U.S. Postage Stamp
Line Perforation Gauge Count Numbers

© 2017 Julian J. Goldberg

Updated - 07/28/2020

Line Perforating Machines (Perforators)

Kiusalas U.S. Specialized Perforation Gauge

Line Perforating Machines (Perforators) With Rotary Perforating Wheels

Perforators with rotary perforating wheels were used to perforate sheet-fed Hoe flat plate press printed sheet, booklet and coil stamps. Perforators with rotary perforating wheels were also used to perforate sheet-fed Giori rotary press printed sheet stamps. Stamps perforated by rotary perforating wheels mostly do not have an exact alignment correspondence between perforations in different rows across since they were perforated by several separate moving different perforating wheels. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) mostly used 0.042" diameter width size pins for its perforating wheels unless otherwise noted differently below (References 5,13, 14).

Bemrose Perforator and Rouletter

The first rotary paper perforating and rouletting (slitting) machine was invented by William and Henry Bemrose of William Bemrose & Sons, Derby, Derbyshire, England, U.K. with U.K. patent number 2607 of 1854 (Reference: Early American Perforating Machines and Perforations 1857-1867, Winthrop S. Boggs, The Collectors Club, Inc., September 1954, Pages 2 to 10). They supplied their machine to Toppan, Carpenter & Company (TCC). This machine was only able to roulette (slit) postage stamps rather than being able to perforate them. George C. Howard based his perforators on this machine.

Howard Perforator

The George C. Howard Company, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. made rotary small wheel perforators with U.S. patent number 32,370 of 1861 (Reference: The 3c. ’51-’57 Chronicle, “Early American Perforating Machines”, Edgar H. Kent, Tracy W. Simpson, July 24, 1954, Issue Number 20, Volume 7, Number 2, Page 2). They supplied their perforators to Toppan, Carpenter & Company (TCC), to the Continental Bank Note Company (CBNC), to the American Bank Note Company (ABNC) and to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP).

Center to center distance between perforations in inches	Perforating pin width diameter size in inches	Number of perforations per two centimeters	Number of pins or holes on perforating wheels	Perforating wheel size diameter and circumference	Reference
0.051067” [Kiusalas 0.051"]	0.042"	8.27	134	(a) small perforating wheels with a 4 1/16″ (4.0625″) diameter and a 12.763″ (12 3/4″?) circumference (1910-1913)	1, 2
0.0949”	0.042"	8.30	134	(b) small perforating wheels with a 4 3/64″ (4.046875″) diameter and a 12.714″ (12 5/7″?) circumference (1910-1913)	2
0.0945”	0.042"	8.33	134	(c) small perforating wheels with a 4 1/32″ (4.03125″) diameter and a 12.665″ (12 2/3″?) circumference (1910-1913)	2, 3

0.07975”	0.042"	9.87	160	(a) small perforating wheels with a 4 1/16″ (4.0625″) diameter and a 12.763″ (12 3/4″?) circumference [found together with long bar Kiusalas 80-9.84 and Kiusalas 81-9.72] (1921-1926)	1, 2, 4
0.07946”	0.042"	9.91	160	(b) small perforating wheels with a 4 3/64″ (4.046875″) diameter and a 12.714″ (12 5/7″?) circumference (1913-1917)	2, 7
0.07914”	0.042"	9.95	160	(c) small perforating wheels with a 4 1/32″ (4.03125″) diameter and a 12.665″ (12 2/3″?) circumference (1913-1917)	2, 3, 5

