This appears to be an unlisted variant of the EIN listed in the Price Guide as [240] (F-Skirt) HEMINGRAY/PATENT MAY 2 1893 (R-Skirt) PETTICOAT SDP, only this one has the E in PETTICOAT blotted out to look like a figure 8. If I look REALLY close, it appears that the engraver tried to get an E on top of the blotout, which can barely be seen [id=378518250]. Does anyone know how common this is? Thanks for any help.

Answer: I have been told that these are fairly common, and many were found along the CSX mainline in NYS. Given how prominent the blotout is, the fact that these are not uncommon makes me wonder even more why it is not listed in the Price Guide. This is the very kind of thing that distinguishes many separate EIN listings for the CREB CD 145s or CD 133s, for example. I guess the Hemington specialists don't get as turned on by the embossing variations as the Brookwood cats do. 8^)