US 1511a or altered 1511 ?

John Eckhardt

I was notified by another collector that this is a 1511a with the yellow omitted; however Scott cautions to beware of altered stamps. What are your thoughts? I don't want to offer an altered stamp. Also, why doesn't Scott provide value for a used stamp? Sorry I don't know how to make this a direct link.

https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/1511a-used-zip-code/16738124

Michael Duehr

It looks like all the colors on that stamp are a bit light for that issue. Compare it with this one and it really stands out that the ALL the colors are off.


https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/sc1511-10c-mail-transport-single-1974-mnh/41246075

George DeKornfeld

I would lean towards the OP's stamp being sunlight-bleached and not a color omitted error. With any stamp where yellow being omitted is a possibility, its always best to get a Cert since the issuers have the equipment to be able to tell for sure.

John Eckhardt

Thanks for the help. I have relisted it as 1511. I will let someone else pay for the Cert.

Michael Duehr

John,

All the colors are faded on that stamp in comparison to the other one. On a genuine yellow omitted the red, blue and black should all be the same as a regular 1511. (The yellow omitted won't have any effect on those colors. It will only affect the yellow, green and orange.)

Scott Payton

Yellow is visible in the box in the lower right of the stamp, it's faint. As other have said, this has just been exposed to sunlight too long.