The straight edge on the right side of this stamp is not a fault, it's the defining characteristic of a booklet single. The feature that gives it its own Scott catalog number and separates it from the standard sheet stamp of the same design.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Catalog Number: Scott #405b

• Denomination: 1 cent (1¢)

• Date of Issue: February 8, 1912

• Printing Method: Flat Plate, Engraved (Intaglio)

• Perforation: 12 (three sides only — straight edge on right)

• Color: Green

• Format: Booklet Single

• Subject: Portrait of George Washington, Washington-Franklin series

CONDITION ANALYSIS (Seller-Assessed)

• Status: Used

• Grading: Fine

• Postmark: Black wavy-line machine postmark present, falling without obscuring the portrait or principal design elements.

• Obverse: Deep green color is well-preserved. Design elements are clear and fully legible. The straight factory edge on the right side confirms booklet single origin.

• Reverse: No original gum present, as expected for a used stamp. Reverse is free of major thins or tears.

• Centering / Margins: Good. Perforations present on top, bottom, and left sides. Right side straight edge is clean and unaltered.

• Perforations: Intact on three sides. Right side straight edge is a natural manufacturing characteristic of this booklet format, not a trimmed or altered edge.

HISTORY

The Washington-Franklin Issues ran from 1908 to 1922 and generated more catalog varieties than almost any other series in American philatelic history. Among those varieties, the booklet singles occupy a distinct category. Stamp booklets (small folded panes sold at post offices for convenient carrying) required the outer edges of the pane to be cut cleanly rather than perforated, leaving stamps on the edge of each pane with one or two straight, imperforate sides. These straight-edged singles are recognized as separate catalog entries from their sheet stamp counterparts.

Scott #405b is the booklet single from the 1912 flat plate 1¢ Washington issue, identifiable by its perforations on three sides only and the factory straight edge on the right. The flat plate printing method gives the design a slightly larger impression and sharper line definition than the rotary press issues that followed later in the series. The deep green color is characteristic of the 1¢ Washington throughout the Washington-Franklin run.

Issued February 8, 1912, this stamp entered circulation during the final years before the rotary press would fundamentally change American stamp production. For collectors building complete Washington-Franklin sets, booklet singles like #405b are among the more specialized entries — distinct in format, distinct in catalog, and often more difficult to locate in quality used condition than their sheet counterparts.

STEVEN SAYS

The straight edge is the whole story. Without it this is a standard #405. With it, it's a separate catalog entry. Booklet singles from the Washington-Franklin era are worth knowing, they look similar but they're a different stamp.