This page last updated: 15 April 2023
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::: BOSTON ENGRAVED ISSUE - Plating the 13¢ Value :::
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Back to Boston Engraved Issue.
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Scott No. 6, the 1853 printing of the 13¢ stamp. The key to plating this stamp (and Scott No. 11, the reprint made in 1868) is found in the number “13,” seen in the lower left box.
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Detail of the lower left corner box from plate position 18. The numbers in the “13” are unique in each position and thus are the key to plating the 13¢ stamps of 1853 and 1868. Note how the shaft of the “1” protrudes beneath the foot; a unique feature of position 18.
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While engraving the 13¢ die, Nathaniel Dearborn of Holland Printing Company in Boston, MA, must have made the numbers "1" and "3" in the lower left box too shallow. When he entered the plate, these figures failed to make proper grooves for the ink to fill so the numbers printed weakly or not at all. To fix this problem, Dearborn manually entered the two numbers for each of the twenty plate positions. In so doing, each number was made unique. The lower left figure “13” thus proves each plate position. Finding a key to plating the 13¢ stamp eluded collectors until the mid-Twentieth Century when Dr. Robert C. H. Lee of Honolulu printed his study of the differences between the twenty figures “13” of the lower left box. [Lee, Dr. Robert C.H., "Hawaii, The Boston Engraved Issue", The American Philatelist, Vol. 66, No. 8 [627], p. 601-607, May, 1953; No. 10 [629], p. 759-764, July, 1953.]
Full sheets of Scott No. 11sb, the 1868 reprint overprinted in 1874, are fairly easy to obtain. These stamps were printed from the original plate so they bear the characteristics of Scott No. 6 and are a guide for plating. When the Tows collection was auctioned in 1948, the only surviving intact full sheet of Scott No. 6 was sold. Sadly, someone cut the sheet into two blocks (see below) after the sale. The blocks were reunited in the Advertiser Collection and remained together through Siegel auctions of the Golden and Middendorf Collections and remain so with the current owner. No intact sheet of Scott No. 6 survives apart from these two blocks. With these blocks it is possible to detect detail changes in the plate from the original printing to the 1869 printing. The salient features for plating remained the same throughout.
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The only surviving intact sheet of Scott No. 6 was sold in the 1948 auction of the Tows Collection and later was cut into these two blocks.
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How does a “normal” “13” look? If all the numerals in the twenty lower left value boxes are different, what is “normal”? The short answer is that there is no “normal.” A proof exists from the original plate position 16 and the features stand out best in black. The prominent “tail” on the numeral “3” proves this proof was pulled from the original plate, but whether from the 1853 or 1868 printing cannot be determined.
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Position 16 proof from the original Plate
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The numeral “13” in the lower left value box of the proof.
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The essential elements of the numerals:
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The numeral “1” has:
1) A top horizontal serif that extends straight out from the vertical shaft; the serif is attached at the top of the vertical shaft and does not protrude to the right;
2) A straight vertical shaft that extends from the top of the foot to the top serif;
3) A foot that extends to the left and right at the bottom of the vertical shaft.
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The numeral “3” shape evolved from ancient writing of three lines to denote the third prime number. The modern glyph consists of three parts: top bar, center bar and bottom bar.
1) The top bar is everything above the center bar and sweeps in a wide upward arc ending in a ball at the tip; the upward arc bulges and in most positions was retouched so it resembles a “backpack” strapped to the upward curve; a “tail” extends downward from the right side of the upward arc;
2) The center bar connects the top and bottom bars and points toward the vertical shaft of the “1;”
3) The bottom bar is everything below the center bar and sweeps in a wide downward arc ending in a ball at the tip with a blunt hammer face; the downward curve from the center bar is heavily inked in most positions, resembling a “backpack” strapped to the downward curve;
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The Twenty Distinct Figures “13” in the Lower Left Value Boxes
The twenty subject plate was laid out four across and five down. Positions are counted from left to right. Plate position numbers are assigned row by row counting left to right. Thus, row one holds positions 1- 4 and column one consists of positions 1, 5, 9, 13 and 17. Images were scanned from the blocks that once formed Tows’s intact sheet of the 1853 printing. On the stamps, the size of the numbers seems roughly uniform excepting minor width variations from the hand entry process.
The following tables identify notable characteristics of each numeral 13 and other unique marks that appear in both the 1853 and 1868 printings.
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Position 1
Numeral One:
Top serif is slightly curved and retouched at the end;
Right foot is stubby.
