Sale 1033 — The Cloudrest Collection of United States Stamps
Sale Date — Thursday, 25 October, 2012
Category — Louisiana Purchase and 1908-12 Issues (Scott 327-396)
10c Louisiana Purchase (327). Mint N.H. with bottom imprint selvage, bright color, choice centering, single natural perf disc inclusion, Extremely Fine
10c Yellow (338). Mint N.H. with part imprint at bottom, blazing color, well-balanced margins, Extremely Fine, ex Scarsdale, with 1983, 1986 and 2000 P.F. certificates
15c Pale Ultramarine (340). Mint N.H., bright color and paper, well-balanced margins, fresh and Extremely Fine, a stunning stamp, ex Odeneal, with 1999 P.F. certificate
50c Violet (341). Mint N.H., pretty shade on bright paper, fresh and Very Fine, with 1982 P.F. certificate
$1.00 Violet Brown (342). Mint N.H., deep shade and clear impression, wide margins, Very Fine and choice, with 1991 P.F. certificate
1c Green, Coil (348). Mint N.H. guide line pair, rich color, choice centering with wide margins, Extremely Fine, a beautiful Mint N.H. guide line pair
2c Carmine, Coil (349). Mint N.H. pair, brilliant color, wide and balanced margins, Extremely Fine, with 2001 P.S.E. certificate
4c Orange Brown, Coil (350). Mint N.H. pair, radiant color, fresh and Very Fine, with 1988 P.F. certificate
4c Orange Brown, Coil (350). Mint N.H., attractive color, Very Fine and choice, with 1993 and 2004 P.F. certificates as pair
5c Blue, Coil (351). Mint N.H. pair, intense color on bright paper, Very Fine, with 1991 P.S.E. certificate for strip of three
5c Blue, Coil (351). Mint N.H., intense color, Very Fine, with copy of 1991 P.S.E. certificate for strip of three
1c Green, Coil (352). Mint N.H. pair with 2mm spacing, detailed impression, Very Fine and choice, with 1980 and 1998 P.F. certificates
2c Carmine, Coil (353). Mint N.H. pair with 3mm spacing, brilliant color, Very Fine, with 1998 P.F. certificate for strip of three
2c Carmine, Coil (353). Mint N.H., wide margins and perfectly centered, brilliant color, crisp impression, Extremely Fine Gem
4c Orange Brown, Coil (354). Mint N.H., detailed impression, Very Fine, with 2001 P.F. certificate
4c Orange Brown, Coil (354). Mint N.H. guide line pair, bright color, fresh and Very Fine, with 1993 P.F. certificate
5c Blue, Coil (355). Mint N.H. guide line pair, radiant color on bright paperVERY FINE AND CHOICE MINT NEVER-HINGED GUIDE LINE PAIR OF THE 5-CENT HORIZONTAL COIL, SCOTT 355.
With 1976 P.F. certificate as guide line strip of four
10c Yellow, Coil (356). Mint N.H., vivid color, balanced marginsVERY FINE. A SCARCE MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 10-CENT HORIZONTAL COIL, SCOTT 356.
With 2006 P.S.E. certificate (VF 80; SMQ $5,300.00). Only two Mint N.H. singles have been graded and this is the higher grade of the two.
1c Green, 2c Carmine, Bluish (357-358). 2c with left plate no. 4860 selvage, 1c Mint N.H., 2c barely hinged, Very Fine and choice
3c Deep Violet, Bluish (359). Mint N.H. with full selvage at right, deep rich color on deeply blued paper, wide marginsVERY FINE AND CHOICE MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 3-CENT BLUISH. AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE STAMP IN MINT NEVER-HINGED CONDITION.
A search of our records surprised us. This is only the second Mint N.H. example of this stamp we have offered since keeping computerized records.
With 1979 P.F. certificate
6c Red Orange, Bluish (362). Mint N.H. with wide top selvage, vibrant color on deeply blued paperVERY FINE AND CHOICE. A BEAUTIFUL MINT NEVER-HINGED TOP SELVAGE EXAMPLE OF THE 6-CENT ON BLUISH.
With 1995 P.F. certificate
15c Pale Ultramarine, Bluish (366). Mint N.H., from the top right corner of the sheet with full 23mm corner selvage, the stamp itself is perfectly centered with long full perforations all around, rich color, remarkably freshEXTREMELY FINE GEM. AN EXTRAORDINARY STAMP -- POST-OFFICE FRESH, PERFECTLY CENTERED, MINT NEVER-HINGED AND WITH FULL CORNER SHEET MARGINS. IN OUR EXPERIENCE, THIS IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE FINEST-QUALITY BLUISH PAPER STAMP IN EXISTENCE.
The 4c and 8c stamps are correctly recognized as the rarest of the Bluish Paper issue, but they were never sold over the post office counter and used by the public. Of the values that were regularly issued, the 5c is the rarest, followed by the 13c, and then by the 15c, 10c, 6c and 3c (the 1c and 2c are common). If Mint Never-Hinged stamps are isolated from the supply available to collectors, the rarity factors increase significantly for all of the values. The 15c is extremely rare in well-centered Mint N.H. condition.
This Mint Never-Hinged stamp, with full corner sheet margins and perfect centering, is not just the finest 15c Bluish Paper example we can locate in our extensive records -- it is, in our opinion, the finest single example of any of the higher-denomination Bluish Paper stamps. There is simply nothing that compares to it. That said, the very slightly skewed perforations, which are often found in corner-margin positions, keeps this beautiful example from a grade of 90 or 95. However, stamps like this transcend numerical grading.
Ex Whitman. With 2000 P.F. and 2008 P.S.E. certificates (VF-XF 85; SMQ $4,600.00). Only three have graded higher in the P.S.E. Population Report and only three others share this grade.
3c Deep Violet (376). Mint N.H. with left part imprint selvage, brilliant color, balanced margins, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2008 P.S.E. certificate (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $325.00)
15c Pale Ultramarine (382). Mint N.H., brilliant color, fresh and Fine, with 1991 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine, Coil (386). Mint N.H. pair, brilliant color on bright paper, Extremely Fine, with 1991 and 2000 P.F. certificates
2c Carmine, Coil (388). Mint N.H., bright color on fresh paper, remarkably choice centeringVERY FINE. ONE OF THE FEW MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLES OF THE 2-CENT 1910 PERF 12 COIL IN THIS GRADE.
With 1999 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine, Coil (393). Mint N.H. pair, bright color, post-office fresh and Very Fine, with 2004 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine, Coil (393). Mint N.H. paste-up pair with part imprint in the paste-up, stamps are distinctly different shades, Fine, a fascinating item for the coil specialist, with 1989 P.F. certificate
3c Violet, Coil (394 var). Mint N.H. pair, radiant color in the Violet sub-shade, Very Fine and choice, an attractive pair, with 2003 P.F. certificate
3c Deep Violet, Coil (394). Mint N.H., deep rich color and proof-like impression, wide and balanced margins, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2007 P.S.E. certificate (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $600.00)
4c Brown, Coil (395). Mint N.H., rich color, fresh and Extremely Fine, with 2007 P.F. certificate (XF 90)
5c Blue, Coil (396). Mint N.H. pair, rich color and detailed impression, choice centering, Extremely Fine, a beautiful Mint N.H. pair