Why did the they put Lathework on hundreds of plates of the Admirals, Revenues, and Postage Dues? There is no certain answer to the question since no documentation has survived. Thus it is necessary to answer the question with a bit of deductive reasoning.
The first clue to the answer lies in a careful examination of the earliest examples of Lathework, types A and B. Close examination of large multiples of these types reveals that the original lower Plate numbers exist underneath the band of Lathework. This tells me that the lathework was applied to the plates after they had already been engraved. I cannot be certain that the original plates exist under every plate with type A or B but it is under all of the ones that I have, which amounts to thirty or so different plates. The fact that the ABN went to the trouble to apply a band of engraving on top the existing lower plate inscriptions would seem to imply that there was a good and compelling reason for this action. After all this was a business and I doubt that they invested the time of their staff for a trivial reason.
The second clue is the simple fact that after the use of Lathework ceased the engravers did not return to the practise of including lower imprints on the plates.
This indicates to me that the lower plates were being used for something more than just identification.
I thinks it is also important to note that the Lathework is often incompletely inked. I will not go into the old arguement about worn plates as I believe that it has been resolved.
It is also useful to note that many of the lower plate imprints found in the period before Lathework was introduced are also poorly inked and sometimes difficult to read.
It seems clear from the evidence that there was a problem with getting enough ink on the plates in the latter stages of the years in which the 'WET' process was used. I don't know much about the actual printing process but it seems logical to assume that the lower inscriptions were being used to tell the printers if they were applying a sufficient amount of ink on the press. The lower plate inscriptions were relatively faint at best and didn't show up well enough for the printers to quickly see if things were correct. However a thick band of engraving would show up plainly and the printers could tell at a glance if the amount of ink was correct.
TYPES OF LATHEWORK
Type A
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Type D1
Type E
Rarity Factors
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Unique or almost unique |
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Very rare |
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Rare |
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Scarce |
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Common |
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Very common, you can see one at any show |
Rarity does not seem to totally control the price of lathework.
For example, an example of the 50c Black with a trace of type D Lathework will sell for far more than an example of the 3c Brown with type C inverted Lathework.
However, the 3c Brown is far more rare than the 50c.
This is partly due to the relative values of the 50c Black and 3c Brown as individual stamps. It is also I think, partly due to tradition which insists that certain material is rare even though evidence exists to show that it isn't.
After all there was an auction a few years ago that had 4 examples of the 50c.
REGULAR ISSUES
| NUMBER | VALUE | PRINTING | TYPE | RARITY | FACTOR | |||
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| 104 | 1c Green | Wet | B | |
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| Wet | C | |
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| 105 | 1c Yellow | Wet | C | |
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| Wet | D | |
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| Wet | D inv | |
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| Wet | D1 | |
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| Dry | D | |
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| 106 | 2c Carmine | Wet | B | |
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| Wet | C | |
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| Wet | C inv | |
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| 107 | 2c Green | Wet | C | |
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| Wet | C inv | |
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| Wet | D | |
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| Wet | D inv | |
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| Wet | D1 inv | |
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| Dry | D | |
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| 107a | 2c Green | Wet | D | |
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| (thin paper) | Wet | D inv | |
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| 108 | 3c Brown | Wet | B | |
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| Wet | B inv | |
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| Wet | C | |
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| Wet | C inv | |
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| Wet | D | |
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| Wet | D inv | |
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| Dry | D | |
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| Wet | E | |
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| 109 | 3c Carmine | Dry | D | |
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| 110 | 4c Bistre | Dry | D | |
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| Dry | D inv | |
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| 112 | 5c Violet | Wet | D | |
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| Wet | D inv | |
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| (retouched) | Wet | D | |
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| 112a | 5c Violet | Wet | D inv | |
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| 113 | 7c Bistre | Wet | B | |
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| 114 | 7c Red Brown | Wet | D | |
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| Dry | D | |
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| 116 | 10c Plum | Wet | A | |
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| Wet | B | |
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| Wet | C | |