0.07506”	0.042"	10.49	170	(a) small perforating wheels with a 4 1/16″ (4.0625″) diameter and a 12.763″ (12 3/4″?) circumference [found together with long bar Kiusalas 70-11.25 and Kiusalas 71-11.09] (1926-1939)	1, 2, 4
0.075”	0.042"	10.50	415	(d) large perforating wheels with a 9 29/32″ (9.90625″) diameter and a 31.121″ (31 1/8″?) circumference [found together with long bar Kiusalas 70-11.25 and Kiusalas 71-11.09] (1939-1985)	6
0.0729”	0.042"	10.80	175	(a) small perforating wheels with a 4 1/16″ (4.0625″) diameter and a 12.763″ (12 3/4″?) circumference (1920) [see Kiusalas 72.5-10.86 below]	7
0.0725”	0.042"	10.86	176	(a) small perforating wheels with a 4 1/16″ (4.0625″) diameter and a 12.763″ (12 3/4″?) circumference [found together with long bar Kiusalas 80-9.84 and Kiusalas 81-9.72] (1915, 1917-1994)	1, 2, 4, 7, 8
0.07225”	0.042"	10.90	176	(b) small perforating wheels with a 4 3/64″ (4.046875″) diameter and a 12.714″ (12 5/7″?) circumference (1915, 1917-1957)	2
0.072”	0.042"	10.94	176	(c) small perforating wheels with a 4 1/32″ (4.03125″) diameter and a 12.665″ (12 2/3″?) circumference (1915, 1917-1957)	1, 2, 3

0.06645”	0.042"	11.85	192	(a) small perforating wheels with a 4 1/16″ (4.0625″) diameter and a 12.763″ (12 3/4″?) circumference (1873-1914, 1943-1979)	1, 2, 9
0.06645”	0.042"	11.85	576	(e) large perforating wheels with a 12 3/16″ (12.1875″) diameter and a 38.288″ (38 1/4″?) circumference [3 x (a) above] (1861-1873)	2, 9
0.06625”	0.042"	11.89	192	(b) small perforating wheels with a 4 3/64″ (4.046875″) diameter and a 12.714″ (12 5/7″?) circumference (1910-1914)	2
0.06595”	0.042"	11.94	192	(c) small perforating wheels with a 4 1/32″ (4.03125″) diameter and a 12.665″ (12 2/3″?) circumference (1873-1914, 1943-1979)	2, 3, 9
0.06595”	0.042"	11.94	576	(f) large perforating wheels with a 12 3/32″ (12.09375″) diameter and a 37.994″ (38″?) circumference [3 x (c) above] (1861-1873)	2, 9

0.06304”	0.0345"	12.49	500	(g) large perforating wheels with a 10 1/32″ (10.03125″) diameter and a 31.514″ (31 1/2″?) circumference (1919)	10
0.06284”	0.0345"	12.53	500	(h) large perforating wheel with a 10″ (10.00″) diameter and a 31.416″ (31 52/125″?) circumference (1919)	10

0.05106”	0.020"	15.42	248	(c) small perforating wheels with a 4 1/32″ (4.03125″) diameter and a 12.665″ (12 2/3″?) circumference (1857-1861)	2, 11

Kiusalas Gauge

Potter Printing Press Bar Perforator

Rosback (Stroke) Perforator

Rotary Perforating Bars

Perforators with rotary perforating bars were used to perforate web-fed Stickney and Huck-Cottrell rotary press printed coil stamps. Perforators with a combination of rotary perforating bars and rotary perforating wheels were used to perforate web-fed Stickney and Huck-Cottrell rotary press printed sheet and booklet stamps. Stamps perforated by rotary perforating bars mostly do have an exact alignment correspondence between perforations in different rows since they were perforated by several separate perforating bars mounted on the same one moving cylinder. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) mostly used 0.042" diameter width size pins for its perforating bars unless otherwise noted differently below (References 1, 4).

Center to center distance between perforations in inches	Perforating pin width diameter size	Number of perforations per two centimeters	Number of pins or holes on perforating bars	Perforating bar size length with pins or holes along it	Reference
0.095”	0.042"	8.29	91	(i) perforating bars with a short perforating length of 8 41/64″ (8.640625″) [1/2 x (l) below] (1910-1913)	12

