I like the Scott catalog. But sometimes they do things that I don’t understand.

In the Winter 2011 pricelist, I described the differerence between Scott #2128 and #2231. Scott #2128 comes both normal and precancelled (#2128a). The “Ambulance 1860s” is 18 1/3 mm. long. Scott #2231 exists only precancelled and the the letters are 18 mm. long.

Now look at Scott #2132. It comes both normal and precancelled (#2132a). “Stanley Steamer 1909 is 18 mm long. But then look at Scott #2132b (Type II). It is only precancelled and the wording is 17 2/3 mm. long.

What gives? Why did #2231 get a major catalog number and #2132b only got a minor listing? The differences are exactly the same. That seems inconsistent to me. Especially when the stamps are from the same Transportation series of coil stamps.

Scott #2134 is similar. The wording is 17.5 mm long. On #2134b (Type II), the wording is only 17.25 mm long. Again, a difference in the design, but only a minor catalog listing.