Numeral Three:
Top bar has no “backpack”; the top of the arc is flat; the “tail” is straight;
Center bar points to about midway on the vertical shaft of the numeral one;
Bottom bar is disconnected from the center bar; compare positions 9 and 13; the “backpack” is rounded.
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Position 2
Numeral One:
Vertical shaft tapers slightly at the top;
Top serif is thick with a rounded top.
Numeral Three:
Top bar is rounded at the top and never quite flattens; has a small “backpack”; the “tail” is barely visible and is detached;
Center bar points down to slightly beneath midway on the vertical shaft;
Bottom bar is unevenly rounded and crooked, “backpack” is slim and rectangular, not rounded.
Other: “HAWAIIAN” in the bottom panel is weak, an easy identifier for this position.
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Scratches and dots in “Postage.”
Double entry at “8”
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Position 3
Numeral One:
Right foot is stubby;
Vertical shaft tapers at the top and stops at the bottom of the top serif so the top serif seems hinged to the front of the shaft.
Numeral Three:
Top bar has a small “backpack,” the “tail” is faint and straight;
Center bar points to about to about mid-point on the vertical shaft;
Bottom bar is unevenly rounded and the ball is partly cut away at its end; the “backpack” is rounded;
Other: In the top panel “POSTAGE” has stray scratches or dots at the bottom of the “O,” the top of the “S,” the top of the “T;” in the right value box there is a scratch beneath the numeral “1;” in the left value box; there is a faint vertical line between the “1” and “3;”
In the right panel there is a double entry where the number 8 was entered above where it belonged and then mostly erased. Remnants are seen as curved lines between the “8” and the outer frame line, an easy identifier for this position.
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Lines by “N” of “United
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Position 4
Numeral One:
Left foot ends well short of tip of top serif.
Numeral Three:
Top bar has a tiny “backpack,” “tail” is long and prominent;
Center bar points to midway on the vertical shaft and extends out to beneath the top ball;
Bottom bar “backpack” is rounded at bottom and angles down in a straight line at the top.
Other: Two lines extend into the right panel at “N” of “United.” Note: these lines are prominent on stamps of the 1853 printing that I have examined, but are faint on stamps of the 1869 printing, and perhaps on some 1853 stamps as well. Where visible, the lines are an easy identifier for this position.
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Position 5
Numeral One:
Top serif angles downward;
Vertical shaft stops at the bottom of the top serf so the top serif seems hinged to the top of the shaft;
Right foot is stubby; left foot stops just short of the tip of the top serif.
Numeral Three:
Top bar has a tiny “backpack”; “tail” is faint, straight and cut in half;
Center bar points below midpoint of vertical shaft;
Bottom bar is faint and crooked as it curves out.
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Position 6
Numeral One:
Top serif angles up;
Left foot extends beyond tip of top serif and thickens at the end; compare position 20; right foot is stubby.
Numeral Three:
Top bar has a depression at its top, the “tail” is faint, the “backpack” is small;
Center bar points below midpoint of vertical shaft;
Bottom bar connection to center bar is faint.
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Position 7
Numeral One:
Top of vertical shaft is eroded;
Right foot extends to just beneath the ball of the lower bar.
Numeral Three:
Top bar ball is small; “backpack” consists of an ink blob beneath the bulge of the arc; there is no “tail,” an easy identifier for this position;
Center bar points to midpoint on the vertical shaft;
Bottom bar “backpack” extends above the curve.
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Ink smudge below right leg of “A”
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Position 8
Numeral One:
Tip of top serif dips down at the end;
Left foot is as long as the top serif.
Numeral Three:
Top arc has no “backpack”;
Center bar points to beneath the mid-point of the vertical shaft;
Bottom bar “backpack” angles down in a straight line at its top; rounded at its bottom.
Other: Beneath the right leg of the “A” of “Postage” there is an ink smudge in the white arc, an easy identifier for this position.
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Position 9
Numeral One:
Top serif looks detached from the vertical shaft and is crooked;
Right foot is faint;
Vertical shaft cuts in at the bottom left.
Numeral Three:
Top bar is flat and crooked on top; “backpack” is thick;
Center bar points beneath the midpoint on the vertical shaft
Bottom bar is disconnected; compare positions 1 and 13.
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Position 10
Numeral One:
Top serif angles upward;
Inner edge of vertical shaft tapers at bottom;
Left foot angles down; right foot is a faint stub.
