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Victor Bove, serving collectors since 1960

Flag Over Porch Die Cut Varieties

Price List | Images | Die Cuts | Booklet Panes 1 | Booklet Panes 2

Bureau of Engraving and Printing's (BEP) die-cut varieties are not from worn mats.
The BEP's die mats are thin pieces of sheet metal that are smooth on the back and have a ridge on the front. The BEP has used three different vendors to produce the die mat. The changes in die mat suppliers and the different die mat production methods are evident in the visually distinct incision styles of the major die-cut varieties.

Currently, there are four distinct incision styles, and collectors refer to them as styles A, B, C, and D, indicating the approximate chronological appearance of each incision style. Each style is easily identifiable by the presence or absence of ties and how many there are in the straight (top and bottom) and serpentine positions of the die cut.

Ties, as described by the BEP, are narrow pieces of paper that remain between stamps after die cutting to ensure that the stamps do not separate and lift off the backing paper during production into the tightly wound rolls of 100 stamps. The four die-cut incision styles are pictured below.

This is 2915C perf. 10.9 type die cut style A

The four die-cut incision styles are as follows:

Style A - has ties in the serpentine portion of the die cut but no ties in the straight top and/or bottom portion of the die cut.

Style B - has closely spaced ties (approximately nine per peak) throughout the complete die cut.

Style C - has no ties in the serpentine or straight portions of the die cut.

Style D - has widely spaces ties (five per peak on the left side of the stamp and four per peak on the right) through the completed die cut.

Some of the major (peak count) die-cut varieties of the BEP's Flag over Porch self-adhesive coil stamps only exist with one incision style - such as the stamp with 12 die-cut peaks on each side (described as :12/12"), which exist only with incision style A. Other major die-cut varieties, such as the 10/10, exist with several incision styles.

The following BEP self-adhesive stamps from coils of 100 stamps exist with more than one incision style: the 32¢ Flag over Porch, 32¢ Yellow Rose and 20¢ Ring-necked Pheasant.