Sale 1219 — The Edward Morton Collection of Outstanding Quality U.S. Stamps
Sale Date — Wednesday-Thursday, 8-9 April, 2020
Category — 1861-66 Issue, cont. (Scott 75-78c)
5c Red Brown (75). Essentially perfect centering, wonderful depth of color on fresh paper, neat San Francisco cogwheel cancelEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A SUPERB USED EXAMPLE OF THE 5-CENT 1862 RED BROWN, GRADED XF-SUPERB 95 BY P.S.E. THIS IS THE HIGHEST GRADE AWARDED.
Brookman notes "I consider the used Red Brown to be more scarce than Buff but the Buff is more scarce unused".
Ex Kirke. With 2010 P.F. and 2007 P.S.E. certificates (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $4,400.00). This is the highest grade awarded in any category
5c Brown (76). Rich color, wide and beautifully balanced margins, detailed impression, corner strike of blue target cancel leaves design clearly visible, Extremely Fine Gem, a stamp with wonderful eye appeal, ex Kirke, with 1990, 2003 P.F. and 2005 P.S.E. certificates (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $1,400.00), only two grade higher (at 95J and 100)
5c Brown (76). Rich color, cancelled by full clear strike of Union Soldier's Head fancy cancel of New York City (Skinner-Eno PH-F 73), centered slightly to right, Very Fine strike of this rare fancy cancel, the creation and use of this cancel in the Spring of 1866 coincided with the return of soldiers from the Civil War, it is known on at least one domestic cover, but apparently the cancelling device migrated to the foreign-mail exchange office, where it was used to cancel stamps on mail to foreign countries, as such it is most often found on 24c and 30c 1861 Issues, this is the only one on the 5c we have offered since keeping computerized records, a true rarity, ex Saadi, with 1997 and 2014 P.F. certificates
5c Black Brown (76a). Deep rich color in the Black Brown shade, detailed impression, choice centering with Jumbo margins, bold strike of quartered cork cancel, Extremely Fine Gem example of this difficult shade, ex Kirke, with 2003 P.F. and 2007 P.S.E. certificates (XF 90 Jumbo; SMQ $1,850.00)
15c Black (77). Crisp impression on bright paper, beautiful centering with Jumbo margins, bold cork and blue cancel at leftEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A WONDERFUL JUMBO-MARGINED EXAMPLE OF THE 1866 15-CENT LINCOLN, GRADED XF-SUPERB 95 JUMBO BY THE P.F. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT DENOMINATIONS TO OBTAIN WITH SUCH WIDE MARGINS.
The 1866 15c Lincoln is one of the most difficult denominations to obtain in such choice used condition. The most common barrier to a high grade is the size of the side margins, which are often narrow. The stamp offered here is the exception. It has wide and balanced margins on all four sides.
With 1980, 1993 and 2007 P.F. certificates (XF-Superb 95 Jumbo). By way of comparison, the P.S.E. Population Report lists only one at this grade and two at 98.
15c Black (77). Exceedingly well-centered within balanced margins, intense shade, crisp impression on fresh paper, red quartered cork cancelEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF THE 1866 15-CENT LINCOLN. ESPECIALLY DESIRABLE WITH THE RED CANCELLATION.
With 2003 P.S.E. and 2017 P.F. certificates
15c Black (77). Intense shade on bright paper, wide margins for this difficult issue, bold strike of blue negative 6-Point Star fancy cancel (Skinner-Eno ST-6P 10), Extremely Fine, fancy cancels are rarely found on this issue, with 2007 and 2012 P.F. certificates
24c Lilac (78). Intense shade and detailed impression on bright paper, unusually wide and balanced margins, bold strike of segmented cork cancelEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A BEAUTIFUL WIDE-MARGINED USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1863 24-CENT IN THE LILAC SHADE.
With 2012 and 2015 P.F. certificates (XF-Superb 95 XQ). The "XQ" denotes extraordinary quality. With 2013 P.S.A.G. certificate (Superb 98)
24c Lilac (78). Remarkably detailed impression on bright paper, neat strike of target and red transit cancel at left, gorgeous centeringEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A STUNNING USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1863 24-CENT IN THE LILAC SHADE.
With 2015 P.F. and 2005 P.S.E. certificates (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $3,500.00)
24c Grayish Lilac (78a). Outstanding centering with extra wide top and bottom margins, bright color, cork cancel and red Aachen boxed transit datestamp at bottom, Extremely Fine, ex Saadi, with 1994 and 2014 P.S.E. certificates (XF 90; SMQ $1,000.00)
24c Grayish Lilac (78a). Bright color nicely complemented by blue 5-Point Hollow Star fancy cancel, Very Fine and choice, a stamp with great visual appeal, with 2016 P.F. certificate (VF 80)
24c Gray (78b). Choice centering with wide and balanced margins, bright shade, neat strike of circle of wedges cancel leaves portrait clearly visibleEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A BEAUTIFUL USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1863 24-CENT IN THE GRAY SHADE, GRADED XF-SUPERB 95 BY P.S.E. -- THE HIGHEST GRADE AWARDED.
With 2006 P.F. and 2015 P.S.E. certificates (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $3,250.00). This is the highest grade awarded and it is shared by only two others. The last time we offered this grade was in our 2012 Kirke sale
24c Blackish Violet (78c). Distinctive rich color in the true Blackish Violet shade, bright paper, detailed impression, cancelled by New York Foreign Mail Geometric (Skinner-Eno GE-M 23)FINE. AN ELUSIVE SOUND EXAMPLE OF THE 24-CENT BLACKISH VIOLET, A SHADE VARIETY THAT IS MISSING IN MOST ADVANCED CLASSIC UNITED STATES COLLECTIONS.
A thorough search through past auction catalogues will demonstrate how rare this stamp is in both used and sound condition. Our census of Scott 78c, available at our website at https://siegelauctions.com/census/us/scott/78c , records a total of 48 used examples of this issue, of which only 38 have been certified as genuine by The Philatelic Foundation. Some were certified a long time ago and need to be reconfirmed. We also record nine on covers. Very few are confirmed as sound.
Census no. 78c-CAN-44. With 2013 P.F. certificate