Sale 1249 — The Hope Collection of U.S. Newspapers & Periodicals Issues
Sale Date — Tuesday, 1 March, 2022
Category — 1894 Unwatermarked Bureau Issue (Scott PR90-PR101)
1c Intense Black, 1894 Issue (PR90). Original gum, lightly hinged, wide margins and choice centering, Extremely Fine, with 2001 P.F. and 2007 P.S.E. certificates
2c Intense Black, 1894 Issue (PR91). Original gum, lightly hinged, intense shade and clear impression, wide and balanced margins, Extremely Fine, with 2001 P.F. certificate
4c Intense Black, 1894 Issue (PR92). Original gum, lightly hinged, proof-like impression and choice centering, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2002 P.F. certificate
10c Intense Black, 1894 Issue (PR94). Original gum, lightly hinged with pencil Scott number, sharp impression on bright paper, attractive centering and margins, Very Fine and choice, with 2001 P.F. certificate
12c Pink, 1894 Issue (PR95). Original gum, lightly hinged, with part imprint bottom selvage, vivid color, a few perf separations in selvage, Very Fine and attractive, with 1998 P.S.E. certificate
24c Pink, 1894 Issue (PR96). Original gum, lightly hinged, brilliant color and beautiful centeringEXTREMELY FINE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 1894 24-CENT UNWATERMARKED BUREAU NEWSPAPER ISSUE.
The 1894 Bureau printing was made from the old plates of the American and Continental Bank Note Companies. The plates were re-entered, and there are also other differences in the printings, including the paper and gum. This issue was not in service for very long before the new plates were ready for the Bureau-produced issue of 1895. The high-denomination 1894 issues are rare and often plagued with poor centering and faults. This sound and centered example is a wonderful exception.
With 2001 P.F. certificate
24c Pink, 1894 Issue (PR96). Block of four with bottom imprint selvage, original gum, we conservatively described this as lightly hinged in two previous offerings but the P.F. certificate obtained after it last sold states Mint N.H., brilliant color, right stamps with a small natural gum crease, bottom stamps trivial natural inclusionsFINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED IMPRINT BLOCK OF FOUR OF THE 1894 24-CENT UNWATERMARKED BUREAU NEWSPAPER ISSUE.
As this marvelous position multiple shows, the 1894 Bureau printing was made from the old plates of the American and Continental Bank Note Companies. The plates were re-entered, and there are also other differences in the printings, including the paper and gum. This issue was not in service for very long before the new plates were ready for the Bureau-produced issue of 1895.
Ex "Whitpain" and Schwenk. With 2014 P.F. certificate stating Mint N.H. Scott value as four Mint N.H. singles without premium for the imprint.
60c Pink, 1894 Issue (PR98). Original gum, h.r., radiant color, better centering than normally seen on this difficult issue, small thin spotVERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN EXTREMELY RARE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 60-CENT 1894 UNWATERMARKED BUREAU NEWSPAPER ISSUE -- ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL NEWSPAPER STAMPS. ONLY 19 UNUSED EXAMPLES ARE AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS.
Our census of PR98, available at https://siegelauctions.com/census/us/scott/PR98 , contains 20 unused and 6 used examples, including one unused and one used in the Miller collection owned by The New York Public Library. Of the unused examples available to collectors, only three are confirmed as sound. The three sound copies include one straight edge at top, and all three have perfs in on one side. Centering on examples with faults also tends to be poor. The example offered here, with superior centering and a small fault, is highly desirable.
Census no. PR98-OG-02. Ex Schwenk. With 1991 and 2014 P.F. certificates.
$6.00 Pale Blue, 1894 Issue (PR101). Original gum, lightly hinged, radiant color, completely soundVERY FINE. AN INCREDIBLY RARE SOUND ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE $6.00 1894 UNWATERMARKED BUREAU ISSUE. ONLY 13 UNUSED EXAMPLES ARE AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS, INCLUDING SIX WITH GUM. THIS IS ONE OF THREE AVAILABLE SOUND EXAMPLES WITH ORIGINAL GUM. A PHENOMENAL RARITY.
Our census of PR101, available at https://siegelauctions.com/census/us/scott/PR101 , contains 14 unused and two used examples, including one in the Miller collection owned by The New York Public Library. Of these, only six have original gum. Three original-gum examples have faults, including a repair, reperfing and thins. Only three original-gum stamps are sound -- the ex-Inman copy (Sale 1131, lot 2597, census no. 03), the ex-Petersen copy (Sale 1234, lot 526, census no. 12) and the ex-Cole copy, the example offered here (census no. 04). Four stamps without gum are also reported to be sound, but one has a straight edge.
Census no. PR101-OG-04. Ex Cole and from our 1990 Rarities sale. With 1988, 2002 and 2011 P.F. certificates.