| More Than You EVER Wanted to Know About Specimens and Proofs | ||
|
What are proofs? Proofs certificates are NOT like proof coins. Proof coins are specially-produced mint products made for collectors. Proof certificates were special impressions made for printers and artists during production. They were draft impressions made before certificates were finalized. Imagine an engraver working on a vignette that might take a hundred hours to complete. The image may look acceptable when carved in steel or copper. However, until the image is printed, the artist will never know how it will look on paper. Similarly, imagine how hard it would be for engravers to notice minor spelling mistakes when carving 30, 40, or 50 lines of text - in reverse! Obviously, the easiest way to find such mistakes is to print the engraving on paper. Proof impressions may represent fully completed designs, but they frequently represent partial impressions meant to check one or two features. Artists may have "pulled" proofs at any point in the artistic process. "Progress proofs" often represented successive impressions while artists make design improvements as they worked toward final designs. Proofs may also have represented quick tests to see if shading was too light or too dark or if designs would print well. Can you imagine the frustration if an engraver had worked for weeks on a portrait only to find that lines should have been carved in different directions because the plate would not take ink correctly? "Color proofs" are fairly common. They were meant to test the appearances of borders when printed in color. Lathework border designs and underprints were meant to be unique between varieties, but the intricate designs did not always reproduce well in all colors. "Trial color proofs" were often experimental efforts to find colors that either printer well or were most attractive to clients. "Cancellation proofs" seem to represent file copies of final plate designs. When plates were no longer needed, notes were often recorded on the proofs testifying to final uses and that plates were destroyed or rendered unusable.
Paper Proofs were often printed on any kind of paper handy at the time. Paper might range from very thin, india paper to thick, soft card stock. Proofs appear on such different papers that it seems apparent that quality was unimportant. Proofs were drafts It is probably easiest to think of proofs as "draft" copies. Exactly like the drafts of any artistic endeavor, proofs were meant to be ephemeral. Most were probably meant to be discarded. That fact that so many proofs survive is testimonial that many engravers must have been "packrats." Numbering Proofs are NOT serial numbered.
Condition Proofs were never meant to circulate. They were intended primarily for simple, prosaic purposes. Therefore, preservation was seldom important. Folds are common. Missing pieces are common. Coffee stains, even coffee cup rings, are common.
Marks A large percentage of proofs are marked in some manner. Plate numbers in pencil are very common. Dated company approvals frequently appear on proofs of finished plates. Red or black crayon marks are extremely common, usually indicating dates or notes about destruction of plates. Unless otherwise indicated, you should assume that all proofs are marked in one or more places.
Peripheral material Proofs were often stored in engraving company files with letters, notes, and all sorts of peripheral material. Auction companies generally include this kind of related paper with proofs when selling them. Features of proofs Proofs were meant to be draft copies, so they exhibit wide variations in appearance. They do, however, share certain commonalities.
Valuing proofs Proofs are essentially unique collectibles. This makes proofs the quintessential example of how collector demand is dramatically more important than rarity. In companies crowded with many different varieties of certificates, proofs often experience very little demand. Even though they are unique, some proofs may sell for under $30. Proofs from high-demand states where few companies are known (Texas, Washington, Alaska), proofs of any kind fetch high prices, even those in horrible conditions.
Origin of proofs Most, if not all, proofs are in the collectors' market only because they have been liberated from engraving company archives. Several large sales over the past twenty years have placed items from American Bank Note Company archives all over the globe. Proofs from smaller engraving companies, however, are rarely encountered. Fronts versus backs When auction companies sold American Bank Note Company proofs, they often sold the fronts and backs of certificates together. Throughout this catalog, whenever you see proofs of the faces of certificates listed, you may assume that proofs of backs probably exist, but I am lacking descriptions. Orphaned fronts, backs, and coupons, even single coupons, certainly exist, but my information is simply not good enough to identify such examples. What are specimens? In the physical sciences, "specimens" are examples of rocks, plants, insects, and animals retained for future study or classification. Similarly, in our hobby, specimens are examples of fully finished, regular certificates retained for some future purpose. Specimens were often preserved to help detect counterfeits. Many, however, were probably retained simply as file copies, as souvenirs, and as promotional examples for futire engraving business.
Numbering In the case of the largest North American engraving companies (American Bank Note Company, Franklin Bank Note Company, etc.), specimens were specially numbered with 000, 0000, 00000 or close variations. Normally, engraving companies supplied their clients with five to perhaps as many as 25 specimens. Normally, larger engraving companies retained a few specimens for their own records.
Many Canadian certificates were printed in England by Bradbury Wilkinson. Bradbury's specimens were usually numbered with a letter and a 1000 numerator (B1000, V5000 etc). Security-Columbian Bank Note Company was notorious for not numbering its specimens. It specimens were normally blank and often indistinguishable from unissued, regular certificates. Like every other "rule" in this hobby, specimens are known with very odd numbers. It appears that small printing companies often did not provide specimens to their customers. In those cases, companies often saved a few regularly-numbered certificates as specimens. Sometimes, they even saved issued and cancelled examples as specimens. In most cases, but certainly not all, they stamped or hand-wrote the word "specimen" on certificates. These kinds of specimens often confuse new collectors because they don't look "official." Be aware that they most emphatically were official and they tend to be much scarcer than regular specimens. Many are unique. Identification So few specimens survive from smaller engraving companies, that it seems they may not have produced specimens at all. In those cases, railroad companies commonly created their own specimens. Often they stamped or wrote the word "specimen" on unissued certificates. In rare cases, companies retained ordinary issued and cancelled certificates as specimens. Cancellation Most specimens were neatly punch-cancelled with two 1/8" holes in the area meant for corporate signatures. Most were also rubber-stamped or overprinted with the word "specimen" in black, red or blue ink.
Bradbury-Wilkinson specimens were often pinhole cancelled with the word "Specimen" and a date. Beware that pinhole cancellations are often hard to identify in poor eBay photos. Pinhole-cancelled American specimens (like this example from Hamilton Bank Note Co.) are somewhat uncommon.
Features of specimens Like everything else in this hobby, specimens do not conform to any 100%-reliable rule. That can make some specimens hard to distinguish from normal, unissued certificates. Normally, though, specimens share several of these features.
Number extant Unlike proofs, which are usually unique, it is usually impossible to determine how many specimens may exist. Some specimens are assuredly unique, while as many as 25 examples may exist for others. For the most part, specimens are scarce to rare. Valuing specimens Like everything else in the hobby, specimens are priced by how much collectors want them. Simply put, prices are related to demand, not rarity. It is very common for specimens from high-demand states like Texas to exceed $500, even $1500! At the same time, even in the same auction, equally unique specimens from common Eastern railroads may sell for under $50. Collectibility Many collectors only buy issued certificates and thereby avoid specimens. Beginners often avoid specimens because they do not know what they are all about. If specimens represent the only known examples of specific varieties, then collectors tend to pay high prices. Conversely, if certificates of the same variety are known in many different conditions, then pricing tends to be lower. If issued and unissued examples of the same variety are known, then specimens tend to be priced between unissued and issued certificates. |
||
 |
||
|
|
||
