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A Shaved Box and a Shy CPV: New 2¢ Carmine Discovery

Every once in a while an Admiral decides it’s tired of behaving like a normal stamp and steps forward as something a little more interesting. Our latest culprit is a newly identified Constant Plate Variety on the 2¢ Carmine, currently known from just two examples – a genuinely shy CPV that seems reluctant to appear on stage.

Both stamps show an unusual inking in the left numeral box: instead of the clean white interior we expect, there’s a delicate sliver of extra red along the right edge of the box, almost as if someone has taken a microscopic nibble out of the “white” area and filled it with ink. On a busy design like the 2¢ Carmine, it’s the sort of thing your eye can skate past unless you’re looking very closely – which, of course, we are.

Marler Type R15… with a twist

The first question, naturally, was “Where does this fit in Marler?” Our working answer is: Marler Type R15, but with a twist.

Marler’s description of R15 focuses on a retouch in the lower left frame and numeral box area. In our case, the lower left frame junction line region doesn’t quite match his written description, yet the overall behaviour of the stamp points toward the same general family of retouches and the example dated July 23, 1915 also helps. The key is that the vertical line of the numeral box has been re‑worked, and the retouch continues above the box into the frame.

What makes these two examples special is that the repair seems to have had a side effect: instead of just strengthening a weak line, it has changed the physical surface of the plate along the edge of the numeral box.

A low‑angle retouch and a shaved numeral box?

Here’s the working theory that emerged from the discussion with RVS:

- A tool was used to retouch the vertical line in the left numeral box, extending the repair above the box.

- If that tool had not only re-cut the line, but also somehow damaged the adjacent "white" box area - which of course was the surface of the plate.

- That damaged area would be slightly incuse - just deep enough to hold a film of ink that normal wiping couldn't remove.

- On the printed stamp, the result is a narrow red strip inside what should be a pure white part of the design.

Think of it as an over‑enthusiastic touch‑up: the engraver went in to fix a line and, in the process, created a tiny ink‑holding gutter along the side of the box. The retouch did its job, but it also left us with a distinctive plate flaw that appears each time that position is printed – exactly what we look for in a CPV.

Same plate position? The evidence so far

With only two examples, we have to be cautious, but the evidence strongly suggests they come from the same plate position. The shape and length of the added red inside the numeral box match closely from one stamp to the other, and the surrounding frame and retouch details line up in a way that would be unlikely if we were just dealing with random inking or transient damage.

At this stage, the variety is:

- Denomination: 2¢ Carmine (Admiral issue).[2]

- Feature: Retouch of the left numeral box and frame, with a shaving‑induced plate flaw that produces extra red inside the numeral box.

- Zone: Lower left of the design (numeral box and adjacent frame).

- Marler Type (provisional): R15 – pending further examples and a more formal write‑up.

View the technical data along with a larger image here.

As always, confirmation will come from more stamps: if additional copies can be found with the same feature, we’ll be able to lock down the plate position and update the database accordingly.

Why this matters (and why it’s fun)

From a distance, this might look like just another “tiny line in a busy design.” But new CPVs like this are exactly what keep the Admiral study alive and evolving:

- They show how sensitive the plates were to human intervention – one slightly tilted tool and suddenly the white box isn’t completely white anymore.

- They remind us that Marler’s listings are a foundation, not a finished catalogue. There is still room at the table for newly documented varieties and refined type assignments.[1]

- They give collectors a new “needle in the haystack” to search for in their 2¢ Carmine piles, which is a very respectable way to spend an evening.

And, of course, there’s the simple joy of the chase: the first stamp raised the question, the second stamp made it serious, and now we wait to see who finds number three.

Calling all 2¢ Carmine hunters

If you have a stack of 2¢ Carmine Admirals close at hand (and really, who doesn’t?), now is a good time to take another look at the left numeral box. You’re hunting for:

- A clear retouch in the vertical line of the box, continuing up into the frame.

- A very fine strip of extra red along the right edge inside that left numeral box – as if a little ink has crept into the “white” area.

If you think you’ve found a match, please let us know. A scan would be very helpful.

~ Admiral Intaglio and WGB, with most of the insight offered by RVS

A new 5¢ Blue Zone 4 retouch reference page has been added, and it should make the plate positions of stamps from this interesting group much easier to determine. The page currently shows 102 Zone 4 retouches and uses a more precise menu style that better matches the underlying descriptions and search terms.

This is especially helpful for the many 5¢ Blue UR retouches, where the differences can be very subtle. Features such as extended lines, doubled strokes, spurs, bends, and small marks can now be compared more efficiently, even when earlier notes use slightly different wording.

This new page is best viewed on a larger monitor, since the tighter menu layout is designed for clearer navigation and more exact filtering.

