3¢ purple Washington stamp value

What your 3¢ purple Washington is most likely worth

If it is the 1932 stamp, about face value. When the first-class letter rate rose to 3 cents on July 6, 1932, the Post Office needed a new 3¢ stamp, and Scott 720 was adapted from the 2¢ value of the Washington Bicentennial set, using Gilbert Stuart's portrait, the one on the $1 bill. Mystic Stamp Company sells used copies in bulk glassine lots, and lists a single at 50 cents.

The American Philatelic Society's general advice applies here: "just because stamps are old does not mean they are extremely valuable." For stamps issued since 1940, the APS adds, most sell "at or around their original face value."

Tell the 1932 stamps apart

• Scott 720 shows the Stuart portrait and is perforated on all four sides.
• Coils 721 and 722 have two straight edges. The horizontally perforated 722 is scarcer: 35,988,000 printed, listed by Mystic at $2.95.
• Booklet pane 720b is collected as a complete pane of six, which Mystic lists at $42.50.
• Scott 708 is a different stamp: the 3¢ of the 12-value Washington Bicentennial set issued January 1, 1932, with Charles Willson Peale's portrait of Washington at Valley Forge. Mystic lists it at $1.00; 456,198,500 were printed.

The 1908–1922 Washington-Franklin violets

Earlier 3¢ violet Washingtons belong to the Washington-Franklin series, which used only five basic designs but produced more than 250 distinct issues. Watermark, perforation and printing method decide the Scott number, so you need the watermark finder and perforation gauge to identify one.

In 1918 the Bureau printed 3¢ stamps by offset lithography for the first time. Mystic calls Scott 529 (Type III, March 1918) "the first stamp made using this process"; Scott 530 (Type IV) followed on June 30, 1918. Offset ink feels smooth and flat, while engraved stamps have slightly raised ink you can feel. To separate the types, Mystic points to the toga button: on Type III its center line looks broken and the P and O of "POSTAGE" are separate; on Type IV the line is solid and the P and O look joined.

The rare ones

• Scott 389, the Orangeburg coil (1911). Perforated 12 on single-line watermarked paper. Siegel's census lists 11 unused examples, with sales of $370,000 (pair, 2021), $165,200 (pair, 2024) and $50,150 (no-gum single, 2024).
• Scott 359, bluish paper (1909). Wikipedia notes that the 1¢ and 2¢ bluish paper stamps ran to about 3 million each, while "the remaining denominations appeared in very limited quantities." A 3¢ realized $1,700 at Schuyler Rumsey against a $2,000 Scott value.
• Scott 720c (1932). A vertical pair imperforate between. The copy Rumsey sold, described as one of five known used examples, realized $1,000 against a $1,750 Scott value.

Treat any candidate as unconfirmed until an expertizing service has seen it. Orangeburg fakes are made from trimmed sheet stamps, and bluish paper is easy to imagine on a toned stamp.