Comparative Philately -- Sweden

Yet another plate variety not mentioned in Scott for the 15ö stamp but listed in Facit. I had expected the plate scratch to be much darker or more pronounced. I missed it the first quick visual examination of the duplicates. I assumed I simply didn't have enough duplicates to find one, since it is not as common as the other 2 plate flaws. But after I scanned the entire batch of duplicates at 600dpi and I could spot it easily!

The normal stamp shown below at left is:

Scott Sweden #253(20Feb1936)
2017 Scott used = 55¢

The pictures are labeled with Facit catalog numbers.



Left stamp is normal. The spot to examine is circled in green. Right stamp shows a diagonal plate scratch. Note that the right stamp also has the "broken coat" plate flaw. I would guess the plate was scratched sometime after the hemline broke off.

Below is a side-by-side close-up:



The upper part of the diagonal scratch (like a upward forward slash) is best seen on the body of the horse at the tip of the pistol holder. But it does extend downwards into the grill-like background shading almost to the left hind leg of the horse.

2002 Facit Sweden #248A used = minimum value
2002 Facit Sweden #248APIII used = SEK 100