Sale 1134 — The Alan Collection of United States Stamps
Sale Date — Wednesday, 14 September, 2016
Category — Postmasters Provisionals
Baltimore, Maryland, 5c Black on Bluish (3X3). Positions 8, full margins to just in on blued paper, manuscript "X" cancel and part of blue "PAID" handstamp, light vertical and diagonal creasesFINE APPEARING EXAMPLE OF THE 5-CENT BALTIMORE PROVISIONAL ON BLUISH PAPER, ISSUED BY POSTMASTER JAMES M. BUCHANAN.
With 2006 P.F. certificate
Brattleboro, Vermont, 5c Black on Buff (5X1). Position 5 from the upper right corner of the sheet of ten, large margins all around, crisp impression, red "Paid" cancel, usual thin spots and faint diagonal crease at bottom rightEXTREMELY FINE APPEARING EXAMPLE OF THE BRATTLEBORO POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL STAMP, OF WHICH A TOTAL OF 32 ARE KNOWN OFF COVER.
A total of 52 Brattleboro provisional stamps have been recorded by Wall (32 off cover and 20 stamps on 19 covers). With 2002 P.F. certificate. Illustrated in March-April 1988 article in Collector's Club Philatelist by Calvet M. Hahn.
Millbury, Massachusetts, 5c Black on Bluish (7X1). Cut to shape and mounted on small matching color piece, parts of the outer circular frameline drawn in and portion of cancellation on the piece drawn in, clear impressionFINE APPEARING EXAMPLE OF THE RARE MILLBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL. ONLY EIGHTEEN ARE RECORDED, INCLUDING NINE USED ON PIECE OR OFF COVER.
The 5c stamp issued by Millbury postmaster Asa Holman is one of two United States provisionals with a portrait (George Washington in both cases). It is also unusual in that the designation "Post Office" appears without any town name, a characteristic in common with the Baltimore and Boscawen provisionals. Our census of the Millbury provisional is available at http://siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/7X1/7X1.pdf
Census No. 7X1-CAN-06. Ex Maffeo. With 1957, 1992 and 2007 P.F. certificates.
History of the Millbury provisional: http://siegelauctions.com/enc/pdf/Millbury.pdf
New Haven, Connecticut, 5c Red on White (8XU1). Full impression of provisional handstamped marking with "E A Mitchell" signature in magenta, faults including thins and creaseONE OF FOUR RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE NEW HAVEN PROVISIONAL HANDSTAMP STRUCK IN RED ON WHITE PAPER WITH MAGENTA SIGNATURE. ONLY ELEVEN EXAMPLES OF THE NEW HAVEN PROVISIONAL ARE RECORDED, INCLUDING SEVEN IN RED AND FOUR IN BLUE. THIS WAS THE FIRST NEW HAVEN PROVISIONAL TO BE DISCOVERED, IN 1871.
Our census of the New Haven Postmaster's Provisional is available at http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/8XU1-8XU4/8XU1-8XU4.pdf . We record one intact cover, two cut squares and one cut to shape of the 5c Red on White with magenta signature, plus two covers and one cut to shape with black signature.
Discovered by William P. Brown in 1871 and described in Curiosity Cabinet May 1871. Ex Brown, Sanford, Hunter, Leavy, Wallis and J. David Baker. With 1948 P.F. certificate stating uncancelled.
History of the New Haven provisional: http://siegelauctions.com/enc/pdf/NewHaven.pdf
New York N.Y., 5c Black, Without Signature (9X1e). Unused (no gum), ample margins to clear at left, small shallow thin spot at top right, Very Fine appearance and rare in unused condition, with clear 1976 A.P.S. certificate as the old No. 9X1d
St. Louis, Missouri, 5c Black on Greenish (11X1). Type I, Position 1, four margins, appears unused and with two certificates stating unused but we detect clear evidence of a removed pen cancel, faults including tear at top and thin, otherwise Very Fine, with 1971 P.F. (issued to Raymond Weill) and 2012 Weiss certificates, Scott Retail as used
St. Louis, Missouri, 10c Black on Gray Lilac (11X5). Unused (no gum), Type II, Position 4, large even margins all around, bright and fresh, completely soundEXTREMELY FINE GEM. AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE UNUSED EXAMPLE OF THE 10-CENT ST. LOUIS "BEARS" POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL ON GRAY LILAC PAPER IN THE FINEST CONDITION ATTAINABLE.
A review of name-sale auctions and Power Search reveals how rare any St. Louis Bear stamp is in sound unused condition. Among all three of the papers used to print the stamp and counting all three denominations, the population we have sold in sound unused condition can be counted on less than one hand. Only one example with original gum is known to exist -- the incomparable corner sheet-margin 10c on Greenish Paper (Scott 11X2) from the Frelinghuysen collection, which realized $150,000 hammer in our Sale 1020 in 2012. Power Search located only one other unused stamp on the Gray Lilac paper, and it is faulty. The Faiman collection contained several uncancelled stamps in both 5c and 10c denominations, but only one was fault free (11X2 on Greenish, in a strip of three on cover, so not collectible as a single). Combining soundness with large even margins, this is a spectacular classic rarity.
Ex Col. Green, T. Cullen Davis ("Texas Collector") and Peyton ("Isleham"). With 2009 P.S.E. certificate (XF 90). This is the highest grade awarded to any unused St. Louis Provisional. SMQ does not price Postmasters' Provisionals, but if they did it is safe to say that an unused 10c St. Louis Bear graded XF 90 would be well in excess of Scott Retail, which is