0.081”	0.042"	9.72	108	(j) perforating bars with a short perforating length of 8 3/4″ (8.75″) [1/2 x (k) below] (1915)	8
0.081”	0.042"	9.72	216	(k) perforating bars with a long perforating length of 17 1/2″ (17.5″) [2 x (j) above] [found together with Kiusalas 72.5-10.86 and Kiusalas 79.75-9.87] (1921)	8
0.080”	0.042"-0.043" (0.046"-0.0465") (0.038"-0.040")	9.84	108	(i) perforating bars with a short perforating length of 8 41/64″ (8.640625″) [1/2 x (l) below] [large holes, (small holes)] (1914-1958)	12
0.080”	0.042"	9.84	216	(l) perforating bars with a long perforating length of 17 9/32″ (17.28125″) [2 x (i) above] [found together with Kiusalas 72.5-10.86 and Kiusalas 79.75-9.87] [large holes] (1920-1926)	4, 6
0.080”	0.037"	9.84	216	(m) perforating bars with a long perforating length of 17 9/32”(17.28125″) [2 x (i) above] [small holes] (1958-1985)	13

0.071”	0.042"	11.09	247	(n) perforating bars with a long perforating length of 17 17/32″ (17.53125″) [found together with small wheel Kiusalas 75-10.50] (1926-1939)	6
0.071”	0.042" (0.038")	11.25	247	(l) perforating bars with a long perforating length of 17 9/32″ (17.28125″) [2 x (i) above] [found together with small and large wheel Kiusalas 75-10.50] (1926-1985)	1, 4, 6
0.067”	0.0395"-0.0415"	11.75	125	(o) Rosback stroke perforator with one long length of 8 3/8″ (8.375″) with 125 pins or holes and three short lengths of 1 27/40″ (1.675″) with 25 pins or holes [U.S. patent 1,125,723 of 1915] (1914-1958)	14

References

[1] Stamps, “Perforation Spacing on the 1908-19 Issue”, November 23, 1935, Page 310.

[2] The Collectors Club Philatelist, "Perforation Gauge 12 Used on U.S. Washington-Franklin (Third Bureau Issue) Stamps", Julian J. Goldberg, Volume 93, Number 6, Nov.-Dec. 2014, Page 368.

[3] The Philatelic Gazette, “Fake Perforations”, J.B. Leavy, May 1918, Page 154.

[4] The United States Specialist, “The Stickney Rotary 11 x 10-1/2 Bar and Wheel Perforator”, Louis E. Repeta, Whole Number 756, Volume 63, Number 4, April 1992, Page 168.

[5] The United States Postage Stamps Of The 20th Century 1901-1922, Volume 1 (Revised Edition), Max G. Johl, March 1937, H.L. Lindquist, Page 149.

[6] The Collectors Club Philatelist, “United States: Modern [1940s] Perforating Machines”, J.M. Kohler, July 1960, Pages 188, 207.

[7] The United States Specialist, “Perforation Measurement and Scott # 544”, Larry S. Weiss, Whole Number 680, Volume 57, Number 10, October 1986, Pages 448 to 449.

[8] The United States Specialist, “Specialist Gauge Measurements”, Larry S. Weiss, Whole Number 710, Volume 60, Number 4, April 1989, Pages 207 to 209.

[9] Early American Perforating Machines and Perforations 1857-1867, Winthrop S. Boggs, The Collectors Club Inc., September 1954, Pages 19 to 20, 27 to 28.

[10] The American Philatelist, “United States Stamps: APS Acquires Rosback Rotary Perforator”, Ken Lawrence, September 1995, Volume 109, Number 9, Pages 824 to 826.

[11] Early American Perforating Machines and Perforations 1857-1867, Winthrop S. Boggs, The Collectors Club, Inc., September 1954, Pages 2 to 10.

[12] U.S. Stamp News, “The Stickney Coil Perforator”, Louis E. Repeta, October 2007, Volume 13, Issue 10, Pages 16 to 17. [13] Encyclopedia of United States Stamps and Stamp Collecting, Rodney A. Juell, Steven J. Rod, United States Stamp Society (USSS), 2006, Pages 511 to 512.

[14] The American Revenuer, “In Search of the Bureau Perforated Series of 1934 Red Bottle Stamps”, Ronald E. Lesher, November-December 2006, Volume 60, Number 6, Pages 173 to 175.