The close-up of the upper right retouch on the left starts ‘above line 1’ and ends ‘about line 10’. See if you can plate it using the new reference page.

Hans Reiche’s 1987 booklet, The Admiral Flaws, includes a diagram that closely resembles this stamp.

For some time, Marler and Beyond has shown a single tentative example of this flaw. Recently, however, a second confirming example has been found. This new example gives us fairly high confidence that the variety has been correctly identified as Reiche’s No. 70 on the 2¢ Carmine.
This CPV is one of the most impressive constant plate flaws reported on any value of the Admirals. A close examination reveals an especially interesting feature: the white, unprinted area lies immediately beside a strong red ink mark near the “CA” of CANADA.

A similar effect can be seen on the 2¢ Carmine from position 10UL44, where a band of colour appears adjacent to a band of white. One reasonable explanation is localized damage to the plate, perhaps caused by a glancing blow or scraping contact with a hard object. Such an incident could have displaced the plate surface rather than simply cutting or removing metal. One part of the disturbed area may have become raised, smoothed, or otherwise unable to retain ink, producing the white paper-coloured mark. At the same time, an adjacent edge, burr, roughened area, or slight depression may have retained extra ink and printed as the strong red mark.

This kind of plate-surface displacement would explain the paired appearance seen here: a white, ink-denying area immediately beside a stronger ink-retaining area. The similarity to the flaw at 10UL44 suggests that both may have resulted from a comparable disturbance to the surface of the printing plate.

May added a substantial group of new Admiral variety records to MarlerandBeyond, with the strongest emphasis on the 2¢ Carmine issue. The month’s additions included retouches, re-entries, plate flaws and guide dots.

The 2¢ Carmine additions were extensive. New records included plated retouches such as 95UL86, 96UL20, 16-C-1-2, 16-C-2-5, 16-C-1-3, 16-C-2-6, and 3-L-4-2, along with additional flaws and re-entries involving the numeral boxes, oval band, margins, frame lines, and letters of CANADA and TWO CENTS. These entries show how small differences in line thickness, doubling, retouching, and guide marks can help distinguish related varieties.

The late-month 2¢ Carmine additions were especially useful. The 5UR42 re-entry records doubling at and below the left centre of the oval band, in CAN and GE, in the numerals, and in some letters of TWO CENTS. Other additions included plate flaws with marks in the margins, the numeral boxes, and the oval, as well as re-entries involving the “CA” of CANADA, the “NA” area, and the inner oval below the lettering.

May also added useful material outside the 2¢ Carmine issue. Two 20¢ Olive re-entries were added, one showing minor doubling in the bottom portrait lines and another showing minor doubling in the “C” and “E” of CENTS with thickening in parts of the bottom frame. A 3¢ Brown diagonal-lines flaw group was also added, with multiple marks around the left numeral box, left leaf area, and bottom margin.

Additional 3¢ Brown and 3¢ Carmine records broadened the month’s additions further, including re-entries and flaws involving the right “3”, the bottom frame, the right crown, and the lettering.

By WGB and Admiral Intaglio

April added a broad group of new Admiral variety records to MarlerandBeyond, with the largest concentration once again in the 2¢ Carmine issue. The month’s additions included plate flaws, re-entries, retouches, guide dots, pane delineation dots, and several entries that help document small but important differences in the design, margins, frames, numeral boxes, and inscriptions.

The 2¢ Carmine issue accounted for most of the new material. Several R28 entries were added early in the month, including flaws in the bottom margin, a pane delineation dot with two dots and a strong guideline in the top margin at right, retouching of both right vertical lines, and re-entries involving the right numeral box and the letters of CANADA. Later additions expanded the range further with Zone 2 and Zone 4 retouches, re-entries in the oval and lettering, and plated examples such as 7UL61, 8LL25, 104LL98, 117LR43, and 8LR94.

The 1¢ Green additions were also notable. Several new retouches were added on April 1, including examples involving the top frame junctions, the upper right vertical line, and the lower left vertical line. A 1¢ Green coil re-entry was also added, showing doubling of the right frame, marks in the bottom margin, and a horizontal line above the right “1”. Additional 1¢ Green flaws later in the month included a large mark in the left inner oval and another in the left outer oval.

The month also broadened coverage beyond the 1¢ Green and 2¢ Carmine issues. A 20¢ Olive pane delineation dot record was added, showing two guide dots and a faint guide line at the left of the bottom margin. The 3¢ Brown additions included retouches of the upper left and upper right vertical lines, as well as re-entries involving the right “3” and the top of the design. The 3¢ Carmine additions included a strong re-entry in Zone 19, with doubling of the bottom line of both numeral boxes, the bottom of the portrait oval, many leaves, and the letters “Three Cents”.

By WGB and Admiral Intaglio