Types of the 2¢ Washington
The Line Between the Cheek and Sideburn
The Line Between the Cheek and Sideburn
Type I
The horizontal lines to the immediate left of the sideburn are not joined. This is a typical example. Many Type I stamps may have the bottom 2 or 3 lines joined on stronger printings. However, it will never have 5 lines joined as in the Type II at right.
Type Ia
The horizontal lines to the immediate left of the sideburn are lightly joined. This is a typical example, the bottom 4 lines are lightly joined. However, it will never have 5 lines strongly joined as in the Type II stamp at right.
Type II
At least 4, and often 5, of the horizontal lines to the immediate left of the sideburn are joined.. This is never found on the Type I stamp.
Type III
This is not a determining factor in the Type III, although it usually shows some joining of the lines at bottom, as in the example above.
It should be noted that the Type II stamps are usually much sharper and printed in a heavier ink than Types I and III. This shows up quite clearly in the above examples.
