Sale 1293 — The Vaquero Collection of Errors, Freaks and Oddities Plus Other Eclectic Selections
Sale Date — Thursday, 28 September, 2023
Category — Air Post - Other Issues, Other Back-of-Book
5c Beacon, Air Post, Misperfed (C11 var). Mint N.H., from bottom left corner of the sheet with wide selvage, several creases have caused a dramatic misperfing which is visually stunning, Very Fine and unusual
5c Beacon, Air Post, Shifted Vignettes (C11 var). Mint N.H. right selvage block of four and single, the block with vignettes shifted into outer margin of stamp and cut off by perfs, the single with vignette shifted radically to the left, Very Fine and choice, these are shifted far more than others we have encountered
6c Eagle, Dark Blue & Carmine, Air Post (C23). Mint N.H., with vignette shifted far downwards with part of printing into perfs, Very Fine, this is one of the most significant shifts we have ever encountered
10c Moon Landing, "Shifted Earth" Variety (C76 var). Mint N.H. bottom left corner selvage block of four, dramatic misregistration of colors with the Blue Earth color and astronauts shifted upward, leaving a blank white hole where the Earth should appear, also red color shifted, Very Fine, a fascinating variety
10c Moon Landing, Rose Red (Litho.) Omitted (C76a). Mint N.H. block of four with left selvage, bottom left stamp the error, top left missing red in arm patch but with red in lunar lander, right stamps with traces of red, Very Fine and attractive multiple showing various stages of the error, Scott value $500 as single error
31c Plane, Globes & Flag, Air Post, Foldover (C90 var). Bottom right corner plate no. 36977 block of four, with extra paper at corner causing a foldover with part of two designs printed on back, opened for display, Very Fine and visually stunning variety
21c-31c Famous Aviators, Printing Varieties (C91 var-C96 var). Two blocks of four and two vertical pairs, including block of Nos. C93-C94 with foldover at top with misperf causing one stamp to be almost completely imperforate at top, block of Nos. C91-C92 with blue and black printing shifted that bottom stamps lack the Wright Bros. text, also pair of same with several colors shifted to the side causing plane to print over Orville's portrait, last is pair of Nos. C95 and C96 with several colors also shifted to the side, blocks Mint N.H., singles lightly hinged, Very Fine, two normal accompany for comparison
31c Wright Brothers, Vertical Pair, Ultramarine & Black (Engr.) Omitted (C92b). Mint N.H. with narrow top selvage, lacking all text including denomination and "US Airmail", Very Fine, with 2021 P.F. certificate, normal accompanies for comparison
31c Wright Brothers, Pair, Black, Yellow, Magenta and Brown (Litho.) Omitted (C92d). Mint N.H. block of six, left pair the error, the other two pairs are transitional, center pair shows less of the design than the right pair, Very Fine and choice, an amazing transitional multiple containing the full error and others missing parts of the design, Datz notes only 15 pairs are recorded, with 2021 P.F. certificate, Scott value $1,500 for just the left error pair with no premium for the other four stamps
25c Wiley Post, Color Shifts (C96a var). Mint N.H. left selvage block of four, showing color registrations in selvage, with all five lithographed colors shifted dramatically, the Ultramarine and Black engraved colors printed where they should be, Very Fine, an error with great visual appeal, Nos. C95 and C96 do not have any errors listed in Scott (unlike the other two designs of the series) so this is especially meaningful
36c Sikorsky, Red, Dark Blue & Black (Engr.) Omitted (C119a). Mint N.H., striking appearance with only the image of Sikorsky present, Very Fine and rare, Datz records only 20 examples, with 2021 P.F. certificate
36c Sikorsky, Red, Dark Blue & Black (Engr.) Omitted (C119a). Mint N.H. block of four with bottom left "Use Correct Zip Code" sheet selvage, striking appearance with only the image of Sikorsky and the background present
VERY FINE. A RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED CORNER SELVAGE BLOCK OF FOUR OF THE SIKORSKY AIR POST ISSUE WITH THE THREE ENGRAVED COLORS OMITTED.
Datz records only 20 examples. With 2021 P.F. certificate. Scott value $3,600 as singles
36c Sikorsky, Red, Dark Blue & Black (Engr.) Omitted (C119a). Mint N.H. block of twelve with top right corner selvage, bottom two stamps the error, others transitional showing varying completeness of the engraved colors, Very Fine, a remarkable transitional block, Datz records only 20 examples of this error, with 2021 P.F. certificate, Scott value $1,800 as two errors with no premium for the transitional stamps
50c Harriet Quimby, Vertical Pair, Imperforate Horizontally (C128a). With right selvage, original gum, small spot on gum at center knocks this out of the Mint N.H. category, Very Fine, scarce, Datz records only 50 pairs, they also note that "many pairs contain a light cyan wiper-blade mark", this pair does not contain that mark
Air Post Vignette Shifts or Perf Shifts. Seven items, including C11 single with vignette shifted strongly to bottom right, block of four of same with vignette shifted slightly upwards, C23 top right corner selvage strip of three with wild perfs due to foldover, another with perfs thru designs, last three are CE2 including pair with vignette shifted strongly to bottom right, top plate block of ten with vignette shifted upwards and pane of 50 of same with vignette also shifted upwards, several Mint N.H., Very Fine group with several quite dramatic
10c Deep Claret (J42). Top right corner selvage strip of four with dramatic pre-printing paperfold and foldover at top right corner with part of design printed on back, original gum, hinge slivers supporting a few separations, creases from the foldover, Very Fine and unusual printing variety
5c Carmine (J64). Top left corner selvage horizontal pair, with double foldover causing part of both designs to be printed at top of selvage, stamps Mint N.H., bright color, Very Fine and choice
5c Carmine Rose, Pair, One Without "5 Cents" (J93a). Mint N.H. block of four with selvage at left, containing two pairs of the error, excellent centering, bright and crisp
VERY FINE AND RARE MARGIN BLOCK OF FOUR OF THE 5-CENT 1959 POSTAGE DUE DENOMINATION MISSING ERROR.
If Scott values reflect the relative rarity of the various 1959 Postage Due denomination-omitted errors (and a review using Power Search indicates they do), then this is the rarest of all the errors. We have offered only one other example (a pair) since keeping computerized records more than 25 years ago.
With 1994 P.F. certificate. Scott value as two pairs.
5c Green & Black, Proprietary, Plate Proof on Stamp Paper (RB5P3). Horizontal pair, large margins all around, with vignettes shifted significantly to the right, thinned, otherwise Very Fine and very unusual, extra care was supposed to have been taken when printing proofs, this clearly demonstrates the difficulties of alignment, unlisted in Scott