Sale 920 — United States Rarities
Sale Date — Tuesday, 17 October, 2006
Category — 1902-08 Issues
$5.00 Dark Green, Panama-Pacific Small Die Proof (313P2a). 24 x 27mm, rich color on yellowish wove paper but free of usual toningEXTREMELY FINE. THE FINEST KNOWN EXAMPLE OF THE RARE 1915 PANAMA-PACIFIC SMALL DIE PROOF OF THE $5.00 1902 ISSUE. ONLY THREE TO FIVE SETS ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN PREPARED.
This extraordinary $5.00 1902 proof is superior to the proof contained in the ex-Brody set. It has only the faintest hint of toning and appears much brighter than the usual Panama-Pacific proof.
With 2004 P.F. certificate
$5.00 Dark Green (313). Lightly hinged, extraordinarily wide margins and essentially perfectly centered, intense colorEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A TRULY SPECTACULAR EXAMPLE OF THE $5.00 1902 ISSUE.
The $5.00 1902 is rarely found with such wide and evenly balanced margins.
$5.00 Dark Green (313). Block of four, lightly hinged, intense proof-like shade and impression, accompanying certificate notes a tiny margin nick at the right of bottom right stamp, which has since been pressed out and reinforced with gumFINE-VERY FINE. A HANDSOME BLOCK OF THE $5.00 1902 ISSUE CONTAINING A SUPERB STAMP AT UPPER LEFT.
With 2004 P.F. certificate
5c Blue, Imperforate (315). Four blocks of four, three with arrow and round marker (top, left and right), one with arrow only (bottom), forming a lovely matching set, lightly hinged except for one pair which is Mint N.H., rich colors, fresh and bright paperEXTREMELY FINE. AN EXHIBIT-WORTHY SET OF KEY POSITION BLOCKS FROM THE SHEET OF 400 OF THE 5-CENT 1908 IMPERFORATE ISSUE.
With 2004 P.S.E. certificates. Scott Retail for position blocks
5c Blue, Coil (317). Pair, fairly lightly hinged and rather well-centeredFINE-VERY FINE EXAMPLE OF THIS VERY RARE COIL PAIR.
Signed RHW Co (Weill) and with 1957 and 1999 P.F. certificates
5c Blue, Coil (317). Barely hinged, deep rich color, wide margins all aroundEXTREMELY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF THE 1908 5-CENT VERTICAL COIL, SCOTT 317.
With 2002 P.F. certificate
1c Blue Green, Coil (318). Pair, lightly hinged, dark color and proof-like impression, wide and balanced margins for this difficult issueVERY FINE-EXTREMELY FINE. A CHOICE PAIR OF THE RARE ONE-CENT 1908 HORIZONTAL COIL.
Armstrong notes that by 1980 approximately 80 pairs had been certified by the Philatelic Foundation.
Right stamp with backstamp. With 1956 and 1996 P.F. certificates. With 2005 P.S.E. certificate grading this superb pair a mere VF 80 (SMQ $13,000.00). We feel that the P.S.E. grade is too conservative -- this is certainly one of the finest pairs known.
1c Blue Green, Coil (318). Pair, intense shade and impression, right stamp small closed tear at bottom right which is barely noticeableFINE APPEARANCE. A RARE PAIR OF THE ONE-CENT 1908 HORIZONTAL COIL.
Armstrong notes that by 1980 approximately 80 pairs had been certified by the Philatelic Foundation.
With 1997 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine, Ty. I, Vertical Pair, San Francisco Roulette (319e var). Block of four, unused (no gum), bright shade, small corner crease at bottom rightVERY FINE APPEARANCE FOR A MULTIPLE OF THIS MAJOR BUREAU ISSUE PERFORATION VARIETY.
There are three distinct imperforate errors in the 1908 2c Shield Issue, listed in Scott as Nos. 319d, 319e and a sub-variety of 319e, the San Francisco Roulette.
The imperforate-horizontally multiples (Scott 319d) come from a block of 25 purchased from the Washington D.C. post office. All known examples of Scott 319d are printed in a deeper shade of Carmine than 319e or the San Francisco Roulette. The two multiples in the Brody collection (Shreve lots 105 and 106) show that the original Scott 319d multiple came from the upper half of the lower right pane of 100.
The imperforate-between multiples (Scott 319e and San Francisco Roulette) come from two sources, according to research by Roger Brody. All multiples listed as Scott 319e (without roulette) have very faint blind perf holes between the stamps; the shade and centering of all Scott 319e's are identical, but as a group they differ from the rouletted examples. The ex-Brody bottom imprint and plate no. 4475 block of four (lot 108) proves that the bottom two rows were imperforate between.
The third error -- imperforate-between with roulette (offered here) -- should be separately listed in Scott, but it is identified as a sub-variety of 319e, which confuses the two unrelated sources. The rouletted multiples come from a small number of sheets received by the San Francisco postmaster that were missing a line of perforations between the first and second rows at top, unlike No. 319e without roulette, which comes from the bottom two rows. Rather than destroy or return the problem sheets, the postmaster applied his own roulette for separation. The existence of top position blocks confirms the position of the error stamps in the sheet.
With 1988 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail with gum