Specimens are found which show the heavier border lines and shadows of the different parts of the design, the fine lines of the background, of the tablets, and sometimes of the shields, being invisible to the eye, though more or less of them can generally be traced with a glass. These collectors have designated as "plain frames," as they appear to be without color. They are, really, defective impressions either from worn plates, when the plates made by the National Bank Note Company, were giving out in 1873, or from the poor results of the process of printing adopted, as is claimed by the Postmaster General.
But similar varieties have certainly appeared, and for like causes, at other times. Collectors of curiosities will find:
| 1 | cent | plain | frame, | perforated | 12. |
| 2 | cents | " | " | " | " |
| 3 | " | " | " | " | " |
| 6 | " | " | " | " | " |
| 10 | " | " | " | " | " |
The stamps from the plates with the imprint of this Company, now bear on the back a white gum, and not the brownish, used by the National Bank Note Company, which will help to distinguish impressions made by them from the old plates. The colors, however, are not identical, and will further serve to distinguish them. There may be exceptions, but ordinarily the One Cent is a pure indigo, without the red or ultramarine cast, of those printed previously, whether lighter or deeper impressions are chosen.
The Two Cents has also lost its reddish tone, and is a dull brown, with a tendency to blackish-brown, whether lighter or deeper in shade.
The Three Cents is of a duller and generally a pale shade.
The Six Cents is much lighter and is a washy pink.
The Seven Cents is a more yellowish vermilion.
The Ten Cents approaches very nearly to the original shade of the two cents, but is a little more of a blackish brown, very unlike the delicate original shade. The oval and face lines are dark and heavy.
The Fifteen Cents is a much paler orange.