Numeral Three:
Top bar is uneven and flat at top with a sharp angle as it joins the center bar; “backpack” is thick; “tail” is faint and short;
Center bar points down; “backpack” angles up at its top.
Bottom bar is unevenly rounded and crooked, “backpack” is slim and rectangular, not rounded.
Other: In the bottom panel, the left leg of the first “A” of “HAWAIIAN” is too long and the leg is retouched, an easy identifier for this position.
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Position 11
Numeral One:
Vertical shaft is eroded in the lower half
Right foot is nearly missing
Top serif slopes down before straightening
Numeral Three:
Top bar “backpack” is small and straight at the bottom; “tail” is faint and cut in half;
Bottom bar is faint between center bar and “backpack;”
Other: Numerous scratches are in the white arc beneath “STA” of “POSTAGE.”
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Scratches in upper left value box
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Position 12
Numeral One:
Vertical shaft stops at the bottom of the top serf so the top serif seems hinged to the top of the shaft;
Numeral Three:
Top bar “backpack” is tiny and crooked where it meets the center bar – the “broken nose;”
Center bar has an exaggerated angle that points toward the bottom of the vertical shaft; the junction of the center bar with the upper bar is an easy identifier for this position.
Bottom bar “backpack” has a straight, sloping top.
Other: In the upper left value box there are scratches in the upper left corner and at the bottom right of the “3”.
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Scratch at “I - A” of "HAWAIIAN"
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Position 13
Numeral One:
Vertical shaft stops at the bottom of the top serf so the top serif seems hinged to the top of the shaft;
Left foot slopes downward toward the end.
Numeral Three:
Top bar upper curve is flat and uneven; ball at the end is misshapen and has no tuck; “backpack” is thick;
Center bar points to just beneath the mid-point of the vertical shaft
Bottom bar is disconnected from the center bar; compare positions 1 and 9; “backpack” ends abruptly at its bottom; connection of bottom arc is faint.
Other: Diagonal scratch between “I” and “A” of “Hawaiian” in bottom panel extends from the top of the “I” to below the bottom frame line, an easy identifier for this position.
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Position 14
Numeral One:
Top serif is curved like a beak;
Vertical shaft extends above the top serif, an easy identifier for this position;
Right foot is stubby
Numeral Three:
Upper bar is uneven; “backpack is thick;
Center bar extends to beyond the ball at the end of the top bar and points just below midpoint on vertical shaft;
Bottom bar “backpack” has a nick at the bottom.
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Position 15
Numeral One:
Right foot is stubby;
Vertical shaft stops at the bottom of the top serf so the top serif seems hinged to the top of the shaft;
Bottom of vertical shaft narrows sharply.
Numeral Three:
Top of “backpack” on top bar angles upward; ball is hammer shaped;
Center bar points to mid-point on vertical shaft;
Bottom bar is well rounded.
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Position 16
Numeral One:
Right foot is stubby.
Numeral Three:
Connection between the center bar and the lower bar is faint.
Top bar has a tiny “backpack,” the “tail” is long;
Center bar points downward.
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Position 17
Numeral One:
Left foot is exceptionally long and extends well beyond tip of top serif and slopes down, an easy identifier for this position. Compare position 6.
Numeral Three:
Top bar ball hangs from the end of the top arc and doesn’t tuck under; “backpack” is rectangular; “tail” is a faint mist;
Center bar points beneath mid-point on the vertical shaft;
Bottom bar curve is well rounded but faint toward the tip.
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Position 18
Numeral One:
Vertical shaft extends below foot; an easy identifier for this position;
Right foot is missing;
Top serif points upward.
Numeral Three:
Top bar “tail” is faint;
Center bar points to just beneath mid-point on vertical shaft.
Connection between the center bar and bottom bar is weak.
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Position 19
Numeral One:
Right foot is exceptionally long and extends well beneath the ball at end of bottom bar, an easy identifier for this position.
Numeral Three:
Heavy “backpacks” on upper and lower bars;
Center bar points to mid-point of vertical shaft.
Bottom of lower bar is weak
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Position 20
Numeral One:
Exceptionally long top serif, an easy identifier for this position;
Numeral Three:
Heavy “backpacks” on top and bottom bars;
Top bar tail is faint;
Center bar points to midpoint of vertical shaft;
Bottom bar connection to the center bar is weak.
Other: A faint horizontal line runs the full width of the stamp and through the bottom panel below “Hawaiian.”
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Position 20, line beneath “Hawaiian” in bottom panel
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