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| 117 | 10c Blue | Wet | D | |
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| Wet | D inv | |
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| Dry | D | |
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| 118 | 10c Brown | Dry | D | |
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| 119 | 20c Olive | Wet | A | |
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| Wet | D | |
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| Dry | D | |
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| 120 | 50c Grey Black | Wet | D | |
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| 122 | 1$ Orange | Wet | D | |
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| Dry | D | |
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COIL ISSUES
| NUMBER | VALUE | PRINTING | TYPE | RARITY | FACTOR | |||
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| 126 | 1c Yellow | Wet | B | |
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| 128 | 2c Green | Wet | D | |
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| 130 | 3c Carmine | Wet | D | |
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IMPERFORATE ISSUES
| NUMBER | VALUE | PRINTING | TYPE | RARITY | FACTOR | |||
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| 136 | 1c Yellow | Wet | B | |
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| Wet | D inv | |
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| 138 | 3c Carmine | Dry | D | |
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OVERPRINTED ISSUES
| NUMBER | VALUE | PRINTING | TYPE | RARITY | FACTOR | |||
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| 139 | 3c Carmine | Dry | D | |
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WAR TAX ISSUES
| NUMBER | VALUE | PRINTING | TYPE | RARITY | FACTOR | |||
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| MR1 | 1c Green | Wet | B | |
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| MR2 | 2c Carmine | Wet | B | |
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| MR4 | 3c Brown | Wet | A | |
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| Wet | B | |
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| Wet | B inv | |
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POSTAGE DUE ISSUES
| NUMBER | VALUE | PRINTING | TYPE | RARITY | FACTOR | |||
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| J2 | 2c Violet | Wet | A | |
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| J2a | 2c Violet | Wet | D | |
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REVENUE WAR TAX ISSUES
| NUMBER | VALUE | PRINTING | TYPE | RARITY | FACTOR | |||
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| FWT7 | 1c Orange | Wet | C | |
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| FWT8 | 2c Brown | Wet | B | |
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| FWT12 | 8c Brown | Wet | B | |
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REVENUE EXCISE ISSUES
| NUMBER | VALUE | PRINTING | TYPE | RARITY | FACTOR | |||
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| FX1 | 1/4c Olive | Wet | D | |
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| FX2 | 1/2c Carmine | Wet | D | |
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| FX3 | 6c Orange | Wet | B | |
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| FX4 | 7c Brown | Wet | B inv | |
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| FX5 | 9c Violet | Wet | B inv | |
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| FX6 | 15c Orange | Wet | B | |
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| FX7 | 20c Yellow | Wet | B | |
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| FX8 | 30c Brown | Wet | B | |
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| FX9 | 40c Purple | Wet | B inv | |
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| FX10 | 60c Blue | Wet | C inv | |
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| FX11 | 70c Olive | Wet | D1 | |
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| FX12 | 80c Carmine | Wet | D1 | |
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| FX13 | 90c Brown | Wet | C | |
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| FX14 | 1$ Yellow | Wet | C inv | |
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| FX15 | 2$ Green | B inv | C | |
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| FX17 | 4$ Brown | Wet | D1 | |
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| FX18 | 5$ Orange | Wet | C inv | |
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| FX19 | 10$ Yellow | Wet | C inv | |
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OVERPRINTED REVENUE EXCISE ISSUES
| NUMBER | VALUE | PRINTING | TYPE | RARITY | FACTOR | |||
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| FX21 | 3/16c on 1/4c | Wet | D | |
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| FX22 | 1/5c on 7c | Wet | B inv | |
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| FX23 | 3/8c on 1/2c | Wet | D | |
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| ovpt CENT | ||||||||
| FX24 | ovpt Cent | Wet | D | |
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| FX25 | 14c on 1/4c | Wet | D | |
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| FX26 | 14c on 7c | Wet | B inv | |
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| Blue ovpt | ||||||||
| FX27 | Red ovpt | Wet | B inv | |
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| FX28 | 14c on 9c | Wet | B inv | |
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| FX29 | 14c on 40c | Wet | B inv | |
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Entries marked with a ? should exist but have not yet been reported.
OVERPRINTED REVENUE WAR TAX ISSUES
| NUMBER | VALUE | PRINTING | TYPE | RARITY | FACTOR | |||
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| FX30 | 3/4 CENT on 1c | Wet | C | |
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| FX31 | 3/4 Cent on 1c | Wet | C | |
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TWO LEAF EXCISE TAX ISSUES
| NUMBER | VALUE | PRINTING | TYPE | RARITY | FACTOR | |||
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| FX36 | 2c Blue | Wet | D | |
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| Wet | D inv | |
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| ---- | ||||||||
| FX39 | 4c Blue | Wet | D | |
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Other values of the Two Leaf Excise Tax may also have Lathework.