Into the Deep Blue
The 1909 2c carmine "Lincoln" is an interesting stamp - both in terms of origin, as well as the "bluish" ,paper variant.
The "Lincoln" stamp came about because the regular issue "Washington-Jefferson's" of 1908-09 did not include a "Lincoln" stamp, and there was an uproar among the public and congress. Fortunately, the hundred year anniversary of Lincoln's birth was Feb 12, 1909, so a the chastised postal officials put out a "Lincoln Centenary of Birth" issue.
Also at this time, the postal authorities were experimenting with 35% rag paper rather than 100% wood pulp paper to see if that would reduce paper shrinkage during the stamp manufacturing process. It didn't.
Included in the 35% rag paper experiment was the 2c carmine "Lincoln". Sheets of these (not many) so called "bluish paper" stamps were released along with the usual 100% wood pulp paper stamps.
They now command a CV (unused) of $150.
Ok, here is a scan of the "bluish paper" Scott 369 in the center. The paper appears darker- more gray- than the other examples. The scan tends to wash out the difference compared to the human eye.
The reverse shows the difference better- more tan-gray in actuality than "bluish"
I took a pic with my i-phone, which perhaps shows the shade difference better.
Out of the Blue
So is my recently acquired "bluish" paper Scott 369 a genuine example? I think so, but would need to get a Cert to be sure.
Comments appreciated!
