plating Characteristics and line detail for the current (to my knowledge) state of the 3,486 recuts published in the second series of Condensed Plating Information articles between 1992 and 2006;

4. "Detailed Changes to Chase", which presents both the Summary Tables of Plating Characteristics and line detail for each of the 2,600 stamps with only the changes to Chase from both McDv1 and McDv2 identified; and,

5. "Condensed Changes to Chase"; which presents only those stamp positions that changed during from Chase's original work and today.

This workbook is downloadable in a protected file. If your really want an unprotected Excel workbook, please contact me directly to discuss.

Finally, this table is the most concise representation of each of the 2,600 positions, and works just fine as a quick and simple data source for the plating. It has a small fraction of the information included in the workbook: Download this pdf     

The 3c Stamp of the United States 1851-1857 Issue, by Dr. Carroll Chase:

Dr. Chase's bible of the 3¢ stamp is now Public Domain digitized by Google and downloadable at Hathitrust.org     

Color Samples: Download this pdf

    

Amonette and Hulme article regarding Color:

This article appeared in USPCS Chronicle 206, published in May 2005. The public may directly research and access all USPCS Chronicle articles that are more than five years old. Members may access all material. The U.S. Philatelic Classics Society is the most important and vital organization for classic United States stamp collecting. If you are not yet a member, Please Join! at https://www.uspcs.org All rights and credits go to the USPCS. Download this pdf     

Timeline of printing by each plate and colors used:

This chart visually presents major colors, printings, plates, and catalog numbers in a monthly timeline. It is best printed in 11" x 17". Download this pdf     

The Toppan Carpenter Plates and the Guide Reliefing Method:

The following two articles are included in the superb out of print book, The 1851 Issue of United States Stamps: A Sesquicentennial Retrospective, editors Skinner and Peterson, published in 2006 by the USPCS and available for download online via the APRL (American Philatelic research library). Available at - https://archive.org/details/The1851IssueOfUnitedStatesStampsASesquicentennialRetrospective . All rights and credits go to the USPCS. Download this pdf     

A Detailed Study of the 3¢ 1851 Relief Characteristics:

Download this pdf     

Platers' Signatures:

Below is a work in process collection of Platers' signatures. A goal over the next month or two is to show each plater's handwriting for the numerals 0 through 9, and the letters R, L, I, and E.

DeVere A. Card Plating System:

The APRL is a wonderful research library. I found the following two items of information regarding DeVere Card's personal plating system when searching through APRL. When I asked to be able to distribute them to our 3¢ study group, they said if my purpose was non-commercial, I was good to go. So, here they are: Download this pdf     

DeVere A. Card Correspondence with Tom Alexander re his Plating System:

Download this pdf     

Reference Books and Articles:

The following books and articles were of particular interest in building this study:

  1. Carroll Chase M.D., The Three Cent United States Stamp of the Issue of 1851, Revised (Springfield MA: Tatham Stamp & Coin Company, 1942), 1-374.
  2. Carroll Chase M.D., "Additional Notes Applying to Dr. Carroll Chase's Book," 3c '51-'57 Chronicle, no. 2 (November 15, 1948): 6-7.
  3. Carroll Chase M.D., "Additional Notes Applying to Dr. Carroll Chase's Book," 3c '51-'57 Chronicle, no. 3 (February 26, 1949): 9.
  4. Tracy W. Simpson, "Reconstructed Plates at CENEX," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 4, no. 3, Whole No. 12 (December 1951): 4.
  5. Tracy W. Simpson, "3ct Reconstructed Plates," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 5, no. 1, Whole No. 13 (March 1952): 7.
  6. Tracy W. Simpson, "Plate Reconstructions," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 12, no. 4, Whole No. 72 (November 1971): 198-199.
  7. William K. McDaniel, "The Three Cent Issue of 1851-1861: Condensed Plating Information," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 25, no. 1, Whole No. 77 (February 1973): 13-22.
  8. Wilbur F. Amonette, M.D., "Color Study of the Three - Cent Stamp of the United States 1851-57 Issue," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 25, no. 2, Whole No. 78 (May 1973): 85-91.
  9. William K. McDaniel, "Condensed Plating Information-Additions & Corrections," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 25, no. 4, Whole No. 80 (November 1973): 205-206.
  10. David T. Beals III, Thomas J. Alexander, "Where Have All The Platers Gone?," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 28, no. 4, Whole No. 92 (November 1976): 249.
  11. William K. McDaniel, "The Three Cent Issue of 1851-1857, Condensed Plating Information-Revisions," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 29, no. 3, Whole No. 95 (August 1977): 162-163.
  12. William K. McDaniel, "PART 1: The U.S. Three Cent Postage Stamps of 1851-57: A Compilation of Recut and Plate Varieties (Revised Edition)," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 44, no. 3, Whole No. 155 (August 1992): 168-180.
  13. William K. McDaniel, "PART 2: The U.S. Three Cent Postage Stamps of 1851-57: A Compilation of Recut and Plate Varieties (Revised Edition)," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 44, no. 4, Whole No. 156 (November 1992): 244-249.
  14. William K. McDaniel, "PART 3: The U.S. Three Cent Postage Stamps of 1851-57: A Compilation of Recut and Plate Varieties (Revised Edition)," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 45, no. 1, Whole No. 157 (February 1993): 31-39.
  15. William K. McDaniel, "The Type I 3¢ 1851-57 Stamps: A Previously Unlisted Recut Variety," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 52, no. 1, Whole No. 185 (February 2000): 30-31.
  16. William K. McDaniel, "The Type I 3¢ 1851-57 Stamps: A Previously Unlisted Recut Variety," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 52, no. 4, Whole No. 188 (November 2000): 252-253.
  17. Wilbur F. Amonette, M.D. and Wilson Hulme, "Color Study of the 3¢ Stamp of the United States 1851-57 Issue: An Update," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 57, no. 2, Whole No. 206 (May 2005): 103-107.
  18. Wilbur F. Amonette, M.D. and Wilson Hulme, "Color Study of the 3¢ Stamp of the United States 1851-57 Issue: Corrigenda," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 57, no. 3, Whole No. 207 (August 2005): 184-185.
  19. William K. McDaniel, "The Three Cent 1857-57 Recut Varieties: A Newly Listed Variety," The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues 58, no. 3, Whole No. 211 (August 2006): 184-185.
  20. Richard Celler and Elliot Omiya, "The Toppan Carpenter Plates and the Guide Reliefing Method," in The 1851 Issue of United States Stamps: A Sesquicentennial, eds., Hubert C. Skinner and Charles J. Peterson (New Orleans): The U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, 2006
  21. Richard Celler and Elliot Omiya, "A Detailed Study of the 3¢ 1851 Relief Characteristics," in The 1851 Issue of United States Stamps: A Sesquicentennial, eds., Hubert C. Skinner and Charles J. Peterson (New Orlenad: The U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, 2006
  22. Thomas Alexander Papers, "D.A. Card Plating Charts," American Philatelic research Library (Bellefonte, PA): Box 124.
  23. Thomas Alexander Papers, "D.A. Card Plating System," American Philatelic research Library (Bellefonte, PA): Box 161.