"BATH / 109" circular handstamps

Moving on to the "BATH / 109" circular handstamps, the ones with small circles between the "BATH" and the "109", the British County Catalogue identifies five different types, with the angle of the "BATH" as a significant distinguishing feature, along with the diameter.

I have always had problems with this as (a) the diameter is difficult if either the top or bottom of a strike is not clear, and (b) I never know where the centre of the handstamp is to measure the angle from.  Add to that a lack of clarity of where the serifs, if any, on the "B" and "H" stick out to, and I really struggle.

So I've bitten the bullet and scanned in all my examples on to my computer and used Photoshop to investigate the diameters (by superimposing circles over the strikes), and then used the centre of the circle I identified as a base to measure the angle.

All this proved was that I could not measure the angles consistently, certainly not to the level of distinguishing 109° from 112° from 108°.  I could manage 143° and 120° reasonably well.  I also had troubles differentiating 32mm circles from 30 mm circles.

But all is not lost - I managed to identify some alternative distinguishing features as follows - as well as a new early type of "BATH / 109" circular handstamp !  See below for the different types, types II to VI corresponding to SO 90, 93, 96, 99 and 102 in the British County Catalogue.

1. 1810 - 3½ mm "BATH" height, circles as dots. Diameter 31 mm.
2. 1812-1813 - 4 mm "BATH", circles level with year (left higher than right if year is level), wider “109”. Diameter 30-31 mm.
3. 1814-1815 - 4 mm "BATH", circles level with year (left higher than right if year is level), narrower “109”. Diameter 30-31 mm.
4. 1816-1818 - 4 mm "BATH", circles mid-way between day/month and year. Diameter 31 mm.
5. 1818-1819 - wide-angle "BATH" (147°-155°). Diameter 30-31 mm.
6. 1821-1822 - 4½ mm "BATH", mid-angle "BATH" (121°-125°). Diameter 32½ mm.

Here is a scan of the new handstamp from 26th October 1810, with dots instead of circles.

As well as the basic types above there are a number of variations:

1. Type II (SO 90) can have dates in either "ddmmdd" or "mmdd" format,
2. Type III (SO 93) can have dates in either "ddmmdd" or "mmdd" format,
3. Type IV (SO 96) has the middle "18" digits of the year inverted in 1816 (OK in 1818),
4. Type V (SO 99) can have only the last digit of the year showing,
5. Type VI (SO 102) can be missing the last digit of the year.